Parenting is like making a sandwich blindfolded while someone screams at you about screen time. If you’ve ever tried to follow a parenting style and ended up rage-Googling “how to stop yelling without being a pushover,” this breakdown of five major parenting approaches—plus how to mix them to fit your actual, messy, beautiful life—is for you.

Motherhood has also unexpectedly brought forth a torrent of deep-seated insecurities. Amidst the joy, I face an unanticipated adversary; myself.

“We need to toughen him up.” It’s just a harmless phrase, right? Except it’s not. It’s the first step in teaching boys to suppress their emotions, to believe that kindness is weakness, and that their worth is measured by how much they can “take it.” But here’s the thing—our boys aren’t training for some brutal gladiator battle. And the way we respond to these outdated ideas now will shape the men they become. So, are we raising boys who feel safe expressing themselves, or are we setting them up for a lifetime of emotional struggle?

The pressure to create picture-perfect moments seems to have reached new heights, leaving me feeling incredulous about the unrealistic standards set for new parents.

Pregnancy is an incredible journey that often gets romanticized, leaving many of us feeling like we didn't quite measure up to the blooming, radiant image portrayed in the media. The truth is, pregnancy is different for every woman.