Babycare

Having a new baby, particularly your first, is one of the most exciting events of your life, but at times it can also feel like one of the most frightening.

Crying

A cry can mean many things and learning to understand what each one indicates can help you understand your baby's needs.

The latest advice on starting solids

Introducing food to a baby’s diet is one of the biggest milestone of the first six months. But when should you start, and what can you give your child to eat? We look at the latest advice on starting solids.

Child nutrition – fact or fiction?

EB staff writers We put six common beliefs to the test.

Baby and toddler bath activities

Brooke Wells Bath time doesn’t have to be structured play – as long as it’s safe, you should encourage any bath activities that make bath time fun for your child.

Your baby's first bath

EB staff writers There's a lot to consider when it comes to bathing your new baby, but there are some general rules for making the experience a pleasure for everyone.

Baby first aid

Little Aid Congratulations on your new little bundle! No doubt you’ve had the roller-coaster of euphoria, fear, joy, fear, contentment, fear, happiness and ... “Jeez this is just too much!”

Parenting support: where to get help

A helpful guide to contact information if you are looking for help, support or assistance.

Premmie twins hold hands in viral video

Patrick Hatch A video showing the special bond between a pair of twins born in a Melbourne hospital has been viewed online over 9 million times.

When your babies look just like their daddy

Julie Scherer I think my girls are the cutest babies on the planet, but sometimes I look at them and wonder if I can see anything of me in them at all.

When your cake smash doesn't go according to plan

Josefa Pete The end result was a hashtag you never see on social media: #cakesmashepicfail.

How time changes once you have kids

EVELYN LEWIN For the duration of pregnancy and the first year of your baby's life, time is elastic.

The reality of holidaying with twin babies

Jule Scherer We decided to book accommodation an hour away from our place for a couple of nights. How hard can it be?

School captain, 17, speaks out about being a teen dad

Joel Maxwell A 17-year-old dad has credited his own young mother for showing him how to keep striving as a teen parent.

Rare identical triplets head home

Rachel Feltman New parents Brad and Stephanie Harris will use colour-coded ankle bracelets to tell daughters Addison, Kinsley and Savannah apart.

The app that can tell you why your baby is crying

Staff writers Imagine if newborn babies came home from hospital speaking a language which their parents actually understood.

Should you visit a new mother in hospital?

Ariane Beeston Some love getting visitors in hospital - but others wish they'd out rules in place.

Chasing the dream of a routine with twins

Jule Scherer Perfect routines are a bit like unicorns. Amazingly beautiful, often talked and fantasised about, but rarely seen.

Flight attendant praised for going 'above and beyond' with fussy baby

A Southwest Airlines flight attendant is winning praise from around the world after going "above and beyond" the call of duty.

'I'm basically a Formula One pit crew'

A first-time dad's funny - and brutally honest - parenting insights have struck a chord with Facebookers.

A Christmas wish came true: new eye for baby Mason

Taryn Utiger On Christmas Eve a little boy with only one eye was given a present that made his mum cry.

Baby Ruby faces seven surgeries to remove hairy birthmark

Staff writers A family is fundraising to pay for the removal of a rare birthmark on their daughter's face.

Tiny boxing gloves offer hope to families of NICU babies

Vikki Ortiz Healy Just like a boxer would have people in their corner, these babies did too.

Baby steps

10 things that will actually happen after having a baby

RAIDAH SHAH IDIL I thought I had prepared myself for motherhood. Then my baby girl arrived and knocked everything flat.

Half baby formula bought in supermarkets going overseas

Mark Hawthorne, Jared Lynch More than half the infant formula sold by Australia's supermarket chains is being shipped overseas by gangs raiding the shelves of Coles, Woolworths and Metcash/IGA.

When a double 'poonami' hits

Jule Scherer Even the best modern nappies can't hold those Number 2s! The stinky mass makes its way out of the confinement of the nappy, along the legs and up the baby's back.

The new Instagram trend: rice ball babies

Staff writers In the latest trend to hit Instagram, Japanese parents are squishing their babies' cheeks and chins together so their faces look like rice balls.

Paediatrician shares special move to soothe crying babies

Parents know – usually from many days and nights of trial and error – that there is no universal, simple trick for soothing a crying baby.

Tips on decorating nurseries for first-time parents

Eugenia Lee Although parents tend to overspend all that is required are a cot, a change table, and a feeding chair with low arms and a high back.

Mum's thank you letter to cafe shows the power of kindness

CATHERINE RODIE PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia) have shared a heart-warming letter to a café owner, in a Facebook post that has shone a night on the importance of kindness,

When you can't let go of your 'baby stuff'

EVELYN LEWIN Do you still hold on to your 'baby stuff' even though you think your family's finished? Evelyn Lewin explores why we do this, and how to move on.

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How to survive the first year with twins

Karina Lane So you're expecting twins; congratulations! It's hard to imagine what that first year with twin babies is going to be like.

Warnings over push for hourly childcare billing

JUDITH IRELAND Australia's peak childcare body has called for caution around the Turnbull government's push for childcare centres to charge parents by the hour, not by the day.

The logistics of breastfeeding premature twins

Jule Scherer Our life is more or less divided into neat four hour parcels of time and it's hard to get much of anything done in the time between feeds.

Hundreds of offers roll in for mum short on baby formula

Katie Burgess and Alexandra Back The mum who was down to her last three tins of baby formula said she had received hundreds of calls and offers to send her formula.

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5 words you need to know as a parent

EVELYN LEWIN There are many new things you need to know as a parent. We explain the top 5 words and phrases that will become common use in your vocab.

Arm city planners with a pram and a toddler

Catherine Carter City planners and designers must focus on building female-friendly cities.

Text service aims to fill the void for new fathers

COSIMA MARRINER A new text service for fathers aims to guide men through the life changing experience of having a child.

5 great things about having a baby

MEGAN BLANDFORD Having a baby is exhausting, hard work. It's also one of the greatest joys of your life.

Calls to let mum MPs breastfeed in chamber

Rashida Yosufzai and Belinda Merhab Federal parliament is being urged to consider allowing MPs to breastfeed in the parliamentary chamber following controversy surrounding new mum Kelly O'Dwyer.

Mum's heartwarming letter to baby's heart surgeon goes viral

Staff writers A doctor did such an amazing job of putting a worried mum at ease that she felt compelled to wrote a special blog post about it – and it's since gone viral.

Beautiful 'now and then' images of premature babies

LETITIA ROWLANDS They are stunning photos that the parents of these beautiful no doubt feared they may never see.

Baby's first photo shoot features a special guest

You can always be sure of a few things not entirely going to plan during a newborn shoot – little accidents are almost par for the course – but this shoot was memorable for a whole other reason.

Huggies accused of Photoshopping baby's 'thigh gap'

Staff writers Huggies has denied photoshopping a baby's legs in a nappy advertisement, issuing a statement explaining "all babies are different".

What new parents really think

AMANDA DUNN What are the first few weeks and months actually like for new parents?

Solutions for 5 common worries about bringing baby home

PINKY MCKAY We asked our Facebook followers what worried them most about bringing their newborn home from hospital.

The secret art of newborn photography

Staff writers Ever looked at gorgeous baby photos and wondered how the impossibly cute images were captured?

Twins hysterical over jumping dog

Staff writers When you hear a baby's enthusiastic laugh it's difficult not to chuckle along with them.

Video of six boys meeting their new sister will melt your heart

Staff writers While some worry about how much pink will enter their lives, others have already swung into protective mode.

Dad's hilarious blog about life with twins

Staff writers A stand-up comedian in the UK has plenty of new material since becoming a dad to twin boys.

The moment a 92-year-old meets her great grandaughter

Staff writers It's a heart-warming photo this family will treasure forever.

In defence of 'brexting'

CATHERINE RODIE Mums spend literally hours a day with a baby attached to their boob, or giving them a bottle. Surely they don't all need to be spent looking at the baby?

How a fellow passenger made a mum's day on a flight

LETITIA ROWLANDS As any parent who has ever travelled with a baby knows it can be a daunting experience. The stares and attitude of unsympathetic fellow travellers only serve to make the journey even more stressful. 

What goes in the nappy bag?

Helena Oliviero It's far more than just a bag for nappies - it's the travel companion for your baby that should contain all the things you might need when away from home base.

The adventurous baby who's already putting safety first

Staff writers When you're a baby, even getting off a bed and onto the floor can be a tricky procedure.

Parents of baby born without part of his skull stand up to critics

Staff writers When Brittany and Brandon Buell's son Jaxon was born missing much of his brain and skull, doctors said he only had days to live.

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Born too soon: life on the margins of existence

Nikki Macdonald The frontiers of life are advancing ever further into uncharted territory.

Mum leaves triplets at hospital because she can't afford them

LETITIA ROWLANDS An illiterate and poverty stricken mother has abandoned her newborn triplets at hospital because she cannot afford to care for them.