This podcast is a lightly edited version of our Instagram show recorded on March 23, 2022.
Everyone needs friends who are willing to take off their masks and have honest conversations.
Masks Off Live is created by Dr. Natasha Burgert and Dr. Nicole Baldwin, two long-time friends who happen to be pediatricians. Grab a glass of wine and listen in as they share evidence-based science and practical parenting advice.
In this Help My Anxiety! Episode, Dr. Baldwin and I are joined by a special guest, Lina Acosta Sandaal. Lina is a psychotherapist, child development expert and owner of Stop Parenting Alone.
You’re going to love Lina. Jump to Minute 28 and start listening.
Also in this show, Nicole and I share our thoughts on the Moderna vaccine-for-littles press release, offer new insight into infection-induced immunity and discuss the new-normalcy of frequent illnesses.
References for This Episode
Minute 8: Moderna issued a press release claiming their pediatric mRNA Covid vaccine is safe, and the vaccine met immunobridging goals. Moderna noted that in their trial, vaccinated kids had no severe illness or hospitalizations, despite lower-than-preferred efficacy. Of note, we are still waiting for additional news from Pfizer.
Minute 16: While Covid community risk is low, talk to your doctor about spacing the primary mRNA vaccine series for 5-11 yo kids.
Minute 17: Wastewater data is providing early signals of Covid-19 community spikes. Here’s one wastewater map that includes the KC area.
Minute 19: My kid is getting sick every 2 weeks - Is this normal? (Spoiler: Yes!) Time for some age-old advice on keeping our kids well, even as masks are dropping.
Minute 22: A (small) study in Pediatrics is giving some insight into the durability of Covid immunity after natural infection. Researchers reported that of kids who had evidence of infection at baseline, 96% maintained anti-Covid antibodies for at least 6 months - no matter the severity of initial infection. However, over half of kids sampled never developed any durable immunity. This provides more evidence for vaccination as the most reliable method for kids to get durable protection against Covid disease.
Minute 28: Lina Acosta Sandaal joins the chat from Miami. During our time, she offers sage-like wisdom on how anxiety is changing our parenting, kids’ behavior and valued relationships. And, what we can do about it.
Lina helps us understand the mindset and attitude that parents need to develop to decrease childhood anxiety, especially in new situations and times of separation. (Her advice on the “right way” to drop-off kids at daycare/preK is golden!)
In addition, she offers reasons why your child may want to keep their mask on despite mandates lifting, as well as age-appropriate ways to talk to littles/middles/bigs to encourage mask-wearing.
“Facts take care of fear. Always.” - Lina
Don’t miss Minute 53 where Lina offers practical tips to help parents calm our own water. Things like:
Quality over quantity
Honoring tiny moments
Teaching our kids to NOT to take our mood personally
Putting ourselves in the pattern
And at Minute 61, Lina helps us think about how to inventory our current adult relationships and begin to repair family dynamics that may have been strained by the pandemic.
“We shouldn’t throw people away when we were all acting on fear.” - Lina
#oxytocintour
Of course, there’s a few surprises along the way. Enjoy.
#MOL After Hours
Lina is watching The Blacklist, reading Sacred Success and listening to The Body Keeps the Score (and other inappropriate things… (ha!) She is also eating the wonderful Asian food that her partner prepares, while cooking a few Colombian favorites.
Minute 72: Hell No/Let’s Go
Special note: Swim lessons are a LET’S GO!
Plus, home testing the in-laws? Indoor gymnastics? Easter egg hunts? Toddlers at the park? And so much more….
Masks Off Live is a passion project with zero budget and even less production skill. Despite these inherent challenges, we continue to be amazed when we hear the stories of how unscripted ramblings from two women has helped your family stay safe, sane and healthy over the past 2 years. Thanks for sending these stories to us.
We appreciate all of you who listen, share and support the show. We hope to see all of you on the Gram for the next one.
#MasksOffLive: Help My Anxiety! Edition