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Magda Bunbury, PhD | Baby nutrition • starting solids • twins

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World Preeclampsia Day: I used to think my preeclampsia began when my blood pressure rose at 34 weeks.

But that was probably only when it became visible.

Preeclampsia is diagnosed later in pregnancy, but current research describes its origins much earlier, during implantation, decidualisation, and early placental development.

When these early processes are disrupted, the placenta may not receive blood flow as effectively. Later, this can contribute to placental insufficiency, reduced oxygen and nutrient delivery to the baby, and the maternal signs we recognise as preeclampsia.

High blood pressure matters deeply.

But it is often a signal, not the beginning of the story.

I had preeclampsia with monochorionic twins. One placenta. Two babies. More demand, more complexity, and a higher-risk pregnancy from the start.

My girls were born at 35 weeks. Later, my placental report described minor maternal malperfusion, which means blood flow through part of the placenta had not been ideal.

That changed how I understood preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is not just a blood pressure story.

It is also an implantation story, a placental story, and an early-life biology story.

And that is why I started writing a book about the placenta, twin pregnancy, preterm birth, and baby growth.

Early life biology does not begin with a positive pregnancy test.

It starts before.

Follow @earlylifescience for evidence-based science on baby growth and development

Not medical advice. If you are pregnant or postpartum and have raised blood pressure, sudden swelling, headaches, visual symptoms, upper abdominal pain, or you feel something is wrong, contact your maternity care team urgently.

#Preeclampsiaawareness #maternalhealthmatters #expectingtwins #twinspregnancy #MultiplePregnancy by @earlylifescience

Late preterm twins are often called “almost term”, but they aren’t term.
My twins couldn’t feed, they were too tired to stay awake.
12–16 feeds a day.

I wasn’t prepared for any of it.

Late preterm babies can look close to term, but feeding, temperature, and stamina are not there yet.

“Late” describes timing.
Not how much support your baby still needs.

If nobody explained this to you, you didn’t miss something.
The information wasn’t complete.

👉 Comment LABELS and I’ll send you what helped me.
#twinmumlife #preterm #pretermbaby #pregnantwithtwins #nicubabies by @earlylifescience

What did babies eat before commercial baby food existed?

I’m an archaeologist. I spent 20 years researching how ancient people ate, adapted, and survived.

Then I had premature twins and found myself completely lost about starting solids.

The advice felt endless: rice cereal, purées, baby-led weaning, iron, allergens. Everyone was certain. Much of it contradicted itself.

So I went back to the evidence, not just modern nutrition research, but the archaeological record too.

Humans have been feeding babies for around 300,000 years, long before baby food aisles, pouches, guidelines, and social media advice.

One remarkable discovery comes from Neolithic Turkey: tiny feeding bowls and spoons buried with babies under one year old, nearly 9,000 years ago. The evidence suggests these infants were already receiving complementary foods alongside breastmilk.

That discovery became part of ROOTS.

The full story is coming.

Follow @earlylifescience for updates on the starting solids guide

#infantnutrition #nutrientdensefoods #weaningfood #twinmumlife #infantfeeding by @earlylifescience

Toddler nutrition, whole milk vs low-fat milk: should you really switch your child to reduced-fat dairy at age TWO? 🥛

You’re trying to feed your toddler well. You read the recommendations, buy the healthy foods, and do your best.

Then your child turns two, and suddenly you’re told to switch from whole milk to low-fat.

But WHY?

Your toddler’s brain is still developing. Their body still needs dietary fat. So why does the advice change at two?

🔬 Here’s what the research tells us.

For decades, US dietary guidelines recommended reduced-fat dairy from age two, largely to reduce saturated fat intake and support long-term cardiovascular health.

But here is the catch: this guideline does not consider neurodevelopment and growth and research hasn’t consistently shown that reduced-fat dairy produces better weight or cardiometabolic outcomes in children.

And in 2026, US dietary guidelines changed to explicitly include full-fat dairy.

🧠 What does this mean for your toddler?

✔️ Don’t automatically assume low-fat means healthier.

✔️ Remember that children aged 1–3 need approximately 30–40% of their energy from dietary fat under US reference ranges.

✔️ Include a variety of fat sources, such as oily fish, eggs, olive oil, avocado and dairy.

✔️ Consider your child’s growth, appetite and overall diet rather than one number on a milk carton.

Full-fat milk isn’t essential for every child. But neither is switching to low-fat milk.

I’m an archaeologist, PhD researcher and mum of premature twins. I look at where nutritional advice comes from, and whether the evidence actually supports it.

💛 Did you switch to low-fat milk when your child turned two?

Send this to a toddler mum

#infantnutrition #toddlernutrition #raisinghealthykids #dairyindustry #ancestralnutrition by @earlylifescience

The first 1000 days of life: 1,000 days of journalling, 1,000 research papers, and now 1,000 followers 🤎

For nearly three years, I’ve documented my twins’ growth, nutrition and development.

Alongside motherhood, I’ve been diving into the science of the first 1,000 days of life — reading studies, questioning recommendations and trying to understand what the evidence really tells us about our children’s biology.

As an archaeological scientist and mum of premature identical twins, I bring two very different perspectives to the same questions.

And now there are 1,000 of you here!

Thank you for following, asking questions and sharing your experiences.

I’ve been working on something behind the scenes, and I’m excited to start sharing more of that research with you.

First up: IRON. Why feeding your baby enough isn’t always as simple as the guidelines make it sound.

Here’s to the next 1,000! 🤎

Comment IRON for my free nutrition newsletter and updates on my upcoming book.

#babynutrition #InfantNutrition #First1000Days #pregnantwithtwins #raisinghealthykids by @earlylifescience

🎃 My twins are over three; They don’t eat candy, And no, I’m not worried I’m ruining their relationship with food.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve started confusing not offering sweets with restricting food.

They’re not the same thing.

Children don’t need candy to learn how to eat. And parents don’t need to deliberately serve sweets with dinner to support a healthy relationship with food.

My twins haven’t been introduced to candy. They’re not asking for it, and they’re certainly not missing out on delicious treats!

Today I’m making two of our favourite homemade cacao balls for Halloween. 🍫🎃

Because there’s a difference between making a food forbidden and simply deciding what foods to offer your young children.

And that distinction deserves a little more nuance than social media usually gives it.

🥥 Want the recipes for my two favourite Halloween cacao balls? Comment BALLS and I’ll make another reel

Share this with a friend who needs to hear this on Halloween!

#toddlernutrition #infantnutrition #raisinghealthykids #healthytoddlerfood #parentingchoices by @earlylifescience

📩 Comment IRON to join my FREE nutrition newsletter

🥬 Your baby can eat enough iron on paper; that doesn’t mean they’re absorbing enough.

You’re told how many milligrams of iron your baby needs.

You’re given iron-rich food lists.

But who explains the difference between iron eaten and iron absorbed?

🥩 Beef contains some haem iron, which is generally more readily absorbed.

🥬 Spinach contains only non-haem iron, and naturally occurring compounds can limit its absorption.

Both contain iron. But the amount on a food list doesn’t tell you how much your baby actually absorbs.

And that’s just one small piece of the iron puzzle.

I’m a scientist and mum of twins, turning years of scientific research into practical explanations of infant iron nutrition.

I’m also writing books exploring what the usual food lists leave out because parents deserve more than confusing numbers and conflicting advice.

📩 Comment IRON to join my FREE nutrition newsletter, learn what the food lists leave out, and hear when my upcoming book is ready.

💬 What’s the ONE thing about your baby’s iron needs that you find most confusing or wish someone would explain properly?

#toddlernutrition #ironabsorption #infantnutrition #ironrichfoods #babynutrition by @earlylifescience

My twins refused dinner in Fiji. And there was no Plan B. 🐟🌴

At home, I have a simple rule when dinner doesn’t work out: don’t cook another meal. Just add something easy.

Canned fish. Eggs. Butter.
Why?
Because a plate of plain rice or potatoes doesn’t offer everything growing toddlers need.

🐟 Fish: Protein, vitamin B12 and, depending on the fish, omega-3 fats and vitamin D.

🥚 Eggs: Protein, choline (important for brain development) and several essential vitamins.

🧈 Butter: Adds energy and fat, particularly useful for little appetites, but isn’t a substitute for protein or iron-rich foods.

But what happens when you’re island hopping with two 3-year-olds and the resort serves ONE meal, with no alternatives?

Well, sometimes even I didn’t want to eat it. 😂

Luckily, I’d packed canned tuna.

My twins love fish, so when dinner didn’t work, we had something familiar and nutritious to fall back on.

At another resort, we could request eggs and adapt what was already being served (hello butter).

Same principle as at home. Different circumstances.

I didn’t need to force my twins to eat what was served. Sometimes a simple addition is enough.

And sometimes, especially when travelling, flexibility matters more than sticking to the rules.

💛 Save this reminder: One refused dinner isn’t a feeding failure

What is YOUR emergency backup food when travelling with kids? Or your emergency dinner?

Follow @earlylifescience for practical baby and toddler feeding, real food and the science behind raising healthy little eaters.

#pickyeating #FeedingToddlers #infantnutrition #ToddlerNutrition RealFoodForKids by @earlylifescience

🎃 Fluffy PUMPKIN PANCAKES the whole family will enjoy

Fluffy, golden and full of cosy Halloween spices! No refined sugar, just pumpkin and creamy ricotta 🧡

The secret? Whipped egg whites trap air in the batter, giving these pancakes their gorgeous cloud-like texture. Plus, the eggs and ricotta add protein and iron, while pumpkin brings a little beta-carotene to the party.

INGREDIENTS
🎃 ¼ cup roasted pumpkin purée, mashed
🥚 2 eggs, separated
🥣 ¾ cup ricotta
🌾 ¾ cup white spelt flour
🍯 1 tbsp honey (optional)
🧈 1 tbsp browned butter
✨ 1 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp vanilla
🍂 ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ginger, ⅛ tsp cardamom, pinch nutmeg + ¼ tsp salt

METHOD

1. Mix yolks, ricotta, cooled pumpkin, honey, vanilla and cooled browned butter.

2. Fold in flour, baking powder and spices.

3. Whip egg whites to soft peaks and gently fold through.

4. Fry small pancakes in butter over medium-low heat, 3–4 min per side, then 2–3 min after flipping, until cooked through.

VANILLA YOGURT CREAM Dip
Mix ½ cup Greek yogurt + ¼ tsp cinnamon + tiny bit of orange juice/mandarin juice (optional: + ½ tsp vanilla).

A little Halloween magic, without needing a bag of sweets 🧡

Save this for Halloween breakfast! 🎃

For babies under 12 months: omit the honey.

#toddlernutrition #infantnutrition #pickyeating #raisinghealthykids #RealFoodForKids by @earlylifescience

Two weeks in Fiji with my 3-year-old twins, and picky eating. 🌴

Lots of rice, bread, limited vegetables and less protein than we usually eat. Plus, both girls got sick.

Did I worry about their holiday diet? A little. 😅

But I’m not interested in detoxes or making up for what they didn’t eat.

I’m interested in getting back to our usual routine: real food, variety and nutrient-rich meals.

And yes, that includes my iron-rich liver pancakes!

🥞 Comment LIVER and I’ll send you my free iron-rich liver pancake recipe.

Save this for your next post-holiday kitchen reset!

#ToddlerNutrition #ToddlerMeals #ancestralnutrition #RealFoodForKids #infantnutrition by @earlylifescience

UNPOPULAR OPINION: I don’t cook my toddlers a second dinner, but I also don’t let them live on plain rice because they refused what I cooked 🍳

Nutrition still matters.

Most nights, we all eat the same family meal. But sometimes my twins don’t want it, especially when it’s reheated leftovers they happily ate the night before 😅

On those nights, I’m not cooking another meal from scratch. I just add a 2-minute backup:

🍳 Eggs
🐟 Tinned fish
🥣 Full-fat yoghurt

Simple. Nutritious. No second dinner.

And no battle over finishing the original meal either. If they don’t want any of these 3 options, I know they are full.

This isn’t my solution to a child refusing dinner every night, that’s a different problem worth looking into. This is simply what works for us on those occasional “absolutely not eating that again” evenings.

Because for me, “I don’t cook separate meals” doesn’t mean nutrition suddenly stops mattering.

What’s your 2-minute backup food? ↓

Save this for one of those dinner nights 🤍

#toddlernutrition #realfoodforkids #feedingtoddlers #pickyeating #twintoddlers by @earlylifescience

Homemade sauerkraut for the whole family: An easy fermented food recipe for introducing new flavours + supporting a varied, gut-friendly diet 🥬.

Of all the foods my twins love, sauerkraut still makes me laugh 😂 They’ll happily eat it straight from the jar.

Fermented foods are one way we can bring more variety to the family table — and this one really couldn’t be much simpler. Cabbage, salt, dill and a little patience.

INGREDIENTS

🥬 1 kg cabbage
🧂 20 g non-iodised salt
🌿 Fresh dill
• 4–5 peppercorns
• 1–2 bay leaves

METHOD

Finely shred the cabbage, add the salt and massage for 5–10 minutes until soft and juicy. Leave for 15–30 minutes, then mix through the dill, peppercorns and bay leaves.

Pack tightly into a clean jar and press down until the cabbage is completely submerged beneath its brine. Keep everything below the liquid.

Leave on the bench out of direct sunlight. We like ours mild, so I start tasting around day 5–7. Once you’re happy with the flavour, pop it in the fridge.

And apparently the hardest part in our house is stopping two little hands from eating it all 😂

Enjoy! Let me know if your little ones are sauerkraut fans too 🥬🤍

Save this easy fermented food recipe to try later x

#infantnutrition #toddlernutrition #guthealthjourney #realfoodforkids #feedingbabies by @earlylifescience