“Crying It Out”: Acceptable — or Abuse?

One of the most primitive, innate reactions any mom has is to comfort her crying child. But as we’ve talked about here before, many babies can tolerate — and thrive — with some crying, when their parents thoughtfully decide why and when that might be necessary. That’s why articles like this leave me mystified — more »

A reminder about postpartum depression, with resources

I’m not prone to depression; I’m more of an anxious type, with a tendency to overreact and sweat the small stuff. So when our (4th) baby is born (I’m 30 weeks along now, folks!), I’m anticipating some hormonal upheavals (as well as the excruciating sleep deprivation that comes along with a new baby), but not more »

My Most Popular Post

There’s no way I could do a one-year retrospective without starting with DadGoneMad’s Danny Evans. Danny and his Hot Wife have been there for me from the beginning stages of BabyShrink, and have been endlessly supportive, inspirational and encouraging. When I was freaking out about my lack of technical abilities, Danny calmed me down. “You’re more »

Older Kids and Bedwetting

My most recent group of posts on Attachment Parenting have been fueled by a fire that caught me by surprise. And while I do obviously have some strong opinions to share on the subject, I’d like to get BabyShrink back to where I think we’d all rather be…right smack dab in the middle of a more »

Do We Overprotect Our Kids?

Dear Dr. Heather, I have a daycare question about my 7-year-old twins; they go there on school breaks. My question is whether we are overprotecting them. How do you balance between teaching kids to stand up for themselves — and protecting them? Their provider’s eight-year-old son is very big and plays rough. Without tormenting or more »

Hope for Postpartum Depression: A Podcast

Here at BabyShrink, I get emailed questions from all over the world. Many of these make it onto the site; questions about potty training, TV-watching, and poop-smearing (which is my most-read post, if you can believe it!) But there are other questions; questions too pained and personal to be published. Questions from mothers desperate about more »

Do I Have Childhood “Baggage” About Moving?

Hello Dr. Heather, My husband and I have a 6-year-old son, a 4-year-old daughter, and a baby due in early August. We are moving across the country about two weeks after I have the baby. My husband will be attending graduate school in our new city. We were settled here and I’m having a really more »

The “Birth Plan”: What NOT to Expect

There is a strain of pregnancy propaganda out there that sets new moms up for failure. It says that unless you “achieve” some particular kind of delivery perfection, well, then…you haven’t quite made the cut, as a Mom. And that makes me angry. It’s in all the standard pregnancy books. Something along the lines of, more »

Stefanie Wilder-Taylor: The BabyShrink Interview

At BabyShrink, we are inclined to believe Stefanie Wilder-Taylor is the long, lost lovechild of Erma Bombeck and Carol Burnett. How else to explain Stefanie’s sharp wit, stunning honesty and widespread public appeal? She is the author of two hilarious books: Sippy Cups are Not for Chardonnay: And Other Things I Had to Learn as more »

The BabyShrink Interview: Danny Evans

I’m thrilled to bring you my interview with Danny Evans (better known to the world by his super-hot blog, Dad Gone Mad), my good friend of 15 years. Since 2003, Dad Gone Mad has offered a colorful glimpse into bona fide, in-the-trenches fatherhood. With sharp wit and a healthy sense of self-deprecation, Danny plods through more »

Postpartum Depression? Me?

Brooke Shields and Marie Osmond are celebrities who are helping the sufferers of postpartum depression by reminding us that it can happen to anybody. Like all new Moms, they were told that they are supposed to “fall in love” with their newborns the moment they are placed in their arms. But for up to 15% more »