What Moms really want this holiday season...

I’ve been getting a lot of gift guides in my inbox recently as the holiday season starts in earnest. With all you amazing Moms in mind, I came up with my own. Feel free to share with loved ones who are looking to get you something you really want! Most are free!

What Moms Really Want

• We want your promise to never knowingly vote for or politically support someone who sexually assaults women or children. Full stop.

• We want paid leave from work when caring for children and family members, subsidized child care when we return to our careers would be great too!

• We want our partners to take on the burden of birth control.

• We want to have someone we love take pictures of us with our kids without us asking and then send it to us.

• We want society and everyone in it to lower their expectations of what a ‘good’ Mom does.

• We want summer camp registrations to start after the holiday season.

What Moms Really Do NOT Want

• We do not want you to comment on our bodies or ask when we are having another kid.

• We do not want to be shamed for bringing our children into places they deserve and we paid for them to be, like airplanes.

• We do not want you to expect us to clean our home before you come over. If it’s clean that consider that a bonus/stroke of luck.

• We do not want a scented candle and some bubble bath marketed to us as ‘self care’. We want the time and mental space to take care of ourselves.

• We do not want to be denied life saving medical care when we are miscarrying.

• We do not want your opinions on how wrong our parenting choices are.

What am I missing? What do you really want or not want this year?

Wishing you all a joyful and peaceful Thanksgiving!

With gratitude,

Dr. Lizzie

I'm walking for perinatal mental health!

Part 1

Tomorrow, Sunday October 27 from 11am-12:30pm in Newton, I’ll be participating in The Climb, an event raising awareness and money for perinatal mental health through the amazing work of Postpartum Support International.

This is a cause so personal to me, as I experienced postpartum anxiety and depression after the birth of both my children. Even as someone who had worked in the perinatal field for years before becoming a Mother, it still was hard for me to notice all the signs in myself, and harder still for me to accept the help I needed once I did.

Every week in my office I meet parents, mostly Moms, who are struggling with the radical shifts in their identity, sleep patterns, marriage dynamics, bodies, and every single thing about their lives as they are adjusting to life with a newborn.

Becoming a Mom is SO hard. And with the wild expectations that we set for ourselves influenced by the world around us, social media, our friends and family, and our own desires to be the very best parents we can be, it becomes even harder. Layer on the stress of the wider world: war, gun violence, loss of bodily autonomy, rising cost of everything, etc, and it gets even more intense (please don’t forget to vote!)

This is why I’m so excited to be a part of this event, and to be inspiring others to donate to this amazing cause. Feeling inspired yet?

I set the very ambitious goal of raising $1800 for Team Boston.

As of the time of this writing, I’ve raised $785.

Will you please help me reach my goal by tomorrow, Sunday Oct 27th????

If you are able to, and believe in this cause as I do, I would be so grateful for your contribution.

With so much gratitude,

Dr. Lizzie

P.S. If I do reach my goal of $1800 by 11:59pm on Sunday I am going to do my first ever cold plunge, and film it for you all to enjoy.

Part 2

Thank you SO much to each and every one of you who contributed to my recent fundraiser for Postpartum Support International.

It was so moving and exciting to get notification after notification that someone else had ‘answered the call’ and generously donated to this amazing cause. And answered the call, you did!

Thanks to so many of you, I reached my ambitious goal of $1800!

Collectively, Team Boston raised just over $12,000 (!) which is the highest amount that any Climb Team raised nationwide! And my fundraising team specifically was the 6th highest individual team nationwide! I am so grateful to all of you (and my Instagram followers who put up with my persistent days-long-campaign that rivaled some NPR pledge drives).

I am so proud to have been a part of this event and to be surrounded by such a beautiful community of you all amazing, compassionate, generous people.

The emotional and uplifting event, and witnessing so many of you give to this important cause, filled me with hope and optimism, two amazingly precious feelings these days.

Mothers truly can save the world. Now let’s go vote.

With so much gratitude,

Dr. Lizzie

P.S. I did reach my goal! Which means, as promised, I will be doing my first ever cold plunge on camera for you all! Stay tuned, will be putting it on my calendar very soon.

my business is a tween! 🥳

Wholesome Healing Chiropractic turns 12 tomorrow!

It’s wild for me to reflect on owning and nurturing this practice over these past 12 years, not only on how much has changed, but also how much hasn’t changed.

I was 28 years old when I started this practice, and had just graduated from chiropractic college about 6 weeks earlier. I opened Wholesome Healing on a shoestring budget: using my folding portable table from school and renting a tiny room from a massage therapist in the Back Bay. This room was so small! I remember when my patient Becky and I were both expecting our first babies (due the same week as each other), and as we got toward the end of our pregnancies we literally couldn’t pass by each other on the same side of my treatment table because we did not fit.

While I absolutely loved this little room with a view of Newbury Street, sharing the space with this massage therapist meant I could only see children and babies during specific times of day when my office mate wasn’t working, and as I started to get busier and my pediatric practice grew, it just couldn’t work anymore.

Because, one thing that has stayed the same since Day One:

I’ve always wanted to work with perinatal and pediatric clients.

I remember early on getting advice that I shouldn’t focus too much on pregnancy and babies in my messaging, marketing, and networking because I might exclude other types of clients. Luckily, I ignored this advice, knowing that I truly only did want to serve expecting and new families, and also knowing there were very few other providers serving new families well.

This mission has guided nearly all of my decisions about my practice for the past 12 years. Perinatal and pediatric topics have been the subject of virtually every single continuing education course I’ve taken yearly. It pushed me to take the leap to open my own solo office space in Needham almost 2 years ago, a space that was not just tolerant of babies and kids but truly welcoming and comfortable for them. One that worked for new families logistically and energetically.

Another constant that has stayed the same since Day One: how amazing, fulfilling, and truly fun it is to work with all of you for these past twelve years and counting. Some of you have been with me since that very first little office, and you still come in for adjustments regularly. That trust, support, and loyalty you give me as your chiropractor is one of the greatest honors of my life.

Thank you so much. Looking forward to many more beautiful years ahead.

Best,

Dr. Lizzie

“The odd uneven time.”

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”
-Sylvia Plath

We really squeezed in a lot this Summer! And, we had a blast.

The big highlight was our trip to Spain, which was truly amazing, memorable, and joyful. My favorite thing about the trip was that we were able to just be together as our family of four with no pressing needs or chores to take care of. In the most enchanting and magical setting, we were able to explore, engage fully with our children, walk, swim, rest, eat, drink, and enjoy each other's conversation and company.

While we can’t escape to Spain year round, I want to intentionally hold onto some of those vacation vibes as the school year begins (my youngest started pre-K today and my oldest starts 2nd grade tomorrow!). It is so easy to over-schedule and over-commit ourselves and our kids. This Fall, I want to intentionally protect some time just for ourselves. For slow mornings, puttering around the yard, taking couch naps, going out for a meal, or spontaneously exploring a new place as a family of 4 with no agenda besides being together.

Wishing you a smooth transition into the new September routines. Hopefully with some Summertime vibes sprinkled in as needed.

Best,

Dr. Lizzie

old friends and new adventures💃🏻💃🏻

Last week my oldest childhood friend came to stay with us for a couple of days with her husband and 2 of her 3 children. Tahlia and I met when we were just 2 years old and spent so much of our formative years side by side, playing, talking, pretending, laughing, creating. Our relationship feels so beautifully constant and familiar, even if we live across the country from each other and don’t talk very frequently anymore.

Our children are similar ages to each other, and watching them play and interact together felt surreal and also the most natural thing in the world. What a blessing to have a life long friend. What a gift to see your children have fun connecting and playing together.

Time and energy for maintaining friendships are something I took for granted when I was younger. As adults, we really have to prioritize people and friendships that we want to maintain. Even a random text or picture can mean so much. A phone call, or if you’re lucky, a rare visit can fill my cup till it’s pouring over.

Hope you find time this Summer to see your loved ones and enjoy good hugs, sincere laughter, and eager conversation.

Best,

Dr. Lizzie

🌞Summertime vibes🌞

The Solstice has passed, school is officially out, temps in Eastern Massachusetts have been hot, SUMMER IS HERE!

For my family, Summer is a very special time when my husband gets to live a stay-at-home Dad life for a couple months, I get a little break from the morning and evening drop off/pick up routines with the kids, and as a family we get to both slow down a little, and also have some exciting family adventures.

One of my favorite writers and podcasters, Gretchen Rubin, always offers such a great reminder to ‘Design Your Summer’. Although it can be a magical time of year, it really does fly by! As fun as it is to have spontaneous summer days, if there are certain things you KNOW you want to do this Summer, go ahead and pick a weekend/text your people/buy the tickets/make it happen now.

All Winter were you dreaming of having a picnic dinner at an outside concert or Shakespeare on the Common? Go ahead and look up dates and times now!

Have you been meaning to take your kids to an amusement park? Which weekend are you going to go?

Do you want to go strawberry picking this Summer? Well, make sure you look up farms and what weeks they offer pick your own!

You get the point, don’t let this season pass you by without making time for those Summer bucket list items. At this moment, when the whole of Summer still lays before us, is the time to start making those dreams a reality.

Best,

Dr. Lizzie

Check out my new look!👀

Earlier this month I had new photos taken for my business for the first time in 7 years!

The photos I had been using were taken in 2017 in my very first office, a tiny little room I rented from a massage therapist at the corner of Boylston and Berkeley streets in the Back Bay.

The Baby I’m adjusting in those photos is my oldest daughter, who is now 7.5 years old!

I had so much fun during this month’s photo shoot! My bright and beautiful office was filled with so many bright and beautiful faces from my practice and community. Ana from Lovely Pictures Studio did such an amazing job capturing the vibes and energy of me and my practice.

It is so satisfying to grow and evolve my practice alongside my own family and yours!

Which picture is your favorite??

Best,

Dr. Lizzie

total eclipse of my heart🌚🌞

Even though the April 8th eclipse was widely discussed for weeks, months, even years before the date, I still was completely unprepared for this event the morning of. I didn’t even have eclipse glasses!

Then, serendipitously, many different pieces fell into place. My last appointment of the day cancelled that morning. My friend and neighbor, Jocelyn, happened to have extra eclipse glasses with her at her workplace just a few minutes from my office. And my daughter’s school passed them out to each student.

I was able to pick up my 1st grader right as the eclipse was starting. We walked towards our home with our glasses on and stopped at our local park on the way along with many of our neighbors to witness this bewitching phenomenon together. At one point, she said to me, “Mom, I’m going to remember this forever.”

Although I have watched eclipses before, this one felt different. Maybe it is the perspective gained with age and parenthood, or experiencing it through my daughter’s wonder and hilarious comments, or because I was so excited that I unexpectedly could behold this most supernatural of natural events, but that afternoon felt magical.

The eclipse gave me such a beautiful reminder of our tiny little place in the Universe, and how the Earth and Moon will continue to continue spinning despite all the mess and havoc we humans have wrought.

Lessons I learned from that celestial day:

1. Magical things can happen even if you don’t plan ahead.

2. Even so, pay more attention to when eclipses are happening and maybe next time get the glasses and time off in advance.

3. Eclipses are absolutely remarkable and worth chasing.

Will I become an umbraphile? Stay tuned…I’m looking ahead to August 2026 in Iceland or Spain.

Best,

Dr. Lizzie

Our Inner Seasons🌔🌕🌒🌑

I love learning about the cycles and seasons within and around each of us. Throughout our lives, Women evolve through these phases with clear and dramatic transitions.

When we are menstruating, we live mini seasonal cycles every single month guided by our hormonal waves that impact our moods, creativity, social nature, and sexuality.

Our Monthly Cycles

Follicular Season Our inner Spring

Physiologically this is when we are regrowing and nurturing our uterine lining. Our season of ‘becoming’, we often feel motivated, focused, and inspired to embark on new projects.

Ovulation Season Our inner Summer

This is when our ovaries release our eggs into our fertile womb. Energetically, this is when we blossom into our full power and celebrate our richness and succulence.

Luteal Season Our inner Autumn

After ovulation, our ovary develops a corpus luteum that pours out progesterone (until a placenta can take over around 12 weeks of pregnancy). If we are not pregnant, the corpus luteum will evolve into a corpus albicans and our body will prepare to shed and bleed. Emotionally, this is when our inner critic is loudest and when challenges can seem more demanding.

Bleed Season Our inner Winter

Both the end and beginning of our cycle, this is when we bleed. This is the time to surrender, the time for radical rest, the time to reject productivity as a virtue as we restore and repair our body and soul.

Zooming out, we also experience these seasons throughout our lives.

Our Life Cycles

Maiden Season Our vital Spring

When we go through puberty and start our bleeds, we begin our Womanhood. This is the life season of finding out who we are and what excites us. Maidenhood is the time for embracing our independence as individuals and embarking on the adventure of being a young woman.

Mother Season Our vital Summer

For many of us, this is when we are growing and birthing our babies, building and nurturing our own families and engulfed in the heavy labor of parenting young children. However, you can still be in your Mother season even if you don’t have or want biological children. This is our nurturing, life-sustaining, and generosity season, whether we are devoting that energy to our children, our careers, our gardens, or our passions.

Maga Season Our vital Autumn

The Maga has NOTHING to do with Donald Trump, but rather is the feminized word of magi or magician. This is also sometimes called the Queen season. This season is when we fully know ourselves and have the confidence, energy, and influence to share our truth and our gifts with the wider community. We know what inspires us, and we now have the time to nourish and support ourselves and also have the energy and vigor to nurture our communities.

Crone Season Our vital Winter

This is when with the wisdom and memories of a full life, we turn inwards and move at a slower pace in a smaller circle. This is our softer season. Our quieter season. Our time to speak our wise words and for the next generation to listen and to help care for us.

Read more about our inner and life cycle seasons here and here.

It is my greatest honor and joy to support so many hundreds of Women throughout these micro and macro seasons of our lives. The more I explore and understand these experiences and evolutions, the more in awe I am of the wild feminine power within each of us.

Best,

Dr. Lizzie

bonus day! 🪄

Happy February 29th! Even though it is just another Thursday, I like that Leap Day gives us a bonus day in the year’s calendar. What will you do with your extra 366th day this year?

I will be enjoying the day as one of my last in my 30s! On Saturday I turn 40 years old . Although it’s just a number, this milestone feels significant in crossing over into true and utter middle age.

While I know many of us struggle with getting older, I am so grateful for where I am at in my life that it is hard to long for my younger days.

10 years ago, I wasn’t yet a wife or mother.

10 years ago, I was still in the early stages of building my practice and career.

10 years ago, I was less confident and less in touch with my intuition and sense of power.

10 years ago, I was still dealing with on-street parking.

My good friend calls it ‘evolving’ rather than ‘aging’ and I like this re-frame. Sure, our bodies are getting older, but our minds and hearts can continue to grow, learn, and evolve into better versions of ourselves.

Here’s to the personal evolution happening within all of us, and may we have the grace to witness and accept it in our selves and our loved ones.

Tongue Tie Groups starting March 14th!

I’m thrilled to start to offer a group treatment model to help care for my tongue tie families, allowing for clinical, emotional, and community support all in one place over a 6 week series.

Learn more and join the waitlist here.

Tongue ties have been on my mind so much as I prepare for my own tongue tie release next week. I’ve been working towards this procedure for months doing myofunctional therapy, craniosacral therapy, and plenty of chiropractic work specifically for cranial and jaw balancing in preparation for this procedure.

I am so excited to add this layer of deep understanding to my work with my patients with tongue ties after going through it myself. Stay tuned for my thoughts on the other side of this upcoming procedure. Personal evolution inside and out!

Wishing you health and happiness for all 366 days this year.

Best,

Dr. Lizzie

New Tongue Tie Groups Starting Soon

I feel like I say this every month, but it’s hard to believe we are already at the end of the month already! While the world around us is in so much distress and chaos, I hope you have been able to claim moments of calm and joy in your own little bubble.
Tongue Tie Groups starting March 11th!

Introducing a new unique group offering combining clinical care, emotional support, and community comfort.

Hands down, the most common thing I help my newborn and pediatric clients with is nursing and bottle feeding effectively, comfortably, and efficiently. There are many variables that can impact a baby’s ability to latch properly and one of these variables that walks into my office over and over again is tongue and lip ties.

I’m thrilled to start to offer a group treatment model to help care for these families, allowing for clinical, emotional, and community support all in one place over a 6 week series.

Learn more and sign up for the series here.

What is a tongue tie?

We all have a frenum, or a piece of tissue, connecting our tongue to the floor of our mouth. We also have one connecting our upper gums to our upper lip. In some people, this tissue is very tight and tense, preventing full and proper movement of the tongue and mouth. This can potentially impact feeding, speech, sleep, digestion, airway development, and more. Body work and oral mobility and strengthening exercises can often help improve oral function. In some cases, a tongue tie release is warranted with a dentist or ENT to gain full range of motion and function.

Tongue ties are close to my heart not only in my practice, but also in my own personal life. After learning about my daughter’s ties, I have since learned that I myself have a tongue tie that has limited my tongue mobility for nearly 40 years! After an exam with a dentist and speech specialist a few months ago I have learned that the back of my tongue has never reached my hard palate, and that I am not properly swallowing or even enunciating my words. Is this why I grind my teeth at night? Is this why I have struggled with headaches for close to 30 years? I am learning that yes, it very well may be a big factor in these chronic issues. I’ve been working with a myofunctional therapist to help to learn how to properly engage and use my tongue in preparation for a tongue tie release procedure with a skilled dentist in early March.

I know more than ever how confusing and challenging it can be to navigate ties with your kiddos, especially when all this information is new to you. This is exactly why I am so thrilled to start offering these combination support and clinical care groups for people going through this.

Level up

A few years back, inspired by the writer and podcaster Gretchen Rubin, I started choosing a one word theme for each year. Rather than a traditional resolution that to some can feel burdensome, a one word theme can serve as an inspiration, a guidepost, or a tiny reminder of something you want to bring to the next fleeting, yet important, 12 months of your life.

For 2023 my word was 'peace'. I intended this as a reminder to work towards internal peace in my body, mind, and nervous system. Reflecting back on the horrors of current events, this word stings a little. But my dreams for peace within me and across the world continue with more fervor as I see the violence, hate, and death globally. I will always yearn for a peaceful and functional world for us all and our collective children in the uncertain future.

Tomorrow, we wake up to January 2024. For this year's theme, I have chosen the word 'level'. The fact that this word has so many meanings is intentional, I wanted a word that speaks to different parts of me and my many aims and hopes. To serve as a reminder to stay 'level' and steady in the face of uncertainty and anxiety. To be 'level', honest, and balanced with myself, my loved ones, and my wider community. To get some health markers/blood 'level's checked to refocus my hormonal health as I enter my 40s. And also, to 'level' up my business with new offerings to better serve you, my amazing practice, as I further pursue my professional dreams.

Thank you so much for your continued support and trust in 2023 as I transitioned to my practice's new home in Needham. It continues to be my honor to be your chiropractor.

Wishing you a peaceful, joyful, healthful, and 'level' 2024. 🌈

Happy New Year,

Dr. Lizzie

Say "no" so you can say "yes".

We are all confronted with thousands of choices each day.

This time of year in particular we may have numerous invitations, obligations, and outward expectations to respond to with "yes" or "no". I think many women, and mothers especially, struggle with saying "no". Especially saying "no" to people we love, especially when we want to say "no" to protect our own personal boundary. Many of us are conditioned and expected to put others' needs and wants before our own. To me, self care is putting my own needs first, some of the time. Setting and re-setting boundaries to protect my needs takes continuous work and reflection.

When the world, our families, and our outward obligations demand so much of us that we are left with no energy and time for things that are important to us, we need to start getting really comfortable with saying "no".

Saying "no" to one thing is saying "yes" to some thing else.

I want to recognize and appreciate when I am saying "yes" to something important to me that I want to prioritize, rather than dwelling on any guilt of disappointing someone else or fears of missing out on potential fun or something important at an event.

Some examples...

Saying "no" to the holiday party is saying "yes" to getting a good night sleep.

It is okay to prioritize rest and recuperation time. Luxuriate in it when my gut is telling me to opt out.

Saying "no" to volunteering at the kid's school for an upcoming event means saying "yes" to having the time to finish work before holiday travel.

Setting a boundary to work during work hours means that during the holidays I can enjoy being present and not work during family time.

Saying 'no' to buying that extra gift for my kid is saying 'yes' to spending the amount of money I planned for holiday gifts.

Honestly, mine usually only play with the one or two things they like the best. It's okay to prioritize modeling gratitude rather than quick gratification, and try to teach kids to appreciate quality over quantity.

Wishing you and your family a healthy, peaceful, and joyful Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year.

May you say "no" as much as you want, to say "yes" to what you really want. ❤

Sending love and peace,

Dr. Lizzie

Last night I had the strangest dream...

The world has been heavy.

Like everyone watching the horrific events unfold in Israel and Gaza these past few weeks, I have been shocked and overwhelmed by the devastation, the violence, and the immense loss of life. As an American Jew on social media, I have also been struck by the vast diversity of opinions being shared about the state of Israel from the global community, within American progressive politics, within my own Jewish community, and even within my own Jewish family. It is overwhelming. It becomes more overwhelming as we see in real time how these events in the Middle East are fueling explosive incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia around the world and right here in the US.

Things that used to feel comfortable and safe, like having a mezuzah on our door, or dropping our daughter off at a Jewish preschool, now feel very vulnerable. While these extreme examples of Jewish hate I am seeing all over the world are new experiences to me in my lifetime, the feelings evoked from them are deeply etched into my DNA and my mitochondria from generations and generations of my ancestors fleeing persecution for being Jewish. It's been a lot to bear and to continue to process, and I am working to calm and regulate my nervous system through it all.

When things in the world get this overwhelming, I try to bring my focus back to my own small local community here, and the ripples of healing I can start. Continuing to hold a healing, safe, and welcoming space for expecting and new parents and their children. Calming my patient's nervous systems, one person at a time. Reaching out to people I love. Bringing friends and loved ones together to connect in real life, to discuss these complicated things face to face rather than behind the anonymity of our screens. Making soup. Going for walks. Singing and dancing with my beautiful children.

The more peace and compassion we can bring to our little corner of the world the better. Every little bit counts right now.

Sending love and peace,

Dr. Lizzie

Celebrating 11 years in business.

Once again, the month flew by!

September was full of transitions and new routines with the start of the school year. To purposefully pause and temporarily escape it all, my family of four went camping last weekend over the Autumnal Equinox with my Brother, his Wife, and Daughter up at Greenfield State Park in New Hampshire. We really felt the energetic and atmospheric shift into Fall, bundling up in hats and sweatshirts around the fire. I am always excited for the changing of a season, and am enjoying the cooler days and evolving landscape.

A new season, offering another opportunity to start again, again.

Summer Lovin'

I'm currently taking a little pause from seeing clients as I soak up the last week of Summer vacation before my husband and kids start back at school and the new routines begin. This year my kids are both starting new schools in 1st grade and pre-K respectively, and my husband is also starting a new teaching role in his school. So a lot of new grooves to get used to!

I am so grateful to get to have time off from work without actually traveling. It feels restorative and re-centering, rather than exhausting and disorientating as travel with kids often feels to me. We've been doing projects around the house, playing tourist in our own home state, seeing friends and family, and just catching up on things like getting the kids shoes that fit them and taking them to the dentist.

I hope you, too, can enjoy a peaceful and easeful end of your Summer, and that I see you again soon for your Fall tune up!

Life Moves Pretty fast

Summer is in full swing! For my family, July was PACKED with a family vacation to Rehoboth Beach, an old friend's wedding, camp for my big kid, and even a quick trip to Denver for me to see Taylor Swift (!) in concert with my cousin and get together with a good friend from chiropractic school. So many good things, but it has been exhausting.

August is looking like it will be much quieter, and I am purposefully being very protective of our family's time and obligations for the next month. Being married to a high school teacher gives Summer a different cadence in our house. With more time together as a family and less work obligations, Summer often becomes a flurry of activities and longings to get together with friends and family, take adventures, and get out to explore. I love doing this! But I also love balancing all that activity by taking time to rest, reset, and center ourselves as a family.

I am taking some time off from work at the end of August, but we've decided to stay local. We'll do some day trips around Massachusetts, take care of some errands/logistical stuff that we need to all be together for, and see some local friends. But for the most part we will be laying low as a family and enjoying some unstructured time together before the school year flow begins (with my youngest starting preschool and my oldest starting 1st grade!) and we get hurtled into new routines and new obligations.

I'm wishing that you all get some time and space this Summer for pausing, slowing down, and reconnecting with your loved ones in whatever rhythm suits you and your family. In the wise words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Accept ALL the support

What a whirlwind these past few months have been. To be completely honest, which I tend to do here, I recently went through a pretty rough patch with my anxiety. When visiting my in-laws in Florida back in April, my little one had a medical issue that required an ER visit. The staff made a simple but crucial mistake in dramatically misrecording her weight, resulting in her getting the wrong dose of a medication, prolonging her illness and our time away from home. Basically, it was horribly stressful and left my nervous system pretty tattered. My anxiety was already starting to creep into hyperdrive before this incident, and this pushed me over the edge. Processing the whole experience made it clear to me that I needed to go back on my anti-anxiety medication. With the guidance of my mental health care providers, I restarted medication that I had taken in my early postpartum days, and started feeling more in control of my anxiety and mood almost immediately.

This is not an easy thing to write about as a chiropractor. There are many in my profession that are philosophically against these types of pharmaceuticals, and believe that lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise, sleep hygiene, meditation, and yes, getting adjusted regularly are enough to regulate one's physical and emotional health. And truthfully, before becoming a parent, these measures were enough to regulate my anxiety. But in this chapter of my life, they are not enough, and I've learned that for me, adding this particular medication is incredibly helpful.

Not only has this change given me more patience and calm in my parenting and relationships, but it also allowed me to take control of neglected work. I had fallen behind on the back end administrative work that makes my practice function (including missing this monthly newsletter for the first time in over a year) and was so overwhelmed that I just kept procrastinating all these important tasks. It wasn't until I was back on my medication that I could take stock of the situation, make a plan, and then actually do the work. I hadn't even realized this procrastination was a symptom of my anxiety until the treatment resolved the issue.

Things are feeling much better in the past few weeks. Not just in my work life, but I've been able to take back some joy and peace in my personal life as well. It's been easier to return phone calls and emails. I've found myself saying 'yes' to experiences that even just a few months ago would have totally stressed me out: like going to a Dead and Company show at Fenway with my husband this past weekend when a friend of his couldn't use his tickets on short notice. This past week, we also were lucky enough to have a few kid-free days when my kiddos stayed with their grandparents, great aunt, and cousins (Thank you! :). Having a break from the constant and incredibly demanding work of parenting young children was a delightful and much needed respite for my husband and I. We relished in the space and calm.

I share all this to encourage you to be gentle and kind with yourself. To invite you to accept all the support and help you need and can get, even if you were once or still are being told a story that says you "shouldn't" need the help or that you "shouldn't" need a rest. 

Life is hard enough as it is, we don't need to make it any harder for ourselves.

Take the space and calm when you can. Relish in it.

Springing ahead, fast as ever.

Nothing makes time go by faster than having little kids in your life. They change so quickly and so profoundly that with each passing milestone I try to tell myself to pause, reflect, and appreciate the chapter that we are leaving and the new chapter upon us. Recent milestones I am reflecting on right now include:

Passing along my collection of maternity clothes to a patient expecting her first child.

Thinking to myself this morning, "I think it's finally time to throw away our nose frida."

My oldest kiddo recently losing her first tooth.

Breastfeeding my toddler for the last time this past weekend.

With all this change, I am taking some moments to thank my body and my mind for her years of service to my children when they were newborns and babies. I have literally either been pregnant or breastfeeding for the past 7 years (!) with about a 3 week pause between weaning my oldest and getting pregnant again. Ending my breastfeeding journey on my own terms, along with passing along the maternity clothes and my oldest turning into a truly BIG kid is all helping me recognize that this chapter of my life of growing and nurturing very small babies is closing, while this next new chapter of our family and my journey as a Mother continues and evolves.

Time will keep flying whether or not we have the awareness to notice these chapters are closing and opening. Every so often, perhaps with the changing of the seasons, make sure to stop, look around, and see who you and your children have blossomed into.

New Year...new office!

I hope your 2023 is off to a great start! It's been a busy month in my practice as I closed my Boston and Walpole locations and moved into my new space in Needham. I welcomed my first clients into the new space on the 23rd and it already feels like the cozy home I always wanted to create for my practice. After years of navigating through sublets and small spaces, it felt so good to design and set up my space specifically for my client base of pregnant and new parents and their young kids. A nursing rocker, diaper changing table, and a child proofed kid's adjusting room are some of highlights that I love being able to offer you all now, to make our visits more comfortable, functional, and inviting for you and your kiddos. Did I also mention off street parking? I can't wait to welcome you to my new spot!