What kinds of healthy foods do babies like best? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), babies should exclusively breastfeed for the first sixth months of life. At six months of age, babies should continue to breastfeed while receiving complimentary foods until age one. Breastfeeding should then continue until age two or beyond as mutually […] More
Fed is best, right? On the surface, “fed is best” seems like a positive slogan. Upon delving deeper into the statement and website I immediately uncover significant problems with the movement. Fellow mom blogger Mama Banana’s Adventures ignited a firestorm yesterday with her post “The Truth About Fed Is Best.” In her post, she criticizes […] More
Long before the birth of either of my children, I knew that I wanted to breastfeed my babies for as long as possible. I breastfed my daughter exclusively for the first six months of her life, and then she continued to nurse for two and a half years until the middle of June 2014. Had […] More
As infants, both my babies loved playing on the floor with activity gyms. Play mats provided a safe space on the ground for my itty bitty children while offering interesting sights, sounds, and textures that helped stimulate the senses and encourage learning. I have also always been a fan of Eric Carle. I fondly remember […] More
When you started introducing solid foods to your baby, did you follow the “wait X number of days between each new food” rule? Most sources that I have found online recommend waiting three to five days before introducing new foods. When my daughter was an infant, my nurse practitioner mentioned waiting three days between new […] More
Parents Lauren Fristid and Herbert Landrell sadly learned the hard way that the poison is in the dose after their 10-month-old daughter Niveah died of hyponatremia, or water intoxication. The mother believed that she was not producing enough breast milk, so the couple began diluting the milk with water. The infant ultimately lost nearly 20 […] More
With the health benefits of breastfeeding widely documented, new research adds to the growing body of evidence of the importance for babies: Breastfeeding may significantly reduce arsenic exposure in infants. Arsenic is a poisonous substance that occurs naturally in water, rocks, soil, air, plants, and animals. Arsenic poisoning is a medical condition caused by elevated […] More
Adding to the growing body of research on the importance of gastrointestinal microbiota for good health, a new series of studies presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in Houston, Texas suggests that factors such as gestational age, birth method, and breastfeeding influence the development of the immune […] More
Birth method and gestation duration appear to make a significant difference in the health of babies, with new research finding that such environmental factors may affect the way in which gut bacteria mature. The study published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, could help predict later body fat and […] More
Startling news for parents who feed their infants and toddlers commercially-produced baby foods: A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concludes that the majority of commercial infant and toddler foods including snacks, desserts, and juice drinks contain high levels of salt or sugar. According to the recommendations from the Institute […] More
The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved an innovative and affordable meningitis vaccine for infants in sub-Saharan Africa that can rid the area of disease outbreaks through routine vaccination. Meningitis is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms. Meningitis A […] More
Although many expectant parents decorate or renovate in the months before the birth of a new baby, a new study published in the journal Environment International finds that exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC) in new flooring before and after birth can increase the risk for wheeze in infants. Previous studies have linked VOC exposure […] More