What does the way you feed your baby say about what kind of mother you think you are? A whole lot. A new study shows that when first-time moms buy anything related to feeding their babies -- whether it's breast pumps or formula -- they're basing those decisions at least partly on their image of themselves as mothers. So for most moms, it's not just about feeding your baby the best food you can. It's also about feeding your baby in a way that shows what kind of mother you are (or want to be, anyway).

So women who buy nipple shields to help them breastfeed, even when it's excruciatingly difficult, do so partly because they see themselves as "natural" moms. Moms who formula feed may buy organic formula because that helps them see themselves as nutrition-minded, and compensates for not breastfeeding. It's not just about what moms think is the best for their babies.

I have spent weeks. No days. OK, OK, weeks, combing Pinterest for the perfect idea for cupcakes for my daughter's upcoming birthday party. She wants pandas, and she's going to get pandas if I have to stay up until 3 a.m. crafting cute little black and white bear cubs until my fingers bleed.

Yes, I am one of those moms, the moms Good Morning America called out for being cakezillas who intimidate other moms with their push for perfection this week. A store-bought birthday cake just isn't good enough for my baby. 

How's this for common sense being paraded as breaking news? The Wall Street Journal has an article out this week titled, "No, Girls Are Not Natural Baby Sitters." Considering my husband babysat as a teenager, they're only 20-some years behind the curve on that one, huh? And yet, when is the last time you hired a male babysitter? Have you EVER hired a boy to stay with your kids?

Even in areas where parents tend to be pretty progressive, the number of parents who are willing to let a male come into the home to watch their kids is pretty low.

(I wrote some apologies to my kids four years ago -- I thought it was time for a followup.)

Riley,

I'm sorry I don't always have the patience to endure the near-constant barrage of pshew pshew pshew sound effects that come out of your noise-hole. I don't know what mental movie is playing so frequently in your active little brain, but I suspect it's directed by Michael Bay and gets a one-and-a-half-star rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I'm sorry if I sometimes fail to assemble my facial features into a properly stunned expression when you show me your latest Lego creation, and I'm sorry for that one time I deadpanned, "Boy, I can't WAIT to step on that thing in the dead of night" instead of marveling over your building skills, which are in fact quite impressive.

Last week, my mother-in-law died suddenly of a heart attack in her sleep on Mother's Day. There are no words for the grief and shock and pain this sent through our family as we rushed to pack all of our things and start the 10-hour drive back to my husband's hometown to be with his family and friends.

As we loaded our 6-year-old daughter and nearly 5-year-old son into the car, we had many questions about what they understood and didn't understand. Our daughter immediately cried and seemed to understand while our son reacted with more shock and some silly behavior. He didn't seem to get it.

When we arrived late the first night, the children were asleep, and as the family gathered to quietly talk, cry, and pray, we left them out of it.

So, apparently wet nurses are on the rise. For those of you unaware of what a wet nurse does, here's a quick job description: They're a person who breastfeeds your baby. Obviously, wet nurses, like anything related to breastfeeding and parenting, are controversial. And every person, depending on their experiences, varies on how they feel about them. But as for me? I could never do it.

Next week, the Boy Scouts will hold their National Annual Meeting which, like most events of its kind, is an opportunity to put pressing issues on the table for discussion. And when they do, they’ll make a decision that weighs the future of the organization against the regulations of its past: whether or not to lift an existing ban on gay members. Boy Scouts is one in a thinning crowd of holdouts still practicing this brand of exclusionism. At least on paper, other entities have stepped up to support—or, at the bare minimum, tolerate—the LGBT community. If the Scouts’ powers that be move to accept gay boys, it probably will be less because of some great sweep of sensitivity and more due to public pressure and bias-shaming (because we don’t already have enough terms that have “shaming” tacked onto the end).