After my daughter was born, 18 months ago, I started a list of the things nobody told me
about parenting. The idea that you will do anything to get your child to go to sleep--and
stay asleep--made its debut on the list at #1. Right behind #2: The bouncing! So much
bouncing! (and let's not even get into the rocking, swinging and jiggling.) And #3: That
a baby will make you belly laugh so hard, so much. The pace at which I add to this list
has slowed down. I don't know (yet) if there is a place filled with as many eye-popping
moments as newborn-land, but I have an inkling that there are more challenges,
confusion, hilarity... Which is why finding real parents to speak to all of it, with complete
candor, is the first goal of this site.
The problem is that when I told my friends and family about the "Why didn't you tell
me!?" list, they all said things like, "We did!" or "You just couldn't understand." They may
have had a point. So much of what life is like with children is unfathomable until you're
there. That's why meeting parents with kids the same age as your own is essential.
But, new friends are hard to make as a grown-up. That's our second goal: to connect
you to a community and to provide a place where we will hash out the issues together.
HuffPost Parents is home for anyone wondering, Now what?
Getting this job was a little scary to me. I'm leaving a place where I felt secure, and my
colleagues had become like family. When I met with Arianna to interview, she knew
something was holding me back. She asked me, "Where is your heart?" which was
possibly the most unexpected question I've ever been asked in a job interview, right
after "What's your superpower?"
"With my daughter." It was the first answer that popped into my head.
But, when I got home that day, I thought about the possibility in front of me. The chance
to report news that matters to parents. To talk to experts who can provide answers and
other mothers and fathers, ready with encouragement, advice, maybe a good margarita
recipe.
I remembered that being open to challenge and change is a requirement for everything
great. If I'd been too scared to get pregnant, yes, I'd be sleeping in on Sunday
mornings, but there would be no baby kisses when I woke up. That is a life I can't
imagine anymore.
A few hours later, I decided my heart was in this big-time. So, welcome. Pull up a
bouncy seat. Thank you for joining us at HuffPost Parents.