We know that babies and young children learn best from us and from social interaction. With all the technology available, people are using devices with their babies. In fact, 92% of parents report that their 1 year old has already used a mobile device, some starting as young as 4 months. Earlier this year, I… Continue reading Screen time and Babies
Category: Baby’s First Year
Born too soon: World Prematurity Day
Every year on November 17th, we celebrate World Prematurity Day to raise awareness about preterm birth and the concerns preterm babies and their family's experience. Babies born too early may face serious health risks or long term health problems. In 2016, the preterm birth rate was 8.7% in Toronto, higher than the rest of Ontario.… Continue reading Born too soon: World Prematurity Day
Surviving the first year: Self-care tips for new parents
Most of us are quite busy in our day to day lives - we have our routines, our interests, and our responsibilities. While parenting is an exciting, challenging and rewarding adventure, it can be easy for new parents' own needs to take a backseat as life with a little one begins. With the popularity of… Continue reading Surviving the first year: Self-care tips for new parents
Feeding your child
One of the questions that a client asked during a Healthy Eating Series program was: What should I do when my child does not eat everything on his plate? This is a very good question and believe it or not, many clients have asked this same question. So what do you do? Some of us… Continue reading Feeding your child
Increasing the joy in parenting
As a Healthy Babies, Healthy Children (HBHC) Public Health Nurse one of the best parts of my job is to help parents find moments of joy with their infants and children. Sharing joy and laughter can help parents and babies create a connection that will last a lifetime. Moments of joy may look like: A… Continue reading Increasing the joy in parenting
Happy World Breastfeeding Week!
In Canada, Breastfeeding Week is celebrated annually on October 1-7th to promote the importance of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding provides a number of benefits: breast milk helps protect your baby from ear infections, coughs and colds and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome breastfeeding helps protect you from breast cancer, diabetes and ovarian cancer promotes closeness and bonding with… Continue reading Happy World Breastfeeding Week!
Do I have enough breast milk to feed my baby?
Almost all breastfeeding parents go through a period when they think they don't have enough breast milk. Sometimes parents worry about this soon after the birth of their baby. Other times even after breastfeeding is well established. The most common reason for stopping breastfeeding is when parents feel they don’t have enough breast milk. The… Continue reading Do I have enough breast milk to feed my baby?
Reading to baby: Get an early start on a lifetime of learning
The time I spend with my kids reading a book is my favourite part of the day. It’s a time where everyone can wind down, snuggle in, explore new adventures and…have fun while learning language! So how early should we start reading to our children? Research shows that in the last 10 weeks of pregnancy,… Continue reading Reading to baby: Get an early start on a lifetime of learning
What is delayed umbilical cord clamping?
A common question from expectant parents in our prenatal program is "when is the best time to cut/clamp baby's umbilical cord?" During pregnancy, the umbilical cord helps move blood, oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby. Shortly after baby is born, their umbilical cord is clamped. Research shows that clamping the umbilical cord at different… Continue reading What is delayed umbilical cord clamping?
Cleaning and pregnancy: Safety tips
Let’s face it! Every day we are exposed to all kinds of things that affects our health – and baby's health. During pregnancy, you may be hearing about the risks of certain environmental hazards and the effects it may have on your unborn baby. During pregnancy, your body is baby's first environment. Many cleaning products… Continue reading Cleaning and pregnancy: Safety tips
