There are so many questions that first year of your baby's life (and your first year as a parent), but some of the biggest ones come when the first birthday approaches. Here are a few of the most frequent questions we get asked.

• "What type of milk should I feed my child now?": Now that your child has turned 1, you are able to add in whole milk. Prior to this, you could give your baby foods with dairy in them, but he/she needed the extra nutrition that breastmilk or formula provides. Now you can start the transition to whole milk. Some kids can make the switch "cold turkey," but others need to be gradually transitioned. If your child needs to ease into whole milk, go ahead and do 1/3 whole milk to 2/3 breastmilk/formula. Then you can move to 1/2 and 1/2, 2/3 whole milk and 1/3 breastmilk/formula and finally all the way on to whole milk. You can make this transition over about 1 week.
• "When do I stop the bottle?": This goes hand-in-hand with the previous question. Ideally, we like to get kids off the bottle by 15-18 months of age. One of the easiest ways to do this is to start introducing whole milk in a cup rather than in the bottle. This way you take care of 2 issues at the same time. If your child needs a little extra time weaning off the before-bed bottle, switch out the milk in this bottle for water. It'll be less damaging to the teeth and less exciting.
• "Can my child eat honey?": Yes. Until 1 year of age, babies should NOT have honey due to a risk of botulism. After a year of age, you can go ahead and feed your child honey. And as a bonus, honey has been shown to help soothe a cough, so you just found a natural remedy for pesky coughs.
• "Can my child face forward in the car seat?": No. For your child's safety, he/she should remain rear-facing in the backseat of the car until at least 2 years of age. Now in Washington state, this is also the law. In the unfortunate event of an accident, your child's neck has more support if facing backwards and so it is better protected.
• "When does my child need to see the dentist?": It is recommended that children have their first dental visit around 1 year of age. This gives the children a chance to get used to having someone examine their teeth, and the dentist can talk about dental care and spot if there are any issues with those developing teeth. We are very lucky to have some amazing pediatric dentists in Spokane!

There is no way we can list absolutely every question on here, but that is why we always encourage you to ask us.

*Picture used with parental permission.