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New Parents

You did it — your bundle of joy is here! Before you know it, the medical staff is telling you, “It’s time for you to be discharged,” and you’re on your way home. And it’s only your first few days being a parent. This guide will walk through what the first week with your newborn baby may look like and, just as importantly, a few things to keep an eye out for along the way. The first week of infant care is a time of big adjustment — for both you and your baby. Many of the changes you notice are completely normal as your newborn adapts to life outside the womb. But there are also moments when it’s important to pause and check in with your pediatrician. What to Expect in Your Baby’s First Week During the first week of life, babies spend most of their time sleeping, feeding, […]

Staying active during pregnancy? That’s a goal many expecting moms embrace. But what about after your baby arrives? Between the physical changes your body is experiencing and the around-the-clock demands of a newborn, finding the time and energy to hit the gym can feel impossible. Yet this is exactly when movement matters. Moving your body — even for just a 10-minute exercise at home — can speed healing, improve your mood, increase energy, and reduce stress. That’s why we’ve designed a quick, full-body workout that requires no equipment, can be done entirely at home, and is gentle enough that baby can snooze right through it. When to Start: At Home Workouts for Moms According to the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG), if you had a healthy pregnancy and a typical vaginal delivery, you should be able to start exercising again even just a few days after your baby is born. If you have a cesarean birth or […]

As a parent, it’s natural to have concerns about your child’s development, and conditions like lip and tongue ties can be confusing, especially with the images they evoke of a tongue-tied baby. Anywhere from 1% to 11% of newborns have signs of tongue tie, or ankyloglossia (ang-kuh-low-GLOSS-ee-uh), according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Lip and tongue ties aren’t cause for a lot of worry on their own, but they can affect feeding, speech, and oral health, or even be indicators of related conditions. Here are some other common questions about lip and tongue ties, including how to recognize the signs, their potential impact, and what to consider when making treatment decisions. What Are Lip and Tongue Ties?  Which Parts of the Mouth Are Affected? How Do I Know If It’s a Lip or Tongue Tie? Identifying lip and tongue ties can be challenging. Tied tongue in newborns is often […]

You may have noticed a shortage of baby formula on store shelves these days. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused supply chain and staffing issues, and a recent recall of baby formula due to contaminated products from one factory has added to the problem. If you are formula feeding your baby, you may worry about how you will continue to feed your little one. Here are some tips on how to navigate the baby formula shortage. What to do: Talk to your baby’s doctor, who may have some sample cans of formula available. You can also call a local hospital, breast milk bank, or office of WIC (the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children). Women’s shelters, food banks, and faith-based organizations might also be able to help. Shop around. Try other stores that you may not have visited in the past, especially smaller independent grocery stores, pharmacies, […]

Infantile spasms (IS) is a rare, but serious type of seizure associated with a unique, very abnormal brain wave pattern that can have a catastrophic effect on a young, developing brain.  What do these seizures look like? These seizures can be subtle and consist of repetitive movements occurring in clusters. These movements are brief and consist of head drops or head bobs with brief jerks followed by flexion or extension in the child’s extremities. The eyes may widen and roll up.  How are they different from sudden startles? These seizures typically occur in clusters of repetitive movements, often when the child is waking up from sleep. After these clusters, the child may cry or become irritable.  What are other symptoms that I may see? At times, the child may cease to make further developmental gains, or have regression in their developmental milestones. What age does Infantile Spasms tend to occur? At any […]

Breast milk is nature’s perfect food for a newborn. It contains the right amount of nutrients, immune-boosting antibodies, and is easily digested. Babies who are breastfed tend to have fewer bouts of diarrhea or constipation, less reflux, more protection against ear infections, pneumonia, and asthma, and a lower risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).  The benefits of breast milk seem to be endless. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends to start breastfeeding as early as one hour after birth and to continue exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. They also recommend continuing breastfeeding even after solid foods are introduced, until at least 1 year of age.  Can You Breastfeeding If Positive for COVID-19? But what if you’ve tested positive for COVID-19? Is it safe to start or continue breastfeeding? While there are still so many unknowns when it comes to coronavirus, it’s widely known that you can spread COVID-19 to your infant through tiny […]