Yes, that’s right, I said the first time. Meaning that I have accidentally dropped my baby more than once. And please don’t call CPS on me—I’m just a clumsy mumsy, as I like to call it. The first time I dropped my baby felt way more dramatic than it actually was. I had read so many warnings about never leaving your baby unattended, always buckling them in, etc. But since it was my first kid, I had no idea how much he could flip around at such a young age! My son was probably two or three months old, and I had him smooshed into a Boppy on the couch. He seemed secure, and my husband was on the next couch playing video games. As an “experienced” mother of two months, I figured why not go into the kitchen and warm up a bottle and leave him there? Seriously, I’d never even seen him roll onto his side before, but he chose that exact moment when my back was turned to tap into his superhuman baby strength and flip off the couch. I, of course, ran screaming back into the room, freaked out, and cried for like an hour.
He cried too, probably because I was crying so much in his face, but he ended up perfectly fine without a scratch since it was only a 2 foot fall. Since then, I know I’ve dropped him and my second son a few more times, but I can’t recall any memory quite as vivid as that first drop. As it turns out, I’m not the only one who suffers from baby butterfingers. According to a new study published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics and reviewed on Live Science, roughly 9400 kiddos in the US are injured from falling off highchairs each year. The study points out that these injuries are unfortunately on the rise and “increased by 22 percent over the study period, from 2003 through 2010.” “Maybe even more concerning, the rate of head injuries has increased by almost 90 percent between 2003 and 2010, and I think it begs the question, what’s going on?” said study researcher Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Nearly all injuries associated with high chairs or booster seats involved falls. Most children fell as they were climbing or standing on the chair, suggesting that the chair’s safety restraint system was either not being used, or faulty, the researchers said. Also, while highchair recalls are a regular occurrence, very few families turn in defective products. As a result, crazy kids being kids of forgetful parents like myself may be vulnerable to even more highchair-related injuries if they are already using a defective product. If you’ve dropped your baby before, don’t beat yourself up because it happens to the best of us. Of course, always consult with your pediatrician to make sure your kid is A-Okay before you laugh it off. If you’re not sure whether or not your current highchair is a defective death trap that could eat your young, make sure to check with the Consumer Product Safety Commission for updates on product recalls. With all of these powers combined, your kid will make it to their first birthday!
Many young children may be switching to solid foods months too early, according to federal researchers. A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds more than 40 percent of parents introduced solid foods to their infants before they were 4 months old. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children start eating solid foods when they are between 4 to 6 months of age. "Clearly we need better dissemination of the recommendations on solid food introduction," study author Dr. Kelley Scanlon, an epidemiologist with the CDC, told The New York Times. "Health care providers need to provide clear and accurate guidance, and then provide support to help parents carry out those recommended practices." Pediatricians have urged new moms to breast-feed their children exclusively for the first six months of their lives, with supplemental breast-feeding continued over the course of a year once solid foods are introduced. Generally by the time babies reach 4 to 6 months of age, a child can hold his or her head up in a high chair, open his or her mouth when food comes their way, and weighs enough to (about 13 pounds or more) to be ready for solid foods, according to the academy.
Scanlon and her team analyzed data from about 1,300 mothers who introduced solid foods to their infants during the first year of pregnancy, and were asked the reasons behind their decisions. Researchers found the highest percentage of infants whose moms introduced solid foods before 4 months were among those who fed exclusively with formula (52.7 percent) and the lowest percentage of those who started early were among infants who were breast-fed exclusively (24.3 percent). The most common reasons for introducing solid foods early were: "My baby was old enough," "My baby seemed hungry," "I wanted to feed my baby something in addition to breast milk or formula," "My baby wanted the food I ate," "A doctor or other health care professional said my baby should begin eating solid food," and "It would help my baby sleep longer at night." Moms who were most likely to start solid food too early were younger, unmarried, less-educated or received government assistance through the WIC program.
The research was published March 25 in Pediatrics. Introducing solid foods too early can cause health risks, according to the researchers, because babies' bodies may not yet prepared for chewing and swallowing. Introducing solid foods too early may also suggest mothers are cutting short breast-feeding. Children who aren't breast-fed are at higher risk for obesity, diabetes, respiratory and ear infections, eczema, and tend to require more doctor visits, hospitalizations and prescriptions, according to the CDC. Scanlon told HealthDay that pediatricians need to provide accurate, clear messages about appropriate cues feeding, such as, "a baby who's crying a lot isn't always hungry." Dr. T.J. Gold, a pediatrician with Tribeca Pediatrics in Brooklyn, told the New York Times some parents who are aware of the best age to feed their infants may be turning to solid foods because they're struggling to make ends meet. "The formula gets really expensive, especially in the 4-to-6-month window," Dr. Gold said.