Author Archives: Melissa

Time for teens: boys, puberty, and breasts

Dear Dr. Mom My 13 year old son has a tender lump under his left breast. He’s had it for the last 3 months. Should I be worried? When boys enter puberty, something very common can happen…they can actually develop some breast tissue on one or both sides. This is called gynecomastia and occurs in…

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No more bedtime battles…I hope

We’re doing a little experiment over here. Actually, it’s not so little. It was quite a huge undertaking over the weekend. But you see, we’re a little desperate. Once again. For sleep. For our protected adult time that doesn’t entail falling asleep with our kids. Every.single.night. Admittedly, we cuddle our kids to sleep every night….

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Tweaking our parenting perspective

I’m not a parenting expert. I don’t have all the answers to doing this parenting gig “right”. Not by a long shot. In fact, I’ve been very candid about my parenting mishaps. Take a look here and here. Oh, and here too. Parenting is hard. It’s also the most important thing we’ll ever do. We’ve…

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Colds vs. Allergies: how do you know?

Happy first day of Spring! Though you wouldn’t know it in my neck of the woods. I think we already had spring and are now back to winter. Crazy weather. Regardless, with this crazy and constantly changing weather, seasonal allergies start cropping up and during this transition from winter to spring, it can often be…

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In a parenting funk

This week has been funky. And not in a good way. I blame the time change, but then I think it’s more than that. We’re busy. The mornings are rushed. Afternoons crammed. Dinnertime haphazard. Bedtime a struggle. It’s a parenting funk. I miss my kids. We’re a bit disconnected and this leaves us all feeling…

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Ask Dr. Mom: My toddler walks “funny”

Dear Dr. Mom, Ever since my daughter started walking at 11 months, I’ve noticed that she walks “funny”. I’ve been told that she is just “bowlegged” and that it will get better with time. Still, I can’t help but worry whether or not this is true. She really does look a little funny toddling around…

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Yup, the kids are going to be all right

Sibling rivalry is pretty much par for the course when you have more than one child. Tug of wars over beloved toys, arguments over whose turn it is to pick the flick for movie night, and stepping on each other’s words (as they call it) at the dinner table. It’s inevitable. A parental rite of…

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The making of a bully

Last week, I addressed a concerning issue from one of my readers about helping her children deal with a neighborhood bully. In discussing this very important topic, the heart of the issue cannot be overlooked…how does a child become a bully and why? Today, I’m so very pleased to have Katie from Practical Parenting here…

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Breastfeeding and the agony of baby’s first bottle

That moment is etched forever in my mind…and it’s anything but a happy and pleasant moment. However, to well-meaning family members, that was a moment to be captured on film. Cute. A milestone to ooh and ahh over. My baby was getting his first bottle. And all I wanted to do was hide away, cry…

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The neighborhood bully

I recently received a message from a friend and reader regarding bullies. She has some very legitimate concerns about a certain young bully in her neighborhood that is making life very stressful for her two young boys and the rest of the kids on her block. He curses, calls names, and “accidentally” hurts the other…

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