Update On The Baby Formula Shortage

Parents may be worried about the nationwide baby food shortage. It has been difficult to find baby formula on the shelves at grocery stores and pharmacies. It may feel dire, but steps have been taken to improve the situation. On May 12, 2022, 32 Senate Democrats, led by Senators Patty Murray (D-Washington), and Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) sent a letter to the Infant Nutrition Council of America. The Democrats wrote, “We are calling on you and your member companies to take immediate action and ensure that infant formula manufacturers are making every effort to mitigate this dangerous shortage and get children … Continue reading

Why There is a Nationwide Baby Formula Shortage

Parents who use infant formula to feed their babies are struggling to find it. That can be an absolutely terrifying situation for parents who have a baby that needs a specific kind of formula, due to health reasons. The shortage also affects parents of babies that cannot latch, moms who work at places that don’t give them a room to pump in, and families with two dads that feed their babies formula. Why is this happening? The problem started with a voluntary recall from Abbott Nutrition in March of 2022. There were reports that three brands of formula they produce … Continue reading

CDC Updated Their Developmental Milestones

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated their Developmental Milestones checklist. Parents can now download the CDC’s free Milestone Tracker app from the App Store and Google Play. The Developmental Milestones checklist are intended to help parents understand if their babies and young children are hitting important milestones in a timely manner.  2-month olds:  Social/Emotional Milestones  Calms down when spoken to or picked up; Looks at your face; Seems happy to see you when you walk up to her; Smiles when you talk to or smile at her. Language/Communication Milestones: Makes sounds other than crying; Reacts to … Continue reading

FDA Issues Recall on Baby Formula

Are you feeding your baby with formula? If so, then you need to be aware that there is a recall on three brands of baby formula made by Abbott Nutrition. The New York Times reported that the voluntary recall includes select lots of Similac, Alimentum and EleCare formulas that were manufactured at an Abbott facility in Sturgis, Michigan.  The recall comes after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received four consumer complaints of bacterial infections related to the formulas.  Here is some information from the FDA website about the baby formula recall: The U.S.Food and Drug Administration announced it is … Continue reading

Boppy Newborn Loungers Have Been Recalled

Boppy is a well known brand that sells a variety of products, including baby carriers, nursing pillows, and Boppy Loungers. Boppy announced that a safety recall alert has been placed on their Newborn Loungers. This is important for parents of newborns to know about. Here is the information Boppy provided: In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, The Boppy Company is conducting a voluntary recall of its Newborn Lounger to address a risk of infant suffocation. Infants can suffocate if they roll, move, or are placed on the lounger in a position that obstructs breathing, or roll off … Continue reading

Most Popular Baby Names on Nameberry

Nameberry is a wonderful resource for baby names. They have a database of 70,000+ girl names, boy names, and gender-neutral names. Nameberry provides lists of the most popular baby names every year, from various countries, based on which names attract the most views on Nameberry each month. The list of top baby names in the US, and the top baby names in the UK are released several months after the year in which the babies were named. Australia and Canada tally provincial name popularity lists but not national totals. Other countries measure most popular baby names in a range of … Continue reading

U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Babies and Toddlers

The U.S Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has issued new dietary guidelines for Americans, specific to a person’s age. Part of the report advises parents what to feed their babies and toddlers. The Committee found that breastfeeding may reduce the risk of overweight or obesity, type 1 diabetes, and asthma, as compared to never being breastfed. The study found evidence that suggests that a longer duration of breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of type 1 diabetes and asthma, but it was unclear what the optimal duration of breastfeeding is. The report also mentions complementary foods and beverages (CFB). These … Continue reading

Out of Date Parenting Advice

The best parenting advice today is (hopefully) tried and true methods that are designed to help infants and children be healthy. Sometimes, people will pass along ideas that have since been debunked. No matter what kind of unwanted parenting advice you have heard, it probably isn’t worse than some of the advice given to moms of the past. A popular book for mothers in the 1900s was The Mother and Her Child. It advised mothers to “wash their nipples with soap and water” before nursing, and then “rinse in boracic acid”. This is a terrible idea! Boric acid is not … Continue reading

When Twins are Born in Two Different Years

Twins share the same birthday. That’s usually true, but there are exceptions. It is entirely possible for a set of twins to be born on two different days – or even in two different years. NBC Washington reported about twins who were actually born in two different years. The babies were born at San Diego Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center. Jaelyn was born at 11:59 p.m. On December 31, 2015. Her twin brother, Luis, was born at 12:02 a.m. On January 1, 2016. That’s not the first time twins were born in two different years. Babygaga reported that a pair … Continue reading

FDA Warns of Risks of Teething Jewelry

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a warning about safety risks of teething necklaces, bracelets to relieve teething pain, or to provide sensory stimulation. USA Today reported that the Food and Drug Administration issued this warning after an 18-month-old was strangled by an amber teething necklace while taking a nap. In addition, a 7-month-old was hospitalized after choking on the beads of a wooden teething bracelet. The FDA warns that parents, caregivers, and health care providers should not use teething jewelry to relieve teething pain in children or to provide sensory stimulation to persons with special needs. Those special … Continue reading