Featured Posts

Empowered by a caesarian birth

Caesarians are not always celebrated in the Offbeat world, but they are a very real part of the labor & delivery process many women experience. Gillie's birth story teaches us that, with the right team and encouragement, a caesarian can be every bit as empowering as any other kind of birth.

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Getting it out birth stories

The story of how Princess Lasertron birthed her babytron

Meg of Princess Lasertron makes beautiful felt bouquets loved by Offbeat Brides … and this spring she gave birth to her daughter!

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DILFs

Andrew, the Sci Fi DILF

You met Andrew in Alissa's post about "Who's watching the baby?" But today you get to know Andrew in a whole different, DILFier way.

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Offbeat op-eds

Queer Parent 101

Having kids makes you come out A LOT! I cannot lie – I get sick of coming out all of the time. It's inconvenient and anxiety-producing and awkward and taps into my own internalized crap.

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Ariel's Updates

Musings on babies, blogging, and privacy

When it comes to my son and my new experience of motherhood, I'm finding myself clamp-mouthed with a brick wall around my stories.

Most Recent Posts

Photo by Mike Rowe.

When I tell people we don’t allow toy weapons in our house, I get one of those knowing looks. This look is the dreaded “you’ll see” combined with an accusation: unrealistic control freak, in the house!

The “you’ll see” is meant to tell me that while I can be keep plastic guns and knives off our living room floor with baby and toddler boys, there is no way I can do it when they are older. The accusation is that if I do achieve this, I will have those kids who spend 24 hours a day at their friend’s house, avoiding home because their mom won’t let them have the latest recreational-stabbing-simulation game or more than one can of Coke.

I am not naïve. I know my kids will be exposed to weaponry. I know kids don’t grow up to be ax murderers because they shouted en garde in pretend swordfights. But I also know the psychology behind de-sensitivity to violence and aggressive stimuli. I know that when I am at a house without toy weapons, the kids almost never choose violence as their theme of play, and when I am at a house with toy weapons, a kid inevitably pretends to shoot my six month old in the face.

Is your kid obsessed with juice? (But seriously, who isnt?) Lucky you, as Addie has a healthy and fun alternative for you to try.

I know in the past there's been some ZOMG SCANDAL around the fact that we feature DILFs, with some of our more sensitive readers being concerned over what the "F" stands for. Is it really appropriate to ogle someone else's partner? Well, what about when he's a single dad?

In general, parenthood can be quite daunting — and that's with two (or more!) parents in the house! But giving it a go on your own? It's inspiring, to say the least.

Today is single parent day on Offbeat Mama! Jessica is speaking about her experience as a stereotypical single parent, and her experience as a non-traditional single parent....

As the divorce rate keeps rising, couples are opening themselves up to the idea more and more. My parents split up when I was 16, and my only response was, "It's about time!"

What is it about Mommies and guilt? What is it about that sweet, open, tabula rasa of a face that opens the gates to the guilt hounds and releases them, yelping and baying, around my brain?