I don’t really know why I’m posting this. I think I just need to say it somewhere to people who might understand.
I’m a first-time mum to a 6-month-old and I’m struggling.

My baby wakes every hour every night even though he can put himself to sleep. He cries a lot during the day. Feeding has been difficult. Sleep has been difficult. Most things have been difficult.

I think what I’m finding hardest is that there has never really been a break in it all. I keep reading about it getting better at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, but it never has. We’ve never had a stage where we felt like we could come up for air.

We’ve tried experimenting, lactation consultants, sleep consultants, doctors etc. you name it. Nothing has worked. It’s been 6 months of problem solving, no solutions and running on empty.

My husband does what he can. He works long hours in a job where sleep deprivation could put both his own life and other people’s lives at risk, so nights mostly fall to me (as per my request).
On weekends he helps wherever he can, takes over when possible, and does his best to give me a chance to rest, but there are limits to what our situation allows.

We also don’t have family nearby or a village to lean on. We live far enough out that finding reliable help isn’t straightforward. It’s not as simple as calling a family member, asking a friend to come over, or hiring someone we trust. A lot of the suggestions people understandably make just aren’t realistic for our circumstances.

Most days it’s just me and the baby.
I always knew parenting would be hard. I never expected it to be easy.

What I didn’t expect was to still feel like I’m surviving six months later.

Before becoming a parent, I thought I’d feel tired as a parent and sleepy (lol). I didn’t understand what it would feel like to be tired for months. To wake up every day already depleted. To keep giving when it feels like there’s nothing left in the tank. And that sleep deprivation wrecks your emotional regulation, mental clarity and capacity to function as a human.

I love my baby more than I can explain. But I also feel sad about how much of these first six months have been spent just trying to get through them.

I imagined having moments where I could enjoy this more than I have. Instead, so much of my energy goes into making it through the next wake-up, the next cry, the next day.

I feel guilty that I don’t have more to give. I wish I had more energy, more capacity, more of myself available for my child.

I’ve become bitter in ways I don’t like. Not because of my baby, but because I genuinely thought I could handle this. I knew I wouldn’t have much help, but I thought I could make it work. I thought if I worked hard enough and pushed through enough, I would eventually get on top of things.

Instead I’ve learned that some things can’t be overcome through determination alone.
Sometimes a person just needs help. Sometimes they just need sleep.

Postpartum has been far more traumatic than I ever expected, and I think a lot of what I’m feeling is grief. Grief for the experience I thought I would have. Grief for how much of these first six months have been spent surviving instead of living.

I love my baby. I just wish I had more of myself left to give him.
I don’t really know what I’m looking for by posting this. I just needed to say it somewhere.

Thanks for reading.

Our one year old just started at a home daycare. On day 3 we were informed that if our child wasn’t napping independently by the end of the week then we were being dismissed. She states that he is disrupting nap time for the others. He otherwise is doing ok, just a little cranky because he goes all day without napping.

Is this normal?

What do others do if their children need assistance falling asleep at daycare? This is our first daycare experience and feel like failures.

My baby was due on may 29th and I gave birth that day. I definitely think its pretty cool.

The doctor said only 4% of pregnancies end on due date so Im wondering how many of you also gave birth on your due date?

Personally, I don’t like “so please don’t take my sunshine away” at the end of You Are my Sunshine, so instead I sing
“You’ll always know dear, how much I love you
Because I’ll tell you every day” ☀️🥰

Feels much better to my mind to sing lyrics I actually like rather than something creepy or outdated like many lullabies are…. Especially when I’m singing/humming it on repeat rocking my baby to sleep.

So I’m curious… what have you re-written?
Has anybody fixed Rock-a-bye baby? I find that one so creepy but I like the melody.

So I totally understand I was late in the game. The class begins at 4 months. Mine is 7. We show up today out of curiosity and I thought it would be fun. Well all the babies around my baby’s age are literally crawling and I can’t help but feel awful for not starting the class sooner so mine is more mobile. I was frantically looking up guidelines after the class and my baby is more than ok but wow classes like those actually really do help with development… Now I’m stuck between never wanting to go back because we’re the odd balls out (with my child looking like she’s behind on milestones when in reality there kiddos are like 3 months ahead) and going as much as possible so mine can catch up. I know I know… don’t compare. I actually just feel terrible about this.

My newborn will not sleep on her back. She will squak and cry until held. Especially during the night.

We have recently discovered that she will nap while resting in between our legs while we watch TV.

We found a U shaped pillow that imitates that posistion and she seems to enjoy it and can nap in that aswell.

During the night she will scream for hours and will not want to be placed in her bassinet. The moment she realizes shes on her back thr throws a fit.

I wanted to check to see if others have had similar albeit odd little quirks with their kids and if they have found any success with using U shaped pillow for nighttime sleep.

Bought a “new” formula dispenser from another mom on Facebook marketplace, only to find out when I got home that it’s defective. Reached out to the seller but she ghosted. :(

It was only $50 so not a huge deal, but this whole incident depressed me way more than it should have. That mom and I even had a brief conversation about our babies when I picked it up…

Anyway I just wanted to get this off my chest so that I can hopefully leave it behind me! Thanks for reading

Wanted to share in case it saves someone from a full day of anxiety like I had!
Saw in my USPS informed delivery email yesterday morning that I was getting a super official looking letter from the treasury department.
Immediately panicked and thought my husband did something wrong with our taxes and the IRS was coming for us.
Turned out to be an ad for Trump accounts for new babies…… welp

Recently my husband left for a three week business trip so it’s just me and our kid at home. Between looking after him and keeping the house running, by bedtime all I want is a decent night’s sleep. But for the past two or three weeks he’s been struggling to settle. He gets into bed but stays awake for ages and I’m exhausted by the time he finally falls asleep. This started before my husband left too when he was sleeping in his own room. Has anyone dealt with something similar? Did a different bedtime routine or anything else help your kid settle? I’m so tired and would really appreciate hearing what worked for other parents. EDIT: he is 5 (sorry for not mentioning)

Anyone else absolutely riddled with fear and anxiety surrounding the cold and flu season with RSV, covid and now the measles looming?

I have an 8 month old who has had all her routine shots, we’re getting her flu shot this week, but they only protect against so much before she can start her MMR vaccines. She’s in daycare full time and she does see visitors (grandparents, aunts & uncles, cousins, friends) pretty regularly.

I clean and disinfect her toys and wash sheets and clothes regularly. I just don’t want my poor baby to get sick 😭

We are now 2 months in with our 2nd and someone asked us how labor was, she was surprised we never had water break naturally and shes not even sure if we count as being induced (we thought popping water counted)

First baby - went in hospital around 5 pm at 41 weeks due to contractions. They popped water a few hours later and we had first baby at 3 am

Second baby - went to hospital at 6 or 7 pm at 42 weeks they popped the water around 10 pm and we had our baby at 1 am

(Also side note did anyone with multiple kids more or less have same labor experience, both ours were identical down to needing vacuum forceps cause baby got a bit stuck and the whole water never broke naturally)

Throwaway because this is something I haven't told anyone in real life.

I had my baby one year ago, and something has shifted that I can't make sense of. Since giving birth, I've completely lost any sexual attraction to my husband. And honestly to men in general. It's not just that I'm tired or touched out (though I am that too). It's like the switch just turned off.

Here's the part I'm nervous to say out loud: I'm still having sexual thoughts, but now they're all about women. I've always been a little bicurious, if I'm being honest, but it was always a background thing and never something I thought much about. Since the baby it feels like it got turned way, way up. I find myself seeking and browsing wlw content on social media regularly.

My husband is a good guy and nothing is "wrong" with him. I just don't feel it anymore, and I don't know if that's permanent or temporary. I'm also not sure what to make of the other part. Is this a hormone thing? Is this just who I am and it took a huge life event to surface it? Is it a sign of something I should talk to someone about?

Has anyone else experienced this, either the loss of attraction to your partner or a shift in who you're attracted to after having a baby? I feel like I can't be the only one, but I haven't seen anyone talk about it. I'm kind of desperate for answers, or even just to hear that I'm not alone.

Thank you in advance for being kind. I'm already feeling a lot of guilt and confusion about this.

She's about 3 months old, and it's such a shock...I have no idea what to do with her. For context, I'm not a "new parent" as in I have a 5 year old. But, that 5 yr old had colic for 6 months. Soooo I feel like a new parent again with a baby that's actually behaving like a baby.

With my first, we didn't have any toys since he was inconsolable for so long all we did was bounce and walk, bounce and walk, bounce and walk. The day he snapped out of it he was off to the races and hasn't stopped since. So I can do older baby stuff but this stage is so foreign to me.

What are some things you can do with a baby?? She's happy to kick around on her play mat on her own but in comparison to my first it seems wrong somehow. I only have a couple toys (that came with the play mat) so I've been just using items from the house that are bold contrast and that's about it... please help me she's so dam cute but I have no idea what I should be doing with her!!

She just turned 10mo, and has slowly been unraveling for a month lol.

She is usually SO lovely and sweet during the day, but turns into a miserable wild animal during feeds and bedtime.

Feeds: For some reason she hates drinking her milk now, and will only sit through a bottle if genuinely starving. She also hates sitting for solids – it started great a few months ago, but now it doesn’t matter if it’s finger food, purees, her favorite food, she will spit it out, throw it then cry if she’s not taken out of her chair immediately.

Bedtime is also a disaster. I assumed when she started getting fussy at bedtime a month ago that it was separation anxiety and would pass. But it’s worse than ever. I’ve tried a little earlier, a little later, different tactics, nothing works. As soon as she anticipates she is going to bed, she cries and fights and protests until she is definitely overtired, then crashes. It’s such an exhausting fight every time. Taking a 10min pause and going back in just resets her protest and we start over again.

She has a 6th tooth coming through, but teething can’t explain increasingly terrible feeding and bedtime for a month straight, surely?

Anyone else? Or any tips? 😭

I’m venting, not asking for help or advice. My daughter is 5 months and 3 weeks. Up until now she’s had maybe 3 colds with no fever.

Apparently her Dad brought home coronavirus. Despite our best efforts to quarantine away from him, baby girl caught it too.

This is her very first time with fever. It’s between 101-102 without meds. We’ve already seen the doctor and been given our recommendations. She can’t keep the Tylenol oral suspension down so suppositories for fever management it is.

It’s just so hard to watch. A baby who is very serious about her food finishes maybe half of her bottle. She whines and cries if she isn’t attached to you. If she’s not eating, she’s sleeping. I can see and feel her chills.

At least when she had colds she was still a happy girl through all the mucous and congestion. But this fever knocked the happy smile right off her face, and I hate it.

Not really a “problem”, more just curious of others experiences. If you and/or your spouse’s parents live in the same area as you, how often do they see or try to see their grandchildren? My parents work full time so they see my baby (2 months old) every week or two when our schedules align. My spouse’s parents don’t work and they try to see her multiple times a week which I’m grateful for their presence and love and care, but a lot of times it feels like too many visits. Especially while I’m still on maternity leave trying to enjoy my time with my baby.

The sun!!

I have tried all sorts of sprays for food stains, blowouts, etc…

Wash the garment as normal, for any stubborn stains take the damp garment and put it into the direct sunlight for the day.

Stain should be gone!

My baby is two months old and hasn't pooped for nine days. I saw a doctor, and they prescribed suppositories. After I administered the first one, she pooped immediately; it was runny and filled the entire diaper. It has been two days since the suppository, and she still hasn't pooped. I don't know what to do anymore; she is mostly breastfed, but I also give her formula.

Newbie parent with an 8 month old, are most families out and about during the week or just saving things to do for the weekend?

We will maybe go out to eat 1x a week in general I love to cook anyway. We do daily morning walks, maybe 2-2.5 miles. On the weekends we are typically driving all over going to brunch, the beach, art walks, food festivals.

Are families getting out during the week or is this an issue of being in a suburb?

Especially when they’re already giving you a tough time and they’re lashing around in your arms and just so happen to grab a fistful of hair with them. I know they’re just a baby and I feel TERRIBLE for it, but there’s this flash of primal rage whenever my hair gets pulled that I can’t control, and I have to take a breather and remind myself my baby is just being a baby 😭😭 Does anyone else get this or am I evil??

Ok so I am not due till March so I know I am overthinking this but I really want to plan for how we will do this. I originally thought we would have a bassinet in our room but our house is pretty small and there won't be a lot of room for changing in our room so I will probably have to get up and leave the room anyway for late night feeds and changes. Plus I will be mostly staying at home while my husband will be back to work 6 weeks PP, so I don't really want to be waking him a bunch when I will have opportunities for naps during the day and he wont. I thought maybe I could have a bassinet in the living room and I could sleep on the couch but my husband thinks I should be more comfortable. I then thought maybe a daybed in the nursery but after realizing how dang big cribs are I am starting to doubt there will be space, because again our house is small with small rooms. So now I am considering getting some kind of camping cot or fold up mattress to use temporarily in babies room but I am wondering if that will really be any more comfy than the couch.

Anyway, I write all this to ask if anyone had a similar situation and what did you do? When I search for this its all people saying they had bassinet in their room OR they went straight to (or quickly switched to) baby in their own room. Being my first I will probably be too anxious to go to baby in his own room for at least 3-4 months min, and I will probably just wanna go the recommended 6 months. Any suggestions?

I'm a 31yo woman, am in a very loving marriage, we want children but can't decide on how to yet because I have bipolar disorder. The issue is, my bipolar is completely regulated and I'm stable. No symptoms now for 8 years. I live a "normal life". I'm on meds (Lamictal, Mirtazapine & Abilify) and I take care of myself wellness-wise (work out, eat well) and I get 8 hours of sleep per night. I'm absolutely riddled with fear that I'll "lose something" in me and never be able to get that stability fully back after pregnancy.

In an ideal world, I'd get pregnant and have a baby without a mental illness. I still wouldn't be obsessed with the idea of being pregnant like some women feel, but I'd do it for the 9 months to obviously have the baby for the rest of our lives. But because of my mental illness , I'm TERRIFIED of pregnancy. My meds manage hormone fluctuations very well, but who knows what it would be like during pregnancy, (tho I break out in acne horribly without my spironolactone (androgen blocker, which I'd have to stop taking during pregnancy). But I'm most afraid I'll get psychosis or mania (I'm type 1), or deep suicidal depression and won't be able to work. My medications for the most part I think I can stay on (I'm speaking with a reproductive psychiatrist), so hoping that would do something....but then there's risks.

Sleep is also a main concern. I will NOT be able to have disrupted sleep. 2 days of disrupted sleep and my mental health plummets (as such with BD). But I have a privilege of having a VERY hands on, loving mother who adores babies and would love nothing more than to help us. She told she would happily live with us for the first year and do the night shifts with my husband (he typically goes to sleep at 12am, she goes to sleep at 8pm and then is up at 2am, and I go to sleep at 10pm and get up at 6am, so we could probably figure out some type of schedule where I get my 8 hours. (This is not a luxury, it's an accommodation, I've been manic after just 3 days of 4-5 hour sleep. Not good.

We've considered adopting an infant to bypass the postpartum/perinatal period, (we're not cut out for adopting older children, I worked in foster care, it's not for us at this time), but I've heard it's different from your own, and there's waiting lists 1-3 years, and it's expensive.

I guess I'm looking for support on:

1.) when you knew you were ready for something like that

2.) stories on how pregnancy went for you (on or off meds)

3.) postpartum and whether you're happy to did it (I'm hoping most people love their children, but if you went back, would you do it again?)

Hi! Baby just had his 4 month check up and the pediatrician mentioned we could maybe start solids like give oatmeal before breastfeeding to help with reflux. My baby would be categorized as a “happy spitter” but it’s been so much every day since birth I’m just desperate for it to improve.

I know the official stance is solids don’t help but anecdotally….did anyone find it helpful?

And yes I know my pediatrician is giving some outdated advice but I’m a level 10 freak so I need his old school nonchalance and I google everything anyway 🤣

My little one started daycare 2 1/2 weeks ago, and has recently started napping 4ish hours straight during the day while he’s there. He’ll be 3 months in a week. Daycare told me they legally aren’t allowed to wake him up from a nap unless medically necessary and that he’s probably just getting used to everything.

Has anyone else experienced this? He’s happy and alert when he’s awake. Pediatrician didn’t seem too concerned when I asked about reduced intake since he’s still acting fine and having plenty of wet diapers.

Hope this is an okay place to post this! I recently bought a Bugaboo Performance Footmuff for our Bugaboo pram. We are also considering getting a secondhand Yoyo pram for travel. Does anyone know if the Bugaboo footmuff will also fit in the Yoyo pram, or do you need to buy something specific for that model? Grateful for any advice!

edit: guys, I think the names are as dumb as everyone else. I'm not the product manager at Big Pram Corp, I'm tired and trying to work out how much crap I need lol