A lifestyle site featuring stories of stepparenting, adoption, foster care, surrogacy, single parenti
“Honestly, I had more disposable income in my single parent days than I do currently in my married-with-two-kids-in-daycare-and-a-mortgage phase.” Today on Raise, mom of three Halley Dean shares her essay, Four Things I Loved About Being A Single Mom.
https://raisemagazine.com/four-things-i-loved-about-being-a-single-mom/
What Do You Call Your Child’s Birth Mom? From Belly Mommy to Auntie, adoptees and adoptive moms share the names their families use, today on Raise.
https://raisemagazine.com/what-do-you-call-your-childs-birth-mom/
"I kind of chartered my own course with him because we wanted to keep this quiet and so I wanted to be very careful about telling him so he wasn’t burdened with a secret. On the other hand, I wanted him to have time to adjust to the idea of sharing his mama and his papa." - Sarah Jessica Parker on sharing the surrogacy process with her 7-year-old son, James
How we avoided battles over clothing during the 12 years we shared custody.
https://raisemagazine.com/how-to-avoid-battles-over-clothing-five-tips-for-co-parents/
Adopting a child from a different state often requires at least one parent to remain in the baby’s birth state for an extended period of time. Today on Raise, we’re sharing Seven Ways To Support a Family During Adoption.
https://raisemagazine.com/seven-ways-to-support-a-family-during-adoption/
"After having my first son I felt very warned and prepared for the potential of postpartum depression, but no one every explained to me that it can often present as anxiety or OCD. I came home from the hospital after a traumatic delivery and found myself up vacuuming the house at 2:00 AM the next morning. I began worrying about things that I had never even thought about before, and becoming hyper focused on irrational fears and threats.
After a few weeks I began worrying about these symptoms, but as time continued to pass I felt the anxiety and OCD tendencies going away and my rational thought returning. I began sleeping more and seeing the world through a clearer and more accurate lens, again. I finally realized that some of the unhealthy emotions that I was laboring through were symptoms of my postpartum journey." - Raise co-founder, Erin Jackson, on postpartum anxiety
Ten Recipes To Make For Easter Brunch, today on Raise.
https://raisemagazine.com/ten-recipes-to-make-for-easter-brunch/
"I never wanted kids. Then I became a stepmom, and there was no place I'd rather be than with them." -Gabrielle Union
Planning A Visit to New York City With Kids. Today on Raise, we’re sharing our favorite places to stay, eat, and explore in the city.
https://raisemagazine.com/visit-new-york-city-with-kids/
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PairTreeFamily.com is on a mission to modernize the adoption process. The digital platform offers self-matching: allowing expectant parents to search for adoptive family profiles based on personality type. PairTree also offers an online home study process, profile template, and network of adoption professionals by state. If you’re looking to start the adoption process, we highly recommend PairTree.
https://raisemagazine.com/how-to-start-your-adoption-process-with-pairtree/
"Divorce is difficult, but Craig, Glennon and I make a choice every day. We make sure that the kids' lives are disrupted as little as possible. Craig gave me the biggest gift in allowing me into the family dynamic. He gave the kids permission to love me." - Abby Wambach on marriage and step-parenting with Glennon Doyle
12 Easter Gift Ideas For Kids That Aren't Candy, today on Raise.
https://raisemagazine.com/12-easter-gift-ideas-for-kids-that-arent-candy/
How To Visit Zion National Park With Kids. Today on Raise, we’re sharing where to stay, hike, eat, and our favorite mode of transportation for getting inside the park.
https://raisemagazine.com/how-to-visit-zion-national-park-with-kids/
A recipe for your pickiest little eater.
https://raisemagazine.com/these-chocolate-chip-muffins-are-better-than-cupcakes/
Bonding With Your Adopted Child May Take Extra Time, Today on Raise. “Like every other aspect of parenting, bonding is part of the journey, and we don’t all get there at the same time.”
https://raisemagazine.com/bonding-with-your-adopted-child-may-take-extra-time/
“I just don’t feel I need a partner. Do I want one? Maybe. But I don’t feel unhappy or lonely,” Jones said. “It would have to be someone so amazing that I would want to make room. Someone who would contribute to my happiness and not take away from it." -- January Jones
Eight Dairy-free Foods Your Kids Will Love.
https://raisemagazine.com/eight-dairy-free-foods-your-kids-will-love/
Disney World Upgrades That Are Worth The Money, today on Raise. Four things you should splurge on and two you should skip.
https://raisemagazine.com/disney-world-upgrades-worth-the-money/
“Seventy percent of my closet makes me feel sick to my stomach. I know I’m not the only one. Most people feel disgusted because they have outgrown their clothes, constantly strategizing how to fit into their skinny jeans again.
I still fit into my skinny jeans. And I hate it.”
https://raisemagazine.com/infertility-trauma-the-surprising-thing-that-triggers-me/
“One of the keys to my relationship with Cole and Ella is their mom. We are friends. We have a very modern family. It happened naturally. The thing about blended families — if everyone approaches it in the way that there's plenty of love to share, then it works." -- Vice President Kamala Harris
Children have a unique relationship with each of their parents, whether they have a mom and a dad, two dads, or multiple parental figures. Each parent has a different role, even in nuclear families, and I think that’s key to forming a healthy stepparent relationship. You’re not here to replace anyone. Carve out your own space.
“There is a gaping hole when it comes to resources for adoptive parents. Very few people talk about the complexities of parenting an adopted child.” Today on Raise, co-founder Jessica Butler shares her call to action: Adoptive Parents Need To Offer More Advice.
https://raisemagazine.com/adoptive-parents-need-to-offer-more-advice/
In 2007, I got married, updated my Facebook profile, created a new Gmail address, and legally changed my name.
Fifteen years later, I’m still not used to it.
https://raisemagazine.com/changing-your-name-after-marriage-four-things-to-know/
This Sparkling Kumquat Gin Cocktail Is Our New Favorite Drink.
https://raisemagazine.com/sparkling-kumquat-gin-cocktail-recipe/
The first step to understanding adoption and all forms of non-traditional motherhood is this: Pregnancy and parenting are two separate experiences. Pregnancy does not intrinsically lead to the ability or desire to parent. Nor is pregnancy necessary to a person’s ability or desire to parent.
"In the beginning, when I first met my husband, then-boyfriend, I was like, 'This is never gonna last because you got four kids! How's this gonna work?' But then I met the kids and honestly was like, Wow, kids are amazing. They've grounded me." -- Eve
How To Stay Stress-Free In The Airport With Kids.
https://raisemagazine.com/how-to-stay-stress-free-in-the-airport-with-kids/
This Is What It's Like To Marry Someone With Kids, today on Raise. Co-founder Jessica Butler answers your FAQs about becoming a stepparent.
https://raisemagazine.com/this-is-what-its-like-to-marry-someone-with-kids/
Jamie Lee Curtis on National Adoption Day.
Click to purchase her children's book aimed at celebrating and explaining and adoptive family's experience, Tell Me Again About The Night I Was Born.
https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Again-About-Night-Born/dp/0064435814
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A lifestyle site for modern mothers, featuring stories of stepparenting, adoption, foster care, surrogacy, and non-traditional families.
Jessica Butler is the creator of Raise Magazine, stepmother of two, and adoptive mother of one. Prior to Raise, she was a writer on USA’s In Plain Sight and TNT’s The Last Ship. She and her husband, writer/producer Warren Bell, co-created the Nick at Nite series Instant Mom, based on her life as a stepmother. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and five-year-old son, Levon.
Your family is untraditional, to say the least.
Yes. I’m 37, my husband is 56. My mother is 59. I’m closer in age to my stepsons than I am to my husband. And my extended family includes my youngest son’s birth grandparents.
Before creating Raise, you sold a TV show based on your experiences as a stepmother.
My stepsons were nine and 13 when I married my husband, and six months later my 19-year-old sister moved in with us, so in the show we have three children. And we’re black.
The pilot was my first effort to create a public forum for stepmothers. There is no What To Expect When You’re Expecting Stepchildren. Celebrating stepmothers is seen by some as disrespectful to a child’s primary mother, but I disagree. My love for my stepsons is in addition to -- not in place of or in competition with -- their mother’s love.
In 2014, you adopted your son, Levon, and recently bought a second home in Arizona, near his birth grandparents.
We’ll buy a house next to anyone who promises free babysitting.
Los Angeles is our primary home, but we visit Tucson often and spend vacations and holidays there.
You’re an advocate of open adoption, meaning you support adoptive families having contact with birth families.
Yes. However, some birth families don’t wish to have contact, and that should be honored. But I believe adoptive parents should provide children with as much connection to their birth families as possible.
Adoption should never be kept secret from a child. It should be a familiar word and concept, explained in age appropriate terms.
How is Raise different from other mommy blogs?
Motherhood is evolving, but the dialogue is not. Mainstream media is still created with traditional, biological mothers in mind. Raise is devoted to non-traditional motherhood; stories of stepparenting, adoption, foster care, surrogacy, raising relatives, and even non-family members. One out of every 10 children in America lives with a non-biological parent.*
One in 10.
And that statistic is low. The census does not account for children being raised by foster parents, non-family members, or relatives other than grandparents.
The name Raise obviously refers to raising children, but it’s also a call to raise the conversation. My goal is to create the resource and the community I wish I had when I was new to stepparenting and adoption.
*According to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, 4.6 million children under the age of 18 live with a stepparent. 1.5 million children are adopted, and 3.6 million are being raised by a grandparent.
