This essay was published by The Washington Post on Feb. 6, 2018. It was republished by The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Chicago Daily Herald, Omaha World-Herald, The Toronto Star, The Seattle Times, The Vancouver Columbian and The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Telecommuters used to get a bad rap, seen as folks who lounge by the pool with a trashy magazine and a margarita on a Tuesday afternoon.
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This story was originally published by The Washington Post on Dec. 13, 2016. It was republished by the Chicago Tribune on Dec. 15, 2016.
One January morning, while attempting my first jog since the birth of my 6-week-old baby, I was taken aback by my low endurance as I plodded along, hyperventilating and draped over the stroller’s handle.
I soon discovered endurance was only the beginning of the physical challenges I’d experience as a new mom. Pregnancy and childbirth can also weaken abdominal muscles, loosen ligaments and cause structural changes in the rib cage and pelvis. All of this makes a woman prone to injury if she pursues a bikini body too quickly.
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This essay was originally published by The Washington Post on Sept. 16, 2016
Our culture’s obsession with weight, from diet fads to the thigh gap, takes a particular toll after childbirth.
According to medical books, a 25- to 35-pound gain during pregnancy is considered healthy. A woman becomes roughly 12 pounds lighter immediately after childbirth. The rest is supposed to just melt away.
But instead of fitting a statistical bell curve, many new mothers feel like outliers.
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This post was republished by The Washington Post on March 19, 2015.
Once upon a time, I was a fan of job interviews. That all changed after I’d switched careers, had a baby and decided to spend the first year at home with her.
I anticipated that my qualifications, with the added bonus of a baby who talks in Russian gibberish, would land me in the “yes” pile. In every cover letter and at every interview, I brought up my work as a stay-at-home-mom as a sign of commitment – prepared to whip out her picture and my color-coded Excel spreadsheet of organic purees.
Wrong.
The Flying Yenta 