You may have heard the phrase “food before one is just for fun.” It’s a really cute rhyme and has good intentions, but is a bit misleading. While it is true that most of your baby’s nutrition should still be coming from breastmilk or formula until around age 1, there is still a reason we focus a lot on the first foods we introduce to our kids.
This is my go-to method for discreet breastfeeding. It’s called the two shirt method, because it involves two shirts. It allows you to keep most of your body covered. That being said, there is absolutely no reason you NEED to stay covered while breastfeeding. It can just be more comfortable.
Many parents are surprised to find out that there is an association between ADHD and picky eating. It turns out that it is quite common for kids with ADHD to be picky eaters. That doesn’t mean that there’s nothing you can do about it. Many of the tips that we recommend for neurotypical kids work well for kids with ADHD as well!
There are very few foods I recommend completely avoiding, however honey before age 1 is one of them. The issue with honey and babies is not nutritional, but safety. Babies are born with an immature immune system that develops over time. There is no magical change that happens at exactly 12 months, but it is around this age where most babies have a mature enough immune system to handle honey safely.
B vitamins are a group of water soluble vitamins that help our body make energy from the food we eat and also form red blood cells. You may see them written out as something like vitamin B1 or as a name like thiamine.
Because they are water soluble, our bodies don’t store them very well. When we eat too much, we tend to get rid of it in our urine. This is actually why you may have extremely bright yellow pee after taking a vitamin B complex or even a multivitamin containing B vitamins (it’s the riboflavin that does it).
Now that it’s getting warmer, it’s the perfect time to start making our lentil bruschetta dip again! It’s a slight variation on the Trader Joe’s version that became popular a few years ago. My favorite thing about it is that it can be made from all fresh or all packaged foods, depending on what you have available.
The addition of lentils to traditional bruschetta adds in some protein, iron, and fiber, making it a perfect snack or meal for kids (and adults). With older kids, you can serve it with crackers, but with younger kids, I’d offer it with toasted bread as crackers can be a choking hazard.
One of the most confusing things for many parents is figuring out when exactly to start solids. You may receive the ok from your pediatrician at 4 months, but you may also hear to wait until 6 months. There’s also information about introducing allergens between 4-6 months, so which is right? For the most part, we look for signs of readiness more than a certain age.
As with all things parenting, there are exceptions to every rule. These are the general guidelines we use to assess whether or not a child is ready to start solids, but there are reasons that certain children may need to start solids earlier or later. If you are ever concerned, you can work with a pediatric dietitian or feeding therapist who can familiarize themselves with your individual situation.
Around age 1, most parents are advised to switch from formula or breast milk to cow’s milk. There are many reasons why families may not want or be able to offer cow’s milk and are looking for milk alternatives. There is no food that your child NEEDS to eat, so if you do not want to offer milk, you do not need to offer an alternative, however you definitely can.
Even if you’ve read your breast pump manual thoroughly, you may find conflicting information about how often to replace your pump parts. This is because everyone uses their pumps differently. Someone who is exclusively pumping will need to replace parts much more frequently than someone who just pumps when they want to go out for date night and want to give their baby a bottle.
That being said, there are some general rules of thumb that you can follow. If you ever notice a change in output for seemingly no reason, checking parts is one of the first things you can do.
