Mommywise Blog
What is the best age to sleep train?
Everyone gives you a different opinion, and you’re confused about what is the best age. If you want more of an in-depth answer to help Continue Reading
Sleep Training When You Need It Most
Stuck at home with a baby who isn’t sleeping, without childcare during this global pandemic and shelter-in-place orders? Let us help you. These are extraordinary Continue Reading
Is CIO the best method?
About 4 months after her son was born, a friend reached out and asked, “Do you think CIO is the best sleep training method?” She Continue Reading
Is CIO the Best Method?
About 4 months after her son was born, a friend reached out and asked, “Do you think CIO is the best sleep training method?” She Continue Reading
Is Sleep Training Covered by FSA or HSA?
Yes! It’s a recent a thing that most people don’t yet know, but in-home sleep training programs like ours are often covered by FSA and Continue Reading
Sleep Training a 5-Month Old
I helped a family sleep train their 5-month-old baby over the past weekend. I do this all the time, but I’m sharing this with you Continue Reading
The difference between a Sleep Consultant and a Sleep Trainer
Let me guess. You’re here because you were Googling “sleep trainer” or “sleep consultant” at 3am. You saw a list of baby sleep consultants, sleep Continue Reading
Fall back: Daylight savings & baby sleep training
I won’t lie, the end of Daylight Savings (DLS) for parents kind of sucks. Babies can’t read clocks, after all, and there is no snooze Continue Reading
Good Infant Sleep Habits Are Healthy All Around
Babies sleep a lot. We know this. We also know (or, most of us do, anyway), that our babies sleep a lot because they need Continue Reading
Spring Forward!
Daylight savings sucks in the fall, but in this direction, it’s easy-peasy. You’re just moving the clocks forward, but your baby’s internal clock may lag Continue Reading
Do you love your body?
If you’re a woman, you probably have strong feelings about your body. Love or hate it, you’re acutely aware of how you felt in your Continue Reading
It’s not about the baby
A lot of you know me as a baby sleep expert. But what you might not know is that I don’t do this work to Continue Reading
Sleep Training: What if She Cries?
(The following article originally appeared in New York Family on October 27, 2014.) Natalie Nevares of Mommywise answers the common questions and worries that parents Continue Reading
True Story: What Happens When I Sleep With Families
I don’t talk about what I really do in my work, because I’m afraid I might sound smug. This year, I’m trying to try to Continue Reading
When to Sleep Train Your Baby
There are an infinite number of people who will tell you what you “should” and “shouldn’t” do to help your baby sleep, but ultimately, it’s Continue Reading
Don’t Wait Until You’re Drowning
If you’re a Type-A, perfectionist control-freak; in touch with your inner Jewish martyr mother (like me), or even if you’re a relaxed, laissez-faire, easy-going type Continue Reading
You’re Doing it All Wrong
OK so the subject sounds harsh, but I’d like to talk about this right vs. wrong and perfect mom business. Perfectionism is plaguing parenthood, and I Continue Reading
Family Travel Doesn’t Have to Suck
So the holidays are here, you’re traveling with your family, and you’re biting your nails, worrying about all the What If’s. What if the baby doesn’t sleep Continue Reading
If Mama Ain’t Happy . . . Your Family’s Temple Will Crumble
The old saying is true. Like it or not, you (mom) set the tone for your family. And your kids want you to be happy. Period. Continue Reading
Perfect Mom: An Oxymoron
If you’re anything like me, you’ve planned motherhood to fit neatly into the space between a successful career, and nestling into a home with just Continue Reading
When Crisis Forces You to Change
If you you’re feeling tension with your partner, boss, feeling anxious, confused, or stuck in any pattern that you know you need to change, you Continue Reading
Don’t Let the Breastfeeding Police Scare You!
I suspect that everyone reading this already knows that breastfeeding is best for babies; that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast milk exclusively for the first Continue Reading
Top 5 Travel Tips for Families with Babies & Toddlers
As a committed international adventure traveler, I often get asked for tips for traveling with tots in tow. You asked – here they are! 1. Continue Reading
Getting to Sleep: Why Fear of Failure is Paralyzing You
Those of you who already know me, know that I’m totally transparent and humble about my own parenting struggles. And I’m just going to tell you straight: Continue Reading
True Story: My Toddler Told Me I Was Depressed
One day, shortly after my son was born, my 2 ½ year-old-daughter asked me to smile, and launched into a heartbreaking Vaudevillian song and dance Continue Reading
The Oxygen Mask & Motherhood: Self-Care Tips for Moms
Next week, I’ll be on a plane to Mexico, and all of this air travel has me thinking about this video. Think of the Oxygen Continue Reading
Sleep Training Tips for Parents: How to Sleep More & Do Less
In this video, I share some of my tips for parents of babies and toddlers about sleep — and how to get more of it. Continue Reading
Escape Tips for Moms: How to Leave Your Kids!
I’m leaving my family to spend a week on the beach with a girlfriend. No kids, no interruptions, no cooking, care-taking, whining or guilt. You Continue Reading
Traveling With Babies & Toddlers: Top 3 Survival Tips!
Real question from a real mom: “Will it ever get easier traveling with a baby and a toddler?” Me: “Yes, in about 4 years.” I wish I were Continue Reading
Dear Bread Winners & Stay at Home Parents:
You both have jobs, but only one of you gets paid. There’s a common myth that the Bread Winner has a harder job, but it’s Continue Reading
Helping Your Baby Sleep – Can You Do Less?
You lovingly rocked and shushed and soothed your newborn, and have likely enjoyed many peaceful moments while she slept in your arms. You learned to Continue Reading
Embracing Change: The Only Solution
You’re a new parent, and you’re trying to roll with all the constant changes. One day you think you have it all under control, the Continue Reading
If You Need a Good Cry, Watch This…
I rarely watch video links, but when my favorite writer emails one to me, I open it. This TED Talk by bestselling author Sarah Kay knocked the wind out Continue Reading
What if You Hate Being a Mom?
Yesterday, I spoke with a new mom who’s having a rough time. She’s at home with her 7 month old, breastfeeding, doing all the childcare, Continue Reading
Moms on Right vs. Wrong Sleep Parenting
If you’re a parent, you probably have strong opinions about how babies and/or toddlers should sleep. You may even feel hostile about what other parents Continue Reading
Should I Tell You the Truth? Read if You Dare…
Dear Mel, I wish someone had told me that motherhood isn’t always the most joyous, beautiful, glamorous event that the media portrays. I wish someone Continue Reading
Humility, Gratitude and Optimism for 2012
Moving into 2012, I’m taking the opportunity to reflect on 2011, celebrate accomplishments and failures, to learn and grow, reconnect with my husband, and move Continue Reading
Why Keeping Up With the Joneses in NYC is a Losing Game
Have you ever looked around your new moms group, and worried that all the other moms looked happier? Compared your sugary, store-bought birthday cake with Continue Reading
Why I Abandonded My Family
Maybe you’ve never felt this, or maybe you simply can’t admit it to yourself. But have you ever looked around your home—surrounded by diapers and strollers Continue Reading
Your Kids Don’t Care About Your Stock Portfolio; They Want Happy Parents
I write and think a lot about work/family balance, and how difficult it is to find you’re groove. Whether you’re the primary caretaker, work at Continue Reading
If You Feel Like You’re Failing at Motherhood, You Are Not Alone
Seven years ago today, I became a mom. It was as humbling then as it is today. While I strive for a Utopian work-family balance, sometimes Continue Reading
Mommy-Guilt: Why is it Difficult to Tear Ourselves Away?
Dads don’t often understand mommy-guilt or why we feel it. They have no problem taking care of themselves, reading the Times, or leaving first thing Continue Reading
Moms: Have You Lost Friends Due to Your Parenting Choices?
It’s a fact: new moms judge other moms about their parenting choices. I’ve been there, I know. I’m ashamed to admit, I even lost friends Continue Reading
Should You Let Your Baby Cry it Out?
As a new parent, you will do anything to shush your baby’s tears. You feed and rock and bounce and pat and change your baby, Continue Reading
Zen and the Art of Work-Family-Self Balance
I want to live in a world where parents don’t have to choose between career or family or self; a world in which all parents Continue Reading
5 Mom Taboos Exposed + 5 Guilt-Liberation Tips!
Parenting is really, really hard. I’ve got 2 kids, 2 years apart, and I’m still humbled daily by the endlessness of parenting. Nobody told me I would Continue Reading
Happy Parents = Happy Kids
In our race to build careers, create financial security, and amass material things for our families, many of us have forgotten to strive for happiness. Continue Reading
The Similarity Between Religions & Parenting Theories
Some people ask me if I believe in any particular parenting theory, and the answer is no, I don’t. I don’t subscribe to one parenting Continue Reading
How Parenting is Like Horseback Riding
The first time I rode a horse as an adult was with my husband in Prospect Park, shortly after we met. My horse was jumpy, Continue Reading
Why Sleep Training Should Be Re-Branded
Brand managers and marketers recreate brand image by renaming products, especially if their products receive unfavorable press. Sometimes companies reinvent themselves completely by simply changing Continue Reading
The Oxygen Mask and Self-Care
We’ve probably all heard the flight attendant speech many times. You know, the speech that tells us to put our oxygen mask on first, before Continue Reading
Is Your Family Sleeping?
Increasingly, I’m hearing from more and more parents who aren’t sleeping. At all. Or if they’re sleeping, it’s a crazy musical bed situation where parents Continue Reading
A New Mom is Born!
Today I want to honor my colleague-partner-client, Sara Frohlich, who recently joined the New Mom Club with the birth of her son, Henry. Sara, this message Continue Reading
Did You Consiously Choose Parenthood?
In my former life as a luxury travel consultant, one of my favorite clients asked me to plan her 50th wedding anniversary trip. Knowing she Continue Reading
Are You a Bad Mom?
Before we have kids, I think it’s safe to say that the majority of us have NO idea what we’re getting into. As new couples, Continue Reading
Zen and the Art of Work-Family-Self Balance
I want to live in a world where parents don’t have to choose between career or family or self; a world in which all parents Continue Reading
Top 5 Tips for Childbirth with an Epidural
Some of us are simply petrified of natural childbirth, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of! An epidural can be a great thing. (Yes, I Continue Reading
Five Human Rights for a Drug-Free Hospital Birth
Due to the astronomical cost increases of medical malpractice insurance, nearly all of the birthing centers in NYC have disappeared. With the exception of the Continue Reading
New Parents: Will You Accept Help?
There’s a problem that I’ve been trying to put my finger on for some time. The status quo isn’t working for most parents, but it’s Continue Reading
Attachment Parenting or the Alternative?
If you’ve moved beyond pregnancy and childbirth books, you might begin to notice that there’s a HUGE theoretical divide amongst parenting experts about how you Continue Reading
When Life Spins Out of Control, Retreat to Mexico!
On September 25th 2009, I found myself in a very strange place. I was at home with my just-turned-one-year-old son and my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, as a Continue Reading
New Moms: Back Off and Let Dads be Dads
I’m a control freak and I know it. Many of my women friends are; we simply can’t help it. We’re so used to being in Continue Reading
If your newborn sleeps through the night…
Crazy things happen when you become a mommy. You may experience an excruciatingly painful, unconditional love that brings you to your knees. There will likely Continue Reading
What if you can’t breastfeed?
I suspect that everyone reading this already knows that breastfeeding is best for babies; that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast milk exclusively for the first Continue Reading
Why Choose Parenthood?
How many of you reading this deliberately chose parenthood? I’m not talking about that biological thing that makes you want a baby; I mean, how Continue Reading
Befriending your mama-fears
I recently attended an inspirational mini-seminar, in which the facilitator asked participants to “befriend” their deepest fears. The purpose of the exercise was to identify Continue Reading
What to believe if you’re expecting?
You’re expecting a baby, you’re reading a lot, and you’re getting confused about what to believe. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. If you Google “recommended Continue Reading
Circumcision Decision
If you’re having a boy, will he be circumcised? Have you thought about it? The U.S is the only industrialized nation that routinely circumcises boys, Continue Reading
Delivering Happiness
There’s been a lot of chatter amongst parents about New York Magazine’s recent cover story, “I love my children. I hate my life.” It was Continue Reading
Are you a “natural” woman?
By this I mean do you want an epidural or not? It’s an increasingly complex question. The majority of the pregnant women I meet today Continue Reading
Maternity and Postpartum Fashion
Maternity fashion has come a long way, but it’s got a long way to go. Thanks to the onslaught of freakishly fashionable & fit celebrity Continue Reading
Pregnancy and Fear of Medical Practitioners
I recently spoke with a woman who was 31 weeks pregnant with her second baby. Although she had no complications with her first delivery and Continue Reading
Expecting what, exactly?
Anyone reading this is probably “expecting”, an “expectant” mom, aka pregnant. She has probably read What to Expect When You’re Expecting, perhaps even has some of Continue Reading