Six weeks after the birth of my first son, I lay on the exam table in my midwife’s cozy office for my final six-week postpartum check-up. “This might sound odd,” I said, glancing at a boob-shaped ceramic mug sitting on the shelf, while Laura, my midwife, gave me a pap test. “But I’m really going to
Advice & Tips
I hadn’t even given birth to my daughter when I received my first “just wait.” I was telling a friend at work that I was having trouble sleeping. In the 30th week of pregnancy, essentially housing a full person, turning over in my sleep was near impossible. I felt like I could not possibly get
After months of breastfeeding around the clock and diligently trying to put her infant son to sleep in his bassinet, Toronto mom Kate Galt was bone-tired. Nothing was working anymore. When Elliot outgrew the bassinet at three months old, Galt tried to train him to sleep in his own crib, but he always seemed to
It’s the kind of thing that you can’t fully appreciate in the moment, but our nurse’s words have played over in my mind countless times since the day we brought our son home from the NICU. There are no pictures of my son on the day that he was born. There are some photos from
Whether they breastfeed or use formula, food insecure mothers are struggling to feed their babies. Jean, a 24-year-old mother of two, said: “People don’t think there’s hungry kids out there [in Canada].” She would like us to know “there definitely is.” More than 1.2 million children in Canada live in food-insecure households, including babies of
At five weeks old, our daughter stopped breastfeeding to sleep. Her eyes would drift closed as she lay in my arms, her mouth going still, and I would gently unlatch her and lift her to my shoulder to burp her. Sometimes she would nestle asleep on my shoulder for five minutes, or sometimes only a
The exciting months leading up to your baby’s arrival are a whirlwind of planning and preparation. From choosing a name to creating a baby registry, there are so many exciting choices to make! And let’s not forget all the options when it comes to decorating the nursery. Instagram is full of ideas and Pinterest is
If your newborn is snoozing all day and up all night, there’s a chance they may have day/night confusion. Here’s how to deal. Caitlin Chartier’s three babies had a lot in common—they all walked early and hated peas. They also all struggled with day/night confusion (sometimes called day/night reversal), which is when a newborn’s sleep
A sleep consultant explains why some of the things you read Googling at 3 a.m. aren’t true. When we finally spilled the beans to friends and family that we were pregnant, we were flooded with obligatory Facebook messages and texts from well-wishers. “Congratulations!” they said. “We’re so excited for you!” Then two of my well-meaning
And why are some people so hardcore about choosing one approach over the other? “Baby-led weaning” was coined by authors Tracey Murkett and Gill Rapley in 2008 when they published their initial book in the UK. It refers to a baby starting solids solely by self-feeding with food they can grasp, without any purées or
When my daughter was a baby, every car ride ended in tears—hers, and often mine. She could only entertain herself for a few minutes before starting to wail. It was so bad that for a while, we tried to just stay close to home, going to local playgrounds instead of meeting friends across the city.
You’ve probably heard of the biggest brands (like Ergobaby and BabyBjörn), but there are tons of baby carrier options for different stages, body types and lifestyles. 1. One and done Photo: Didymos The DidyKlick is a great all-purpose carrier from infancy to toddler years (no newborn insert needed). Because it combines the comfort of a
Babywearing is a great way to keep your little one close, happy and secure while supporting their intense need for attachment in the early weeks and months—they just want to snuggle up and recreate the womb! It often leads to a calmer baby—and a calmer parent, too. Plus, for some infants, carrier naps are sometimes
Modern baby carriers that we see and use today are based on traditional baby carriers that have been used all around the world for hundreds of thousands of years. In fact, early humans may have started making carriers from animal skins, plants and other natural materials about half a million years ago as a necessity
Weaning my first baby was easy. I caught a stomach virus from his daycare when he was 16 months old, spent two miserable days hugging the toilet, and when I finally emerged pale, shaky, and questioning my life choices, my son had replaced me with a bottle. I’ve had no such luck with my youngest,
In the months after my second baby was born, I would often look back at the photos from the first time I held him. The nurse had just placed his warm, wriggly, wet body on my chest. I wasn’t scrolling through my phone because I wanted to relive the moment I laid eyes on him,