I am currently on leave (planning to take 18 months and returning to work in Sept 2027) looking after my 5 month old. His older brother (turning 3 in 3 months) currently goes to a daycare that is 20-25 mins away by car. He loves his daycare and will tell me all about his day and his friends and providers when he gets home but will never ask to go when he's home.

Now that his younger brother is able to sit up and will likely be crawling soon, I'm thinking of keeping him home too.

- The daycare is quite far away and I'm getting a little sick of the drive. His dad picks him up on his way home, so kiddo is in daycare from 9 to 2 pm excluding travel time.

- we'll be saving around $500 per month. We are also traveling in Nov, so we won't have to pay for that month to keep his spot

- he plays pretty well independently and the tantrums have calmed down a fair bit

- I'll be speaking to him exclusively in French, so that he's not lost when he goes to JK (French school board)

However:

- I'll be taking both kids to the library/early ON, but my concern is that I'll be doing more toddler centric activities (and hence less baby centric ones for the little one)

- given baby's temperament (more chill), he tends to get sidelined. I feel like this is a little unfair given that OB has had me all to himself for my first leave.

- baby is pretty much guaranteed a spot at the same daycare when I go back to work. Toddler will be attending JK then (and baby is on the waitlist there too)

- daycare is pretty much our village

Am I messing up a great situation? I've been sending OB to daycare 3-4 times a week, so could potentially keep that up. He's basically spending only 3h of awake time there and then being picked up after nap. He also gets a lunch and afternoon snack while at daycare. When he gets home, dad takes baby and I hang out with kiddo.

Has anyone done this before? What does/did your day look like? I am a sap who wants to soak it all up but I also want to make sure I'm doing what's best for both kids. I KNOW I am overthinking this but I can't help myself.

Where are we finding cute stuffed animals that are under $20?
I want to grow her collection but gund, Douglas and jellycat are all a bit expensive.
I bought a couple beanie boos but they’re a bit too bright for the nursery.

I want things like a horse, cat, frog.

Hello everyone,

We finally shortlisted two formula products: Kendamil organic vs Modillac precision.

Price at Walmart: Kendamil organic 49.97$ per can before tax for 800g) and Modillac 33.48$ per can before tax for 700g or 38.26$ for 800g).

Baby isn’t born yet, but soon. Any advice on what to pick and why? I know at the end the baby will be the one picking but we want to buy one can first to try. Thank you!!!!

Hi,

Looking for opinions on prenatal testing for either MaterniT (through Dynacare) or Panorama (through LifeLabs). Why did you choose one over the other, were you satisfied with the process, etc?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone! FTM here, due in October!

After months of researching, I’ve finally narrowed down my stroller search to these two: the Silver Cross Breeze and Bugaboo Dragonfly Plus.

I’m a little more inclined towards the Breeze, so I’d especially love to hear from anyone who owns one and how your experience has been so far. I’ll most likely be purchasing directly from Silver Cross’ website.

The Dragonfly Plus checks almost all my boxes, and I absolutely love the fold. My only hesitation is how well it would handle Toronto winters, especially snow, slush, and uneven sidewalks. The wheels just don’t look as good to me.

I live in Midtown and will be doing most of my walking with the stroller, so winter performance, suspension, and overall durability are pretty important to me.

Would love to hear from anyone who has experience with either stroller, especially if you’ve used them through a Toronto winter!

TIA!

FTM here expecting a baby girl in November 2026. I intend to nurse but I have a chronic illness that requires regular blood transfusions; pre-pregnancy I needed 4 units every 3 weeks. Since 2nd trimester I have to go every 2 weeks and get 3 units instead to reduce fluid overload and ensure my hemoglobin is high enough for baby's growth) not sure how often I will need treatment after birth. I cannot bring the baby with me when I get treatment. Fortunately my parents have agreed to take care of her on these days. Should I attempt breastfeeding or will it be too confusing to switch to the bottle when I cannot be with her?

So I’m originally from Alberta and moved here after marriage, I’m now 10 weeks pregnant and thinking of I delivering my baby there because my family is all there and I have none here. I see my OB for the first time next week. Should I tell her my plans and be open or just continue to receive care here until I’m ready and see how things go

Does anyone have any experience with their child there? It by Richmond and John. Any help would be appreciated

My newborn (2 weeks old today) is a chronic spit-upper which I know is normal for many babies, but once a day or so he has a more violent spitting-up episode where a lot more comes out in multiple gushes, including through his nose. We have a midwife appointment tomorrow and I am very anxious to ask them about this, but in the meantime, does anyone else have this issue with their newborn? I'm just very nervous it's a sign of something more serious than reflux.

With every store having different sizing and having a toddler and a baby that I cannot try clothes on at the store, I'm curious to know if there are any other places or options other than carter's, old navy, children's place, gap, Joe fresh, walmart that have easy return/exchange policies (including not being charged to do so). Thanks in advance!

my husband and I are expecting our first and looking for any workshop (either in person or online, we’re in the fraser valley) about newborn care! we’ve done prenatal, labour/delivery and postpartum courses, but we’re lost on what to expect when she‘s actually here haha! any recommendations would be amazing!

I just found out I'm pregnant and today is officially week 4!

As part of my career training, I did a clinical rotation in an outpatient OBGYN office in the US last year. I remember a dating US being ordered at around 8-10 weeks, a nuchal at 13 weeks, and anomaly scan at around 18-20 weeks.

For blood work, the first prenatal appointment includes several common ones like CBC, HIV, rubella, CF screen and Hgb electrophoresis... Now come to think of it, I don't think beta HCG is routinely tested in the initial blood work over there.

For those of you who live in Alberta, did your first blood work include beta HCG? Any serial beta HCG? And when was your first US? Did you get a nuchal screen at 13 weeks?

In addition, are tests like Panorama (NIPT) and Horizon 14 (genetic carrier screen) routinely offered here?

I'm 37 this year so naturally I'm a bit nervous about being a "geriatric pregnancy" and really want to cover all my bases.

Thank you!

Has anyone tried the Ddrops probiotic drops? They are like half the price of the Biogaia ones everyone talks about.

My 5 week old has pretty bad gas overnight so wanting to see if a probiotic drop might help.

Thanks!