Is there one that is more preferred than other? I am considering the novavax/nuvaxovid this year. I have asthma and it has been less than cooperative lately so trying to look ahead to the viral season (and hoping to conceive).

“So far (the FDA) hasn’t finalized enforceable limits on arsenic, cadmium or mercury in baby food — only lead.”

Hi there
I’m a mom of a 10 month old who seems to be behind on milestones: he doesnt get into sitting position and he doesn’t pull himself to stand unless I help. He says babababa but cannot point, doesn’t wave back and generally doesnt imitate much. I have a lot of anxiety (which I need to work on) because two of his cousins have autism. When I started noticing he’s behind his cohort of babies, I started to worry if this was symptomatic of a broader delay that’s gonna come … I’m spiralling and some research may help. I know this sub is strict on comments but any sharing of similar experience will help me.
Thank you

I came across a paper that challenges the conventional recommendation to avoid adding salt to foods for infants aged 6–12 months.

The researchers reviewed studies and dietary guidelines published between 1904 and 2021 and reached these conclusions:

• Kidney function: By 6 months, infants generally have sufficient kidney function to excrete sodium. The authors argue that many concerns about immature kidneys originate from studies involving newborns and infants younger than 3 months.
• Blood pressure: There is insufficient evidence that higher sodium intake during infancy causes hypertension later in life. Some studies found small differences in blood pressure, but long-term results were inconclusive.
• Salt preference: There is insufficient evidence that introducing salt during infancy creates a lifelong preference for salty foods.
• Sodium requirements: The U.S. National Academies established an adequate intake of 370 mg of sodium daily for infants aged 7–12 months. The researchers suggest that infants eating unsalted complementary foods may consume only 150–300 mg daily.
• Potentially inadequate intake: The authors argue that avoiding added salt altogether could result in insufficient sodium intake during an important period of growth and development.

Based on the findings from the article, I think there's a reasonable argument that babies' food should be salted to taste rather than automatically prepared without any added salt.

Link to Paper

Hi everyone,

Our son, who is about to turn 2, really hasn’t had much exposure to other kids his age, and I worry that he might end up shy or anxious which might impact him in adulthood. My parents (who are elderly and don’t have access to a car) take care of him during the day time. He’s very comfortable with them and other familiar adults but as soon as we try to introduce him to other kids or adults, he would just bury his head in our chest and refuse to interact. My wife and I both work 50 hours plus a week and only have the weekend (if that) to expose him to other kids.

What advise would you give us? Is this something we should worry about?

Thank you.

Does raising babies/ toddlers in dual language household help or delay their speaking in the main language of English?

Yeah, I’m trying to find research indicating what the ideal portions are for babies into toddlerhood when in comes to daily amount of ounces required for formula/breast milk while considering the eventual nutritional intake of solid food. Something that says “By 9 months, babies should have 32 oz. of formula daily and 6 oz. of solid food ideally”

It’s more about quantity than quality as there is already so much research into that aspect of solid food introduction.

Do we wean formula or is it just cutting them off completely by a certain age?

I've been wondering this for years and curious if anyone has thought the same or if it's been studied: are there differences in kids' social behavior based on the kind of early child care received? I'm not looking to peg daycare/nannies/SAHParents against one another, I'm curious if kids who are looked after by caregivers who are not their parents exhibit more extroverted qualities or maybe extrovert is too fine a point but are they more socially developed? I've spent a lot of time on playgrounds with my kids and started to notice that kids who were there with a nanny would be more comfortable coming up to me (a stranger) to ask to play or for help with something than kids there with a parent. I attributed it to the tendency of nannies to befriend one another and meet up together so the kids get comfortable around other adults. I also noticed my friends' kids who have SAHParents tend to be more shy and less comfortable being separated like going to a drop off class or birthday party.

Is there anything to this or am I just noticing things that reinforce my hypothesis? Or is there another factor at play like the type of person that chooses to stay home might be more introverted themselves and thus the kids are more likely to inherit that behavior, etc?

A little while ago, I asked my child what they would do if another child pushed them, laughed at them or said something unkind.

The answer was basically, “I don’t know.”

That stayed with me.

As parents, we often say things like “stand up for yourself,” “use your words” or “tell a teacher.” But when a child is actually in that moment, those instructions can feel too big and vague.

So we started practising small situations at home.

I would pretend to be another child and say something like:

“Ha! You got it wrong!”

Then we would practise a simple response:

“Oops, everyone makes mistakes. I’ll try again.”

We didn’t focus only on the words. We also practised standing tall, keeping a steady body and using a calm, clear voice.

For situations involving hitting or pushing, we practised a simple safety sequence:

Stay strong. Say STOP. Move away. Tell a trusted grown-up.

The goal was never to teach a child to argue or hit back. I wanted to make it easier to remember what to do when a difficult moment happens.

That experience led me to create Brave Body, Kind Heart, Book 2: Stand Tall, Stay Strong!

It contains 52 primary-school situations involving hitting, rough play, teasing, friendship pressure, safety, big feelings and classroom confidence. Each situation gives children a chance to practise their body, voice, words and next safe action.

Full disclosure: I created this book through Active Mind Explorers. I’m sharing it because this is a challenge I believe many families can relate to.

I’d also love to hear from other parents: What school situation does your child find hardest to respond to?

Have a look on the E-book for your child:

https://activemindexplorers.gumroad.com/l/vptaa

Hello! I’m 37 weeks pregnant and where I live, I don’t qualify for the flu vaccine after 36 weeks and it’s not available until after my due date anyway. Frustrating timing 😑

But flu season is really serious because it’s cold and dark here in Scandinavia, and I would like to have the freedom to go places in the winter if I’m physically up for it, as I think it will be better for me mentally.

So, what is the consensus on getting the flu vaccine after birth- when should I get it and will the baby get antibodies through breastmilk if I can breastfeed?

(Baby will receive RSV antibodies at the hospital and I got the pertussis vaccine)

We have been feeding baby chilean seabass every day for 4 months. Approx. 25 grams. From 12 month old to 16 month old.

Chilean Sea Bass is high in mercury, calculated to a diet of roughly 10 micrograms of mercury a day.

Baby also has speech delay.

How worried should we be? What should we do?

Cod in english translates to chilean sea bass in Chinese. Due to mistaken translation, we have been feeding the wrong fish. Currently, theres a news report that just came out in China about this and thats how we found out. There are many parents in China who have been making this mistake.

I’ve seen that the WHO recommends breastfeeding until at least 2 years old. I can find plenty of information on how much breast milk a baby should have up until they’re 1, but nothing after that. My baby is turning one next week, and daycare will stop accepting breastmilk bottles. They’ll be giving him whole milk during the day. I planned to nurse in the morning, when he wakes up, and before bed. I’d estimate about 8oz total. I’m not sure if this is enough to provide the recommended benefits or if I’d just be wasting my time and sanity (I plan to also pump mid day to keep supply up and I hate pumping tbh). Is there an actual recommended amount after 1 year or is any amount good enough?

I know botulism is caused before 1 year due to the bacteria in honey and the acidity in an infants stomach not being high enough. LO has a cough that is keeping him from sleeping both naps and at night. There can’t be anyway that they magically are immune at 366 days. I also read California’s botulism safety sheet that it is a risk before 15 months.

just looking for some clarity.

edit: LO has been eating 3 meals for 4 months regularly. Not sure if this changes the stomach acid conversation as I’ve seen.

Hello all, first time mum of a 19month old here!
A bit of context - I’m growing a little bit tired of my toddler picking up every little bacteria/virus known to man and I feel like the likeliest source is his toddler groups that he attends during the week.

I appreciate that even with the best cleaning and hygiene practices, outbreaks will inevitably happen and little kids can harbour pathogens for longer than adults and be contagious for longer but I live in a community of people who don’t really appreciate scientific evidence and are more on anecdotal experience. This is not really meant for me to try to convince them to live differently, it’s just, it’s my guy that ends up having to go through the illnesses and it just sucks. I think our community that we live in just accept that this is highly normal and even beneficial for future immunity.

So my question is do the benefits of going to these groups at this age outweigh the inevitable frequent infections my little guy is going to get?!
What are the benefits of going to these groups in this age group?

He does seem to enjoy these groups but no more than he enjoys the time we spend playing together at home or outside.

I just hate every time he’s unwell and I’m considering pulling him from these groups if it’s not doing all that much for him developmentally..

TLDR; balancing benefit of attending social toddler group settings with risks of more frequent infections?

Having a PPA episode right now about my 9m baby’s recent fever. She’s ok now but i’m reliving it in my head and spiralling…so hoping someone here has some reassuring information…

My daughter had a high fever for 2 days that we managed with acetaminophen if/when it got above 39C(102.2F). A couple of times, when the medication wore off her temp would spike really quickly and she’d start shaking. Of course we gave her medicine then, but as she was shaking I would cover her with blankets—that i now understand were too thick—to stop the shaking (the blanket was recommended by the nurse we called on our local nurse line, she didnt say how thick…).

Sometimes it would take a while for the shaking to stop (30mins mb) and i would take her temperature towards the end (armpit), and on a couple of occasions it read 41C+ (105.8F+) and maybe even went above 42 one time…honestly it was a blur at that point.

Of course i freak out and unwrap and undress her down to the diaper, and try my best to cool her down rapidly with cool air and lukewarm water sponging, which would bring her down to 40C(104F) or below in around 5-10mins. The meds would then eventually kick in.

She was very uncomfortable during the shaking episodes and had her eyes closed while quietly whimpering, but once that stopped and i got her cooled down slightly she was fairly alert and looking around. There was no seizure.

Also to add, we took her to the hospital when she first started the fever as it was severe from the start, but they just told us its probably a cold/flu and to use fever reducer when needed.

Since getting over the fever, she’s more herself, just a little more quiet, drinking less milk and is more clingy (presumably because she’s now fighting the cold).

So i guess my question is: will those few minutes of possibly being at or above 42C(107.6F) cause some level of brain damage? Did i make it much worse with the blanket?

!!TW!!

Hi,
I am really struggling with anxiety over SUDC at the moment. My son is 1 years old. Literally his birthday is today.

I am absolutely prettified I am going to lose him to SUDC or even anything else.

I follow all safe sleep guides and we don’t co sleep but I can’t shake the fear that something will happen.

I have read that it can be something to do with a heart rhythm issue. Can I book in with my local doctors surgery to get this checked even with no warning signs?

Thank you

I'm a graduate student in Industrial Design, and I'm working on a class project about homemade baby food purées.

I'm hoping to learn more about parents' real experiences with making baby purées, especially when it comes to portioning, storing, and cleaning up afterward.

I've put together a short survey, and I'd really appreciate it if anyone who has made homemade purées for their baby could take a moment to fill it out!

Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvnZPfmRMb3l8B37JY_Nik0jByhmmBRAf2AOaJb16KtVbnZg/viewform?usp=dialog

This is purely for an academic project, not for commercial purposes.

Thank you so much for your help!

I heard it is good for toddlers to listen to many types of music but is passive listening good enough or should I pair it with an activity? Currently, I try to play classical music during book time which is right before bed. My LO also has a Yoto and several song cards she plays regularly. Other than that, I put on random music here and there during her playtime. I'm unsure if what I’m doing, especially the random background music, can provides any benefit. My toddler is 2.5.

Does anyone has insight I can send to her showing this is NOT OKAY?

One of my favourite phases with both of my kids has been around the six month mark where they take pauses during breastfeeding to look at me and often flash me a big gummy smile whilst they are at it too. My youngest will also take this opportunity to stick her hand in my mouth or give me a good slap on the chest.

I have always been curious about what actually causes them to do this. Is it a developing playfulness? Connecting their milk to their parent as an individual? Happy that that they are close to their parent? Curiosity and boredom?! If anyone has any insight about what drives this particular behaviour I’d love to know thanks!

We have two girls under 10 that are 2 years and 13 days apart. We have the space to give them separate rooms. Is there any evidence one way or another that gives insight into the pros and cons to this?

Apologies if this is a repeat question - has anyone seen compelling evidence why postpartum moms are not offered estrogen replacement therapy (like that available to menopausal women) to ease the transition and hormone crash postpartum?

I did some research and saw that it may affect milk supply, but it can be offered to treat extreme PPD.

The other reason against prescription that I saw was because the drop is “normal and temporary” - but that doesn’t seem like a valid reason to withhold therapeutics to ease the transition.

Any perspectives?