Baby walking but never crawling — any learning disability worry?

Dear Dr. Heather, Our 8 month old son seems to be skipping the crawling phase altogether and learning to cruise and walk straightaway. Today someone told me that this means he’ll have learning disabilities later; is this true? Thanks! A Concerned Dad Dear “Concerned”, That’s an old wives tale, but one that many people still more »

Dr. Heather’s Pint-Sized Parenting Tip: A Noisy House= A Sleeping Baby?

When our first was born, I was determined to eliminate any possible source of noise inside (and outside) the house in hopes of bettering my baby’s sleep. I neurotically tiptoed around, turned off the phones, waited on chores that made noise, and considered complaining to the County for allowing leaf-blowers in my neighborhood. Guess what? more »

How to Leave Your Baby for the First Time

I get a weird, quivery feeling in my stomach when I think back to the time, 8 years ago, when I first left our first child in the care of a sitter. That sitter, Keri, has gone on to become a part of the family — a central figure in our lives and the reason more »

Easing Diaper Changing Struggles: A Pint-Sized Tip

Chasing a toddler around is exhausting. The last thing you need is to get into a wrestling match with a poopy diaper and a flailing child. Here are some tricks to try (that also work with wriggly babies, 5 or 6 months and older, too): Give a warning: When the stink-bomb hits, let your toddler more »

Baby Won’t Eat Baby Food? Some Tips

Dear Dr. Heather, My baby won’t eat his baby food. His doctor says he’s ready, but he’s just not interested. He takes a couple of bites here and there, but would really rather drink his milk. I’m starting to panic since the other babies in his playgroup are trying all sorts of baby food and more »

I Need Your Most Challenging Baby-Parenting Stories!

When our first child was 3 months old, a stranger in a coffee shop stopped to “ooh and aah” over her. “Is she your first?” He asked. When I nodded through my sleep-deprived haze, he went on to say, “A first child is always showered with love — and anxiety.” He didn’t stay long enough more »

A Toddler Sleep Dilemma Solved

Hi Dr. Heather, I have a sleep question regarding my 11-month-old. Since he was 5 months, he successfully fell asleep in his crib after our nightly routine, and woke 2 or fewer times to nurse. Similarly with naps. We do not use any type of music or white noise when putting him to sleep. We more »

Aloha, Honolulu Advertiser Readers!

Can I brag for a minute, folks? I’m being featured in today’s Honolulu Advertiser, in the Family Section. Zenaida Serrano was kind enough to use BabyShrink in her story about “Playing with Newborns”. Our good friend and nanny Keri Duke is a professional artist and photographer (and my own professional lifesaver), and took this photo more »

Got a New Baby? How to Survive the Sleep Deprivation

Boy, am I tired. You’d think I’d get used to the lack of sleep by now — this is our fourth child, after all. But the crushing effects of sleep deprivation continue to be the hardest part of parenting, for me. I could change diapers and nurse and even chase toddlers all day long, if more »

New Info on the Autism/Vaccine Issue

In an interesting development in the ongoing saga of the alleged link between vaccines and autism, the medical journal The Lancet is retracting the original study that proposed the idea that the MMR vaccine could cause the disorder. If you’ve been a BabyShrink reader for awhile, you know my stand on vaccines: They’ve saved millions more »

Is Your Young Baby Showing Signs of Autism?

Hi Dr. Heather, I came across your website when doing a search for signs of autism in infants. Our 3-month-old doesn’t look at us very much, doesn’t track objects across the midline well, and doesn’t often respond to our voice. He stares at the wall or just beyond us pretty much anytime we hold him more »

How to Handle Aggression in Your Young Child

Recently, I’ve gotten lots of questions about how to handle aggression in young children. It’s a common concern, and it’s always startling when your previously sweet little baby starts to bite, hit, or generally wreak havoc. How did this happen? Did I do something to cause this? Surely, we rationalize, he’s learning it from daycare…(or more »

Understanding your baby’s sleep/wake cycle: A recipe for sanity!

Having a new baby throws all semblance of a household schedule into chaos. Your little interloper has demands around the clock, and as YOUR ability to sleep decreases, your feelings of insanity increase! Sleep deprivation is really one of the most difficult parts of being a new parent. You can’t really blame the baby; he’s more »

All that anxiety for nothing!

Here’s our new baby girl, 7 lbs, 13 ounces, 5 days old: After feeling lousy all day, it finally occurred to me that — duh — it might be labor. It was then that I decided to head down to our local Safeway, which inexplicably has the only supply of H1N1 vaccines on the island, more »

Being a good mom and NOT breastfeeding

So I’m still huge, and not yet in labor. Luckily the doctor has caved and agreed to schedule an induction for 10/19, if I haven’t delivered by then. But in the meantime I’m looking for anything to take my mind off the discomforts and anxieties of imminent labor. Reader Lisa made my day with this more »

The “Birth Plan” — a lesson in futility

A first-time expectant mom asks: “Do you recommend any techniques for my upcoming labor and delivery? Does anything, in your experience, make things easier or more manageable in the delivery process? I’m trying to develop my Birth Plan. Thanks for your help!” Seeing as though we’re expecting my FOURTH labor and delivery in a few more »

Did Swine Flu cause Autism in my son?

There’s a lot of confusion out there about illness, the flu, vaccines, medications, and autism. This poor Mom is terrified that her son may have contracted Autism from a bout of Swine Flu. Here’s her email to me: Dear Dr. Heather, Please help. I saw your article on autism, and I am very intrigued and more »

A reminder about postpartum depression, with resources

I’m not prone to depression; I’m more of an anxious type, with a tendency to overreact and sweat the small stuff. So when our (4th) baby is born (I’m 30 weeks along now, folks!), I’m anticipating some hormonal upheavals (as well as the excruciating sleep deprivation that comes along with a new baby), but not more »

Pregnant with Baby #4 (and I Just Turned 41)

Dear Readers, This post isn’t an emailed question from one of you. It’s from me, your BabyShrink. I can finally come out with the news I’ve wanted to tell you for 18 weeks now: I’m pregnant! This has come as somewhat of a surprise to us, although a very welcome one. Many of you recall more »

The amygdala, babies, and Autism

Following up on yesterday’s post is an interesting new finding from the University of North Carolina, where researchers are confirming more evidence for an actual structural brain difference in babies with Autism. Please excuse the “science geek” in me, but this stuff is really important for us to understand. It will help us to better more »

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