Good for you for sharing, for having a heappy, well-adjusted baby, and for your wife for wending the enormous transition to full-time mommying. Becoming a parent can trigger so much stuff, from the past and not, that even the easiest, smoothest baby doesn't guarantee overwhelming emotions won't come into play…

It's of course impossible to answer from outside, and I send you support as these years can be hard even when you don't have to cope with early life experiences that are working against you. The one thing I would say based on what you've written is to be REAL…

I agree that your gut is a powerful barometer. I can add that at this age--and certainly at 4--excessive interest in/focus on sexuality (you're right that some can be "normal," even when very young) is tied to the child having been over-stimulated and exposed to sexual content, whether in the…

I'm slowly coming to terms with many of these exact dynamics in the ways my MIL treated my hubby as a child. They've been estranged three separate times in his life, adding up to more years apart than together, and she has no relationship with our children. She just reeled him in for another correspondance--he will not see her at this point--kicking off an email with this tantalizing lure: "I think I can finally see what you are feeling." Yet the exchange came to a screeching halt when she ultimately revealed her unchanged colors, how everything's always about her, what can she get from him, his feelings aren't valid, don't even exist. My heart hurts for him--and for us, having to try to soldier our way through her muck. There is no darker entity than a parent who cares more for her- or himself than her or his child.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with any stress/agitation around this exhilarating, scary-in-some-ways time. I can't tell from your post if your MIL is typically a warm, close, connected, giving part of your life? If she is, then I feel as if your babymoon approach--which I love in many ways--is…

Aw, Mama, I feel for you, and the first thing I want to say is you are not in any way failing--what you are doing is HARD. Becoming a new mom at the start of a worldwide pandemic with Fun Dad too busy except to duck in and be Fun…

You did give her an amulet--it's your love. What a smashing freaking fantastic Easter, birthday, and life. Is it me or is that Martha Stewart-esque? But homemade and loved to boot. I hope you get some you-time now!

My book came out yesterday — My fifth novel came out yesterday. In traditional publishing, books always “drop” on a Tuesday. So I was in fine company — other major house releases all appearing on the same day — which led to a deeper understanding of just how very much content there is out there. And…

My new book comes out next week — Up till now I’ve written on Medium about writing. And I’ve written about my journey to my first (unpublished) manuscript, and to getting my first agent. But I haven’t gotten anywhere near up-to-date, what’s happening now in my career. Because there are literally twenty years to get through. I have…