Category Archives: Urban Suburban Mommy
It was just his first day of kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN! I’d worried and stressed about the right school. I’d checked out all of the local options and lost a lot of sleep trying to make the right decision.
I landed on an alternative school that was run by the public school board in our area. With its outdoor program and left-leaning values I was sure this was a perfect match.
And it was, for quite some time.
I put in time parenting my baby, nurturing, growing, daycare, school drop-offs, concerts, plays and field trips. I was class parent, student council member, made costumes and cakes and sent in treats for parties, bake sales and movie nights.
And now it’s over.
He graduated from Grade 8. My Little Bunny has reached the next level. He can roam free on his own without supervision. He makes mature, sometimes wildly inappropriate jokes. He might just be a bit smarter than me, I’m ready to admit it.
And I need to stop calling him Little Bunny. (Out loud, anyways, in my head I will NEVER stop!)
When I was pushing the boundaries of teenagerdom my mom realized she wasn’t done with having little bunnies around, and at 35 she had my sister. My parents were definitely considered “older” but having more children in your 30s wasn’t terribly uncommon in the ’80s.
As good girls did in the ’60s, my mother got married at 21 and had me – her first – at 24, with my brother following along 2 years later. By the time my parents got around to having #3, my brother and I were old enough to help with the new kid. We diapered, and fed, and babysat and helped with it all.
But that’s the thing with starting a family at 40-ish. By the time I realized that I wasn’t done with baby bunnies, my body was like “sorry sistah, that mall has closed.”
There would be no second act, no time to add one more. In your 20s and 30s it’s more often an active decision you make about whether to have more baby bunnies, but when you start pushing 50, it’s not terribly likely that you have any say in the matter. Even looking into adoption, while there is no upper age limit, the hoops can get harder to jump through. And as any 40-ish parent knows, the ‘grandparent’ comments do start. Babies at 50? I know people who have had surprises at 50+, and the ‘grandparent’ comments just don’t stop.
So what I’ve been wondering is, do we “late maternal age”-ers hold on tighter? Because we can’t extend the baby time, do we impose our emotions on our young adults? I feel like I’ve had to work extra hard to loosen the reigns and lengthen the leash and let them fly on their own. I even romanticize those days of extra bedtime stories and snuggles, looking back longingly – when, in actuality, I just wanted them to go the f#$% to bed most nights, and was exhausted beyond all reason by the time their nighttime routine was complete.
We went to his Grade 8 graduation and I loved every minute of it. I love that he didn’t want to fall in with the troops and get formalwear, because it’s just not him. I love that he rolled with it and went for me, even though he didn’t see the big deal about grade 8 graduation. I loved all of it.
What I didn’t love was accepting it all. He’s no Little Bunny, he’s a big kid. A teen. A high schooler. He’s making his own decisions and cooking up his own plans.
At 50 with children that are really starting to flex their independence, I have this constant feeling like I’ve got handfuls of sand. The more I try to hold onto them and keep all the moments and memories of sand wrapped up safe and tight, the faster the grains of sand slip through my fingers and into the past.
So onwards and upwards to high school, but I’ve decided that he may have to put up with me calling him Little Bunny just a little longer.
I don’t remember who gave me DBB (Dr. Bunny Bear), I just remember that this particular blue plush bear with long ears was a baby shower gift and that he was discovered by my eldest son at a very young age.
DBB instantly became his suffie, his lovie, his constant companion.
The attachment to stuffies and lovies is intense – and we know it because we had our own. I had Tina. She was a Rushton Co. doll with a yellow snowsuit, plastic hands and a face to match. My grandmother bought her for me and, for about a decade, I couldn’t sleep without her. My cousin had one which I secretly (or maybe not-so-secretly) named Tanya, and when my cousin gave Tanya to me my night-time routine was complete. They were twins and I couldn’t sleep without them – one safely tucked under each arm like some mini-mama with her twins.
When my son glommed onto DBB I knew the love he felt. I identified with it and was happy he’d found his guy. My younger son discovered Russ – a red tabby stuffie that my husband had bought me many years prior when we first started dating.
The lovies were part of our family. When one went missing it inspired panic. When the boys were sick, the lovies helped them feel better. When the boys were sad, the lovies were their confidantes.
Lovies and stuffies become important members of the family for years, and then one day – just like Puff The Magic Dragon lamented “Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys.”
It broke my heart when I’d come to say goodnight and DBB was on the floor. I’d go to tuck him in and my son would say thanks – as if sleeping with DBB were just an afterthought of mine.
Then DBB showed up in the stuffie bin.
Now that was cold. Heartless.
Who was this not-so-little boy and why was he relegating his bestest friend to the stuffie bin? It was morning when I discovered the banishment and thought maybe his dad did it purposely, wanting his manchild to stop sleeping with stuffies. In my mind my husband was to blame. He wanted to make a man out of my baby and he was rushing things. I was fuming.
(He’s 12, hubby isn’t rushing a thing. The kid is almost taller than me and I’m 5’9″.)
But just as quickly, I realized I was in denial. I was hurt on DBB’s behalf – indignant in fact. Why would DBB be treated this way and how could we break DBB’s little heart??!!
And then I realized whose heart was breaking. DBB is a stuffie, he will be okay, but this mom-heart – it’s much more delicate.
Trying to hold onto their littleness is like trying to hold onto a handful of dry sand – and just when you’re getting good at having a little boy, the big boy shoves him right out of the sandbox.
Poor Puff.
Poor me.
Poor DBB.
It’s not so easy to accept they’re getting big. It’s hard loosening the reigns and letting them grow up. Day by day it happens and it becomes so tricky to navigate. I know I should be happy to see the efforts I put in paying off in maturity and growth, but it’s hard not to try to hold on… and then my hubby reminds me about Norman Bates, and I dust DBB off and stand there, the internal struggle between returning DBB to the stuffie bin or back to his place of honour in my son’s bed I realize what I have to do. Yes, I put DBB right back in that bed! He will end up in the stuffie bin soon enough, but not today. Nope. One day soon, but just not yet.
Nah, if you haven’t committed a crime by now, then you’re definitely at an age where that mug shot ain’t gonna be pretty, so don’t bother to start. I want to get booked in a more literal, sit-down-and-read-a-book-without-interruption kind of way..
I used to read voraciously. I ripped through a book or two a week. If it was any good, I’d already read it.
And then I had kids.
It was like my brains melted and my free time was vacuumed out at source. If it was longer than a blog post – more truthfully an Instagram post – I didn’t have the time or brain cells to read it.
But now that the kids don’t need me *every* second of the day, I have some time to read. Only thing is, I don’t know what to read. Nobody I know reads at the moment. We’re all looking at each other, like “I know I used to like this, but where do I start?”
Solution time!
UrbanSuburbanMommy.com hooked up with Indigo to feature their book club selects! I’ve always been a fan of Heather’s Picks (Indigo CEO and Chief Booklover Heather Reisman knows her stuff!), and over the years I’ve learned which employee picks to follow. I’ve decided to forego trying to catch up on the last decade of literature and just jump in!
Here are Indigo’s July book club picks (Oh the irony of pick #3! Mom-approved)
Heather’s Book Club
Heather’s pick is Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan.
It’s a historical novel based on the improbable love story of writers Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis.
For more information on Heather’s Book Club, click here.
Cookbook Club
The July Cookbook Club pick is Vegetables First by Ricardo Larrivee, a vibrant celebration of the tastes, textures, colours and possibilities that vegetables have to offer.
Visit indigo.ca/cookbook-club each month for some free recipes.
Cookbook Club is a cool concept and fits perfectly in the social media-sphere. Indigo wants to encourage people to try out dishes from the Cookbook Club pick, and then share them at a potluck – or share them on social media – now that I CAN do!
Post pics with the hashtags #contest and #CookWithIndigo, page number for a chance to win the next month’s cookbook!
BFF Book Club
The July BFF Book Club pick is More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth. In this part-manifesto, part-memoir, the revolutionary editor who infused social consciousness into the pages of Teen Vogue explores what it means to come into your own—on your own terms.
The coolest part? The BFF Bookclub is partnered with Bumble – a women directed social platform. Indigo offers discounts on the bookclub book if you’re registered. Bumble BFF members can access discussion starters for bookclub meetings. And in true bookclub style, there are bookclub special events which members may find themselves invited to – how’s that for a bookclub experience and the perfect Mom’s Night Out!
For more information on the Indigo x Bumble BFF Book Club, click here.
Would love to hear your picks, let us know!
I don’t know when it happened. They were just so small. I was buying strollers and navigating solid foods and trying to decide which schools and which daycares – and now they’re 8 and 10 9 and 11. Wow, it’s been a year since I’ve tried to put these thoughts into words.
What a difference a year makes. Every year is an entire lifetime. And now they’re not just little kids. Both boys are around 5’4″ and they’d weigh in as welterweights – they’re big little big boys!
But they’re still 11 and 9. They have nightmares and want to climb in bed for a snuggle. One is more brave while the other is still apprehensive about doing things alone and I still have a hard time letting them run free and untethering the leash and having them out of my eyesight. I’ve been eagle-eye for a decade and I just can’t stop myself!
They’re so big and tough – until they get a boo-boo, and then they want mommy.
So when is too old? Is 9 and 11 too old? I don’t want it to be too old!
My husband and I were on the same page up until now. I still love the middle-of-the-night snuggles – he thinks it’s high time we get to have a decent night’s sleep. I can’t fathom sending them back to bed alone – yet he doesn’t see it.
Dad thinks they can be left alone at home, I stress and have a “no eating” rule when I leave for any length of time because I’m sure they’ll choke and the house will melt and the kids will be beamed up by aliens. And the dog… oh the dog…
Double digits is a weird time of life. The 11 year old definitely shows signs of puberty. That squeaky voice is dropping, his sillies are getting silly on a more mature level, he’s starting to talk about the future in terms of his own interestst that go beyond “I want to dwive a po-lice car and a choo choo twain when I grow up” to what he likes about math and where he wants to go to university. When did this start??
The little one isn’t far behind. They’ve got chores and responsibilities, but how many chores and what kind of responsibilities are appropriate?
And now I wonder – there are 50 million baby books out there. Babies are easy. The doctor and every mom group on the planet can tell you when to starts solids and what the safest car seat is, but where is the help when you need to let your kid take the bus alone or when they start asking questions like “Why do people do sex when they don’t want to make a baby.”
I’m not sure I’m ready for this age – but I’ll let you know how it works out!
When someone I love dearly came to me recently and told me she had the big C, I lost it.
She was actually quite calm and poised and matter of fact. She understood what was wrong and understood what the next steps would be. I, however, was a full-on mess and she apologized for upsetting me.
Of all the things that were troubling her, the one she was really aggravated about was the fact that she’d probably lose her eyebrows while undergoing chemo.
Now, you’d think she’d have bigger fish to fry than worrying about her eyebrows. But when you think about it, that’s a pretty significant issue. We all hear about hair loss, but hats are in style and the wigs out there are nicer than natural hair, so that’s easy. But a face really does look odd without eyebrows, and she was really bothered by it.
So I asked her why she didn’t just go ahead and get microblading.
“Micro-whaaaaaat?” was her answer.
Apparently, not everyone is aware of micro-blading. And while it’s actually quite a cool cosmetic procedure for those that want the perfect arch and tail, for someone undergoing chemo, it’s a minor procedure that brings a modicum of normalcy back to a situation which is anything but normal. Both men and women can do microblading.
Part of cosmetic tattooing, microblading is essentially much like tattooing, giving long lasting – but not permanent – results. The shape is outlined, the colour is chosen, and fine, hair-like lines are inked in, creating the shape, fullness and brow style you desire. This is done with a pin-like instrument and not an ordinary tattoo gun, though there is a specialized machine that is used for micropigmentation, which is more of a permanent procedure.
The first thing to note is that, like a tattoo, microblading needs 7 to 14 days to heal. When you’re about to start chemotherapy, this is an important detail. It has to be done at least a week ahead of the start of chemo so that the healing can be complete by about day 7, before the body’s white blood cell count starts to drop. Otherwise it will interfere with the healing, and that is not a complication that anyone undergoing chemo needs.
Some microbladers won’t perform the work without clearance from the oncologist.
But my friend had the all-clear. She had 12 days until the start of chemo and was ready for brows.
We checked with several shops. There is a wide range when it comes to microblading. But what it comes down to is, it’s very important to go to an experienced microblader with the credentials to prove it. Plus, a referral from someone with nice brows goes a long way!
We looked through a number of them, even got some recommendations on Facebook (which was nice, because then we got to look through people’s profile pics, heavily judging their brows).
I’d interviewed the owners of The Good Geisha, a shop in Toronto, a few years ago, and I liked them. It’s not a salon, it’s got the aesthetic and swagger of a tattoo shop – it’s where the cool girls go.
I knew The Good Geisha was the only place for my friend’s brows to happen.
And so it did.
Owners of The Good Geisha: Amber Gotzmeister (l), and Anna Chow (r)
Owners Amber Gotzmeister, who holds the designation of CIDESCO in medical esthetics, and Anna Chow, a trained and expert cosmetic tattoo artist, took care of her. She left quite satisfied with the results.
As time passed and treatment got underway, my friend lost her hair – brows included. But her eyebrows still look great.
One thing to note about microblading – it’s often done in 2 sittings: The first is pretty comprehensive, and then the second sitting is to fill in anything that may be missed. But with chemo patients, often treatment has to start quickly, and though there may be enough time for the first sitting, often the second sitting can’t be done. Going to a professional who understands this specific situation will help the outcome.
It’s also extra important to seek out someone with a great personal referral, lots of experience and a great portfolio because, as you lose brow hair, the technique and quality of microblading will be more prominent. Good technique is key to natural looking brows.
Microblading lasts anywhere from 18 to 24 months, long after treatment is complete. My friend will be going through the ringer, with many more months of chemo, treatment, poking, prodding – and major surgery. But at least we were able to fix one single, small issue on the long list.
And it’s made a difference.
But is the start of school bliss? Or is it bittersweet?
Ah yes, the fond/painful memories of drop-offs and pick-ups, the struggle of coming up with lunch ideas the kids will eat – and the expensive lunchware to send it in. The school supplies, the long pants, the battle-cry of homework challengs and the indoor/outdoor shoes – is it all rushing back in one shot?
This is the first time in 16 years that I’ve spent a summer not working (aside from mat leave, which really doesn’t count – it’s a haze of new motherhood that I can barely remember). Most years I didn’t feel the summer/back-to-school shift as significantly as I do this year. My boys were always in daycare through the summer, so the routine didn’t change much and the hours didn’t change at all.
But this year is different. There are two types of moms in this world: The ones who are grateful for the return to school and the ones who are sad to see September come. I can’t decide which team I’m on.
It’s a serious “You know I love my children, but…” moment. So many moms feeling they survived another summer, glad to have made it to the first-day-of-school finish line. Truth is, it’s not easy to look after your own kids 24/7, having to decide the programming, the meals, the outings, the playdates, the structure and unstructure of two hot months of summer.
It really isn’t easy.
Kids like routine, and the freedom that summer brings is a bit overwhelming. Some weekends are more than I can handle, so doing it for weeks and months at a time?
Exhausting is a word that comes to mind.
And then there are the other mothers – those sad to see it end. Maybe their kids are easy, or maybe it’s that the dynamic works for those moms. They genuinely look forward to the two intense months of summer fundom. Maybe they’re better planners? Maybe they just groove more smoothly, roll with the punches more elegantly or are able to tune out the whine of a kid who has too many toys yet still can’t find anything to do.
Maybe it’s magic. Who knows.
I don’t mention this as yet another form of mom-shaming. Quite the opposite, actually. I mention it because the mom I aspire to be and the mom I am are not quite the same thing, and I’m okay with it. There’s nothing wrong with having survived a summer and happily sending your child off to school, and there’s nothing wrong with lamenting the end of family fundays either.
In this, my one summer of stay-at-home-momness, I enrolled my boys into 6 weeks of summer camp, however, I let them stay home two or three days a week. I let them sleep in and go late. I picked them up early. Some days we had fun and some days they had fun without me. It took the pressure off of having to plan and program, and added balance to my time with them – and their time with me!
Apparently it’s not easy on the kids to be with their parents 24/7 either.
So I lament a little. I have put off buying that second pair of “indoor” shoes, and won’t pull the backpacks and lunch boxes out of summer storage until Labour Day weekend. I’m hearing the rumblings of back-to-school, and as it approaches, I’m trying to figure out which team I’m on.
Well, what about mom? What do we want? You know what we want – we all want the same thing. So don’t read this gift guide for yourself, share this gift guide with the Urban Suburban Daddies, the Urban Suburban Uncles, The Urban Suburban Girlfriends, Boyfriends, Fiancés and Friends.
This is what just about any mom wants for the holidays:
A retreat.
She stays up too late sewing the costumes for class plays the night before. She runs around looking for shirts that don’t itch. She knows where every favourite toy and stuffie is at all times. She needs a break. A weekend with no responsibility. A morning with no alarm clocks. A night with no bedtime fights. A meal with no interruptions. With spouse? With friends? Let her pick.
A clean house.
We all know that housework should be shared. It’s not mom’s domain. But we all know who gets it done. Give her a few weeks off with housekeeping services. Seriously, the cost of making mom happy, giving her back some free time and putting a smile on her face is a fraction of what marriage counselling costs per month. Don’t argue about whose turn it is to vacuum, pay for the privilege and get it done.
Deep relaxation.
Mom’s got a busy life and she puts everyone else first. Everyone is served and eating before she finishes and sits down. She got the lunches made and the kids dressed for school, and threw her hair in a messy bun (thank goodness they’re in style!), forgoing a shower and blow-dry. She totally needs a day at the spa. Go for one of the good ones with water therapies and fancy tea stations, and book her a massage. A deep tissue massage. And DON’T request a female masseuse – unless you think that’s HER preference. Hold it together and let her have an afternoon off. She’s coming home to you all refreshed and relaxed up.
Some free time.
She talks about how much she misses yoga classes. She used to belong to a book club. She’s stopped going to the mall and orders all her clothing online. Face it, she loves her family, but families require endless amounts of mom’s time. Give her the gift of a few reliable hours a week that are hers and hers alone, to regain that favourite activity. Getting the kids to activities, feeding them dinner, doing the bedtime routine – it’s a big job, but you can do it without her a few hours a week!
Wine.
Mom needs wine. A spare bottle of something just a bit nicer than she’d usually buy herself. You know what? Make it 2.
What you need:
Crust:
– 2 cups graham cracker, ground
– 1/2 cup sugar
– 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
– 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
– 2 cups canned pumpkin
– 1 cup cream cheese, softened
– 1/2 cup cool whip topping
– 1/2 cup condensed milk
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
Topping:
– 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
– 2 cups cool whip topping
– 1/2 cup powder sugar
– 1 cup butterscotch chips
– 1/2 cup salted pretzels, chopped
What you do:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Crust:
Mix all the ingredients for the crust in a bowl to combine well.
Grease an 8×8 baking dish and press the crust ingredients onto the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 5 minutes and then allow to cool.
Filling:
In a blender, whip all the filling ingredients together and pour onto crust. Freeze for 2 hours to set.
Topping:
In another blender, whip cream cheese, cool whip, and powdered sugar.
Finishing up:
Spread topping onto the top of set pumpkin. Sprinkle with butterscotch chips and pretzel. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Enjoy!
Adrianne Calvo is the Executive Chef and owner of Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar, Host of Maximum Flavor Live on NBC’s 6 in the Mix, author of four cookbooks: Maximum Flavor (2005); Chef Adrianne: Driven by Flavor Fueled by Fire (2008); #MaximumFlavorSocial (2014); and Play with Fire (2015), and founder of the Make it Count Foundation. Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar opened in 2007 and offers a varied and rotating menu with something for everyone. Monthly, the restaurant holds its signature event, Dark Dining, where guests are blindfolded for a sensual experience eliminating one sense in order to enhance another, providing maximum flavor.
Once 30, those that have coupled up and condo’d up are being asked when the wedding will be – how they’re going to fit a baby into their one-bedroom hip city condo. Those that are single at 30 are now feeling the pressure from friends, family and society to just find that perfect partner. Mr. Right, Mrs. Right, just couple up – you don’t want to miss out.
Those that make it childless to their late 30s are now pitied. “There’s still time” people will offer, trying to be nice, working out the timeline: Find a partner, 18 months you’ll get married, another year and you’ll have a baby, you might actually be able to fit in a second if you find one right away!” And then you hit 40 and people start telling you there’s still time. You can do this on your own. Fertility clinics, IVF, IUI, frozen embryos.
It’s too bad society can’t stop challenging people to become parents at the perfect age.
I finally figured out the perfect age – there isn’t one.
I went through it myself and I hated when people would give me their opinion. I didn’t want kids young – I wasn’t ready to settle down. I was 29 and recall a friend offering to set me up with a guy who “Wasn’t that bad.” It felt like, at 29, I’d already missed out on top tier potential partners but could still pick one out in the scratch-n-dent partner section.
At 32, I started dating my hubby. The first time my father met him, he asked him when we were getting married. Before hubby could stop choking on his tongue, my father said “Don’t worry about getting married, just have babies.” Although we joke about that one to this day, it was clear that I was falling behind on the schedule of life.
When I got my BFP at 36, my doctor responded with the term “Late Maternal Age.” Like that’s the new “congratulations” of the late 30’s crowd.
Fergoodnessakes.
My friend had her first a few weeks before she turned 40. Her Facebook announcement of her pregnancy was “We’re so excited to let everyone know we’re getting #1 in before 40! Due in April!” Like 40 is a deadline. Like 39 is somehow magically much younger than 40 – but a few months more will change EVERYTHING.
Late maternal age worked out well for me. It’s true, there are concerns that come along with age – egg health, physical health. But it comes with benefits – life experience, stability and that wisdom they say comes with age. Maybe.
Is parenting at 40 the perfect age? It’s not for everyone, but it’s worked out well for me.
State of joy! State of exhaustion! State of emergency!
All those states come into play. But recently, WalletHub undertook a pretty cool study to see which American states are the best – and the worst – for having a baby.
Having a baby is expensive. Of course, no price tag can be put on the happiness and lifelong joy of having a family, but a price tag sure can be put on the actual expenses incurred in having said baby.
Between the front-end investments like the stroller, the nursery, the car seat and the rest of the gear, plus the daily expenses of diapers, clothes, food, shampoos, lotions, colic potions, teething toys (I’m looking at you, Sophie!) and the cute-but-expensive must-haves from diaper bags to baby-wipe warmers, the bill for baby can really bust a budget!
But let’s not forget the hospital bills…
According to the International Federation of Health Plans, Americans pay the highest birthing costs in the world, with the price tag of normal delivery averaging $10,808.
Oh, you can’t have that all-natural vaginal delivery you were expecting? A C-section goes up by another $5,298. Without maternity health coverage, including Medicaid, you can expect those prices to double or even triple.
Birthing costs, however, can vary significantly from state to state, you know, the huge differences in cost of living. They also differ from one pregnancy to another, given that some women experience delivery complications that could bump up the bill.
But there’s quality of health care service to consider as well, and no two maternity wards are created equal.
To determine the most ideal places in the U.S. to have a baby, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 20 key measures of cost, health care accessibility, as well as baby- and family-friendliness. The data ranges from hospital conventional-delivery charges to annual average infant-care costs to pediatricians per capita.
Top 10 & Bottom 10:
| Best States to Have a Baby | Worst States to Have a Baby | ||||
| 1 | Vermont | 42 | Arkansas | ||
| 2 | Minnesota | 43 | New Mexico | ||
| 3 | New Hampshire | 44 | Georgia | ||
| 4 | Connecticut | 45 | Florida | ||
| 5 | North Dakota | 46 | South Carolina | ||
| 6 | Massachusetts | 47 | Alabama | ||
| 7 | Maine | 48 | West Virginia | ||
| 8 | Utah | 49 | Nevada | ||
| 9 | Iowa | 50 | Louisiana | ||
| 10 | Nebraska | 51 | Mississippi | ||
Best vs. Worst
- Mississippi has the lowest average annual cost for early child care, $3,034, which is 4.9 times lower than in the District of Columbia, registering the highest at $14,855.
- Wyoming has the most center-based child-care centers (per 100,000 residents), 125, which is 12.5 times more than in Indiana, registering the fewest at 10.
- Alaska has the lowest share of childbirths with low birth weight, 5.79 percent, which is two times lower than in Mississippi, registering the highest at 11.43 percent.
- Vermont has the most obstetricians and gynecologists (per 100,000 residents), 22, which is 11 times more than in Oklahoma, registering the fewest at two.
- The District of Columbia has the most pediatricians (per 100,000 residents), 53, which is 26.5 times more than in Idaho, registering the fewest at two.
- California has the highest parental-leave policy score, 155, while 12 states, such as Arizona, Michigan and South Carolina, tied for the lowest at 0.
Wishing you a happy, healthy nine months, and full coverage for the cost! For the full analysis, visit WalletHub and read the entire report, review the methodology and find ways to start saving up!
*In order to determine the best and worst states to have a baby, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across four key dimensions: 1) Cost, 2) Health Care, 3) Baby-Friendliness and 4) Family-Friendliness.
WalletHub evaluated those dimensions using 20 relevant metrics, and devised their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for expectant parents and newborns.
Finally, WalletHub determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
Please visit WalletHub for the full analysis here