Bonnie Rochman

Mother + Child

I am not a sappy person. I have never read a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. Hallmark sentiments donât resonate with me. So when I got my hands on an advance copy of a new book entitled mothers & children, coming out March 17, I had to curb my gag reflex. Not, of course, that I have a vendetta against either group. I am a mother. I have children. But I was picturing yet another treacly ode t…

Posted 8 mon. ago.

Wake-Up Call For All of Us

Mark Graham, a medical oncologist, got lots of attention recently for ministering to N.C. state women's basketball coach Kay Yow as she battled cancer and, ultimately, lost. Yow was 66, hardly old but old enough for most Mom2Mom readers to talk themselves into a false sense of security that what happened to Yow could not â would not â happen to us. Well, it could. It did.

Posted 9 mon. ago.

Baby Body

When I was pregnant with my first child, my neighbor gave birth to her fifth. Arriving home from work one day, I noticed a blue bow in her yard. I grabbed a bottle of wine and rang the doorbell. My neighbor answered the door, still looking top-heavy. I was confused. Did she have the baby or didnât she? She had. She just hadnât pinged back to her pre-baby size instantaneously. It was a …

Posted 9 mon. ago.

Boys and Girls

Boys play with boys, and girls play with girls. At least thatâs what Iâve come to expect. But when my son entered preschool at the tender age of 20 months, he was surrounded by a sea of little women. The trend continued throughout his preschool years. Whether the XY chromosome was in short supply in 2002 or some other factor was at play, I donât know. What I do know is that my son l…

Posted 9 mon. ago.

Eight Babies!?

This week, a much-heralded set (bunch? sports team?) of octuplets made their way into this world, all eight of them delivered by Cesarean section within minutes of one another â the equivalent of one baby every 36 seconds. The team involved in delivering the babies held proud press conferences and exclaimed over how well everything had gone. The babies weighed between 1 and 3 pounds each and…

Posted 9 mon. ago.

Snow Day?! Ugh.

It's inevitable, it's natural, that as we grow up, our perspectives change.

Posted 10 mon. ago.

Inauguration Translated For Kids

Last week, a friend mentioned she was about to place a call to her childrenâs school to inquire if they would be allowed to watch Tuesdayâs presidential inauguration. Good idea, I thought. I hung up with her and immediately phoned my sonâs elementary school too. The woman answering the phone said the decision would be left to each teacher, with the caveat that any television viewing…

Posted 10 mon. ago.

New Year Reflections

New Year's Eve, regardless of how you spend it, canât help but be an anticipatory night. If youâre a big reveler, this is your night to paint the town in Technicolor hues. If you thrill to the sight of objects dropping from on high to usher in the new year, Raleighâs got your acorn and televisionâs got Times Square. Even if you donât do anything out of the ordinary to mark…

Posted 10 mon. ago.

Santa Skips This House

A few years ago, before I had children, I took part in an impromptu discussion at my synagogue about how to finesse all the holiday greetings bandied about during the month of December. Take, for example, the well-intentioned âMerry Christmas!â The obvious response is, âMerry Christmas to you, too.â Â Yet doesnât the âyou, tooâ in the return greeting imply th…

Posted 10 mon. ago.

Very Early Potty Talk

A few weeks ago, a mother I know with a baby a month older than my daughter confided to me that she was exhausted. No shocker there; babies will do that to you. But the past few days had been particularly grueling, she said; sheâd been engaged in a battle of wills â and wipes; diaper wipes, that is â with her 18-month-old. Theyâd been doing the potty training dance â one s…

Posted 11 mon. ago.

about this blog

Bonnie Rochman

Bonnie is a TriangleMom2Mom featured blogger, appearing every Monday.

She lives in Raleigh and has written for The News & Observer since 1998. She has covered political unrest in the Middle East and chronicled the experiences of entrepreneurs in Vietnam, but that was long before her new bosses -- there are three of them, one more demanding than the next -- presenting her with her most challenging assignment to date: juggling the needs and perceived wants of boy/girl preschoolers and their baby sister.

Bonnie also writes kids music reviews for TriangleMom2Mom.