Dr. Samantha Starrett Robinson, M.D.

Most babies born to moms with type 2 diabetes do very well. Your care team will usually check baby’s blood sugar soon after birth and, if it’s low, treat it- this doesn’t happen to every baby and is usually a short-term issue if it does occur. Some babies may be larger than average when mom has diabetes, and this can cause issues during the birth itself with baby fitting through the birth canal; your doctor can often roughly estimate from ultrasound how large your baby might be. Particularly if your sugars have been well controlled, I would generally expect baby will be healthy.

This is something you may want to see your doctor in person for- sometimes blinking is just that (especially in a baby at this age- he may have just realized that he can control his own blinking, and is just doing it because it's new and fun!) but can also be a sign of other problems. Without seeing your child, it would be difficult for me to say.

Vitamin B12 is almost exclusively found in foods from animal sources: eggs, dairy, and meat. While there are fortified foods (some non-dairy mills, in particular) that are good alternative B12 sources, I find that some of my vegetarian and nearly all my vegan patients will need to supplement their B12 intake to maintain adequate levels. If you're just cutting down on meat and dairy, again, fortified nut/soy milks (check the label) and eggs are great options.

Without knowing if you had a middle ear infection (what we usually call an "ear infection") or an outer ear infection (often called "swimmers ear"), I can't give you a single answer to this. Swimmer's ear is often treated with drops, though you might also be prescribed an oral antibiotic, if the symptoms are severe. A middle ear infection is behind the eardrum, so drops won't really help here - when it's causing symptoms, these are usually treated with oral antibiotics.

It is possible to develop a low-grade fever after any vaccination - this can sometimes be a sign that your body is mounting an immune response to the vaccine. While you can't get sick from a flu shot (they don't contain live influenza virus), some people do feel feverish or achy for a few days afterward. It can also be coincidence - there are always other viral infections circulating in the community!

Without knowing the specifics, it's hard to say in your case. For some people, asthma can get better or worse due to other factors- allergies, air pollution, upper respiratory infections to name a few. Many people with reactive airway disease or asthma don't need daily medication, or may only need inhalers when they're sick.

If your daily protein intake from food is adequate and your levels are still low, it's okay to supplement with a good quality protein powder. If you aren't eating much protein (this doesn't need to be red meat - poultry, fish, tofu and plant-based sources are even better from a health standpoint), I usually recommend optimizing your diet rather than relying on powders alone.