u/CookieOverall8716

I just need to laugh for a minute. My MIL sends me instagram reels all day long about heavy metals and dangers of plastics, says I should make homemade baby food (I do, most of the time, but I keep a few jars of reputable organic brands on hand just in case). She has even expressed skepticism about vaccines before.

BUT she shows up to my house with fluorescent blue DAWN POWERWASH in her bag and sneaks it out when she thinks I’m not looking because she doesn’t like my dish soap. She cooks everything in nonstick pans. Heats plastic in the microwave. Her house is full of artificial dyes and fragrances.

She has an anxious personality and is a big talker so I hear about these concerns all day long but then she refuses to take any tangible steps to address them. I’m sick of educating her so now I just nod and sit quietly and then hide her dish soap in the cupboard when she inevitably leaves it at my house 😂

Anyone else have a family member like this? I just had to vent

Not sure how much research there has been done on this — it seems like a fad without a lot of evidence to support it, a bit like tongue ties. Especially anything about “airway health” seems super vague and meaningless. Trying to cut through the noise.

My kiddo is about to turn 3 and a thumb sucker. Our current dentist is very traditional and doesn’t do palate expansion that I know of. But dentist does want us to try to get kiddo to stop sucking thumb. We have been trying, but so far nothing really works. I’ve been looking into a chew toy to replace the thumb (based on an OT comment in another thread I found on this sub).

I’m wondering if I should switch my kiddo to another practice in our area that is known for doing early palate expansion. I have a friend who researches teeth (evolutionary anthropologist, university professor) and this friend also has kids and recommends the new practice. But they just recommended from a general parent perspective, not necessarily in favor of specific procedures or protocols for my child specifically.

Looking for expert consensus or research on palate expansion prior to the traditional age for orthodontics.

Other relevant details: toddler was also a nicu baby with an NG tube (born premature, 3 week nicu stay). When we were discharged, doctors said more likely to have high, narrow palate due to the tube. My kiddo did not successfully breastfeed, I think largely due to bottle preference, NOT tongue ties.

So if there’s any info specifically on palate expansion for children that had NG tubes and/or were bottle fed, not breastfed, I would really appreciate it!