Spit-up On My Shoulder

Are your emotions and hormones all over the map? Many times after each of my daughter’s births I felt so overwhelmed that I didn’t know how I was going to get through the day. I remember one particularly bad day when I couldn’t pick out what clothes to wear. I had to have my husband [...]

After your baby arrives, you can easily get caught up in an onslaught of visitors. Everyone wants to see the baby right away, but be careful. Too many times I’ve seen new moms who wear themselves out entertaining guests for the first week or two. Then the guests leave at the same [...]

Before I get into today’s topic, would you like to email me directly? You can now click on the Contact Melanie button under my photo at the left and your message will go right to my in-box. I look forward to your questions and comments.
Often when I talk to pregnant women, I’ll find [...]

I’d like to share with you a letter of mine that appeared in the January 2007 issue of OC Family. OC is for Orange County, California, like the TV show. If you live in Orange or surrounding counties you can pick up a copy of the magazine for free at libraries and other [...]

Did you see Oprah on Tuesday? I was hesitant to watch it because I am so tired (sick, actually) of the working mom/stay-at-home mom debate. I wish we would stop being so judgmental and trust that every mother will do what’s best for her family, even if she makes choices we wouldn’t make [...]

If you are considering an elective cesarean section, please read the following information from the January 2007 issue of Discovery Magazine:
Cesareans Boost Death Risk for Baby
A study of nearly 6 million low-risk births has found that the neonatal mortality rate for delivery by cesarean section is nearly three times the rate for vaginal delivery: 1.77 [...]

When you leave a comment at Spit-up On My Shoulder, I screen it so that no spam gets posted. This process also allows you to send me private messages. Simply click the Comments button below and tell me in your comment that you would like it to remain private. I will always [...]

I’m writing with a heavy heart today. We had to put our cat, Calvin, to sleep this morning. Calvin was a lovable orange and white tabby who had a horrible habit of chewing up stringy items. Bathing suit straps, shoelaces, speaker wire, headphone cords – you name it. It was very [...]

Americans value their independence, which is a wonderful thing, but letting others help you can also be wonderful. In many other cultures (particularly African, Asian, and Latino cultures) it would be unheard of to leave a new mother alone anytime within the first months after birth.
Sadly American moms are often on their own in [...]

When my youngest daughter was four months old, I decided I was ready to wean her from breastfeeding. No one had told me that I should wean slowly. In less than two weeks I had stopped breastfeeding completely and soon after developed postpartum depression.
When you nurse, your body releases the “feel-good” hormones oxytocin [...]