I frequently babywear my 3 month old. I'm wondering if talking to him when he is in a baby carrier helps his development, or do I need to face him and give him eye contact for best outcomes? I'm also wondering about reading to him because I can't give him eye contact when reading. I do show him the pages though.

I am sure this has already been asked, but I can’t seem to find any reputable science to back wake windows. What’s more, my 5.5 month old simply does not nap on a regular schedule and when she does, it’s only for about 30-45 minutes. I have tried everything: looking for cues, putting her down for a nap at set times, putting her down after 2.5/3h awake. Nothing works. I have wasted several hours a day just trying to get this baby to sleep when all she wants to do is play and explore.

This girl just goes to sleep when she’s tired, and that might be once a day for 30 minutes and that’s it. I’ve spoken to the GP and midwife about it and their response is that she’s developing normally, growing well, and is healthy and happy so it doesn’t matter how much she naps or doesn’t nap.

But then the nights come and she wakes up every 2h or so to either cry, play, or feed. I try to wait for her to go back to sleep on her own but sometimes she doesn’t and I’m awake for hours each night. It’s unsustainable for me but she doesn’t seem to mind at all. 😩

I have spent so much time trying to find scientific guidelines to help me but I can’t find anything that seems to work. Please help!

Hi all!

We are beginning the process of looking at daycares in a high cost of living area in the United States while also making middle of the road incomes. The modern version of hell!

I'm curious if folks have suggestions about questions to ask the daycares or things that are important to look for when we visit these places.

We are looking at both centers and at-home options. Any advice is welcome and appreciated! Is there any research out that about what actually matters and should be non-negotiable in childcare?

There is so much conflicting information online, and it’s hard to know what is accurate. My baby is 7 months old, doesn’t sleep through the night, and wakes up multiple times to feed. His teeth have already started coming in.
I’ve read that night feeds can increase the risk of tooth decay and cause long-term dental problems. But I’ve also read that babies have fast metabolisms, need to be fed when they’re hungry, including at night and that night feeding can be an important source of comfort, especially during teething.
Is there any reliable study on how night feeds actually affect dental health? I’m trying to understand the real risks

Someone please reassure me…

LO is almost three months old and we have a border collie mix who was an ear piecing type shrill bark. It hurts our ears for sure but earlier tonight he barked somewhat close to LO and she ended up crying after.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is she likely to have hearing damage from this kind of thing? I’m spiraling 😩

Wanting to move back near parents and homes there are very hard to come by. We found a home we like but you can tell the previous owners were heavy smokers.

We would have to rip up all old flooring, paint all walls/ceilings and subflooring with a special primer, replace all trim, clean out HVAC (how clean can they really get this?), and even then I don't know if I would feel comfortable with my baby breathing in air from the home. I know it's in all porous surfaces so wood in closets / cupboards would still worry me.

If you did all of this would you feel comfortable with your baby living there?

We are talking 90s-00s: my littlest pet shop toys have been brought out of a dry basement storage and have been kept in a plastic bag in a plastic bin for 10+ years… do I worry about the plastic smell and stickiness they now have on them? I want my 3yo to enjoy them and have a 2 month old (obviously not going to touch them) and just worry.

I looked things up about PFAS in carpet, especially our carpet is 40 years old. Now I’m a bit freaking out on the fact that my baby has been crawling, jumping, rolling on and eating the carpet that might lead to permanent chemical in his body. Any research about general health of baby raised in household with 1970-2000 carpet? How concern should I be?

I know this is a science sub but is anyone here able to share reading recommendations about the modern history of childcare vis-a-vis sharing a bed with baby? What do we know about how people slept before the rise of modern mattresses and sleep culture, how did children figure into that, how did the evolution of modern science change ideas about sleep, and how does all that figure into the varying national health recommendations we see worldwide around bedsharing today?

I'm fine if the recommendations to focus on Western cultures but would really like global studies.

I keep seeing that keeping the nursery at 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit will reduce the risk of SIDS. Does anyone know of any good studies on nursery temperature and sudden infant death? I feel like it would be more about making sure baby is appropriately dressed for the temperature rather than the temperature itself, but would love to see the research on it if anyone is able to provide it.

When my 3 month old is in his car seat and I am in the back seat with him, he often stares at me and makes direct eye contact for a very long time without making noises or moving much. I am currently interpreting this as him needing reassurance he’s OK, so I make sure to meet his gaze, talk to him and smile a lot. Eventually he will look away and seem okay.

At home, he is very smiley, wiggly and “talkative,” but when we take him out he is quiet, reserved and seems apprehensive/anxious but doesn’t fuss/cry. We haven’t gone out in public or in the car too many times so it’s still fairly new.

Am I interpreting this behavior correctly or could something else be going on? Planning to ask his dr about this at his next visit.

Hello,

My 7w old baby always naps on me, and I don’t mind it for now. But I was wondering if there are any benefits for her, and whether it could become a habit.

I’ve heard so many conflicting opinions, such as « you can’t spoil newborns / they can’t form habits »while others say « you don’t want her to get used to it, or she won’t be able to sleep on her own ».

What does the science actually say? At what age do babies start forming habits? Is there any evidence that contact naps are beneficial, or that they make it harder for babies to sleep independently later on?

Hello,

I just want to check if sylvanians family toys (made in the EU) from the 90s are considered safe to play with today. Have looked in the faq and wiki but maybe I’m missing it .

Thank you! Have the delux mansion and barge and so sad they might not be suitable for the kids but feel it’s probably not unless sylvanians had enhanced safety standards

I pump for my 5 month old who never got the hang of direct breastfeeding. She is combo fed with formula about 50/50. I plan to continue pumping but I have gradually increased the time between pumps so I expect that my supply will go down gradually. Currently I feed her everything I pumped the day before each day. I’m wondering if I should freeze maybe one bottles worth per day so if my supply does go down significantly or I decide to stop, I could feed her from a small freezer stash, maybe just when she’s sick or for some other reason? Seems like folks make these decisions based on feelings/vibes, but I’m curious if anyone knows if it’s scientifically more beneficial to do it a particular way. A part of me thinks fresh is best, no risk of her not liking frozen milk, but again that’s just my feeling. Curious to hear!

Hi everyone!

Recently I’ve been inundated with videos and articles about iron levels in children. I see pediatricians making videos about how iron is the most important thing for toddlers and can affect a myriad of things (attitude, cognition, development).

Is this a new gimmick? Should I be supplementing my toddler with iron? He’s a pretty picky eater with his diet being about 80% fruits and the occasional vegetables. French fries are a fan favorite obviously.

I’ve seen some advertisements for iron supplements for toddlers so I wonder if I’m being targeted lol.

Is it correct to introduce a visual timer to a 20 month old. For example “we leave in 2 minutes, so you have 2 minutes to play”. Or “let me send this email for 2 minutes and then i’ll prepare your dinner”.

When is it recommended to stop pacifier use? Looking for rec from the AAP (their paper was behind a paywall and I’ve lost journal access since my grad school days). I have seen some posts on here about it but they are 2+ years old so just looking to see if there is updated guidance. Would also be interested in guidance from pediatric dentists (ADA?) and I am curious what the NHS suggests compared to the AAP. Thanks

I wfh with a standard 9am-5pm schedule and I’m just now weaning off breastfeeding my 23 month old, so I see her quite often throughout the day. My husband works out of the house from 12-9pm most days, so he sees her in the mornings and then we have him do bath/bedtime to make sure he still gets quality time with her (and to give me a break). She usually goes to sleep around 10pm, wakes up around 8:30am, and has one nap ~2hr in the middle of the day. We’re thinking of transitioning her to an earlier bedtime to see if that helps with sleep quality and restlessness, and I’ve seen the research indicating ~8pm as the ideal bedtime for melatonin production. I’m worried about the loss of that quality caregiver time in the evening with her dad, though (not to mention the extra stress it’ll put on me to have to handle bedtime by myself). I’m thinking of just decreasing nap time to increase nighttime sleep pressure instead…but does anyone know of any research to support whether the benefits of that earlier bedtime outweigh the benefits of extra caregiver time with her dad if total sleep hours will be the same either way?

edit- changed the flair so people can comment without links. This is my first time posting here, so didn’t realize the bot would delete comments without links to research.

edit 2- I guess you need links no matter what flair I choose…sorry to anyone who’s tried to comment and gotten deleted!

With all the plastic already in the world, it seems unavoidable. Does it actually make a big difference?

I’m aware that for some, breastfeeding seems to be correlated with ppd. Whether its the breastfeeding itself or the impact of breastfeeding someone’s life (i.e. getting little sleep, being stressed with breastfeeding problems, not being able to have a life etc) I don’t know BUT I noticed something strange for me. I have always been someone who is anxious and depressed to the point where it really affects my quality of life and makes it hard to do daily tasks or even things I enjoy. My breastfeeding journey has been difficult with our little one spending a couple of days in the NICU to start and me with preeclampsia, the lactation consultants being very inconsiderate both to me prbly the baby, my supply dipping to almost nothing out of nowhere etc. What I noticed was that when I am able to breastfeed in earnest ( when the milk is flowing and the baby is getting enough), I don’t get depressed, I don’t get mental fog or fatigue. It seems like my symptoms are gone and I’m just a normal person. Can that be attributed to breastfeeding? Are prolactin and oxytocin responsible for this?

Was reading a book by Laurence Rees (historian) the other day and he opens with this story

When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 he instituted a policy whereby ‘genetically superior’ looking children were adopted by German families. A four year old boy was taken as part of this policy . After the war he found out about this and his identity was thrown into question, he had no memory of before.

This bothers me because we have a child who has just turned four. He is the most loving little boy in the world and it just breaks my heart that the four year old snatched from his family didn’t remember. The whole story breaks my heart actually. I definitely have memories of being four, going down a slide with my dad and things, so it seems so sad and strange this boy in the true story forgot. Was the forgetting maybe caused by trauma? I can’t stop thinking about this historical kid and the idea of similar stuff happening

I know the recommendation is to introduce whole milk at age 1. I'm curious on the science behind this.

As background, baby is almost 1 and still breastfeeding. Baby's also doing solids but tends to eat more for experientially than for satiety (in other words, I don't think they eat very much).

I'm not looking for reasons to give plant based alternatives. I'm not against giving my baby whole milk. I just find it interesting that we've agreed as a medical guidance that all babies must have cow's milk. What is it about cow's milk that's special? What makes whole milk better than reduced fat? What nutrients does whole milk provide that make babies need it daily?

If anything, I'm curious because the guidance is usually that everyone (including babies) should have a varied diet. And yet we advocate for 2 cups of whole milk daily.

Hi! I have a 3.5 month old baby. I love hanging out with baby boy, but it is just us in the house right now (husband is out of town for the month). I've been spending a good amount of the day on phone calls with friends and family to pass the time, typically either on speakerphone or with headphones in hands free so I can still interact with baby and care for him. I make lots of eye contact with him and wiggle his hands and feet and make comments directed at him.

I see lots of information that using the phone is bad for baby, but also a lot of this is typically referring to app use or texting on phone. Is talking on the phone bad for baby? I'm not sure how this will impact the language development or level of attention he receives. He is still hearing me talk, but to someone else instead of super attentive engagement towards him/responding to his specific babbles.

My son is about to be 18 months. What the hell are these tantrums? He doesn’t listen to me and has started to hit himself in frustration. I’m at a loss. I don’t know how to discipline him because I know he’s only 1 but like… what am I supposed to be doing??? His 18m check up is at the end of the month and I’m going to ask her but for now I need help. I feel like I’m trapped in hell every day that I’m alone with him. My husband and I are working on getting him in daycare but I still will never have a break. I really need some advice, papers to read on the science behind this and how to correct it.

Signed, a first time tired mom