The Baby Detective Parenting Blog

Learn how to care for your baby your way

With nearly 25 year’s experience in caring for babies 12 months and under, I have learned a great deal. I have dedicated my life in the support and guidance of parents on what is one of life’s hardest challenges…looking after a baby and remaining confident and positive.

Whatever your concerns, questions, problems or difficulties I hope I have covered them in my articles below. And if I haven’t touched upon the topics that are stopping you from being the parent you want to be, please get in touch.

I hope that some of the insight, tips and ideas may bring comfort to struggling parents.

Remember to leave your comments, I read each and every one of them and will always try to help!

Breastfeeding – How To Prepare And Cope

This blog deals with how to cope with your concerns or fears about breastfeeding, and help you prepare for whatever you might experience. What Do Parents Worry About Most ? I have so many ideas for blog posts that I felt I needed help narrowing down what was really...

Postnatal Depression and Anxiety-What can we do to prevent and treat it ?

Ella’s Story "I really felt my post-natal depression was biological and situational" This is a quote from a blog post I read recently, very courageously written by a mother of twins who suffered from PND and Anxiety, and who wanted to share her experience in the hope...

How To Wind Your Baby

All Babies Get Wind I can’t tell you how many times I have heard Health Visitors and Midwives and other Health professionals telling new parents that they don’t need to wind their baby because “breastfed babies don’t need winding” This is simply not true -...

Temporary Supplementation – When to use it

Part 2 - When Should I use it ? Part 1 of this article covered the first few days in the hospital, and focused on what temporary supplementation was, and how to do it. This second part focuses on when to use it, and how it might help you in the following...

Temporary Supplementation-What is it ?

Temporary Supplementation – What is it, and how do I do it ? Part 1. What is Temporary Supplementation Temporary supplementation simply means a baby is fed by either formula or safe donor breastmilk for a short period of time. The difference between this...

CPR for Babies-Why Parents Need Paediatric First Aid Training

Why You MUST Learn Paediatric CPR If You Have A Baby ! I just saw this video about Infant CPR and want to share it with you as soon as possible. This Mum found baby not breathing, and luckily the Dad knew CPR so, even though he was terrified performing...

Feeding Your Baby – Why Anticipating Problems Can Help.

When I stop and think about infant feeding situations I’ve encountered over the last 25 years they are all very different in experience and outcome, but do seem to have common ground. They are all affected by the same 4 Feeding Factors Luck Mental Attitude...

How Much Milk Should I Be Feeding My Baby ?

Minutes And Millilitres - When they matter, and when they don't. One of the most frequently asked questions I get asked about feeding is ‘how much should my baby be drinking ?’ and I’m sure I drive my clients crazy with my answer ‘as much as they want’ I...

Self Care And Parenting

This post is a bit different from my normal, informative ones, but I hope will serve as an explanation for the recent lack of posts, and to make a point about why self care is important for everyone, especially parents who are frequently busy, stressed,...

How to Cope With Your New Baby at Christmas

Christmas with your new baby is something special that most parents dream of, your chance to combine nostalgia for your old childhood traditions with the creation of new ones. It can be the most magical time, but, on a practical level it can be fraught with...

Coping with Clocks Going Back

British Summer time, Daylight Saving, Spring Forward/Fall Back…whatever you call it, the day the clocks change can put fear in to the hearts of new parents who have never had to deal with it before but don’t worry ! It is not difficult to ease your baby...

Real Life Parenting – How to Cope When Things Go Wrong

The 4 most important things to help you cope when life as a parent gets tough. When I work with parents one of the things I stress is the importance of consistency, and that applies to everything from routines and sleep signals, to feeding habits and play patterns....

Baby Detective Case Files – Temporary Supplementation

This a series whereby I share a particular parenting challenge or solution to a problem that I think might be of some use or interest to other parents. It is not meant to be an ’I know best’ or a ‘this is what you should do’…rather it is an exploration of...

Baby Bottle Basics

A simple explanation of bottles, teats and anti-colic features. (this article is based on bottles available in the UK but should still be useful for other parents and carers in other countries because the main features remain the same, and you will gain insight in to...

Liberty, Equality, Maternity ! How Breastfeeding and Bottle Feeding can Become Equal

How Breastfeeding and Bottle Feeding can Become Equal. ‘Parents should be free to feed their babies however they want, wherever they want, and with equal support' Every year in August we have World Breastfeeding week, and every year, it brings up the whole breast...

7 Newborn Baby Skincare Tips

Baby skin is perfectly balanced and is an important protective barrier so the less you do to it the better for baby. Here are seven ways to help your baby at bathtime... Newborn babies often cry when bathed because they feel very insecure so don’t do it unless you...

What can a Maternity Nurse do for you?

Firstly, what is a Maternity Nurse ? I know the name implies that we are medically trained, but in fact, the name comes from the term ‘nursing’, as in breastfeeding (many years ago part of the role would have included wet nursing). To all intents and purposes, a...

How to Swaddle Your Baby in Hot Weather

Swaddling is a great tool for helping your baby fall asleep more quickly, and stay asleep longer which is great….until the weather turns hot and your baby is at risk from overheating. However, it is still possible to swaddle your baby as long as you are sensible and...

Breast Feeding Pressure and the Damage it Causes

Breast Feeding Pressure. The term ‘Bressure’ has been coined to describe the pressure that society, media, and health officials are placing on new mums to breast feed their babies and, as a result of this breast feeding pressure, the mums may end up feeling guilt,...

The Breast to Bottle Transition

The question of the breast to bottle transition was raised by one of my readers and, as it is a common problem I thought I’d better address it fully. This was the question. “Hi there. I am in a similar situation as exclusively breastfeeding my 3 month old baby but...

Adjusting to Life with Your Baby

Whether your baby is newborn or a few weeks old, your life is probably a confusing mixture of extreme highs and lows, with very welcome (but sometimes infrequent) oases of contented calm in between. Whilst I certainly would not wish to diminish the highs or the calms,...

The Babycare Suggestion Post.

Hi Folks. I have a great long list of subjects for babycare posts that I think are important or that might interest you and will work my way steadily through the list. Some of the posts will be brief and to the point, but others will be much more in-depth, and I...

Learning to Read Your Baby’s Personality.

Learning to Read Your Baby's Personality After so long as a maternity nurse I have heard pretty much everything but I think one of the most frequent comments goes along the lines of ‘aren’t babies all the same?. I still smile every time, especially if it is first time...

Competitive Parenting Styles

I know its an advert but it is an excellent fun-poke at the competitive parenting that is all too common today. Trust me...I have seen every single one of the stereotypes in the ad...they really do exist but, whilst it is funny on screen, it can be very unpleasant in...

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