Mine is buying matching pajama sets. Not the luxurious silk pajamas, just cotton sets from Amazon or Sams Club. BUT they have definitely made a difference by making me feel a little more put together. Even though my house is a hot mess & my toddlers are screaming banshees. I at least look like I’m ready for it 😂

Moms , I keep reading posts of women saying they only get three hours of sleep a day and I’m wondering is this an exaggeration ? Maybe they get three hours some nights but more usually? Is it humanly possible to survive on 3 hours ? I like to sleep 8 hours but now with a baby get anywhere between 5-8 hours broken and when I get five hours I’m absolutely devastated and make up for it by day time naps and going to bed early . Then I think about those moms who say they get 3 hrs every night and I’m like …. Huh?!

My in laws happen to be near town and have decided to come in 3 days. My husband and I both work full time again and have a 3mo old. They are saying they’ll watch our baby while they’re here and I don’t want to upset my husband by saying no… For starters, we pay our nanny a set monthly rate so we pay her either way, they’re aren’t like saving us childcare money by helping. Also, their mobility is really not great, when they were here when he was an infant, they would only hold him sitting down. I’m also a barely-enougher BF. Our nanny’s house is close to my work so when I’m inevitably a little short, I have the ability to drop milk from my first pumps at work on my lunch rather than having to use formula. (Absolutely nothing wrong with formula, but if my total milk is enough to keep feeding him, that’s what I’d like to do!) Overall, we JUST finally got in a groove with his bedtime and our mornings w/ pick up & drop off and working full time and I don’t want to throw the whole thing off for a few days. If they would just come for a weekend they’d actually get to see him and we wouldn’t be working or paying childcare??? I’m worried I’m being oversensitive because when they were here early postpartum they were the opposite of helpful 90% of the time and stressed me out SO bad, so I’m worried I’m being an a** bc I have a bad taste in my mouth from that.

ETA: I can’t even count the amount of times in the last few years I’ve told them to visit on weekends instead of weekdays because it’ll be a more enjoyable time.

4 year old daughter: Mommy I miss you when you’re not around.

Me: ??? What do you mean? I’m always here.

4yo: But sometimes you go upstairs to get socks and I miss you.

…this kid is literally with me every single day 😂

I’m going to let this go. But, I could not sleep last night. All I could think of was that 4 yr old little girl, 5 year old little boy being hit directly in their faces bc they are brand new people and no one cares enough or has enough fortitude to get their asses up and learn how to redirect behavior in small children bc they are lazy!!!!!!! If you hit your child it is bc you have FAILED as a parent and now you are doubling down on that failure. Your child knows fuck all and acts like a little hellion bc YOU have taught them NOTHING and then you HIT them!!!??? Incredulous. Go ahead and delete my post. How absolutely dare I tell the truth. And that “Mom” has another one on the way. Ofc. The ones that can’t be fucked to learn a thing about parenting are always the most fertile.

My neighbors just suffered a miscarriage at 20 weeks. Her water broke early. I read suggestions about gifting a necklace or keepsake with the birthstone. I really like this idea as it’s subtle and something she wouldn’t need to explain to anyone. Should I get a birthstone of the miscarriage birth month, April- or their due date birthstone? I don’t want to remind her of death.. but also seems weird to give the due date stone. What do you all think?

My little brother (12m) has lived with my husband (32m) and I (25f) for about 6 months now because my father sucks and we thought this would be better for everyone. I love him and wanted to do this for him. It has went well overall. I feel really out of my depth sometimes and this is definitely one of those situations.

A few days ago he was out with one of his friends. My husband and I had not silent sex while we thought he was gone. Anytime he is home we are careful and quiet so something like this doesn’t happen. I didn’t know he heard anything until the next morning, when he was acting weird and looking at the camera. He has been acting really weird and distant towards me and really angry towards my husband. He acts like he hates my husband now. He picks fights with us but especially my husband. He has called both of us names and is clearly upset about it. I don’t know how to approach it with him and I want to prevent an argument breaking out between husband and brother. My husband is naturally protective so I really want to prevent a rift because my brother is being such a jerk to him. I am so embarrassed. I don’t really understand why he is that angry. I have tried to talk to him and apologize but he doesn’t want to hear it. He has also heard us fighting a few times, so I’m going to make sure this type of thing doesn’t happen again. I have asked my husband to have a supportive conversation with him but he refuses while my brother is acting the way he is. How should I handle this with him? Any advice from parents would be helpful, thanks

My husband has addiction issues. He’s 8 months sober now and I’m very proud of him but I just found out that he was high while I was in labor with my now 10 month old. I have so many feelings about it and just need to vent- I feel stupid for not connecting the dots. Since baby was born I’ve been telling a “funny” story about him being infuriatingly stupid during labor that he’s always been embarrassed by. He just admitted to me that he’s ashamed about it because he was high- the behavior in question makes so much sense now and it brings back some anger too. Labor didn’t go the way I wanted it to. I was trying for a VBAC so labored at home until 6cm. Very much the movie-style screaming-through-contractions type labor. Got an infection and had to do a C-section after pushing for an hour or so. I felt a little alone in labor (even though husband was there the whole time) and I think finding out he wasn’t really there is just bringing back those feelings.

Obviously going to talk to my therapist about it this week. I’m never sure how much I can talk to my husband about this stuff because 1. I can get REALLY stuck on the negative feelings around the birth experience and 2. I try to limit the negative discussions about addiction because I want to be supportive of his recovery and don’t know how lingering on something that happened months ago can do anything positive… anyone with recovering addict partners?

Edit: marijuana. He was 1.5 years sober when we had our first because he would lose his job if they knew but couldn’t stop when he had access (going to work high). I don’t know why this is a sticking point for you all- what level of intoxication is acceptable to drive your kids around? 1 edible? Just a little heroin?

I invited my son’s friend to the movies. I sent a message to his mum asking if he would like to come along. She said he would love to. She asked how much are tickets. I told her the price and said I would shout drinks and snacks. But I feel like I should have just said it’s my shout for the ticket. I was planning on paying for him anyway. I feel like it’s rude. What do you guys think?

I'm at such a low point right now. My son (23mo) is amazing and I love him to pieces. It's not his fault that I feel this way it's more the reality of parenting.

Last year we moved 2 hours away from my friends and family for my husband's job. It's the type of distance that's tough to visit in a day or impromptu.

I work from home so the only people I see are my son and my husband. I try to make time to go down and see my loved ones but it's hard. I either have to bring the fam down or leave them and go by myself which I always feel guilty doing.

I try to make mom friends but so far every attempt has failed. Either due to busy conflicting schedules, kids being sick all of a sudden so cancelled plans or there's no connection.

It's also still cold and crappy out (I live in the north) and it hasn't warmed up which I think is adding to my melancholy.

What's making this even worse is I'm pregnant with my second currently. I've been especially isolated because my entire first trimester I couldn't move without puking. So I barely left the house. And I know once he's born I'll have newborn isolation.

This weekend my husband saw how lonely I I've been feeling and suggested I go see my friends. I was about to go when my son spiked a 103 fever took a downward spiral from a cold he's had. I couldn't leave him, not for something that wasn't pre planned. I canceled the plans and stayed. Isolated -it's not a big deal but it just hit me extra hard this time.

Please help me with this. My son is watched by my MIL, his abuela. She cooks everything from scratch which is great. No complaints. But no matter what I do, my son will NOT eat at our house unless it’s a ‘fun food’ like nuggets or burgers or fries or fruits. Which I don’t understand because I’ve always provided a variety of foods, we have NEVER had nuggets/snacks as a staple. Always a treat. I try to make sure he has a good balanced breakfast and lunch and dinner. Mind you this was never the case until his second birthday. When he turned 2, our work schedules got a lot busier and he’s been over abuela’s house much more. He eats everything she makes. But when it’s time for us to bring him home, he flat out refuses to eat. He will turn his head and say no over and over. It doesn’t matter if he sees us eating, he won’t eat.

So I tried learning MIL’s recipes, but he STILL doesn’t eat. My husband has always given him an alternative like a burger and fruit or nuggets and veggies and fruit. But I’m so sick of this. I’m cooking full meals when he’s home to try to give him a variety of anything and he just refuses it all. I hate that my husband constantly gave him other options because now he thinks he’s just supposed to have those foods here I guess?

My last resort was asking MIL to cook meals at her house and let me take some home so kiddo would eat. He STILL REFUSES. He is 100% fine with drinking water or water/juice all day without eating. Or sneaking and eating multiple bananas or grapes and eating nothing else. I’m really happy he’s not a candy-kid and he’s pretty healthy, he loves his fruit and veggies. But how am I supposed to feed him? People said it would take time and he’d adjust but he hasn’t and I feel like it’s going to get worse.

For context, this is the weekly schedule: Saturday afternoon-Monday home with mom and dad. Tuesday-Friday abuela’s house. So he is basically eating next to nothing for 2.5 days

For context, I posted about us being in a shelter at the moment due to DV from my abu$er with my two babies age 3 & 2 … one of the counselors gave us about $4 in change so the boys can get a snack since we have been STRUGGLING with affording food at the moment. The boys & I walk to the vending machine & get a honey bun, 2 packs of crackers & some skittles. The crackers were for me since I haven’t ate all day. We place it on our bunk and I took them to the bathroom. We come back with just the crackers on the bed 🙂🙃 gotta be a freaking low life to steal a 3 year olds snack. Especially when we are all in there needing some type of assistance. I’m literally crying once again & trying to console a screaming 3 year old. Mama’s , please pray for me. I just don’t understand. 🤦🏽‍♀️

So why is it that moms just aren’t “allowed” to have a quiet moment? I’m in bed relaxing at 6:30 AM because my 10 month old is playing quietly in his crib and I want to be able to wake up slowly FOR ONCE. Oh no, my husband has his hands all over me and it’s annoying lol!! I feel bad but I rarely get these moments now, as you all well know. I love him so much but sometimes I want a zone out time just for me! I remember bugging my mom when she was lying down thinking, “She should be playing with me!” I feel bad now lol! Anyways, just a rant.

For the past week, my LO has been waking up in the middle of the night. Up until now, he's been a great sleeper. But I'm pretty sure hes going thru a growth spurt and has been eating more. He also wont stop scratching his head and just starts screaming bloody murder in the MOTN. Last night, he woke up 5x and the last time I was so frustrated, I took him to his room and just held him the rocking chair while he was still screaming. I was so tired. My husband came in and took the baby and told me to go back to bed but I just cried and couldnt go back to sleep. I was also annoyed that it took me getting out of bed for my husband to takeover. My husband ended up feeding the baby and putting him to sleep in his crib (which is also the very first time he slept in his crib) and i couldnt help but feel like a failure. I was so proud of my LO for sleeping through the night in his crib for the first time and thankful for my husband; however, I just felt like crap and felt so bad for being irritated with my baby.

lol in his six months of life ive never referred to them as thighs.. its always either chunky chunkers, chunky chighs or chunks

I am really trying to look my best. I am transitioning from maternity leave to working full time.

Lately, I have been getting shellac manicure's every 3 weeks along with brow threading.

I wear a light face of make up daily; mascara, (sometimes) eyeliner, concealer, light powder, blush and some kind of lip products.

I like to put togther an outfit I feel good and confident in, I have been looking at Pinterest for inspo and updating my clothes too.

I have long hair and I only like get a hair cut every 6 months

I do skin care every night along with a luxurious shower, remove make up, glycol acid, wash face, then apply retinol, moisturizer and if I am extra dry apply a layer of vaseline. In the morning I rinse my face with water and apply. vitamin c, moisturizer and starting with sunscreen too.

I am religious about getting my teeth cleaned every 6 months.

I am really wanting to begin working out but I haven't found the time for that in my schedule just yet.

I got the little sale brochure Costco sends out and there’s a great sale for Huggies Plus diapers starting April 9th! Size 1-2 boxes are $29.99 and 3-7 are $39.99. Newborns will be $26.99. The sale goes through May 4th so it’ll be a good time to stock up if you hate the new Kirkland diapers. I believe the sale is just for online ordering.

This just happened yesterday so I am still kind of steamed. We met with a friend in the park. And this kid (maybe 4?) kept on following us. At first he tried to shake my son’s head (18 months). He did put his hands on his head and shook it (but it wasn’t too hard) but I interfered. I called for his parents and no one came over. I asked him where his parents are but he could only repeat one word so I decided best to avoid him. Later then he also tried to push my baby boy off the swing by pushing it hard. I kept asking where his mom was and gently saying no. But, he kept on laughing. So, I took my son and walked away. When my friend was on the slide with her child (2 years old) he tried to push the her child out of the way on the top of the slide. She also asked for the parents but nobody showed up. We moved to different area of the park and were talking in one area when the boy came running and took his hands and started shaking my son’s head around (aggressively). Me and my friend screamed “No” and I took my son up to hold him. Then the mom and her grandmother arrived. We tried to explain the situation but the mom would not listen and stated that we should have not said “No” so loudly and forcefully to the child. She said that his shaking the head wouldn’t have hurt the child. That we were making a big deal out of nothing. We asked her to watch her child as he kept on bothering our young children and that’s when they started screaming at us to “watch our children” as we have been doing. I didn’t speak much as I was shocked. I did kind of feel bad for the child as I can see he was obviously lonely and wanted to play with our older children (but didn’t know how) so kept on being attracted to the younger kids. The parents finally started watching their child. But, it totally ruined the rest of the play date and we all went home. It did slightly ruin the atmosphere for other parents in the park too as they also left. How would you handle this situation?

Partially venting and partially seeking input as to whether I’m off on this…

I have 2 young kids and am a SAHM. Husband works very long hours, and is barely around during the week. I feel lucky to be able to be home with them, but it’s a hard job! I live about 40 minutes from my parents. My mom does not work and enjoys being with our kids and helping out when she can. She does help sometimes, and I appreciate it. It’s generally a mix of her coming here and us driving to her in order for her to help/spend time with them. I feel hurt because it seems she is constantly helping my sibling’s family more. They live 15 minutes from her. They both have great jobs and have a full time nanny. However they are constantly having her help watch their kids, drive them places, fill in for the nanny, etc. Every time I talk to my mom it feels like she is telling me about things she’s doing for them - taking them to the movies, buying them all new sneakers, and much more. They don’t want to pay for date night sitters (even though that’s our only option) or summer camps for their kids, so they lean on her. Then it seems like she’s too tired to commit to much with our kids. She also acts as if they need the help more because they both work paid jobs, and that I don’t need or deserve help because I’m home with my children. She also is not shy about inserting her opinion that it’s better to stay home with your kids (I do not personally think one option is better than the other. It seems both have pros and cons and that no matter what, it’s hard when our kids are little). It’s especially hurtful because she also was a stay at home mom and I know she struggled through it. I guess I expected her of all people to understand that this is also a very hard job and still worthy of some help, so it’s disappointing that she does not seem to make that connection and that she seems to think they are more deserving of her time and energy.

To make matters worse, last summer my mom watched our kids ONE time so my husband and I could have a meal together and my sibling commented to me as if I was stealing her away. It seemed like they felt entitled to the help. Am I overrracting by feeling hurt by this?

I want to hear your stories.. This complication is so different for different people and I'm concerned about this happening and want to try to help catch it early and prevent the dangerous side of it. What would you have wished for to help you if you knew?

Basically the title. My baby just turned 10 months yesterday, and he's been taking 2 naps per day, for the most part. Maybe I'm crazy, but lately he's been seeming like he'd rather take one long nap midday than splitting it up. He's usually wide awake and fusses for a while when I put him down for his first nap, and he's also been harder to wake up, rather than him waking up on his own (like he could continue sleeping). Because of the longer wake windows, his afternoon naps have only been 30-45 minutes.

Idk, I feel like if we just experimented I could figure out if he's ready for 1 nap, but I don't want to try if it's just straight up not recommended or bad for him in some way. Advice?

EDIT: I'm too lazy to reply to every comment but I just wanted to say thank you for all of the replies!! We're gonna try and shift to one nap, I appreciate all of the advice!

Hi hopefully this is allowed. I need to use a suppository on my 12 month old. The brand that is widely available (pedialax) I only see versions for 2-5 years. The pediatrician told me there are kinds for infants. What are they called? I can't find them and she couldn't give me a name. Obviously was hoping to do it ASAP so needs to be something I can get at the store. I'm in the US. I have the pedialax ones but like I said they say 2-5 years 😟

Edit: I just gave him half and it worked!

Literally and figuratively, what month was/were your babe/babies born and what made you give it that score? Edit: 1 being worst, 10 being best)

Baby #1 - 2/10. July baby. Super fussy, unexpected c section caused birth trauma and difficult recovery, breastfeeding was hard AF, developed PPA/PPOCD. Had FOMO for summer activities, way too hot to go anywhere with a newborn, and by the time she got easier, seasonal depression and flu season hit.

Baby #2 - 7.5/10. December (Christmas day!) baby. Also very fussy. Very similar labour resulting in another cesarean (but not as much of a shock), breastfeeding is easier, newborn stage/ recovery/ least favourite weather occurred all at once and now the fog is lifting and the sun is shining. My world also doesn't feel as rocked, so that's super nice.

I found it interesting that my second babe was a lot of things I considered undesirable before he was a part of our lives (we didn't "want" a December baby at all due to proximity to Christmas lol...but 2 miscarriages later, we just wanted another baby, and he is a very sweet gift).

I look forward to reading others' experiences!

NPR: We have neighbors who I would consider some of our good friends but are extremely entitled. Their parents do everything for them and their two kids right down to getting their groceries, meals, free childcare, etc. Her husband travels a lot for work and so the wife stays and her parents house with the kids and they make all the meals, watch the kids, etc. While they are gone they always ask us to do little things around the house like bring out the garbage, grab packages, etc. However they rarely recripricate. One example specifically is my husband is an only child and has a single mom and when she passed away we had just had our second baby (who had a life threatening food allergy we just discovered) and we needed to travel halfway across the country to do funeral preparations. These neighbors asked how they could help and we said it would be amazing if they could mow the lawn. They never did. Said they didn’t get time. Our lawn would take 20-30 min max to mow. That was one of the hardest times of our lives and they couldn’t show up and do one simple thing.

They often ask to borrow groceries as well because he travels they don’t keep their fridge super stocked. Last night they asked for some applesauce. Then today they asked to borrow our car for an event, borrow a cupcake container and then some eggs. We said we needed the car but they could borrow a cupcake container and eggs but we weren’t home so they would need to come in through the garage and get them. They ended up leaving the fridge door partially open and we were gone for most of the day so when we got home and discovered it our fridge was almost 60 degrees…

I don’t want to keep score by any means but I’m just feeling so frustrated and taken advantage of. But it’s hard to find mom friends and I want to make sure I’m not being too harsh in how I respond.

If you read this far, thank you in advance for your advice.

Hello! I’m due with my second baby in a month and I remember being unhappy with what I brought to the hospital for clothing with my first…I didn’t know how hot and sweaty I’d be, didn’t have a good nursing bra, and didn’t realize how uncomfortable anything fitted would feel. Maybe I was just overall uncomfy 🤪anyways, what did you use? Links are appreciated too! Looking for comfort and practical but also cute is great too. I’m having a girl this time!

Thank you!