About

Hi, I'm Amanda

Biomedical scientist, mum of two, and the person behind Baby Things Tips.

I'm Amanda Miranda — a biomedical scientist, a mum of two, and the person behind Baby Things Tips. Before having my own children, I spent five years caring for other people's.

I trained as a biomedical scientist in Brazil and completed a postgraduate specialisation in magnetic resonance imaging at Universidade de São Paulo (USP), one of Latin America's leading research universities. My professional background lives at the intersection of medical imaging and patient care — a world of protocols, careful observation, and learning how to interpret what the body is quietly telling us.

In 2016 I moved from São Paulo to Australia with my then-boyfriend, now husband. Life abroad brought new routines, a new language rhythm, and a decision that shaped everything that followed: I started working as a babysitter.

Five years with other people's children

Before Matthew — before I ever carried a baby of my own — I spent five years babysitting across Australia, caring for children from multiple families, from newborns to school-age.

To do that work here you need more than goodwill. I hold:

  • Working with Children Check (WWCC) — the statutory background clearance required in Australia for anyone working with minors
  • First Aid certification

Those five years were my real parenting classroom. I saw children across stages, families across parenting philosophies, and nights that went well and nights that absolutely didn't. I learned what soothes a baby who won't settle at 3am. I learned how different a 4-month-old is from a 10-month-old is from a 2-year-old. I learned that the same technique can be magic for one child and useless for the next.

When I eventually became a mum myself, I walked into it with a very unusual combination: biomedical training, five years of hands-on childcare, and the same 2am confusion every new parent feels anyway — because loving your own baby changes everything.

My own kids

Our son Matthew is 5 years old and currently obsessed with anything with wheels. Our daughter Laura is 9 months old as I write this, somewhere between sitting up confidently and plotting how to crawl.

They are, in the most affectionate sense of the word, my ongoing research.

Why this blog exists

Baby Things Tips started from a very specific kind of exhaustion — the 2am kind.

Even with clinical training and years of childcare experience, I still found myself typing half-formed questions into Google at strange hours. Is this rash normal? How long should this nap be? Why is she suddenly refusing the bottle? And I'd still end up jumping between ten tabs, piecing together fragments from pediatric guidelines, forum threads, and well-meaning but contradictory advice.

I kept thinking: there has to be a better way for parents to get clear, trustworthy answers in one place — without wading through thin content, SEO fluff, or fearmongering.

When Laura arrived, that thought became this blog.

Baby Things Tips exists to consolidate what I wish I'd had as a first-time parent: practical, evidence-informed answers to the everyday questions mums and dads actually ask, written in plain language, and gathered in one calm corner of the internet.

How the content is made

This matters, so I want to be transparent about it:

  • Every article is researched before it's written. The sources I lean on are organisations like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, the NHS, and peer-reviewed paediatric literature. Where there's established guidance, that's where I anchor.
  • I stay in the informational lane. You won't find me pretending to be a paediatrician, because I'm not one. My biomedical training helps me read clinical sources accurately, but diagnosis and treatment are your doctor's job.
  • Recommendations are honest. When I suggest a product, it's either something I've used with my own children or something that meets clear evidence-based criteria (safe sleep, safe feeding, age-appropriate play). Some links are affiliate links — they help keep the blog free — but they never change what I recommend.

A note on medical information

Baby Things Tips is a parenting blog, not a medical service. Everything you read here is for general informational and educational purposes.

Your baby is not a general case — they're your baby. If something feels off, or if a question touches on your child's health, please speak to your paediatrician, GP, or local child health nurse. No article, mine or anyone else's, replaces a clinician who can actually examine your child.

Say hi

If you have a question, a topic you'd like covered, or just want to share your own experience, I genuinely love hearing from readers.

Thanks for being here. Truly.

— Amanda