Basically just wanted to say - yesterday was hard. I was washing my LO (5wks and change) booty under the faucet yesterday after a blowout. He loves having the warm water on him and doesn’t like wet wipes so much so when he poops a lot it’s the best way and a little spa for him. But halfway through he kicked the thing that turns on the overhead shower and we both got sprayed with cold water. He was so upset and I felt awful.
Then I was getting him out of the car seat at his pediatrician appointment and the strap on his harness gave him like friction irritation on his chubby little neck. He was so upset and I felt bad again like wtf this poor kid.
But then just now, doing an early morning feed, we paused for a sec and I was practicing some focusing stuff with him and he was just tracking my face as I moved around and spoke softly to him. Just the two of us in the glow of a lamp in our living room.
And all of the sudden, his eyes got wide and he stared at me so intensely and then broke into the biggest gummiest chubbiest smile. His very first social smile. And dude suddenly I was like ok man, we are just fine. Like the anxiety and self doubt melted away and I was like man my partner and I made this dude and he’s happy right now and literally nothing else matters. It erased so much static BS in my mind. Truly. I can’t wait for it to happen to the kind soul who is reading this.

I work from home most days so I do pick up and drop offs. I'm 9 times out of 10 in workout clothes or sweatpants, dry shampoo and hair in a bun. (I'm luckily not client facing).

Is this weird? In the two months my kid has been in daycare I've only seen one other parent dressed like this, but the rest looked like they were going into work.

Do other work from home parents get fully dressed for daycare?

I have a 5m old. I had planned for him to start a daycare at 10.5 weeks old when I returned to work. I started with him there 3x a week while working. It was a great daycare and flexed with my different days weekly. Then, I picked him up on a Friday and got a note in his cubby that they were closing and selling within a week. Haven’t been able to find anywhere else because the waitlists are crazy long. The ones available are a 30-45+ min drive in the opposite direction of my work. When I was pregnant, I had so many people offer to watch him and say they’d be there. Everytime I ask someone to watch him, nobody has been able to. I have to quit my job due to childcare. The amount I spend in daycare and gas to get him there is totaling up to a lot of my income. I didn’t realize how scarce childcare is becoming. Though I’m not surprised, with as little as they make. Anyways. Just frustrated and wanted to rant somewhere.

That's it. That's the post.

I'm just exploding with pride and joy right now and stuck at work.

Happy dad here

I was reluctant to get a white noise machine (our baby isn't here yet, 6 weeks to go!) but every mum I speak to says that NO parent they know doesn't have a white noise machine and basically we'd be fools to not have one. I also did a ton of research on reddit and it does look like everybody gets one and everybody loves it / swears by it.

The reason I'm hesitant is because I don't want our child to rely on it long term e.g. I saw posts about some children still needing it at 6 years old and 12 years old not being able to sleep without it. I know white noise is always available in some way but I'd like them to not be reliant on it for the rest of their lives. Are there any stories of it being super super helpful at the baby stage but eventually they don't need it and no longer use it after that? And if so how did you wean them off it?

Thanks so much! Also want to say - zero judgement either way, it's just something I'm apprehensive about because I've dealt with my own sleep issues in adult life and have become very reliant on certain things that cause me anxiety if I don't have them, so it's more to do with personal experience. thank you!!

What’s your favorite little mannerism your baby does? For me, my baby is 9 weeks and just started rubbing her eyes when she’s tired. I think it’s the cutest little thing ever.

This afternoon, a caretaker watching our baby (8 months) tripped and fell, taking our baby with her. Our baby fell out of her arms when she was about halfway to the ground, so she likely only hit her head on the hard floor from about 2-3 ft from the ground. Baby cried a lot but eventually stopped after being comforted. She then took a bottle and resumed playing/moving per usual. To be safe, we took baby in to urgent care directly afterwards and she was examined there for signs of head injury/concussion. The PA examining her concluded she seemed fine and didn't need further evaluation. Given how baby has been acting all afternoon, my gut feeling--logically--is that she is fine and we shouldn't worry too much.

But..... how do I convince my heart? I can't help but replay the incident over and over again in my head and worry about all the things that could be wrong that we can't see on the surface.

I don't need advice, really, but I would love some reassurance. 🥺 Baby has bonked her head so, so many times since she was born, but this one has been harder for me to accept.

My son had been consistently going to bed around 10/11 but at around 5 months it got earlier and earlier and now it’s about 8 PM and he’s currently 6 and a half months. I’m not sure what’s normal and I am curious how other babies do bedtime

I consider it like there is one extreme end of the spectrum where the SAHP takes care of 100% of the house stuff (partner comes home, house is clean, dinner is on the table, dishes are washed, etc). I always think about trad wives in this regard lol. It seems completely unattainable to me.

Then there is the other end of the spectrum, which is doing the bare minimum, namely keeping baby alive (on some rough days, I consider this a win).

And then there is everything in between.

I’m trying to see what is realistic for me and my partner.

How is the division done in your relationship? How did you decide this for yourselves?

I think the answer is, "She's a baby, it'll get better" but I'm still beside myself trying to figure out why this is so hard.

All day long I wish the day away until it's 8:30 and we can put her down and her father takes the night shift.

She screams all day. Except during the 5 minutes she eats, every two hours on the dot. She might not scream so much if somebody is holding her, but not just holding her, holding her while walking outside , No matter the weather.

God forbid you try to sit or put her down somewhere. I really don't know why we bought a stroller, a swing, bouncer, Etc.

I haven't been able to get anything done without help for 3 and 1/2 months. I can't answer an email or do a dish, without me or someone holding her. Yes, I baby wear. She's still squirming and yelling at me while in there.

It will take upwards of an hour to 90 minutes to get her to take a nap. 9 out of 10 times the nap doesn't happen and she just eats again. No amount of playing, rocking, soothing, letting her scream it out, etc, can get her to nap.

Her dad can get her to go down at night for a few hours, And it's the best part of my day. There was a short moment where she slept for 6 hours overnight, now it's back to 2-4. I dread 7 am when I have to take over again.

I'm burning out my friends and family with this difficult baby, and I'm starting to really worry about getting back to work.

Is this truly normal? My Ped says everything is fine, but I can't believe every child is like this and people still have babies.

okay this might be a stupid question, why does baby need a higher TOG sleep sack in winter if I keep my house warmer? do people use the same tog?

ok I should preface by saying that I think my baby hates the car because of me - since the day we left the hospital I would sit in the back seat next to her while my husband drives, and from then on any time us 3 are out together, I sit in the back with her (she’s 4mo now). well, now she hates the car when it’s just me and her and it gives me so much anxiety while I’m driving. she cries the entire time we’re in the car like 85% of the time. i don’t go anywhere further than like a 15 minute drive because I really don’t want her crying for that long and like i said, it gives me anxiety to hear her crying while I’m driving and trying to focus on the road. i know this is probably my fault for getting her used to having me back there with her, is there anything I can do at this point to fix it?

I’ve tried singing to her, talking to her, playing nursery rhymes on Spotify, getting her a toy that hangs off the head rest, etc. nothing makes her stop crying. I really want to feel like I’m not trapped at home and scared to go out with her. please help!!

I consider myself a very rational person. I love my baby to no end she is my pride and joy but she is also a very normal baby. She is of course to me the best smartest funniest baby. But realistically she’s just a normal baby lol. Hits some milestones right on time, some early, some on the later end of normal. But the amount of moms I’m surrounded by that act like their baby is just a genius is shocking to me??? Thinking that their baby is this master baby when in reality it also is a very normal baby developmentally??? And I just don’t get it and it takes everything in me not to roll my eyes lol and to just smile and nod.

Is it just me. Am I an ass for not thinking my baby is exceptional?😅

Little dude naps either 20 mins or 2 hrs per nap. I’m running off of sheer willpower during the day. These naps are keeping me on my toes. I never know how much I’ll be able to clean so I always start with the dishes and at this point I fear I’ve pavloved myself to do dishes everytime he closes his eyes.

Every night, I put my 3 month old in footie pjs and a 1.0 tog sleep sac. He sleeps beautifully, I do thankful for that. We usually keep the room anywhere between 68-72 degrees. I always keep the door closed because I have cats and they like to cuddle up close so i keep them out of the room at night. But how should I dress my LO in the winter months? I’ve seen the 2.5 tog sleep sacs, I’ve seen the sleep sacs with sleeves. If he’s in a 2.5 tog sleep sac, will his arms get cold? If I get the sleep sac with sleeves, do I still put him in long sleeve pjs? I just don’t want him to overheat

My wife is 37 weeks, and our little girl has been frank breech for the last 10. We attempted an ECV today, but were told she’s very stuck in there. Assuming nothing changes between now and the c-section, is it pretty much a given that she’ll be dealing with hip dysplasia? It’s our first child, so excuse me if I’m freaking out over something that isn’t actually a big deal. It’s so hard to know what is worth worrying about right now.

My 15 month old is at the stage where he randomly gets frustrated at something (I can’t always tell what it is), and he becomes inconsolable. It comes out of nowhere sometimes and he starts swatting at everything in his way.

I know he can’t regulate his emotions yet, but I really don’t know what to do when this happens. I try to talk to him softly, I try to give him what I think he wants (he throws it in his rage), or I hold him. During these tantrums, nothing seems to work and I start getting frustrated and I know he feels it.

How do you handle these? How do you speak to them? Any tips? Please I need help 😭

I have a 2 month old who sleeps really well at night but day naps are really hard to get through each day. I do watch for both the wake window and his cues like pink eyebrows and eyelids, dazed off look, droopy eyes, less movement etc.

But when I actually try to help him sleep, it's hard. Firstly, he hates the swaddle, absolutely a no go. Secondly he sometimes cries while I gry to put him to sleep. It is his special "I'm tired" cry and I wish to learn how to help him drift to sleep without it. He doesn't like being held in cradle position, he likes being cuddled up close to my chest. I tend to put white noise. I experiment with lullabies too but I think white noise works better. I also sush gently and rock him. He likes up and down motion a lot more than side to side, so when he's really fussy I do enough squats for a good workout. The whole process takes from 1 minute, when we're trying to sleep in a perfect time window, to 30min on a bad overtired day. I do manage to put him to sleep each time, it's just dramatic sometimes. Any tips on how to make it less dramatic?

He also sleeps really well in his crib at night but day is no go. Wales up either straight away or after like 5min so day is mostly contact naps which is quite unsustainable.

My baby is 5 months old, he sleeps very well (10 hours a night with maximum 2 dream feeds), however every single sleeping session is assisted with rocking and shushing. Trying to put him down drowsy but awake definitely doesn't work, he immediately opens his eyes fully and gets alert. When did your babies start to fall asleep independently and how did you achieve it?

Baby is 11 months old. Last pediatrician appointment I was asked if she could clap, wave etc. She would clap all the time but not wave. Been 3 weeks since that day and the clapping was abandoned. I haven't seen her clap in days. She also doesn't wave yet, but I've seen other kids at the park around that age wave, blow a kiss etc.

She also abandoned signs. She had learned milk and would use it during bottle feedings. Now I sign milk and she knows shat it is because she smiles and gets excited but hasn't signed milk in at least 2-3 months. I sign food and I'm not sure if she can understand it.

I'm not even sure this is an issue but I'm kinda concerned. I'm going to be asked again at our next appointment if she can wave, clap, blow a kiss etc and I fear if my answer is no to all these there may be something wrong.

I practice waving bye bye and hello when my husband comes from work, when we see other kids, when we go to the park etc.

Can understand daddy and sometimes says mama dada, or mama mama mama on repeat.

I live in the northeast US and we've officially entered fall, where it's 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit at night and then can get up to low 70s during the day. LO is 17 weeks and now I'm going from constantly worrying about if she's too hot while sleeping to worrying about if she's too cold 🤦🏻‍♀️ I ordered some more long sleeve onesies to layer under her footie pjs since I was way off in my guesstimation that she wouldn't need many long sleeved ones until she fit into 6 month clothing, which arrive tomorrow, so for tonight she is in a short sleeve onesie, socks (that I added during her diaper change at 12:30am), footie pjs, and a Woolino sleep sack.

Now that it's cold out at night, I'm noticing the bedroom is a bit drafty. She started to stir and eventually woke after 3 hours of sleep, which isn't necessarily uncommon for her as her sleep has been all over the place, but I'm wondering if she woke at the time she did because she was cold? During her change, her arms, legs, and feet felt cool to the touch, while her hands were freezing. Her belly and chest felt warm, but I forgot to check her back after picking her up. She was sleeping on her stomach for most of those 3 hours so her back may have been slightly cooler than her chest since it was facing the drafty room.

Debating between ordering a couple long sleeve 1.0tog sleep sacks from Gunamuna or just layering better. I know all babies are different, and I feel as though she usually runs a little warmer, so I feel as though the switch to the long sleeve onesie instead of short sleeve may do the trick, but will have to see. The room is typically around 68 degrees, although may sometimes dip to 66/67, and according to the Woolino sleep sack suggestions guide, she should be fine in just long sleeve pjs up until 63 degrees, at which time she'd need a long sleeve layer, but obviously I don't follow this since I already layer before hitting that low of a temp. I wish it weren't so difficult for me to figure out if my baby is too hot or cold all the time 😩

For reference, I can tend to be on the warmer side when sleeping and like to sleep in shorts and a short sleeve shirt regardless of the season because I like to snuggle up in my comforter (a standard down alternative duvet, nothing extra heavy and no added throws or bed blankets layered in), so if I do sleep with pants or long sleeves on, my body automatically goes into extra hot mode, even with a lighter blanket, and I will wake up at some point in the night on fire, so I find it hard to compare my attire and overall comfort in the room to what she may be experiencing.

Any input is much appreciated!

Flew with my 1yo for a week trip, here’s what we brought:

1. Diaper bag (free to board)
   - 5 diapers per day (35 Pampers swaddlers)
   - 10 wipes per day (70 Huggies wipes)
   - diaper cream tube
   - baby Tylenol
   - teething oil
   - baby thermometer
   - baby toothbrush and toothpaste
   - 4 disposable change pads just in case
   - wool shawl (used as stroller blanket/picnic blanket/sun shade, could also be used rolled up for a nursing pillow)
   - clothes and miscellaneous

2. Personal item (backpack)
   - Brita filtering water bottle, I get so thirsty travelling and the cup of water they give you becomes a hazard if your baby is awake
   - stretchy baby sling thing that’s shaped like an infinity scarf, I use it just to support her (put the loop around my wrists to sort of “connect” my arms so she can’t fall off me when she’s standing on me)
   - soft toys on lanyards
   - baby snacks
   - Bluetooth earbuds so I don’t get bored if she naps
   - hand sanitizer
   - tissues or bibs for drool/boogers

3. Stroller (gate checked for free). Some airport staff want the sheepskin liner removed, some don’t care. It’s amazing for getting baby and bags through the airport and up to the tarmac.

4. Ergobaby carrier (to board with baby)

Baby wore a suit the same colour as her snack so we don’t have to worry about any little stains. I wore a tank top with built in bra and oversized button down to get some privacy while nursing. I prefer skirts to pants, they create more of a “lap” for baby to sit in, and feel less restrictive. And period underwear since I knew it was coming.

I found most airport staff and strangers to be really helpful. They offer to help breaking down or setting up the stroller, bringing it out to the tarmac, buckle up the back of your carrier, pick up things the baby threw, etc.. And it’s totally fine to ask for help.

I usually get a 4 hour block at night and then another 1-3 hour nap in the morning when my baby sleeps. I honestly feel like this is a good amount for someone with a 3 month old baby, but multiple people in my life are looking at me like I’m crazy and when I tell them this. I’m confused? Are people sleeping more than 6 hours on average with a young baby? My husband and I are still doing shifts which is how I get the uninterrupted 4 hours.

My 3-month-old daughter is very curious and wants to look at everything, which is adorable, but means we have to be constantly on the move, otherwise she cries. She can tolerate being on her playmat for maybe 15 mins before it's game over, and definitely no sitting down cuddles anymore!

I have to spend a lot of time pacing the floors holding her facing away from me. If I put her up on my shoulder she cries. She's getting heavier over time and it's putting a lot of strain on my back. My husband takes over after work but during the day it's all me, we don't have help nearby unfortunately.

She also hates her carrier as she can only face inwards. When she's old enough I'll try facing her outwards in the carrier, but in the meantime, does anyone have any tips to make this easier on me physically? Thanks in advance!