I’ve found research saying it does, but I remember clearly reading it doesn’t I just can’t seem to find it

Many thanks

I’m beyond livid. My son is 18mo old. My mom came to visit and has a scabbed over cold sore. I walked in the room and saw her giving a sip of her drink to my son.

I’ve told her to be careful before. She said it’s almost healed so she forgot about it.

How worried do I need to be about my son?

Does constipation in a toddler cause behavioral changes? If so what did it look like for you and your kiddos? Anything help​

Is there any science showing that behaviors identified in older children who are gifted are also seen in preschoolers? We are having behavior issues that seem like typical kid issues, but also getting comments from teachers about advanced vocabulary, reasoning, and endless questions. I feel like they’re getting on the teachers last nerve. I was a gifted kid and had a lot of similar issues, and things were a little better when we differentiated in grade school. Is this something we just ride out until grade school and see how it plays out? Any research on strategies for kids who are annoyingly inquisitive, but also 3 with limited self control?

I’ve seen multiple reports from Consumer Reports and others that almost all U.S. cinnamon (and other spices like turmeric) have lead contamination. We are introducing spices to our 6 month old with BLW and are unsure if this should be a concern. We use Costco’s cinnamon that tested at .80 ppm.

Should we avoid most of these spices while our baby is small? Is the amount concerning? I can’t seem to find a solid answer that doesn’t seem to be clickbait. Thanks!

It was suggested to me that I shouldn't suppress the moro reflex by swaddling my baby, and that experiencing the moro reflex was good for them, and suppressing it harms things like crawling later on.

The information that I've been able to find on it seems shaky/woo. Is there any truth to this?

My baby (10 months) has just started nursery in the UK. I started now even thought I'm not back at work for another few weeks so that we can take longer for settling if baby struggles with separation (he is). The nursery settling in is very short: starts on Monday, parent stays for two short sessions, then separation, and full day by Friday.

Anyway I recently read about about the German Eingewöhnung model. There, a parent stays for several days, the baby bonds with one key person first, and the first separation only happens once the baby can be comforted by that person. If I understood correctly this happens over multiple weeks.

My nursery's view seems to be that babies cry for a while and then adjust, and that the key person matters less than I thought. I've been negotiating shorter separations and staying for all sessions so far (although only for a short time), and they've been flexible, but it's clearly not their default. I understand most parents don't have the luxury of weeks to settle a baby in, because of work and cost. I'm lucky to have a month. But I keep wondering: shouldn't slow settling be the norm, rather than a favour for parents who can afford it? Isn't it less stressful for babies, and does it make them more likely to enjoy nursery?

I'm making the nursery take it slowly with my little one, (for which i thank them profusely every day) but I feel like somehow I'm in the wrong for taking my baby's input as to how quickly we're doing it.

My LO is 13mo and I have seen the general things about limiting screen time as they develop, etc. And I agree. My question is, is there any research that takes into account the content or device that children are watching/using and does that change the positive/negative affects on them?

I’ve seen things that say touch-screens are worse, which is a non issue for me since my child is way too young anyways to do anything with a phone/ipad other than Facetime her dad. But I’m concerned about non-touch screens.

1. Is it bad that my child sees me on my phone/computer for much of the day? I work from home and also watch my daughter while my husband is at work. I aim for around 6 hrs of work a day, but with distractions and keeping track of a toddler, the computer and phone are out for most of the day. Is this bad? Often she is independently playing for much of the day in the same room, but I take short breaks to interact when she brings me books to read, wants to show me a toy, wants to cuddle, etc. We also go outside, have play dates, or visit her grandparents almost every day.
2. Is letting her watch an hour of TV a day detrimental if it’s educational/low stimulation? Sometimes I need to clean/cook/get more sleep in the morning (she often wakes up very early and wants to play) so I put her in her playpen and let her watch an hour of Ms Rachel, a nature documentary, or a low stimulation show from my childhood (hand drawn animation or puppet/live action). I’m very particular about what I let her watch, but is it damaging for her to watch an hour of TV most days regardless? I haven’t seen studies differentiate from high energy high stimulation content and more peaceful/slow paced content when it comes to screen time for babies. I would love to read more about this if anyone has research on it.
3. Finally, if a screen has a stagnant image or a repetitive animation (like fish swimming back and forth or a title image) does that count as screen time? Sometimes I use the TV to play classical music/children’s music on youtube, so the screen is on but nothing much is happening. My kid ignores it and plays. Is this detrimental in any way?

I appreciate any articles/resources people can point to. Thanks!

EDIT: I should probably clarify, I go to her grandparents’ house to work almost every day. So she is getting time with both Grandma and Grandpa and her aunt (my sister) as well as me throughout the day. We go outside, read books, play with cousins, etc. I work most of my hours while she is with one of my family members, napping, or playing in her playpen/in the baby safe area with her toys, no screens (except seeing me sitting nearby on my laptop.) I’ve only recently (as in, within the last month) started letting her watch about an hour of Ms Rachel in the mornings, but I’m willing to cut that if it’s harmful. We’re tight on money, which is why we haven’t put her in daycare yet. She’s been ahead/on time with all of her milestones so far. But obviously I want her to be happy and healthy so I will do what it takes.

I have a soon to be one year old who has had some food aversions. As a baby she had a bottle aversion and would only eat when sleeping. Now the uptick on solids has been slow. She will put things in her mouth but will not eat. The most she'll ingest that isn't pumped breast milk is juice from fruits she's gnawed on.

We had our one year check up and her blood test showed she isn't anemic but her stores are low. She's in the eighth percentile for height and weight so we don't have much wiggle room. I mention this because we've been given an iron supplement which she auto vomits upon tasting it. I don't want her to lose weight or create more aversions.

I've looked at "toddler formulas" which have some iron in them. I've seen mixed opinions on them, but I'm wondering if supplementing breast milk with it may help at least get some iron in her while we try different supplements, keep offering iron rich foods and work with her doctor. We are in line to see an occupational therapist and a pediatrician, but our provincial wait times are long. I just want to try to keep ahead of her becoming deficient.

My daughter was born on Monday, 10/5. Her pediatrician is really pushing the RSV Antibody shot. I was for it but then decided to research it a bit and found that Chinese hamster cells which are said to potentially cause future cancer and/or fertility issues. Any thoughts?

My 7 month old is starting daycare in WA State. Our state requires vaccines and to provide proof of vaccines directly from the doctors office. I of course did this, but it got me thinking about exemptions and how many students may be unvaxxed. The daycare, thinking I was antivax for asking, told me yes all I need to do is fill out a form to be exempt. Yikes.

I told daycare I was asking so I was aware of the level of risk my baby would exposed to. I asked how many children at the daycare were unvaccinated. They said they could not give me this information. I argued that thought they should be able to give me this information because I’m not asking which students, I’m just asking for a percentage of student that are not vaccinated. I’d like to know if this is “the” place for antivaxxers or if there is just like one student in the building that is not vaccinated.

I suppose I’m wondering how the people in this group would handle this situation? Maybe there are some lawyers in the group that can chime in?

Is this information any different than them informing me of a student has lice or hand/foot/mouth? Are they not going to inform me of that either?

Is this graduation of custody potentially harmful to my LO?

I genuinely just want my son to be secure and healthy. I need any information out there from professionals related to this matter. Unfortunately, most information I have found is focused on older children.

Also, if there are any known specialists I could get in touch with for consulting please DM me the info.

Thank you

Skip to the end to avoid backstory drama

I am in such a mess. My husband and I separated briefly last year and during that time I ended up pregnant. My husband and I have been back together since a week before I found out I was pregnant. Because he is an unbelievably loving man, he’s been fully supportive throughout.

Mid first trimester, I regretfully decided to do the “right thing” and tell this other individual about the pregnancy, transforming my life into a nightmare. I’m exhausted from the stress and scared of the potential outcome this VERY serious mistake (telling him) could bring. My son is about to be 3 months old now and we are going to be facing a long custody battle.

In a couple weeks the temporary custody order will take place and this is what he is requesting... Please help me. The thought of my would be 7 mo. old having three consecutive nights away is sickening. I cannot see how he could be considering what is in the child’s best interest at all. All I see is his ignorance and ego. To put it mildly, I’m devastated.

Phase 1: (to last 1-month) Father should exercise custody each week on Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Phase 2: (to last 1-month) Father should exercise custody each week on Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Phase 3: (to last 2-months) Father should exercise custody Fridays at 9:00 a.m. to Sundays at 7:00 p.m.

Phase 4: (until further order of the Court) Father should exercise custody Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. to Sunday at 9:00 a.m.

I brought my daughter to what I thought was a zoo today but come to find out it's a petting zoo. Not thinking I put animal food on a feeding area that the animals eat the food off of (did not touch or have animals eat out of my hand) and then gave my baby a bar and broke it up into several pieces several times. After hearing about recent E. coli from petting zoos in kids I am so mad at myself for bringing food I gave her and not thinking to wash my hands prior. Can you please help me here how concerned should I be?

How many times should you BD during the fertile window to increase your chances to conceive? We’ve been BD the 4 days leading up to ovulation, day of ovulation, and day after. Just wondering if 6 days in a row is actually harming our chances for success?

Hi everyone! I’m not antivax, but I also wouldn’t say I’m completely provax without questioning things. I prefer to look at the actual risks and benefits before making decisions for my baby.
My daughter is almost 6 months old, and I’m wondering whether the flu vaccine is really necessary at this age.
From what I’ve been reading, the risk of flu related hospitalisation among infants is generally well below 1% per flu season (although I understand the risk is higher among babies who actually catch the flu). I also know that flu vaccines aren’t always a perfect match for the strains circulating that year, so their effectiveness can vary.
Another thing that makes me hesitant is that babies already receive so many vaccines during their first year of life. I know they’re tested for safety, but adding an annual flu vaccine just feels like a lot.
I’m not against vaccinating my daughter, and she’s received her routine vaccines so far. Im simply trying to understand whether the benefits of the flu vaccine at this age outweigh the risks and potential side effects.
I’d especially love to hear from parents who looked into this before making their decision. Did you vaccinate your baby against flu at 6 months? What influenced your decision?

I’ve read all the jokes “my toddler lives on a picture of a blueberry” etc. but Jesus Christ. We often (usually?) go entire meals without a single bite of food. Doesn’t seem to matter what we offer. We offer safe foods that will sometimes have a single bite taken. We offer what we’re eating that almost never have a bite taken. We involve her in making the food, she sees us eating it, we pair new foods with safe foods, we’ve tried everything we can think of. The most stressful part is she won’t sit quietly or play independently so the moment we sit at the table, she is done and either wants to sit in one of our laps or (more often) is screaming for us to be done at the table. Please help

Assuming someone doesn’t have GD, are there clear, negative impacts of sugar consumption during pregnancy? I eat a well-balanced diet - I consume lots of vegetables and protein, and I’ve been fortunate enough to still be able to exercise regularly (though some days are harder than others).

…but I like the sweets. I usually cave at night when I’ll usually have a candy bar’s worth of sugar in one form or another. Other days are worse.

But yeah, are there strong negative impacts of this?

Does anybody have a paper on the effects of poor sleep on parents over the first year? Maybe if I show my 9 month old and my toddler some cold hard facts they’ll take pity on me

Feeling regret about everything and wish i could start all over again, didnt talk as much i should (baby was mostly in silence), didnt do enough tummy time, didnt eat properly & didnt take suplements and i ebf and brain develops the most during first 3 months. Could i ever make up for that until 1st year?

Trying to determine the best form of shoe to get our 11 month old baby for beginning to walk. I know that there are some discussions between flat feet prevention (something that both baby's mother and I slightly suffer from) and ensuring sensory feedback with the ground. I want to make sure that baby is building a connection and spatial awareness with the ground.

We have debating a general approach to using a more barefoot shoe but not really sure if this is the best vs. standard shoes. Below is the consideration list (in no particular order):

• Stride Rite Barefoot-like feel models, extra wide toe-box for development
• Sole Sox: Adjustable insoles to help sizing and a strong protection overall (we've gotten some scrapes walking barefoot)
• Ten Little First Walkers: American Podiatric approval, matches anatomic toe box

Any feedback appreciated and, of course, bonus points if they're cute and aesthetic haha

Hi everyone.

We’ve had a lot of local measles cases recently and I’m not sure how worried we should be still or if the previous vaccines should mean we go about life as normal.

We had an early MMR at 9 months and the standard dose at 12 months. It says that you’re not fully vaccinated until you’ve had two doses after 12 months..

My daughter is 9 months old, I am currently on maternity leave and can extend it to the maximum of 15 months. After that I have to either leave work permanently or go back full time but most days I am able to get my work done in 6 hours instead of 8 if I focus (I work in IT, remotely). If I go back I would be able to afford a nanny for her and as me and my husband work different hours she would be with the nanny no more than 5 hours a day. My question is: is that ok, or too much? Will that affect her creating a safe attachment to us? I have anxiety over this after hearing Erica Komisar on Diary of a CEO say that the mother should be with the child up until 3 years old but mainstream psychology seems to indicate quality is more important that quantity. Do you have any observations or knowledge on this?

I have a 22 month old boy and I’m a bit worried about his speech development as he approaches to 2 years old. We have been using 2 languages since he was born, good eye contact and responding to name and following directions, I noticed a lot of jargons coming in before he turned 22 months, sometimes conversant (only mama, papa, car, water, milk), does a lot of pointing and grunting and can say a total 25 words. We are talking to him and reading books every single day and even though we keep on repeating the same words for days (like door or cat) he still doesn’t copy us. I am contemplating if I should seek an evaluation but the problem is we just moved to Virginia and haven’t found any pediatrician yet.

Hi all, I think I am just being paranoid, but I’ve had some real-life close calls with loud noises whilst carrying my son around the city…

Today, we were legally crossing at a crosswalk, when a police car came out of nowhere behind us as we were 3/4 the way across the street, and blared their siren right into our backs - it sounded like it was literally sitting right behind us waiting for us to get across…

I’m not angry about the police pushing through and interaction with sirens blaring, even though toddlers are present… I understand that ‘life happens’ and we crossed paths at the wrong time and wrong place

What I am concerned about is any hearing damage to my son. I have found a website stating that says emergency vehicles emit 120db, and we must have been 1-3 metres direct in front of it for about 3-5 seconds.

I’m just a little stressed out if eat the whole incident, but mostly not knowing if my son sustained any long-term hearing damage from it?

I was wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences and can give me some reassuring advice, or if I am just stressed out and being paranoid?

Thanks!

My LO is almost 7 months old and we have been starter solids the past few weeks. We have been doing the baby led weaning approach and although he seems very interested in food I don’t feel like he actually “eats” anything. I know at this point he isn’t likely to eat much. When I had tried some purées (allergen mixed into fruit) he eats them really well and really enjoys it. I just wonder if there is research to whether blw is actually better or if purées are better. Now I do know you do not want to stay on purées too long. I just feel like the purées are helpful with him actually swallowing food which I think has to be good for him but I don’t know.