March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. In honor of this worldwide effort to raise awareness about endometriosis, I’d like to use this space this week to share a handful of facts we should all know about this incurable, chronic (and painful) reproductive system disorder. For those of you not sure what endometriosis is, let’s turn to our friends at the Mayo
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A few hours ago I walked into an empty, silent house—quite a change from the morning I’d just spent volunteering in my son’s class for its 100th Day of School celebration. I sat on the bottom step of our staircase and took a few deep breaths to decompress from the chaos (but adorableness!) of my day so far. In. Out.
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The words slipped out of my mouth before I had a chance to think about what I was saying. My son and I had just walked in the door after an early pick-up from school due to him puking all over his shoes during center time. Since we both had vomit on our clothes in some capacity—him from doing the
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Oh hello there, 2016. I didn’t expect to see you so soon. If you’re like me, you’re probably still trying to wrap your head around the fact that we just finished out another year. I keep thinking “2016? As in 16 years after all that Y2K hubbub that I still remember so clearly? How did I get here?” If I’m
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I’m currently working through what (I hope) are the final days of a nasty case of bronchitis. I spent five of the last seven days with a seal-like cough, a dull headache, and a fever hovering right around 102, Tylenol be damned. Save a case of the flu and a brief but memorable visit from the Norovirus last year, this
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I will never forget my son’s first Thanksgiving—not because it was his first holiday, and not because it was the first time most of my extended family met him. It was because I closed out that particular Turkey Day with a 103-degree fever that almost landed me in the emergency room. I spent the next two days in bed with
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Life is tricky sometimes, and I feel like its even trickier when you’re a mom. Most days it’s like I’m running at a million miles an hour, thinking about everything and everyone other than myself. But sometimes things stop us in our tracks and remind us that we need to be a priority, too. Last February, I received my first
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I have depression—moderate depression with a side of crippling anxiety, if you want to get specific. I was first diagnosed when I was 23, although I suspect it began much earlier than that. It was only after experiencing panic attacks, heart palpitations, chronic insomnia, and regular and profound “low” periods that I sought medical treatment. I started taking anti-depressants and
Read moreFor people who have never had the displeasure of experiencing depression or anxiety, it can be difficult to understand what it feels like. Unfortunately many mothers suffer from postpartum depression and reaching out for help is challenging, but the help of others is exactly what you need. This article featured at The Leaky Boob describes the author’s personal postpartum experience
Read moreFor many years, immediate umbilical cord clamping has been standard procedure. However, new research has shown that allowing the cord to remain attached to the baby results in a healthier blood volume. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the UK now advises cord clamping should not be done sooner than a minute after birth. Could the U.S.
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