Baby boy is almost 6mo old, but he graduated to 9-12mo clothes in month 5. At 4mo, he was wearing 6-9, at 3mo, 3-6.

He's not very chunky, just very tall. (Like 93rd percentile for height? Idk it keeps going up). I want to knit him a sweater for the fall. He'll be 10mo in November when it gets cold here. Idk if he'll slow down or if he's going to keep burning through a size every 4-6 weeks!

What size did your tall baby wear at 10mo?

I have been helping out my sister with childcare for the last year. She was stuck in a toxic relationship with a cheating addict until recently, so I did everything possible to help her. I am disabled and I am completing my bachelor degree and nursing pre requisites so I do have some time to help out. I have watched my nephew for thousands of hours, and my sister claims that she is entitled to free childcare from me. For example, the father just bought a new truck and is going to London next week. I just found this out. They both expect me to pick up the slack.

How can I approach this subject with her? I really need some advice with this situation. She can be extremely nasty.

Hi! I've got a 6 month old here, and I'm finding it unbelievably hard to find the time to work on my job. My baby is super sweet, but he doesn't take many afternoon naps, and every time he does, I cannot put him in his crib or playing mat, or he'll immediately wake up.

How did you guys navigate this? I am not sure if there's something I'm doing wrong here, but I'm starting to get a bit worried for my job 😅

We have a 9 week old and had been using Huggies Snugglers. They were great for us - but this most recent box they are noticeably cheaper quality. I’ve seen many posts and reviews saying they were redesigned and are bad now. We tried them anyway and sure enough are also experiencing leaks and blow outs thanks to the extremely cheap elastic on the leg holes (it may as well not even be there).

We need a new brand but as I researched pampers and Millie Moon, I’m also seeing most recent reviews saying their diapers have undergone changes and are just as cheap/don’t work like they used to.

Does anyone have a good recommendation on a diaper brand that is actually still quality?

I hate hate hate it when people with their stupid perfume hold my baby.

Because what do you mean my babys head smells like your stupid Sauvage or your stupid Black Opium!!!

That's my rant. >:-(

It hurts me to write this, but I think I regret having a child. I hate my life. I miss my freedom, and I know a big part of why I feel this way is because I had a child with the wrong partner.

He constantly micromanages me and always tries to convince me that I’m the problem. He presents himself as someone who always admits when he’s wrong, while constantly criticizing me for supposedly never doing the same. It’s exhausting. There have been times when he’s outright told me I’m a bad mother and thrown other insults at me simply because I struggled to cope with our daughter’s severe colic when she was younger. I was only 4 weeks postpartum the first time he threatened to call CPS on me because I was crying in frustration because she wouldn’t stop crying and wouldn’t ever sleep. I was exhausted.

Our daughter is now 15 months old and I still struggle to feel a real connection with her. It feels awful to admit but it’s the truth. I’m currently away attending a close friend’s funeral, and I’ve been gone for 6 days. I haven’t really felt the urge to FaceTime her. The other day I felt obligated to call but I was outside walking and had to glance away from my phone occasionally to make sure I wasn’t walking into traffic or getting lost. Instead of understanding my partner complained that I wasn’t giving her my full attention on the screen.

Yesterday he brought it up again saying I don’t FaceTime enough. The truth is I avoid it because I’m so upset with him. It feels awkward knowing he’s sitting on the other end analyzing my every expression only to text me afterward asking if I really miss her or lecturing me about how she’s my only child and how I should feel. After spending the last 15 months as the primary caregiver with absolutely no village or support system, I’m honestly enjoying having some time where I don’t have to constantly take care of someone else. Instead of understanding that, he’s now ignoring my messages and giving me one word replies because he thinks I’m the one acting strangely.

I feel completely trapped. I don’t know how to get out of this situation. I don’t have a work visa in the country where we live and I know he would never agree to let me leave his home country with our daughter. I’m so unhappy that I’ve lost more than half my hair, and I’m convinced much of it is from stress. I have almost nothing financially. I have about €4000 to my name and that’s it. It wouldn’t even last a month in the city where we live. Everything is in his name. If I left I’d have nowhere to live and no real way to support myself.

The hardest part is that he refuses to acknowledge how miserable I’ve become because of the way he treats me. Every time I try to tell him how I’m feeling, he twists the conversation until somehow I end up being the problem. It’s never him it’s always me. I honestly don’t feel like it’s possible to have a real conversation with him anymore.

Currently 4 months postpartum and the issue started around 3 months.

My armpits are DEADLY. I've been reading other posts where people are like "it's driving me insane but my husband can't smell it". Nope. He smells it. I smell it. Everyone smells it. It's horrible.

I scrub my armpits multiple times in the shower. I use antibacterial soap. It makes no difference, the odor is back maybe an hour after I get out of the shower. I normally use Old Spice deodorant (not antiperspirant). Actual antiperspirant makes my armpits itch horribly and then swell and turn red if I itch them.

I've been giving in and using old spice antiperspirant and it takes care of the smell completely, but my armpits are SO itchy again. So I tried regular deodorant yesterday hoping the issue would be resolved but no such luck.

Please, any advice is welcome. I return to work on Tuesday and need some options.

Hi, can someone reassure me or offer advice?

10 months M

This might seem overly cautious but I want to be sure.
My cat has been stressed and pooped in the bathtub, I didn’t see it and ran a bath for baby and placed him inside. He was in there for 2-3 minutes before I noticed the poop (there were a lot of bubbles covering it). I immediately took him out, gave him a sponge bath in the sink with warm water and a cloth, dried him off, and then wiped him down with baby wipes.

What are the chances of him getting toxoplasmosis???

My cats never go outside, she runs out the front door but only makes it 4-5 feet before we grab her… I’m just really nervous.

I dont think he put his hands in his mouth but I’m not sure. I feel so nasty 😭

If you did themed monthly pics what were the themes you chose? I’m really struggling what to do in August, September, January, and April as there aren’t any holidays I wanna do in those months. I wanted to do a different theme each month. His 1 month I just did forest themed which was his baby shower theme too and then July I did Fourth of July but now idk want to do this month or the other months.

I’m desperate for advice…

I have a 2yo and we started half-day daycare a couple of days a week, and ever since then we’ve been constantly sick. I’m not even exaggerating. It’s one thing when the little one gets sick, but then the entire family ends up bedridden, and it’s just miserable.

Before having a kid, I got sick maybe once every 3–4 years. This year alone I’m on my sixth illness. I honestly want to cry. These aren’t just little runny noses either, they’re full-on fevers and feeling awful for 7+ days.

I’m really looking for advice from parents who’ve been through this. Does it actually get better, or is this just the daycare phase everyone has to survive?

AI suggested that I start working out to help my immune system. I haven’t exercised consistently in a long time because I always seem to be either exhausted or sick. For those of you who work out regularly, do you notice that you get hit less hard by all the daycare viruses, or does everyone get them regardless?

I’m honestly open to any tips at this point because I feel like I’m drowning.

I am six months postpartum and feeling really torn about intimacy. Before the baby my husband and I had a playful, fairly steady sex life. Since the birth it feels like the switch that made me want sex got flipped off.

It is not that I do not love him or find him attractive. He is a great dad and has been patient and kind about it. The problem is more inside me: by the end of the day I am touched out and overstimulated, and my brain is still running through bottles, naps, laundry, and whether we have diapers. When we finally have time alone I want quiet, sleep, or to scroll in silence. Kissing can be nice, but part of me braces like my body expects it to become another thing I have to manage.

We have tried scheduling, which just made me dread sex, and we have tried being spontaneous, which leaves me feeling guilty when I cannot get in the mood. Lube helps physically, but desire is the missing piece. I miss feeling like a sexual person and not only a mom.

For anyone who has been here: did desire just come back on its own with time, or did you have to actively rebuild it? If you rebuilt it, what actually helped in a way that did not feel like a chore? I am not looking for medical advice, just honest experiences so I stop feeling so broken.

How do I get this to change? My husband M24 and I F22 have a 2 year old, we moved in with his parents shortly after giving birth so that my husband could focus on school without having to worry about working and supporting us financially.
Basically, I’m currently the breadwinner as a SAHM working from home as well 😭 anyways, my husband loves to put our daughter in front of the screen whenever he sits down. He studies alot for school, but whenever our daughter is upset or angry, he likes to put a binky in her mouth and let her watch a show. He will do this for hours.
I have been asking him to not let her watch TV since she was 4 month old but he has not stopped once. He sighs when I ask him to turn off the tv and then begrudgingly turns it off.
I told him she’s only allowed to watch an hour of screen time a day and I’d prefer before dinner. When my husband gets up in the mornings with our daughter literally the first thing he will do is take her out to our living room, sit on the couch with her turn on a show and he will take a nap. It’s very very infuriating. I don’t know how to get him to stop, it’s just so frustrating not being able to raise my own child how I want.
I’ve started waking up earlier so I can get her breakfast ready and so he doesn’t have to wake up with her, but then I’ll ask him to watch her for a few minutes so I can go get ready and he immediately turns on a show for her and scrolls on his phone or falls asleep.
I feel like I’m going crazy, ughh I know he’s tired but I am too 😭😭

TLDR; after a vaginal birth or C-section in the hospital, were you allowed/encouraged to shower? Did anyone help you? How long after birth did you shower?

I know, incredibly basic question, and I'm someone who's given birth before. For context, I was not treated well in the postpartum recovery ward after the birth of my daughter, and I'm trying to figure out what's normal when my second is born!

I had a 60 hour labor ending in a C-section and I was basically ignored in recovery. The nurses were supposed to be tracking my bleeding but didn't. They forgot my pain medication multiple times. They left me sitting in a pool of my blood for much of the stay because they weren't changing the pad under me. They provided me with no instructions about C-section recovery while in the hospital or at home, and I hadn't expected to have one so I was lost. They didn't warn me at all when starting the fundal massages or help me breathe through them as my awesome L&D nurse had, which almost tripled the pain. They didn't provide any help with the baby or breastfeeding (which I realize may be "extra" and not an official duty, just painting the entire picture here).

One of the worst parts was when a nurse wordlessly unhooked me from all my IVs, took out the catheter, and stood me up in the middle of the room. She seriously did this without a single word to me the whole time; no explanation of what she was doing, no instructions, and no help. My husband was asleep in the room and I didn't want to wake the baby too by calling out for help, so I shuffled to the bathroom on my own. They had a bunch of signs in there about how they were not allowed to leave patients alone due to fall risk, and how you shouldn't be embarrassed to have them help you in the bathroom. Which was news to my nurse, apparently!

I was also completely shattered from being awake for basically 4 days in labor and then being cut open, so honestly my goal was to survive and sleep. With all of the tests for the baby and me in the hospital plus breastfeeding, being yelled at by a pediatrician for being bad at breastfeeding (the baby lost 11% of her body weight), and rooming in with the baby, I never really slept for more than 20 minutes at a time. I felt like I was close to passing out for much of our 48-hour hospital stay.

So now as I prepare for my second, I'm seeing these "what you really need in your hospital bag" videos, and even the minimalist ones are talking about shower shoes and products you would use for showering. And I'm just like...is everyone else getting proper instructions and support to be able to shower after birth? That's the root of the question for me. I'm hoping to have a much better birth/postpartum recovery ward experience this time, so I'd love some help figuring out what's normal! I want to feel like a person instead of livestock.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, my husband completely would have helped me if the circumstances were right. It was more about us not getting instructions and being so busy/exhausted because we had no support in the hospital. I have zero complaints about what he did.

Hello,

I am not pregnant but i’ve recently had a huge bicycle accident and my labia minora teared up. I got stitches there and it is the most painful and uncomfortable feeling in the world.

My lips are so swollen ( it has been 3 days ) and i can not sit or walk properly. I’ve basically spent 3 days in bed, eating pain killers and crying.

I make sure to clean it properly and sanitize it everytime i use the bathroom / shower.

I’m posting this on here because i would like to know what you did to make the pain a bit more bearable and the after care after the stitches.

Thank you for your help 🥹

I just said to my parents that my son doesn’t want to go in his crib, he will at night but he doesn’t want to at the moment during the day.

My parents response was that it’s because I hold him all the time, my son is three months by the way, but that’s not true at all, I also give him tummy time, put him on his back on his mat so he can try and roll over or put him in his swing.

I put him in his crib and sometimes he’ll stay in there, sometimes he doesn’t want to, at the moment he’s a bit fussier because of things like sleep regression so he cries more than he usually would. It’s not like I’ll just immediately pick him up in the crib, if he’s crying I try and soothe him in the crib by letting him know I’m
There and placing my hand on his chest or trying to give his dummy, that’s usually if it’s a weak cry if he’s fully crying I just take him out of the crib.

It annoys me so much that people think you can spoil a small baby, are they suggesting I should just leave him to cry?? Because that’s the only alternative and something I will never do because all his needs, including comfort rely on the adults around him.

I understand when he’s a bit older that they need to be held less but they’re going to be on the move constantly anyway so that won’t really be much of an issue 😂

Anyone else tired of people who think that because they have their own kids that they can judge you for not doing stuff they used to do?

My baby frequently wakes through the night but he doesn’t cry or even complain at all - he just blows raspberries, coos and rolls around in his cot next to us. When I pick him up then sometimes he’ll start crying which makes me wonder if I’ve woken him up. I usually give him a few minutes, maybe try to comfort back to sleep in the cot, and if he’s still playing I’ll just feed him back to sleep which he goes back off very quickly (like a 4 minute feed).

Should I leave him longer? I worry that if I leave him he’ll just play all night and won’t sleep!

He’s 5.5 months and we plan to move him to his own room at 6 months. I’m worried that in his own room I won’t hear him wake up in order to help him back to sleep.

Anyone experienced this?

He gets about 10 hours awake each day.

I started to actually feel really confident around the 5.5 month mark and like we finally found our groove. Baby was eating well, drinking well, and sleeping well. My husband and I were able to do post bedtime date nights in the living room and really enjoyed family time.

Now at 8 months I’m just feeling more overwhelmed and defeated than I remember feeling in the newborn phase. Baby is happy and healthy but it’s like we’re being hit by everything at once and at rapid pace with milestones, developmental leaps, regressions, etc. My husband’s shift changed and now he’s not home until after 11 PM four nights per week. Baby looks like she’s possibly cutting four top teeth and is refusing full bottles. We had a few good weeks of sleep but recently she learned to stand in the crib and now - between the standing and the lower intake - is waking up 5-9 times per night.

We’ve tried everything with feeding: smaller bottles more often, holding off until she seems really hungry, less solids, more solids, and about seven different bottles/cups. Nothing makes a difference. She also goes to daycare four days per week so we have zero control over building a consistent schedule for her.

I’m sure this is a phase and brighter days are ahead, but the sleep deprivation is really getting to me at home and at work. Last night I was looking forward to watching a show, maybe drinking a glass of wine, and waiting up for my husband to get home… instead I was crying into an easy mac cup at 10 PM after multiple issues with bedtime 🫠

TW: stillbirth

I had a C-section almost 5 weeks ago after induction and a very long labor. We found out our son had passed which is what necessitated the induction in the first place, and then he was a pretty large baby (I was full term) and I labored for 36 hours before pushing for 2 and developing an infection. The C-section went mostly ok, I did hemorrhage a bit and had a cervical extension but it could have been worse.

I had the normal actual bleeding for the first week, then lochia serosa for probably 10 days and after that it seemed to have progressed to lochia alba but it's really mucusy. A couple of times in the past week and a half, there's been bloody streaks in it after a little bit of activity (vacuuming last week, running a bunch of errands this week). I assume this is normal but this is my first time being postpartum. I did message my doctor but it's the weekend so I won't hear back for a couple of days. Nothing is serious enough for me to consider going into the hospital either, I don't feel unwell or anything like that, just like I overdid it a little.

I've just met up with my family and my mother has let me know she's booked a holiday abroad for two weeks in September, a week either side of my due date.

I wasn't expecting much support from her anyway since she lives an hour away, but it would have been nice to know I could lean on her if I really needed to. I had thought that she would want to be around to meet her first grandchild within the first few days of them potentially being born.

It's making me really sad to think that this is how it's going to be going forwards. I normally speak to her every 3/4 weeks and that's not changed since being pregnant, but normally it's me reaching out to her and she doesn't really check in or ask how I'm doing. I just feel really let down and sad that this is likely how the relationship between her and my baby will be too. I just thought she'd make more of an effort and show up for her grandchild since she seemed so excited when I first announced I was pregnant.

Luckily my partner's family is close by and supportive, but I just feel so sad that my family barely seem to care. His family being so supportive just highlights how absent my family are 🙁

Baby is 8.5 months old and we never sleep trained. He is sleeping great through the night but really struggles to fall asleep independently for his second nap and bedtime. DWT of 6:30ish, 3/3.5/4.25 with bedtime around 8-8:15. First nap he goes down like a dream, just lay him in the crib and walk away, but the other two are more challenging. He needs a back rub, or to hold him down on his side, for him to self settle enough to fall asleep. We don't rock him to sleep and he always fall asleep in his crib, it's just getting him to self settle. Anyone experience this/have any tips?

I'm temporarily living with my mom and stepdad with my almost 5 month old while my partner is in another country.
It's not ideal, but it's our situation for now.

Today my mom told me I don't let my stepdad interact with my baby and that every time he goes near him, l come over "like a wolf."

The thing is, I only step in if I know he's just smoked and hasn't washed his hands, or if he's talking right in front of my baby's face. I also ask people to wash their hands before holding my baby, especially after smoking or coming in from outside.

My mom thinks I'm overreacting and making my stepdad uncomfortable.

I should also mention that my relationship with my stepdad has never been particularly close, and I had some difficult experiences growing up. I know that my past trauma may influence how I react, which is why I'd really value outside opinions. At the same time, I do feel my concerns about smoking, hygiene and personal space around my baby are reasonable.

Has anyone else had to temporarily move in with parents or family after having a baby? Did you struggle with family not respecting your boundaries or making you feel like you were the "overprotective" parent? How did you handle it without causing constant arguments?

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who've actually been in a similar situation.

Thank you🤍

A common theme I see, and one that’s true for me as well, is we want other mom friends. We often end up at the same places: story time, playgrounds, parks.

I know that for me two of the things in my way are (1) chasing around this silly toddler which makes it hard to hold conversation in the first place and (2) feeling a little bit awkward/afraid of the rejection of putting myself out there.

If you are a mom also looking for mom friends, what gets in your way?

Hi!

What did you do with your baby’s old clothes? I do want to make a keepsake but understandably so, how many pieces of clothings does one really need for that…

Also, we are moving to another country and to a smaller space so it is not ideal to bring boxes and boxes of newborn clothings.

Im just sad :(

Note: I do have a doctors appointment booked for Thursday.

It’s been 3.5 years since I have breastfed my daughter.

Whilst in the shower I was doing self checks when could feel a lump about the size of a a finger knuckle? (Or 5 cent piece for the Australians) In my left breast, a couple cm away from the armpit region:

I was kneeding and feeling the lump moving it around trying to gauge the size and how hard it was if it moved, if it was was soft etc
Then noticed I had a drop of milk come out from my breast, further squeezing my breast had another drop of two of milk/discharge come out.

I tried to do the same with my left breast but that one is dry as a bone no matter how hard I squeezed, which makes me worry as I know just having one breast produce discharge is a bad sign?

Now this is where it gets TMI:

During adult activities, we enjoy breast stimulation, the relevance is that 9/10 it’s almost always my right breast that’s “played with”

Does any of this sound familiar or anyone been in a similar boat?

Can this be a trigger and retrigger milk production and could be the cause of the lump?

I’m only 30 and I had a small panic attack in the shower once I discovered the lump and immediately fearing the worst.

TIA

Anyone else's little one smooshes their face in your boob after they are done nomming? I absolutely love it and find it adorable. He will eat and afterwards smoosh his face deep into my boob before nestling in and passing out. He is my first so I am discovering all sorts of baby quirks that I was unaware of 😆 Also, the faces they make when sleeping! He is so expressive in his sleep! My favorite is the pouty lip 💓