We’ve written about ‘What You Need to Know About Bringing Home a Sick Baby’, covering those few hours and days after your baby is released from the NICU. In this post, we’re going to look at caregiving over the longer term, for a special needs baby. What are special needs? When we say ‘special … [Read more...]

There are lots of names for it: mom brain, baby brain, momnesia… and they all point to the same problem. Lapses in short term memory, heightened emotions, insomnia and an inability to focus that seem to afflict new mothers in particular. Is it fatigue or is there more to it than that? As it turns … [Read more...]

Even with the best of intentions and the highest level of devotion, parents who are caring for a child who is on the autism spectrum know that help comes in many forms. It could be in the form of helping with a sibling who needs a little extra TLC, for example. For the parents themselves … [Read more...]

There is a laundry list of interesting facts and figures about pregnancy and newborns, but I’ve kept a list and checked it twice (yes, just like Santa) and here are a few things that you may or may not have known. These factoids are in no particular order, but take a read through and see how many … [Read more...]

A premature baby, born after 28 weeks gestation, has an excellent chance of surviving, thanks to advances in medical care and knowledge. There are still special considerations for the care of a premature baby however, and the more you know, the better equipped you’ll be if it happens to you. What … [Read more...]

What’s normal and what’s worth checking into, in the first year! There are so many things that parents worry about during their baby’s first year, but one of the most important is weight gain. Particularly for breastfeeding moms, it’s hard to tell if your little one is getting enough milk. With … [Read more...]

Taking care of your postpartum body Having a baby is physically taxing. Whether you have a vaginal birth or a C-section, there are things you need to do to take care of your body in the days and weeks that follow the big event. Part one of this two part series discussed the ways in which you … [Read more...]

Get Some Rest! Easier said than done, right? There is so much to do with a new arrival! But think of postpartum care and rest this way: if you’ve ever been on an airplane, you’ve heard the emergency speech. Put the oxygen mask on yourself before you put it on your kids. It’s so important because … [Read more...]

Has anyone ever told you that drinking beer—Guinness, in particular—enhances milk production? That’s an old time myth that keeps hanging around. Probably because it’s not entirely false: an element in the barley does produce prolactin, which is the hormone that stimulates milk production. That said, … [Read more...]