by James Matthews | Sep 17, 2026 | Baby Care, Contributor, Joy Break, Our Brood, Parenting, Postpartum
I always thought unconditional love had its own place in the gift shop of parenthood. You could find them beside coffee mugs that read, “The years are short but the days are long.” Tucked behind those are keychains that proclaim, “you’re gonna miss this!” They’re all...
by James Matthews | Mar 21, 2026 | Contributor, Parenting, Uncategorized
The final score was 8-4 and we were on the losing end. It was the best defeat of my life. We had just finished our first day potty training Louie. Months of prep had led to this. A potty training audiobook would have topped our 2025 Wrapped. Our Amazon order...
by James Matthews | Dec 15, 2025 | Baby Care, Contributor, Feeding (Breastfeeding, Nursing), Joy Break, Mental Health, Our Brood, Parenting, Postpartum, Sleep
There are a few toys that, when my daughter Louie turns them on, immediately crank up the Sunday Scaries in me. When she was nine months old, I switched from full-time, in-office work to a hybrid job where I worked mostly from home. This meant that the sounds of her...
by James Matthews | Nov 18, 2025 | Contributor, Uncategorized
We’re told to secure our own oxygen mask first before helping our kids. But in my parenting journey so far—21 months with my daughter, Louie, and the 9 months leading up to her birth—I’ve found that life on the ground works a little differently. In fact, I find it...
by James Matthews | Nov 4, 2025 | Contributor, Joy Break, Our Brood, Parenting, Postpartum, Uncategorized
Sometimes, you literally have to stop and smell the roses. That cliché captures how I feel about our summer as a family—the first one with a toddler after my daughter, Louie, turned a year and a half. There were no jam-packed trips abroad, and even our usual...
