The Science Baby Podcast

Being mums and trying to make a podcast means that sometimes, things don't always go to plan! This episode, that means that we have a full house and not a little bit of chaos. Kim and Stella, and Leila and Felix take a look back at the last few months since the launch of The Science Baby Podcast, read your comments and answer your questions. Expect terrible audio, questionable continuity, and lots of real life tangents! In this episode:  Welcome to my Codpast! Felix and Kim chat about what it's like to be 2, and we catch up on life and milestones We look back at the last few episodes and respond to your comments and questions: Poop Breastfeeding Pregnancy Loss Hair Loss Weaning Healing We answer your questions in a quick fire Q&A, and get some ideas for future podcast episodes!

How soon can you know whether your baby is going to be right or left handed, and what can that tell you about how their brains are developing? Kim and Leila dive into the surprising science that links dominant hand with language, emotion, genes, and the environment. And since Science Baby himself is a leftie, we consider his experience growing up in a right-handed world. In this episode: We introduce the idea of handedness being potentially linked to language, noting that left lateralisation of language in the brain could be linked to the predominance of right-handers within humans. We talk about the genetic basis for handedness preference We discuss when a hand preference is likely to emerge in our babies and toddlers We examine how much the external environement can affect dominant hand use We use brian lateralisation again to explain why mothers tend to cradle their babies on the left, regardless of which is their dominant hand We discuss a study that found that kids who show an early preference for their right hand tend to be more advanced with language - noting its strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opposite pattern seen in Science Baby We talk about the experience of our young left-handers in a right-hand world.   

Okay, maybe not everyone's relationship with their loved one is in the pan after having a child, but anecdotally and statistically, many parents find themselves facing relationship challenges with a little one in the mix.  Leila and Kim are no exceptions, and we share a very cathartic chat about how and why our marriages have changed, and what we can do about it.  In this episode: We set the scene by describing our relationship foundations before having kids We compare notes on how our relationships have changed since having kids We take a look at the statistics of relationship degeneration after having children, including results from the Science Baby Parenting Survey We examine the reasons behind the changes, including a loss of protective relationship behaviours, an unequal division of the mental load, and the snowballing effect of maternal gatekeeping We describe how our loss of personal identities contributes to our dissatisfaction at this stage of life We discuss a study that suggests that marital unhappiness could just be a product of western society  Finally, we talk about some of the tools and techniques for dealing with relationship issues.  I'm a big fan of Philippa Perry's book "The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (And Your Children Will Be Glad You Did)", which you can buy here. 

As babies and toddlers learn to move around and experience the world, they're soon going to be accumulating injuries, whether from their own fingernails or from the inevitable bumps and scrapes of toddlerdom. But no sooner do those injuries appear, than they heal, uncannily quickly, and rarely leaving behind any scars at all. We dive into what's going in inside their tiny Wolverine bodies to give them this super-healing ability.  In this epsiode: We spend a bit of time catching up, including an update on Kim and Stella's weaning journey We share experiences of our little ones injuring themselves and then healing without a trace We discuss growth and skin renewal rate, and how that changes through life How this manifests itself in baby fingernails and toenails growing incredibly quickly We dive deep into the cellular biology of healing and scarring, exploring the role of collagen and other cells in rebuilding the skin, as well as a balanced immune response to protect and regulate, and the overall instructions given by our genes. Through this, we push the analogy of building a skyscraper to its limit.  Also, a brief mention of the role of stem cells, although those will get their own episode at some point in the future, too.

When your baby is a few months old, it's time to start facing down the next big milestone in your parenting journey: weaning them onto solid foods. But while the official guidance is clear, the advice you get from different people can vary. So when should you start the process? Right now, Kim is just about to start weaning, and Leila is shocked to discover that she and Felix have been at the solid foods game for over two years. So this is a great opportunity to compare notes on when is the right time to wean your baby, as well as some of the things to look out for in those early months.  In this episode: We share our expectations and experiences with weaning onto solids A bit of historical context about weaning timing, explaining why recommendations have swung from one year, to 4 months, and back again Is baby's digestive system really that immature? What's actually going on inside their bodies as they transition from milk to food What are the signs that you should look for that your baby is ready for weaning? An important chat about choking risk - why it happens and how to mitigate it A final note on allergens, and how advice has changed over the years Solid Starts is the app that we mention in this episode, which helps to guide you on appropriate foods to introduce, and how to prepare them for babies of different ages.  https://solidstarts.com/app/