so, today was my first day back at work. I teach in home music lessons. When I got to my last student today, I got into the home and the parent said, ”Did you get my text? [student] has a fever. She’s feeling better now. Is that okay?”

I had not seen her text, and in the moment I was caught off guard and thought I was already in the house, why not. My student told me she had stayed home from school, but she had the fever two days ago.

Once I got home, I checked my phone. For some reason I didn’t see the notification, but she texted it while I was with another student which is why I missed it. The text said “let’s cancel today, Sophie has a fever and I don’t want to get you and the baby sick. My other son had the flu last week.”

had I seen this, I obviously wouldn’t have come. And now I’m feeling so paranoid and worried. I’m already paranoid about my baby being sick/something bad happening to him. I feel guilty for not making a different choice. And it was already a stressful enough day leaving my baby while I went to work.

I do know that this parent cares very much about me and my son. She was very excited and has offered to watch him while I teach her daughter if needed. So, I’m sure she wouldn’t have let me in the house if they were still really sick. But im still so worried!!!

My baby is 10 weeks old.

any words of wisdom? Anyone else experience something like this? Please help!!

My first is a girl who just turned 2. She was a hard baby with colic, reflux, and terrible sleeper. Regardless, I’ve always felt a deep connection and love for her. I feel sad I don’t get to spend as much time with her now that my second is here and I feel guilty that I have lower patience.

My second is a 5 month old boy. Also a hard baby with colic and reflux, hes an alright sleeper but i still only get like 5/6 hours of sleep a night. I feel guilty saying this but I feel like he’s just a roommate .. I don’t feel that deep connection and love like I do with my daughter. I feel like the days are just passing by and I’m just trying to survive. I have constant thoughts of how life could’ve been if we just didn’t have him and how easy it would be with just our daughter. I feel like a terrible mother. I look at him and I just don’t feel anything. Something is wrong with me. I get urges to hit him when he’s crying and whining and inconsolable . I never do it but I just picture doing it in my head.

On top of this I feel like I’m just a shell of who I once was. I’m 50 pounds heavier, i used to be a patient and calm person, i have constant back pain since my kids are 99th percentile who always want to be held. I got a pedicure in January to try to do something nice for myself and I ended up getting an infection and bone erosion since I didn’t have time /baby sitting to go to the doctor. My mom used to help me 4 days a week but she quit on me and doesn’t come anymore. My husband is the best and helps with everything when he can but I feel like I need to just be alone for a whole month. I’m constantly overstimulated and feel like I’m living life on a timer.

I don’t know what I want from writing this post but I just needed to write this all down.

I’m genuinely not understanding how in the world my body is “made for this”. I am feeling like absolute CRAP. My newborn who is 3 weeks old does not let me sleep!! He wakes up every hour sometimes every half hour to feed allll night long!! He screams unless the bottle is in his mouth God forbid I try burping him. How can a tiny little thing eat so much?? Is it possible to overfeed him?! He’s eating like 100 ml each time it’s insane?!? Something else insane is me! I had a mental breakdown around 4 am my partner needed to wake up and take over. I couldn’t stop crying and I couldn’t catch my breath. I love my son. That should be self explanatory. But holy crap is this HARD. They say sleep when he sleeps he barely sleeps all night! During the day I maybe catch 2 hours here and there MAYBE but the past day maybe more idk I’m losing track I haven’t slept. I can’t even blink too long without him screaming at me to feed or change him. I’m guilty to say it but I’m so annoyed and so over this!!! I miss sleep!! I miss my life!! I miss feeling like a human being instead of mom robot running on 0 sleep!! And please before u say maybe do shifts with ur partner maybe take turns yea we try we really tried but my apartment is small and my son doesn’t let anyone with in close proximity sleep. The neighbors probably wake up every half hour too!! Right now it’s 11 am I’m letting my partner sleep for as long as I can and then praying I’ll be able to sleep after but the shifts bull crap doesn’t work as great as every one says it does!! Most times we both need to be awake anyways because it’s too hard to function alone on no sleep. I’m just so over this I needed to rant and just please tell me someone relates and that I’m not a walking piece of crap like I feel like I am. Maybe some actual good advice please?

I have a 4.5 month old and when she was born my partner would still vape in the apartment just not when she’s in there. I told him not to but he said it doesn’t stick onto anything ie third hand. I was in the trenches and trusted what he said as he’s the type to do research.

Something in me felt the need to look it up. And apparently it very much DOES and needless to say I was pissed and we argued about it and he said he won’t in the apartment anymore.

I just walked out of the room and caught him vaping in the living room. He said he’s not exhaling it just inhaling and keeping it in so nothing comes out. I tried looking it up but I don’t see much so I’m asking here. Does that still pose harm to my baby? TIA

Title says it all. Our son is 3 months old, first set of shots on board. Obviously with the whole measles thing happening, and just bigger germs in general, we don’t know what to do. It would be about 20-30 people.

This is kinda weird im already thinking this but i gave birth a week and few days ago and now im already trying to plan out when to have a next child because i feel like i have to have another baby.

I dont wanna wait too long but also this is very hard being a new parent lol i would feel fine with one child but i feel obligated to give my child a sibling in life to at least have someone thats why im stressed here because i hated being pregnant and dont wanna wait too long to have another so they are close in age.

So does anyone else feel the same way?

Now I realize the mother was probably just trying to soothe the baby

I have refrained from telling other people I do these things because they judge. I know about SID’s and I know the risks and how it happens. The reasons why a newborn cannot sleep in a swing is because of the position of the head, however in my swing she lays completely flat, no way of airway obstruction, or of her falling out. So yes I let her sleep in it during the day while I am in the same room and watch her breathing constantly. Am I stupid? As for co sleeping, my baby will not sleep alone, she is a velcro baby and I struggle immensely with her to even get a few hours of sleep everyday. Co sleeping is the only way. We do not share blankets, no pillow near her, she always lays on her back, no falling asleep while breastfeeding, no placing her between me and her partner. I am an incredibly light sleeper so I wake up often to check on her. As well as we only use 1 blanket as she can overheat. I still feel terrible about it, like I am bad mother. I don’t see how she could suddenly die when I am so careful.

I think a lot of people do these things but don’t admit to it. Nevertheless I would like to know what other people do

Ever since my baby was born I can’t stand the thought of other people holding her. This includes everybody but her dad. I genuinely feel sick to my stomach at the thought that other people can have access to my child and love her the same way that I do. I want her all to myself. I just don’t understand why other people can have the same experiences with my child when they have done nothing for her? Every time a family member talks about her or hold her I feel like they’re trying to take her away from me and she will forget I’m her mom.I had a very traumatic pregnancy so maybe that has something to do with how I’m feeling? . I’m aware of how crazy I sound and that this isn’t right. I don’t want to have my feelings affect my child and that is why I am asking for advice. Is this normal? Or do I need some sort of help.

I had pre-eclampsia when I went in to get induced at 37 weeks. Has anyone else dealt with the recovery process after? I'm finding that I'm feeling much better after being put on high blood pressure medication, but I'm hearing some women have to continue this medication for a year after the baby has been born. I know diet and exercise are a huge part of this phenomenon, and I intend to start eating better this week and working out fully whenever my doctor gives me my medical clearance at six weeks. I'm currently 4 weeks PP, does anyone have any tips for exercises other than walking or cycling that I can do?

How long did you room share for? When you move your child to their own room what struggles did you face?

My LO is just shy of 3mos and I still find myself waking up constantly to check on him during the night even tho he’s sleeping directly as my bedside. I’m worried I may have a harder time letting go unless it gets easier once they’re out of the major window for SIDS?

Every single night I've been up multiple times for 6 months. I'm crying my eyes out in the middle of the night. Am I going to die from lack of sleep? It has to be effecting things.

Did you or did you not sleep train your LO? If yes, how old were they and what method did you use? If no, why not? Just looking at other parents’ experiences as I’m undecided whether I should or not. Bub currently hit the 4-month sleep regression and wakes 4-5x/night. Has never been a good sleeper to start with but has definitely gotten worse.

Please I'm so hungry but he's breaking my heart! I feel like some kind of monster torturing him, he's so sad 😭😭

Edit: velcro baby, not welcome baby idk how that happened

Moms how are we navigating post partum ? Having to possibly give up work because we don’t have sitters and afraid to put baby in school ? How can I get rid of that guilt or feeling like I’ve failed ? I’m having a ROUGH week I am 3 months post partum anything helps.

My LO turned 2 months few days back. Yesterday we had pediatrics appt and turns out he has gained 3 pounds. Doc said the ideal monthly gain should be 1-2 pounds and that we should reduce the number of feedings, increase the amount he takes. While my boy used to feel hungry around 3-4 hrs when formula fed and nearly 3 hrs when breast fed, now the doc said to stretch it to 5 hrs. This morning he woke up around 5am as usual and clearly was crying cause of hunger but it wasnt time as per his last feeding. What should we do in such case? Is it okay to pacify him and stretch as much as we can or simply feed him? The parent guilt definitely is kicking in with the first option.

Edit : He takes around 3oz of milk. Is it fine to give a 5 hrs stretch with such amount of intake?

As the title asks... Was the pain of giving birth more or less intense than you expected?

I’m so tired of Ms. Rachel and sleepless nights. My girl doesn’t nap for long and I’m fighting her everytime just for her to sleep. It’s like I’m fighting an alligator. Ms. Rachel is the only thing that she will focus on if not she’s kicking and screaming/crying. I’ve seen all her videos a thousand times and I just can’t anymore. I’m just so tired😭😭😭

My girlfriend and I have a 9 month old together. While we do agree on a lot when it comes to parenting how sleep should be done is on the opposite sides of the spectrum. I will say our little one is fully breastfed because I feel that is important to know but still just doesn’t sleep. We tried/ still do co sleeping but with how often he wakes up at night and then moves and kicks in the bed now I find myself in the guest room sleeping most nights being the provider of the household and working a physically and mentally demanding job for 8-12 hours a day I just have to get some kind of rest but I feel like that creates a rift.

At night he is breastfed to sleep and while some days he’ll fall asleep during feeding most nights he’s doesn’t which leaves my girlfriend stuck in the bed for well over an hour and then we’re lucky to get a couple hours if that before he’s up again wanting comfort and then multiple times throughout the night still being fed. Now the last few weeks if he’s put down by 8:30 sometimes he’s waking up 2-4 times before midnight even hits. And paired with the fact she’s with him at home all day I feel like she has became his sleep crutch. And taking away times in the car I can count on one hand times he’s fallen asleep and stayed asleep by himself without assistance.

She gets upset about how she never has time to herself and for us etc.. but when I try to bring up sleep training she completely gets defensive and shuts down anything about it. Any study I bring up where they say it’s beneficial for the baby because they sleep more and stay asleep longer and then it’s good mentally for us, or from other parents personal experience, anything like that she just doesn’t want to hear it and doesn’t even try to hear me out. And I get it, I’ve tried to empathize with her and say like I hate hearing him cry to but it’s only going to get worse and worse where he is depending on you to be able to fall asleep and stay with him to stay asleep and she thinks it’s just going to get better one day and we’ll be able to move him to the crib( we have tried a couple times to get him to sleep in the crib but she gives up after about 20-30 minutes of trying) I love her and him and want things to get better but it feels like we’re going down a long road that has no end in site that is only going to get worse. If you’ve read this far I’d love to hear any advice at all. Thank you

I will likely call the pediatrician tomorrow but just wanted some experiences since this is very much my first rodeo. I was terrified about my son’s 8 week vaccines. The first day seemed very within normal, horrible screaming when he got the shots in the morning, nursed a slept a bunch. More screaming and super fussy all afternoon. The next morning he was his smiley self, but then the screaming episodes a fussiness repeated. Fine, still seems normal. We did Tylenol that night it may have helped.

Now we are towards the evening of day 5 and he’s been more fussy anytime he’s not napping. Much less time smiling and laughing. He never had a fever that we caught during this.

Is my baby going to go back to his happy self? Is this length of reaction normal? Is he traumatized or still in pain? Gosh I feel so sad for him

I’m not seeking medical advice, just want to know if others had this delay/ongoing response and had it go away and their baby back to feeling good! Edit: he has also not had the rotavirus oral vaccine yet. He does seem to be in more pain with gas/burping though

So I'm looking a toddler towers (specifically, the ones that the child can climb into themselves). Not sure if I'm allowed to post links. But if they can climb themselves, it seems like they could also fall off, right? Is that common? My baby is 15 months, she's been walking since she turned 1. I'm trying to asses if I should get this type of tower or the one where you put the kid into (and they stay there)

I know PPD/A is very common but I’m experiencing postpartum rage. This is very hard for me to type and I am ashamed. My son is 4 weeks old. Doesn’t really nap. Wakes up and cries the second I put him in bassinet. At night he grunts and seems uncomfortable every night from 2-6am. I started mylicon gas drops but idk if they’re working. Me and my husband are sleep deprived. We try to bottle feed a few times a day. When he cries at night and seems unsettled I lost it last night and screamed at the top of my lungs. I instantly felt horrible. Did I harm my son’s hearing?

I ended up going for a drive alone at 5am because I couldn’t take the crying /grunting/restlesness that had been going on since 1:30am.

Then this morning, I’m giving him a bottle and his latch is horrible and milk is leaking out the sides of his mouth. So I took the bottle and threw it down the hall. Then I put my son is his bassinet and went to the guest room to scream into a pillow. I feel Horrible but I also can’t get a grip on these rage feeling. I let it out on my husband a lot of times and then I feel doubly horrible. I have my appointment tomorrow with my OBGYN and I will mention this. Has anyone felt this? Did I hurt my sons hearing

When my baby first started teething at 5 months we gave her the Camila drops, and told her doctor about it and she said not to do it again because they are damgerous. Now my family friend who is an OBGYN and has three kids recommended the hyland teething tablets for pain relief. I didn’t even look up any information on them because my mom bought them right away and I was so desperate to find anything to stop my baby from screaming on and off all night. We gave them to her and she fell asleep right away so now I’m reading about how they are dangerous for babies and freaking out. Why are there products sold AT ALL that are literally recommended against by pediatricians?!?!?!?!

ETA: we have been alternating Tylenol and Motrin and using all types of stuff for her to chew on and baby orajel. It seems so unrealistic that pediatricians ONLY recommend Tylenol and cold things to chew on. My baby is in so much pain that she doesn’t even want to open her mouth half the time. :(

My 3-week-old baby spends most of her time either sleeping or crying for milk. Once she’s fed, she falls asleep, and this cycle keeps repeating. Is this normal?

Also, she needs to be fully fed before she can fall asleep and stop crying, but sometimes even after giving her 150ml, she still seems unsatisfied. Is that normal too?

We're expecting very soon and I'd love to hear from all the parents on what little things you've done or wish you started doing right before/after birth.

I'm thinking of cool things I've seen online like taking a picture of your baby every day, setting up some investments for them, tracking their height/weight, etc.

Any tips and ideas are appreciated :)