by Mindy Calandro | Jul 22, 2016 | In The News, Mommy Musings
This image. Of all of the images I have seen so far today, this is the one that leaves me absolutely heartbroken and sobbing. Look at that precious little girl in a beautiful dress with a delicate string of pearls and an expression that is wrought with unimaginable pain and anguish that no innocent child should ever have to experience. You see, her daddy, Matthew Gerald, was one of the brave Baton Rouge Police Officers who was murdered on July 17 by a hateful and purely evil coward. No child, spouse, mother, father, or loved one should know such pain. But yet, this same scene will play out two more times in the course of the next 48 hours here in Baton Rouge, just as it has played out 5 times in the past 2 weeks in Texas for those fallen police officers in Dallas. I have posted several times before about talking to your children about tragedy (you can click here to see my last post). This discussion never gets easier, and when the tragedy is in your backyard, it becomes even more difficult. But with the events that have transpired in this great nation in that past several weeks, there is another almost more important lesson we must make sure we are teaching our children on a daily basis - love. Children are not born with hate. They have a purity and an innocence about them that does not pick who they are going to play with based on if their skin is black or white, if they have curly hair or straight hair, or really any...
by Mindy Calandro | May 26, 2016 | Kid's Health, Mommy Musings, The Safety Files
This is the most important article that I have ever written for this blog. It was also the most difficult to write. Exactly one year ago today, I published this post, and as I sit here reading it today, I get a lump in my throat and tears are streaming down my face. I remember the day this happened like it was yesterday. I remember the swimsuit my son was wearing…it was black and red and had “Cars” characters on the rash guard and trunks. To this day, I am terrified of children drowning…my children, the children of my friends and family, and all of the precious children I am honored to care for in my practice. If I could pick one of my postings for every parent to read, without question, this would be it. Read it, share it, and if one life is saved, I have achieved my goal. Originally posted May 26, 2015 It was our first swim of last summer. Mr. J (3 at the time) and Miss M (2 at the time) could hardly wait. They had gotten suited up and each had waited their turn to get their sunscreen applied. During their “wait time” to let the sunscreen soak in, Miss M was sitting right next to me on the porch while Mr. J wanted to sit on the top step of the pool and make “handprint art” with the pool water. Standing about 10 feet from the pool steps, I applied my own sunscreen and was a bit distracted by Miss M explaining something about her princess pool toys for all...
by Mindy Calandro | May 26, 2015 | Kid's Health, Mommy Musings, The Safety Files
It was our first swim of last summer. Mr. J (3 at the time) and Miss M (2 at the time) could hardly wait. They had gotten suited up and each had waited their turn to get their sunscreen applied. During their “wait time” to let the sunscreen soak in, Miss M was sitting right next to me on the porch while Mr. J wanted to sit on the top step of the pool and make “handprint art” with the pool water. Standing about 10 feet from the pool steps, I applied my own sunscreen and was a bit distracted by Miss M explaining something about her princess pool toys for all of about 15 seconds or so. And when I looked back to check on Mr. J, he was no longer on the step. As panic set in, the adrenaline immediately kicked on, my mind slipped into the slow-mo that only happens in dire emergencies, and I noticed the tips of his fingers wiggling just above the surface of the water. He had silently (and I do mean, truly, without a sound) slipped off the step into 3 feet of water, with me standing less than 10 feet from him. As slow-mo continued, it felt like an absolute eternity to cover that short distance as my legs couldn’t move fast enough to get to him. And I will never forget the look on his face when I got to the pool steps and started down to grab him. It was utter helplessness…he was looking up at me with eyes wide open, panic stricken. I pulled him out of...
by Mindy Calandro | May 19, 2015 | Mommy Musings
When we arrived home from the hospital with our daughter, Miss M, I was so excited for Mr. J, our oldest son, to meet her. As I sat down on the couch, Mr. J walked over to stand next to me as I held our sleeping, new bundle of joy, and he looked at her, looked up at me, and then began wailing. I mean screaming at the top of his lungs, crocodile tears streaming down his face wailing. With all of my postpartum hormones raging, I immediately began crying as well as all I could think was, “He hates her! He thinks I don’t love him anymore!” I have to laugh a bit now even as I write about this, because my first thoughts couldn’t be farther from the truth. My first two babies born just 15 months 13 days apart are now often inseparable (give or take a few “disagreements”), and have a very special bond and relationship as one will never remember what the world was like without the other one close at hand. The second time around (or third or fourth or tenth for that matter) when you are coming home with your newborn, you will likely not have quite the worries or anxiety that might have been there the first time. After all, it’s kind of like riding a bike…changing those newborn diapers, remembering how to make the perfect baby burrito (i.e. swaddling), and the wondrous feeling of just 3 straight hours of sleep will all come rushing back to you. But what is different this time? There is a little person hugging your...
by Mindy Calandro | May 5, 2015 | Mommy Musings
Well, believe it or not, we have been celebrating poop lately in our house. Yes, I know that is a very strange statement to start off a post on TheMommyDoctor.com. But you know, actually, I bet many experienced parents out there know exactly what I am saying. When I meet with expectant parents (especially “first-timers”) during prenatal visits, I often tell them that we will talk more about poop and they will worry more about poop - schedules, consistency, color, amount, etc. - over the next several years then they could ever have imagined pre-kiddo. There typically is a little laughter that follows that statement, but all joking aside, it is 100% true. And when their new child enters the world, besides eating, sleeping, and crying, it truly is “all about that poop,” and even the most squeamish or proper parents are suddenly very interested and open about discussing this wonderful topic. “…it suffices to say that Miss M’s road to princess panties had many pit stops and setbacks along the way.” In any case, our latest “poop adventures” have involved our second child, Miss M. A little back story here…Miss M has certainly been more of a challenge than her older brother when it came to potty training. She is 3 years and 3 months, and we are just to the point of feeling pretty good about wearing those big girl panties and finally kicking the Amazon Subscribe & Save diaper habit for her. As fits with her, ahem, shall we say, rather strong-willed personality, she was going to do this whole potty training thing on her...
by Mindy Calandro | Apr 21, 2015 | Mommy Musings
I spent this past weekend with 5 of my best girlfriends from college. We have been friends for almost 16 years now, and while we rarely have the opportunity to get away to spend the weekend together, when we do, it’s like we haven’t missed a beat. The six of us that were together this weekend are all mothers, and in fact, we have 14 children between us! What I think is most amazing and wonderful though is that we are all so different in the paths that our lives have taken, yet we all want the same thing for our families. Of the group, half of us work outside of the home and half are stay at home moms. Half of us breastfed our children while the other three used formula. Several of us were prolific and committed when it came to making fresh baby food while the others were always excited (or maybe just found it convenient) to see what new Gerber food might be on the shelf during our next grocery trip. But at the end of the day, what is most important is that we all love our children to the end of the earth, and we strive to do what is best for them and our families every second of every day. We might get there by different means and methods, but that does not make one path better or more laudable than the next. And we learn from each other and support each other even though our journey through motherhood might not be exactly the same. The outside pressures placed on mothers these...
