As 2020 comes to a close, we find ourselves trying to make sense of all this year offered that we weren’t quite prepared for. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading and supporting St. Louis Mom in the midst of such unprecedented times! We hope that our content was a helpful resource to you, in addition to a source of comfort and encouragement.
We are beyond excited to launch into 2021 with new content, social media coverage, and events to connect local moms as we are safely able to do so. Thank you for joining us on this journey.
We thought it would be fun to show you the Top 10 Posts that received the most page views this year. We feel this is a beautiful representation of the diverse content our team provides. We hope you enjoy reading. And we wish you an abundance of joy in 2021!
– St. Louis Mom
10. My Controversial Take: Yes, I am Anti-“Date Night”
by Diana Waldman
“When I say I’m anti-“Date Night,” I don’t mean I’m against spending time with my husband outside of our home. I’m anti-“Establishment of a Regularly Scheduled Date Night and Its Associated Costs and Pressures.” With a toddler, a baby, and two needy dogs at home, organizing a night out is a tremendous effort before we’ve even planned our activity, made reservations, or purchased tickets. Hearing so-called experts emphasize the necessity of regularly scheduled date nights, even as often as once each week, serves as another expectation for me as a wife and mother that I don’t feel I can achieve.”
9. Mom Truth: I Don’t Like Kids, and I Don’t Want to Play
by Kim Brown
“After the collective gasp settles, please stay with me, because I know I am not alone. Remember the days of being all things to all people and keeping an immaculate Pinterest worthy house filled with well dressed, well-behaved children, with your hair and nails perfect? No? Me either. Because that was never a thing. I throw ZERO shade on the “perfect” moms … the ones that appear to have it all figured out … the Insta-famous, well-groomed, Joanna Gaines-esque Superwomen we are all supposed to aspire to be. You want to know why? BECAUSE THEY STRUGGLE, TOO! In their own ways, they fight their own battles and cry their own tears. You might even be surprised how similar their battles are to your own.”
8.Getting Real About Birth Trauma: It’s Never Too Late to Heal
by Stephanie Godwin-Chu
“As I attempt to digest and dissect all of this information and these feelings, I look forward to the future and imagine what it would be like to expand my family. I am thrilled that the door is still open for me but also horrified by the unknown. Acknowledgment is the first step toward moving forward, and I am, for the first time, being real with myself about what I experienced.
As health organizations zero in on high birth interventions, cesarean statistics, racial disparities, and mortality rates in the United States, I am thankful that someone is looking and listening. I am thankful that people are concerned that the needs of women aren’t being met. No woman should feel like a non-participant ghosting through her birth experience.
I deserved better.
We all do.”
7. No More Sorrys, I Need More Storytellers and Disruptors
by Caitlin Ladd
“As a mother, wife, sister, and daughter of a black man, the continued updates reopen a wound that keeps replaying over and over.
A wound that barely recovered from the hyper-sensitivity I was feeling from COVID-19. As you can imagine (or if you can’t), this time has been trying and anxiety-ridden, with heightened feelings of hopelessness. Quite frankly, the feelings of oppression and the constant explanation, and education, are EXHAUSTING.
I look to my two boys who are wildly curious, beautifully intelligent, and super witty, hoping others see the same thing I see. Instead of hoping, we lead a cautious life filled with coping mechanisms to keep them safe, preparing them for those that won’t see them the same way we do. Our love does not shield them from hate.”
6. How and Where to Hike in St. Louis With Your Kids
by Katie Mueth
“One of the greatest desires I have for my boys is that they have a genuine love of nature and the outdoors. Sure, I’m a plant-based eating, camping loving, sport playing mom of two boys, so that may be easy for me to say. However, the more I talk to educators and other parents, I find that most kids long for time outdoors. They long for a playground to run and explore. They long to be thrown into the backyard to create games of their own. They long for neighbor friends to play with on endless summer nights. While we can’t have all of these things all of the time, we can do our best to facilitate outdoor time for our children.”
5. Dear Mom, You are Enough: A Letter From Your Child
by Kristi Denner
“Dear Mom:
Today, I want you to know just how special you are to me. You don’t have to do anything extraordinary; you are my mom, and I love you just as you are.
You look at your reflection in the mirror and only see imperfections.
I look at you every single day and see your beautiful, loving face smiling down at me. Your body is strong and resilient, and you give the absolute best hugs. You are enough.”
4. 8 Things to Make a Virtual 1st Birthday Bash Memorable
by Aliah Holman
“If I’m being completely honest, first birthdays are more for the family than for the guest of honor. At least that’s what I told myself when it came time to cancel my party venue and accept that my son’s first birthday would be held under quarantine. Once we adjusted our plans, we decided we wanted to focus on the simple things; moments of celebration with our immediate and extended family. So we revised our invitations and let our loved ones know how to join our virtual birthday party.”
3. Navigating Newborn Life Without the Help of My Village
by Jessie Austermann
“Maternity Leave. I was literally counting down the days. Eager to spend my time snuggling a newborn, recovering from childbirth, and honestly, getting away from traditional “work” for a bit.I was expected to have my first daughter (and last child ?) in early March. When the doctor suggested an earlier induction based on the baby’s size, I jumped on it. I delivered my perfect girl on March 5th, 2020, about ten days before the world took a turn.”
2. Puberty: The Time to Start Talking is Sooner Than You Think
by Carol Kerber
“Pssst… parents of the Big Kids (and the Almost Big Kids), this is for you. You survived infancy. Toddlerhood threw all it had at you. Tying shoes? Riding two-wheelers? Learning to read? Check, check, and check, thank you very much.You are the parents of REAL in-betweeners. Your kids are between 8 and 10. You’ve witnessed a handful of smooth parenting stages, and you’re starting to believe that you’re going to get out of this. Alive.But guess what? Your kids’ bodies are plotting against you. Against them. Against EVERYTHING. They are waging wars inside that you can’t even see.”
1. A Queen is Born: Lavender, Defying Her Odds with Trisomy 18
by Erin Martin
“Incompatible with life. Let these words resonate within you. What would you do if you were told at your 12-week ultrasound that the child you were carrying, the child you had hoped and prayed for, had a chromosomal abnormality? What if you were told that this life inside you might not survive through the second or third trimester, that if they made it to delivery, they might not survive long after birth?It sounds like a nightmare, but this was the reality for Rose Watson in 2016. For Rose, there was only one choice.”
