Category: Moms

Jenna Bush Hager: have low expectations for Mother’s Day

Post author By celebrityabout
Post date May 16, 2023

Happy belated Mother’s Day to anyone who celebrates it. I know it can be a rough day for some and I’m sorry if you fall into that category. Fortunately, it’s over now and we don’t have to talk about it for another year. Well, after today we don’t need to talk about it for another year. Jenna Bush Hager was talking to Hoda Kotb on the fourth hour of TODAY. Jenna said she had a lovely Mom’s Day this year, mostly because she got to go home, which sounds kind of funny, but I get it. It also sounded lowkey but nice, with flowers from the kids and her husband Henry Hager getting Jenna her favorite Mexican food. Jenna said that overall, she was pleased but that was because her bar is pretty low. Her logic is that because moms never know how Mother’s Day is going to go, it’s best to lower our expectations.

Jenna Bush Hager spent a special Mother’s Day with her three kids.

The TODAY with Hoda and Jenna co-host, 41, celebrated the holiday with husband Henry Hager and their three kids — son Hal, 3, and daughters Poppy Louise, 7, and Margaret “Mila” Laura, 10, as she explained on-air Monday.

Chatting about the holiday with co-host Hoda Kotb, the mom of two remarked, “You never know how Mother’s Day is going to go.”

Bush Hager agreed, adding, “You have to have low expectations, so you have low expectations and then you’re just grateful you get to enjoy it.”

For the special day, the family of five traveled home, which Bush Hager said was “really fun.”

“The kids cut me some flowers, which I thought was really sweet,” she shared. “Henry got me some Mexican food for dinner, which I love. And then Henry was like, ‘Who wants to say a toast for mommy?’”

The mom of three got varying levels of enthusiasm from her kids about the prospect.

[From People]

I love the part where Henry asked who wanted to say nice things about their mom and Jenna’s kids were like, “I’m good.” That’s such a kid response. Apparently, Poppy came through with a prayer to make up for the lack of response. That’s pretty solid thinking on her feet.

The part that’s getting to me is where moms have to lower their expectations because their families can’t be expected to celebrate them properly. Let me start by saying that I’m sure this is not a universal truth. There are plenty of stories of how families came through for their mom. Some moms only want a good book and to be left alone for ‘their’ day. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the fact that this comment would never be made about Father’s Day. The whole point of Mothers Day is to make up for all the crap Mom puts up with the rest of the year. Asking her to be the one to make the necessary adjustment to not be disappointed defeats the purpose, does it not? Sure, if a mother has really high expectations, it would behoove her to express that to her family. But most moms are just ‘expecting’ for a little forethought and genuine intent behind the affirmations distributed, be they verbal or physical. How low are we expected to go, sheesh.

Photo credit: Instagram and Cover Images

Tags Jenna Bush, moms

Meghan Trainor Moms Parenthood

Meghan Trainor on motherhood: ‘It’s the greatest thing in the whole world’

Post author By celebrityabout
Post date October 25, 2022

Meghan Trainor promoted her new album Takin’ It Back on Today. Meghan loves Today, she’s always checking in with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. That’s who she called to publicly announce her pregnancy. So they always get very gushy when they talk, especially about all things babies. And because this the first album Meghan’s written since given birth to son Riley, her pre concert interview with Hoda last week was no exception. Especially considering how much the album was heavily influenced by Meghan’s joy in motherhood. Meghan told Hoda that being a mother was “the greatest thing in the whole world.” So much so that she needs three more kids because when she looks at Riley, she just wants to make more “hims.”

Meghan Trainor is sharing how her son is inspiring new music, a healthier lifestyle and at least three future new additions (maybe!) to the family.

On Oct. 21, the Grammy-winner performed music from her new album “Takin’ It Back” for the 2022 Citi Concert Series on TODAY. Before taking the stage, Trainor shared how being mom to her 1-year-old son, Riley Sabara, has changed her both personally and professionally.

“Has it changed the way you do music, having that little guy?” TODAY co-host Hoda Kotb asked the performer.

“Yeah, everything is much more important,” Trainor responded. “Every song means more. I think of him — like, when he is 10 years old he’s going to hear these songs and I want him to be proud, you know?”

The proud mom also shared that her son is the inspiration for her new album, “Takin’ It Back.”

“(The album) means so much,” she explained. “I hope everyone just gets a chance to listen to the whole album — it’s finally out. And there’s a special song on there called ‘Super Woman’ for all my mamas — all my working mamas — too.”

Before performing on The Plaza for the 2022 Citi Concert Series on TODAY, Trainor encapsulated just how pivotal motherhood is to every aspect of her life.

“It is a dream, you know?” she said. “It’s the greatest thing in the whole world. I look at him and I go, ‘Oh, I need three more, you know? I just want more of hims.”

[From Today]

I’m thrilled that Meghan loves being a mother as much as she does. She said prior to and throughout her pregnancy that she’d always wanted to be a mother and I’m glad it exceeded her expectations. Meghan said she wants four kids in total but she’s realistic about it. She’s taking more of one-kid-at-time approach, which is a smart way to both think about it and put it out there. I liked Meghan’s reasoning, though, that she gets so overwhelmed with love for Riley that she just wants to make more of him. That’s sweet. I wanted four kids but got older so I changed my target to three. Then I just got overwhelmed period and said ‘no more’ when I was pregnant with number two. Motherhood hits differently for everyone.

Meghan’s also been doing album signings and got pranked by one of her fans who asked Meghan to give a shoutout to her “cousins.” Meghan was too jet-lagged to realize she was saying ‘hey’ to Blackpink until it was too late. At least it was pretty tame as far as pranks go.

Photo credit: Cover Images and Instagram

Tags meghan trainor, moms, parenthood

Babies Hilary Duff Moms

Hilary Duff pierced her baby’s ears: ‘Can’t wait for the internet to call me a child abuser’

Post author By celebrityabout
Post date November 10, 2021

Hilary Duff’s youngest child, Mae, is seven-months old. Hilary has two other children, Luca, nine, and Banks, three. Over the weekend, Hilary posted a photo to her Instagram Stories of Mae in cute little knit outfit staring into the camera. But the point of the photo was Mae’s new accessories: earrings. Hilary wrote on the photo that she had just pierced Mae’s ears and that she couldn’t, “wait for the internet to call me a child abuser…again.” Hilary has been through this once before with Banks, who got her ears pierced at eight months. When Hilary posted a sweet photo that showed Banks newly pierced ears, mommy-shamers came for Hilary, accusing her of mutilating her daughter and likening the act to child abuse.

Hilary Duff is ready to fend off mom shamers after getting her 7-month-old daughter’s ears pierced.

The 34-year-old actress took to her Instagram Stories on Sunday to share a photo of Mae James, the youngest of her three children who she shares with husband Matt Koma. In the picture, the baby’s new earrings were on full display.

“Yes ! I pierced her ears today. Can’t wait for the internet to call me a child abuser…again,” she wrote.

Duff was referring to the mom-shaming comments that she received in response to piercing her older daughter’s ears back in 2019 when she was 8 months old. It was a black-and-white photo posted to Duff’s Instagram account of herself with daughter Banks, now 3, as the two played around in the kitchen. Soon enough, commenters took note of the new jewels and shared their opinions.

“That’s awful, did the baby ask you to get her ears pierced? No, then why would you do it,” one person wrote.

Another said, “I can’t believe someone who seemed so screwed on pierced her babies ears, causing unnecessary pain that isn’t for medical reasons done by a fully qualified medical professional is child abuse in my eyes.”

[From Yahoo]

In 2019, several people did come to Hilary’s defense saying both that she did nothing wrong and that they had either pierced their babies’ ears or had their own pierced as babies. I actually didn’t know piercing babies’ ears was a contentious subject. I should have, everything with babies is a contentious subject. I did not pierce my kids’ ears, but it had nothing to do with whether I thought it right or wrong to do so. I’m just too lazy to keep the holes clean and the earrings were just something else for me to lose. There are many cultural ties to piercing a babies’ ears. It can also just be a preferential thing. If the parents are willing to take the care necessary, I have no opinion on the subject. To me it’s completely up to the family. I will defend the practice against the mutilation claim, though. Ear holes close up very easily and most of the time without any evidence of it ever being there.

As for how Hilary handled this, I think she probably took the best approach. She knew it was coming no matter what, so head-on was clever. Put up the post up so the dissenters can have their pile on and then everyone moves along. Plus, it takes away their power if she throws out the child abuse claim before they can. I know they will still come for Hilary, but this takes some of the bite out of their fangs.

Photo credit: Avalon Red and Instagram

Tags babies, hilary duff, moms

Kids Moms Nikki Reed Parents

Nikki Reed: I work full time, but I don’t have any professional childcare

Post author By celebrityabout
Post date September 9, 2021

Nikki Reed has almost completely dropped out of the acting spotlight to run her farm with husband Ian Somerhalder. In addition to that, she runs her own jewelry line, Bayou with Love. Her stuff is cute. Recently, she partnered with Wondercide who makes essential oil-based pest control products. She’s also a hands-on mom to her four-year-old daughter, Bodhi, and said she enlists no professional childcare at all. Nikki said there’s nothing wrong with having help, she just doesn’t want any. Fortunately, she also said her intuition has never led her astray, so obviously she’s made the right decision.

On being environmental friendly: It’s just a part of our everyday life. She sees that Mommy makes the extra effort… For example, I’m in a place right now where they don’t pick up your recycling. So most people would just combine trash and recycling and say, “I don’t care.” But my daughter knows that every other day Mommy’s gonna load up the recycling into the back of the car and we’re going to drive it to the recycling center because there’s no way I’m not going to do that stuff… I buy water in bulk, in glass, so that’s always a conversation; she knows that we don’t drink out of plastic. She knows that when we go anywhere in the car or travel or do anything, I keep all of our reusable silverware in the center console of the car. If we ever pick up take-out food, she knows that Mommy’s going to bring my own Tupperware to pick it up.

On motherly intuition: I’ve learned a lot about intuition for sure. I’ve always had really solid intuition, but I’ve learned now, since becoming a mom, that I don’t question it at all; I don’t even give it one second of overthinking. If I know something in my gut, I know it and I go with it… You just know in your gut what the right move is for your child, you know?

On finding a life balance: And so I learned to slow down in some ways. Yes, I’m still operating my company and I’m involved in every aspect of the business, from operations to the creative, to web copy, to design photography, all of it. So I’m very involved in my company, and that is totally consuming at times. And then I also sit on the board of a couple of other companies as the strategic marketing adviser and I have a couple of other jobs too. So there’s a lot happening in my world, but … the greatest gift is that I’ve learned that it’s OK to say no to people around me, but also to myself.

On not employing any help: I’m a very hands-on parent. I work full-time, but I also don’t have any professional childcare — not that there’s anything wrong with that at all; I think it’s wonderful if that’s what suits your family. But I really want to be as present as possible with my daughter. I like being there for every bath time and every meal time, so I kind of work around that. I set my alarm and I work really early, from 5 in the morning until 8:30, when she’s up, and then I take a break for her breakfast, and then I go back to work in the in-between times. She has been in preschool and stuff like that, so those are my moments of break and work. And then I work late into the evenings.

[From Yahoo!]

How? How does a person run every aspect of their own company, sit on the board of other companies, and not employ any help with their child? I’m trying to remember preschool hours, do they have full day options? I guess if Nikki’s daughter is out of the house from 9-5 she could run her business during that time. Of course, Nikki specifies she doesn’t have professional childcare, not that she doesn’t employ assistants and housekeepers. If someone else is helping tend to the house and do the shopping and run errands, that would make it doable. I mean, good for her, it just sounds exhausting. But she’s right, she needs to do what she thinks is best. And if sacrificing sleep is what she’s willing to do to forego childcare, then she’s found her system. Can we assume Ian is helping? At one point, Nikki referred to Bodhi as her “first” child. So I guess they’re still planning on more. One thing is clear, Nikki adores being Bodhi’s mom so thank goodness she’s been able to arrange her world around that.

I’m also jealous of her intuition. I don’t know if there was ever a time I didn’t question something I’d decided or done. That must be a wonderful feeling to be so sure of your choices.

This is less important, but I was really curious about Nikki’s Tupperware comments. Will take-out places let you bring your own? It seems like there would be some legalities involved. Maybe it’s places they know the owners or something, farmers tend to be a tight knit community.

*In that top photo, that’s are biodegradable straw. She’s promoting them

Photo credit: Instagram

Tags kids, moms, nikki reed, parents

Mindy Kaling Moms

Mindy Kaling on being a mom: We carry guilt about needing help

Post author By celebrityabout
Post date August 20, 2021

I really like Mindy Kaling. I love her books. Her humor is very similar to mine. She’s a rom com fan and she loves fashion. Plus, she’s a mom of two kids, Katherine, three, and Spencer, 10 months. If I was a decade younger and wildly more successful, we’d be twins. Seriously, though, Mindy is a driven and very successful businesswoman. She’s found a life balance where she writes, produces and raises her kids as a single mother. But Mindy, unlike some, acknowledges she can only strike that balance because of the incredible support she receives from her father and nanny. Mindy is partnering with TJ Maxx to launch a pen pal network to support women through the changes in their life (we’ll discuss that more below). She spoke to People about being afraid to ask for help because we feel like we should be doing it all ourselves.

Mindy Kaling is opening up about the incredible support she has received as she navigates getting back to work as the mother of two young children.

The Mindy Project actress and creator, 42, admits it “absolutely takes a village” to raise her 3-year-old daughter Katherine “Kit” Swati and 10-month-old son Spencer Avu, especially as she is back to producing and developing multiple projects.

“I wouldn’t be able to keep my full-time professional career and have two children under the age of 3 without the incredibly strong relationship I have with my nanny,” she tells PEOPLE. “Also with my dad, who comes over to the house at least twice a day to take my son out for walks and to pick up my daughter and bring her home. My village is small and I wish it was bigger.”

Kaling feels “incredibly lucky” to have the resources she needs, but admits it took her a while to get to a place where she felt comfortable asking for support.

“We carry guilt about needing help and most women in the country don’t necessarily have the same resources,” she reveals. “A lot of people are lucky because they have family who can help them, but my mom passed away in 2011, so I really didn’t have a choice.

Particularly during the pandemic, we really got to see how precious and how indefensible childcare providers are.”

The Never Have I Ever creator depends on the “feedback and advice” she receives from other moms in her life, both famous friends and those she’s had since college and childhood. She explains that it was only heightened when she welcomed Spencer amid the COVID-19 pandemic and realized how much of her support network had been stripped from her.

“If I didn’t have the advice and comradery of other women and other moms, I would not be able to do my job as a mom, as the breadwinner in my house, as a writer, as a performer,” she admits. “It’s particularly indispensable for someone like me.”

[From People]

I’m interested to see how child rearing will be affected post pandemic. I think many of us, at least in the US, were shocked by the number of women who were expected to quit their positions to take care of the children after schools closed. I probably shouldn’t say this but having my family home opened their eyes to how much I do around the house while also having a job. As a result, they volunteered to take on chores. However, to Mindy’s point, I should have asked them to help long ago. Why did I feel I had to give up my days off to laundry and housework on my own? If anything good comes from lockdown, I hope it’s the shattering of the idea that the mother is the only one who runs the household.

I’m intrigued by The Change Exchange that Mindy’s promoting. She is supposedly one of the pen pals. You can read up on it here, but in short: it’s a way to connect with women from all over who are going through the same issues/changes you are. When you sign up for the program, they match you with someone so you get the most from the relationship and the kit they provide offers writing prompts in case you get stuck. I love the idea. It looks like you choose paper or email letters, although Mindy’s video shows her video chatting with someone. Hopefully that’s a choice and not a requirement. I haven’t signed up yet, but I am seriously considering it. I could use a woman to talk to.

Photo credit: Avalon Red and Instagram

Tags mindy kaling, moms

ashley tisdale Babies Moms

Ashley Tisdale: ‘I wish someone would’ve told me how hard breastfeeding really was’

Post author By celebrityabout
Post date June 29, 2021

Ashley Tisdale gave birth to baby Jupiter Iris last March. Ashley’s been sharing both the ups and downs of becoming a mom, from making the choice to wait to start a family to being uncomfortable with pregnancy weight gain. In her latest essay for her blog frenshe, Ashely discusses breastfeeding and why she decided to switch to formula. It started when Jupiter didn’t take to breastfeeding as easily as Ashley has anticipated. However, like a lot of new moms, Ashley had no idea breastfeeding could be a difficult and painful journey for some.

I wish someone would’ve told me how hard breastfeeding really was. You see your friends who are new moms feeding their babies make it look so easy. But no one tells you how hard it really is. I think there’s this pressure around the subject of breastfeeding, and that those who do it are the best moms, but that’s not true. Our journey started on day one in the hospital when Jupiter was having trouble latching.

I probably should’ve taken that as a hint, but instead I kept on trying, even though I could tell Jupiter was frustrated. This made me upset because I just wanted to have a good experience with feeding her for the first time. Now, let’s cut to day four of me pumping milk. At this point, I was so over trying to figure out the latch and was giving her breast milk by the bottle. Thankfully, she LOVED the bottle. That was the moment I realized that maybe breastfeeding isn’t meant for us. I pumped all day, and never looked forward to pumping. I would look at the pump like it held me back from really being in the moment with Juju and enjoying my first weeks of motherhood. At that point, I turned to my husband and said “ I feel like we’re striving and not thriving with this breast milk situation.” I was determined to make it work, but all I truly cared about was Jupiter having a good experience with feeding and getting the best nutrition.

[From frenshe via Buzzfeed]

We’ve discussed how difficult breastfeeding can be. A few of you know my story. I’m an advocate for Fed is Best. I was able to breastfeed, but it was not a great experience for me. I have friends that couldn’t breastfeed, and it really affected them. I have other friends who were able to and loved every moment of it. Like every aspect of raising a child, it’s a completely unique experience for each person. I am always very happy for moms that breastfeed and love it because it is a beautiful moment between mother and child. I’m not jealous, just happy for them. But it’s important to discuss that not everyone has a good experience with it.

Ashley said no one told her how hard it can be, and I believe her, it’s rarely discussed. I had friends who struggled with it while I was pregnant, which was the first time I’d heard about it. It’s hard to bring up the negative stuff with expecting moms because you don’t want to scare them. At the same time, it helps just in case. When high profile folks like Ashley discuss these topics it helps the discussion filter down.. It sounds like Ashley figured out quickly that a bottle was her best option, but many overtired moms keep trying because the messaging says they should. Nobody wins if the baby is not getting the nutrition they need. I’m glad Ashley has found a happy feeding balance and sees that the time with her baby is just as beautiful with a bottle.

Also, Ashley did a really cute Fathers Day post for her husband Christopher French with lots of pics of him and Juju. You can see that here.