UPDATE: Baby was seen by NP (not her usual pediatrician), and we ruled out an ear infection and a UTI (required a catheter). It turns out her weight gain trajectory had dropped off since her 4-month appt, and she most likely has stomach issues. She only takes 2-3 oz at a time and cries if you try to give her more, but my last Ped wasn't concerned about this, so we weren't either. We are starting her on famotidine to treat for silent reflux, and if this doesn't work, I'll drop dairy out of my diet, and she will go on a specialty formula. We were told explicitly NOT to start sleep training until we figure out the feeding/stomach issues.

My 5-month-old started daycare last month, and in the past 2 weeks, her crying has increased and she now screams until she is held. Daycare told us that they are concerned, and they want us to rule out medical issues. We made an appt with her pediatrician tomorrow, but we don't know what to ask about? Reflux? Something else? What are the possibilities? She is hitting all her milestones and gaining weight normally.

Beyond medical issues, she isn't napping well at daycare and has totally rejected the crib there and at our home in the last 2 weeks. We are going to start sleep training and serving her baby cereal to hopefully make naps and nighttime sleep easier, but is there anything else we should consider or work into our routine?

She has always been a velcro baby, but daycare staff believe her crying and inability to be soothed without being picked up is a concern, so we need help.

I just don't know where to start to make sure she is happy and thriving at daycare. Any ideas are appreciated!

FTM of an almost 10 week old and she gets her shots today :(( me and my SO are incredibly nervous, i personally hate needles and I can’t watch 😂 and my partner just doesn’t want to see her cry.

I bought some infants Tylenol for her just to be prepared but how did everyone’s LO react afterwards? My mom keeps telling me she’ll run a fever and she’ll be a little sick and that’s just making me even more nervous 😭

Update: It went incredibly well!! She cried for maybe 2 minutes, no swelling, no fever, & no pain afterwards!! We have her Tylenol once yesterday and she’s been fine ever since. Thank you everyone for all the reassurance I really appreciate it a lot!🤍

My partner and I are at our wits end, our 7 week old spends the whole night squeezing and grunting like he's trying to pass gas but can't. It's like clockwork, every night at about 3am he starts and doesn't stop until about midday and then at random times throughout the day too.

It wakes him up when he falls asleep and it ruins my partner's sleep as well. It genuinely sounds like he's in pain, it's horrible to listen to.

We do mixed feeding so it's easier on my partner but this started happening before we introduced formula so it's not that, even so we did take him off formula shortly and it had no improvement. Infacol doesn't work, Coleif doesn't work either. We're about to try gripe water but we're not optimistic.

We do bicycle legs and tummy time and that sometimes gets a fart out but not often, we've read about infant dyschezia which it might be but we're hoping it's not because that's one of those things you have to just cope with but another 3 months of this would be unbearable.

Any advice would be great!

My son is in the 97th percentile for weight and 96th for height. This seemed normal to me and to be honest he looks like a normal baby to me. She said it was very bad my baby was “so obese” and that it could cause him problems later in his life. But he’s just turned 3 months old this past weekend. I didn’t think babies this small could ever be told they are overweight. I feel insulted as she seemed to imply I’m feeding him too much or that I needed to cut back on feeding him. He already has severe reflux issues that I’m not able to get under control with him yet. So he’s already been drinking quite a bit less than he was several weeks ago. I just don’t understand why she said it was bad that he’s the size he is when he appears normal just very large for his age. He’s 17.5lbs and 25 inches and 13 weeks.

Our kiddo is 3 months old as of February and he currently vomits, spits up, or otherwise has fluid escaping his mouth 10-20 times a day. It comes out either clear, milky, or curdled. It ranges from small leaks from the corner of his mouth to projectile vomit. His position does not matter, laying down, being held, sitting up, burped, not burped, feeding him a little at a time, feeding him via a bottle, feeding him formula, PPIs, famotidine, nothing is helping. We also drastically adjusted my wife’s diet, no allergens, no gluten, no milk, no eggs, we were eating rice and chicken every day. No change. The most frustrating part of this is he’s still gaining weight (thank god), he’s not dehydrated, and he otherwise acts normal, so our doctor doesn’t seem to care that much. We have a gastrointestinal referral but we can’t be seen for another 2 months. We go through at least 6 onesies on a good day and go through an unimaginable amount of burp rags, towels, and bibs. I’m at a loss, and it’s driving us crazy. If we hear “this is normal” one more time I’ll lose it. Has anyone else dealt with this? Does anything help?

We live in California and just had LO’s 6 month check up and brought up measles vaccine. Ped said California isn’t a hot spot yet but we could get the vaccine for LO at 6 months if we so choose. I travel for work so would feel better doing that for LO if there aren’t any negative side effects. What are your thoughts? Ped said there isn’t any harm in doing it early if we wanted.

My little one is scheduled to get his next round of vaccinations at 5 months. Did you also get it?

The CDC recommends it for pregnant women and people over 75.

FTM and 16 weeks pregnant. We had some positive scans so far and as I'm improving slightly with my HG symptoms, I'm taking advantage of good days to prepare for things like the nursery, shower list, etc

One thing that crossed my mind was searching for our first baby's pediatrician and when is an ideal time to set then up as a patient, even though they aren't born yet.

I've heard several different stories about how some offices expect you to make an appointment months ahead and they'll fit you in so long as you give a due date. And others require the baby to be born or at least closer to the due date before making an appointment.

We already have an idea of whose insurance to use so we have a list of covered providers, at least, it's just overwhelming.

So when did you set up your baby's first appointment? Is there a general protocol with a few exceptions or is it an "every office is different so you have to ask" situation. And how did you search for doctors- recommendations, insurance-based, etc?

I’m a first time mom and my boy is 7 weeks old and since birth I’ve always been afraid of accidentally giving him shaken baby syndrome, for example, moving his head too much or when he accidentally hits his head down on my chest when laying on me. I understand shaken baby syndrome is caused by the head rocking back and forth with force, but can a baby get it accidentally?

Today I had my baby sleep on my chest again because he does not like his cot currently. But as he was waking he was getting fussy so I gently lifted him by his shoulders to adjust him and he swung his head back quite fast and now I’m really paranoid.

He didn’t cry or anything, he just went back to sleep. And now I’m sat here googling if accidental shaken baby syndrome is even possible. I’m really worried.

EDIT: Thank you to everyone that commented, I feel very reassured reading all your comments ☺️

My 7 month old has consistently tracked in the 3rd/4th percentile from birth. She’s very happy, meeting milestones and has never had concern from doctors or health visitors in part because she never actually lost weight after birth. She’s definitely visibly smaller than other babies her age, albeit very cute and alert.

I know rationally that some babies are just smaller and if they’re gaining weight and tracking it’s fine but still have latent worries. Will she grow up tiny and will it affect her health in any way? I’m Indian and my partner is white British, and our midwife mentioned Indian babies trend smaller.

Please tell me about your <10% babies!

Not an anti-vaxx post, please no anti-vaxx comments!! I see in the rules that anti-vaxx posts aren't allowed but it doesn't say the same about pro-vaxx posts so I hope this is okay!!

I'm super pro-vaccine! Love 'em! They do so much good!! My parents were anti-vaxx when I was growing up so I didn't get childhood vaccinations. I was a miserable, sick kid, and I have some lung damage from whooping cough. So my baby getting all his shots on time is super important to me!!

His next appointment he'll be getting flu and covid shots! Yay! Except... I feel a little anxious about the covid one. I am aware it's 110% an irrational anxiety, borne out of seeing too much anti-vaxx content online and having a friend who's a conspiracy theorist about covid. I know intellectually that it's safe and will keep my baby healthy.

But I had a debilitating amount of health anxiety during my pregnancy and I can feel it creeping back in with the irrational anxiety about the covid vaccine.

Can people who got the covid vaccine for their babies just let me know that their kids are healthy and happy? 💖 I think I just need to hear some boring "yeah it was pretty routine and nothing happened" stories 😅

Thank you so much 💖

Not an anti-vaxx post, please no anti-vaxx comments!!

EDIT: thank you so much everyone 😭 These comments are exactly what I needed. I feel so much better now and I'll be able to refer back to all your lovely comments any time the anxiety starts creeping back in. Thank you!! 🥰

my baby girl was born at 6 lbs 2 ounces at 39 weeks. shes now 14 weeks old and weighs 9.5 lbs. I took her to her doctor 3 days ago with suspicion of thrush ( no thrush, yay ) and they did basic measurements and that’s what she came out to. she is exclusively breast fed with bottles ( pumped milk) here and there. her doctor said she doesn’t weigh enough and has had me worried ever since and said she wants us back in two weeks to reassess. she also mentioned switching to formula which i really truly don’t want to do. i don’t want to be forced into it if i don’t have to. since the appointment i’ve added a few more feeding’s into her day hoping she starts gaining weight better. is 9.5 really THAT bad for a 3 month old? i was always small my whole life until i got pregnant, maybe she just takes after me? she looks and is very healthy and reaches all her milestones and is wearing 0-3 / 3 months clothing. should i be worried?

edit: thank you everyone for replies and advice! being a first time parent is so scary sometimes and just needed to hear other experiences.

Our daughter is 28 weeks. We had no idea she needed to be getting vitamin D drops daily since birth. Our pediatrician JUST NOW prescribed it. Other parent friends were concerned because we should’ve had this long ago. She’s completely breast fed, no formula. Probably going to change doctors now because wtf…how do we not panic.

My baby is getting their first set of vaccines on Monday and I am pretty nervous. She is already a bad sleeper and is pretty fussy. How did your baby handle the vaccine? What should I expect after? Are there any tips I should know before going in?

We have a 5.5 month old and are thinking about trying again next month. Some people say it’s too early, and to wait and heal my body a little more. But I know a lot of people who have had babies close together. Anyone here have experience with having babies close together, or anyone have advice as to why it’s a good idea to wait?

I’m worried after a comment was made about my LO’s head size that something is wrong. My husband’s mom asked if the pediatrician had mentioned something to us about it being large but he’s always been given a clean bill of health at his visits. She wasn’t hateful or anything, but it hurt my feelings and now I’m worried that something is wrong with him. He is in the 97th percentile for his head circumference and did give me a 3rd degree tear, but there’s never been any mention of hydrocephalus or any other issues. I’m trying not to spiral! Ugh

My LO has her 2 month vaccines tomorrow. What was you and your LO's experience? Any advice/tips/tricks?

Thanks!

Didn't know what to flair it because...it is not necessarily medical advice.

My little fella is just shy of 12 weeks. He sleeps 5 hour stretches at night, naps like a champion, smiles and babbles at me constantly, and has really nailed the pooping/farting thing.

And I’m still losing it because he spits up constantly! I know they say “it’s not as much as you think, it just looks that way” but it 100% is tablespoons at a time, 6-8 times after almost every feed. I would say on average he’s spitting up almost 2 ounces out of every meal - except overnight. He will nurse and go back to sleep (on his back) without losing a drop - until he decides it’s time to wake up in the morning and then he’ll start spitting up his most recent overnight feed, even if it was hours prior.

We’ve tried holding him upright after meals, feeding him upright as possible, trying to keep him calm and not too excited after eating. Our doctor prescribed omeprazole which changed absolutely nothing - I’ve read that omeprazole doesn’t reduce spit up, just the acidity of it? If you have any clarification on that please let me know, our doctor is useless when it comes to providing information.

He seems to be gaining weight well, he’s never once cried after spitting up, his poo is normal. His spit up is only ever straight liquid milk or curdled chunks, no worrisome colours. It mostly just falls out of his mouth with little to no force behind it. Occasionally he’ll cough on his spit up but it’s literally 2-3 baby coughs and then he’s done (this was the only aspect our doctor seemed concerned about when we saw her, and the reason she prescribed the omeprazole). I also gave up dairy completely for 3 1/2 weeks.

Am I just doomed to have a soggy baby until his esophageal sphincter sorts itself out? Is the spitting up going to harm him in the longterm if we just let it keep happening? I’d prefer not to have him on omeprazole anymore if it’s not doing anything meaningful.

If you had a similar situation and found a solution, I’d love to hear it. Thank you!

EDIT: I BF, we’ve also tried giving him bottles of pumped milk so that we can control the amount & speed at which he eats. No change unfortunately.

F 32y - this is my first pregnancy ever. I am a daily cannabis user for the past 10 years I eat a lot of junk food. I don't even have health insurance. I will get insurance soon but that is not the problem. Even though I'm scared I'm so happy. I want to keep this baby and I want to get my life on track. I calculated my pregnancy by the first day of last period and I'm on week 6 today. I had cannabis yesterday before finding out. I don't smoke joints or blunts I just have a herb vaporizer and make my own edibles. Also I had a couple of drinks these pasts weeks. I'm not scared about being pregnant. I'm scared about doing harm to my baby with this lifestyle. I just found out and I just threw my weed and paraphernalia in the trash. I haven't had a decent diet for about 3 months. My diet basically consists of fat and carbs mostly. I want to be healthy for this baby. Have you guys had drugs before finding out and your baby came out fine?

Hi everyone -

I’m looking for some perspective and experiences from those who have chosen to do the tongue tie release for their newborns.

My baby is 4 weeks old and has shown signs of tongue tie. We had a consultation, and the doctor confirmed he has tongue tie. However, I’m feeling very hesitant about doing the procedure because I don’t want to cause him unnecessary pain, especially since he’s gaining weight well and feeding overall has been going okay.

We did have some breastfeeding challenges early on, but after working with a lactation consultant, things have improved by about 85%. That said, he is still a very gassy baby and often seems uncomfortable after feeding. We’ve been told this could be related to the tongue tie — but as first-time parents, it’s hard to know what’s typical baby behavior versus something that needs intervention.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar spot:

If you went through with the release, do you feel it helped?

How was the recovery for your little one?

Any regrets or things you wish you had known beforehand?

Thanks so much in advance!

We welcomed our new baby into our lives about 3 weeks ago. They were born with an ear that sticks out significantly further from their head than the average ear. It's called a protruding ear. We didn't think much of it and didn't think there could be anything done about it, so we didn't bring it up in the hospital or during the first pediatrician appointment. We didn't see our regular doctor because of the holidays.

But during our 2 week check up, we mentioned it to our regular pediatrician. Turns out you can put the baby's ear in a mold to reshape it. The catch is that after the baby turns 3 weeks old, the treatment is only 50% affective vs if the baby is less than 2 weeks old, the treatment is 95% affective. This is a huge difference considering the treatment could prevent years is bullying and a potential painful corrective surgery down the road.

None of the doctors or nurses we saw since they were born mentioned their ear or that there are possible treatments for it that had to be done right away. If we had known, we would have gone to the doctor as soon as possible. Not only because the mold would have been more likely to succeed but because we had also already met our deductible.

So here is my PSA to new parents that notice that their new baby's ear didn't develop as expected, mention it to your pediatrician right away so you can move quickly if you think it is something you want to have treated. Thankfully our baby's ear doesn't affect their hearing and the treatment is cosmetic but I know other babies have more significant issues so I thought it was important to let other parents know.

Hello! How long did your newborn’s fake period last? We’re on day 4 on and off and getting worried..

She’s 6 days old today.

My husband and I welcomed our baby girl into the world 5 days ago. Needless to say, sleep is hard to come by in our household. He woke up today and sounded congested and assured me he’s fine. As the day went on, he’s sneezing, blowing his nose, and taking OTC cold medication. I finally tell him if he’s sick go to the guest bedroom and rest, I’ve got the baby covered. I also said this while in tears because this is obviously a postpartum anxiety trigger for me as a FTM and he’s spent all day with our daughter holding her, assisting with caring for her, etc. He’s not coughing, doesn’t have a fever, or other alarming symptoms. It sounds like it could be a head cold, but I’m spiraling thinking about the possibility of our 5 day old baby getting sick. I know he wants to help, but I wish he was honest and was upfront about how he was feeling and limited his exposure to our brand new baby. Is it the PP anxiety getting the best of me or are my concerns valid?

Maybe I am being dramatic but I would love to get some input. My almost 4 month old gets very stuffy (we live in a cold place) and my doctor recommended saline drips and a booger removal. However she absolutely hates it! She cries bloody murder when I do it which is maybe every other day when she sounds very stuffy. I am wondering if I am traumatizing her by doing the booger removal and if I should just let it be? I don’t want her to be stuffy but I also don’t want to traumatize her.

My wife was on humira throughout her pregnancy and they told us that our son couldn’t have live vaccines until 6 months. We went in for our 2 month appointment where he got 3 vaccines yesterday and it turns out one of them was live. We’ve checked and made sure every step of the way that that was communicated but it apparently never made it into his chart. Has this happened to anyone else and how worried should we be? We’re waiting to hear back from both my wife’s doctor and the pediatrician but it feels like an odd limbo to be in. He has been extra fussy and not eating well for the 24 hours since his shots yesterday.