Parenting Contents Archive

Scratch. Mittens.

Let me preface this by saying I'm grateful every time someone gives us a gift even if it isn't something we need. It really is the thought that counts. That being said...I NEED people to stop buying us scratch mittens. We've been gifted at least 20 pairs of them and have never use them because my son likes his hands on his face and they never fit anyways because he has long fingers and really wide palms like his dad. The only people who got them for us are friends and family without kids. My theory is that they buy them because they're cute and don't know how worthless they are. Just needed to scream into the void about this for a second. Every time I turn around I find another stray mitten lol.

Does anyone else feel like they need more support and less advice?

Context: My baby is only 5 weeks old and I feel like we’ve already hit so many stumbling blocks with feeding (tongue ties, latch issues, undersupply, reflux etc etc etc) A few days ago he started having an reaction to breast milk that he doesn’t have with formula. At this point after lots of reading and speaking with my doctor I’ve decided to begin weaning and go full formula. I haven’t talked about it much because I feel like every time I bring up feeding issues people jump straight to all the things I can do that might fix the problem(ie. Have you done an elimination diet??) All I really want is someone to recognize how difficult all this is and wish me best of luck with my formula feeding going forward.

Really?

Drove 400 miles to see my 24 year old daughter. I miss her. She lives with her mom, my ex. I invited daughter to dinner. Picked her up and drove her to the restaurant. Ordered, ate, talked, had a nice time and conversation. Really good to see her. When it came time to pay the bill, my daughter said, “Wait, I need to order food to-go for my boyfriend”. The boyfriend doesn’t work, lives at the mom’s house too, never leaves the bedroom he shares with the daughter, plays video games 24/7 except when he’s sleeping. I said, “No, to the food to-go”, paid the dinner tab, drove the daughter back to ex’s house. Drove home 400 miles. Now daughter is mad at me. Really?

How often did you and your partner fight during your kids' first few years (0-4)?

What the title says. Father of young twins here. I write this because becoming parents has been hard on our relationship and because she and I have had very few opportunities to talk to other parents during this pandemic to find out what kind of adjustments others made. How often have you and your partner fought over disagreements with parenting styles/decisions? I feel like these first few years are rough on new parents. I would love to hear about others struggles and how they were resolved if you are willing to share. Just trying to get some new strategies/perspectives here.

First period after birth

I was told a lot during pregnancy that periods get less bad after having your first. From what I can tell, that is an utter lie. I've always had bad periods (in a ball on the couch, can't move, can't eat sort of pain even with Tylenol cause I can't take advil) now is the same, only thing is I have a three month old. I feel terrible, I have no energy and can't give him the attention that he needs for these 2-3 days. I'm incredibly lucky that my husband's internship ended right before I had him and he's not starting his new job for a week or two (money's tight, but we can pay the essentials with our savings and some help). Anyway, he's an absolute angel and has been the main caregiver of our son while my period is bad. I just feel awful that I can't function rn and he has to take the brunt of it while trying to get the paperwork done for his new job. He's understanding and tell me not to feel bad because he realizes that it's because I'm in pain, but I just can't help it.

Never ask when someone is going to have another baby!

I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but nothing chaps my ass more than someone asking when I’m having a second baby! My daughter is 8 months old and I’ve already been asked when I’m having a second! There’s no good answer to this question. What if we’ve been trying and it hasn’t happened yet? What if I’m one and done? What if it’s none of your FREAKIN business?! Also, I’m not a big drinker and never have been, PLEASE don’t raise your eyebrow when I order a soda instead of a beer! GAH!

Husband Rant about Underwear

If I’m not wearing a sexy red lace thong, my husband considers my underwear granny panties. I’ll admit that some of my underwear is from my pregnancy a year ago so I’ve been starting to wear my bikini cut panties again. Yet even then he complains! I’ve never seen granny panties have low waisted cheetah print but OK! I’m not wearing a piece of dental floss up my ass and be uncomfortable all day while chasing a toddler. Sorry but no! He’s already slapping my ass and grabbing my boobs all day as it is. As though he needs more ammunition to harass me. And what the hell happened to string bikinis? It’s like they don’t exist anymore. They were the perfect mix of sexy but coverage. Everything I see now is thongs or boyshorts. I just wanna be comfortable and feel cute.

How do you do it?

I miss the silence. I’m a solo mom, just starting to look for work after being a SAHM for the past 10 years. My kids (9 & 11) have been home from school for so long. I live in Ontario, and right after Christmas holidays, the province was shut down. So no school. Yesterday was supposed to be the first day back, but almost 20 inches of snow sidetracked that one! And today my oldest is home with an anxiety attack. I love my kids, I really really do, but I need time. I need a day for me to get crap done. A day where I don’t have to answer a thousand questions or come up with interesting, age appropriate stories, where I can listen to my music on full blast, and not have to check out a really cool thing that was read/ built/ experimented with. How do you do this when there is no break? I joke about running away, but I swear I’m so close to actually doing it, it’s scary.

When fewer people go to college, fewer people graduate with the skills, credentials and degrees necessary for a higher-paying job. And that reverberates throughout the entire U.S. economy. @ElissaNadworny @NPR https://t.co/6VNnAI4xKE

TIP: Kids don’t WANT to misbehave. They're not wired that way. They desperately WANT US to help them figure out a better way. #parenting #positiveparentingsolutions

Spotting a friend-poser can be difficult and ending a friendship can be painful. However, teaching our kids how to surround themselves with kind, supportive friends is a worthy skill. #friendships #Parents @sheryl_gould https://t.co/8khFBGh7cr

Under the influence

Wanted to recommend this podcast that takes a deep dive into influencer culture and specifically mom-influencers. Highly enjoyed the series and the angle the host took. I know we all understand how staged instamom content is but this was next level stuff. Really helps to remember that what we see is not real! And that I should never use them as a benchmark.

“the risk-benefit calculus around third shots—particularly for teenage boys and young men—may be even more complicated than it was before the present surge in cases.” https://t.co/gYxJSXUd3o https://t.co/XsGTXeCT24

Whether you go all out each year or are making a special effort for you your little ones' first Valentine, a cute outfit never hurt anybody. https://t.co/tJboyPN3W5

Fu…..ing Covid

I Came back from the hospital on sunday with my new born. Thuesday my daughter of 4 years had to make a test for school . Guess what ? She had Covid ! I’m terrified in 2 years we did all we can ! My husband can be high risk and my baby is one week old !!!! Any advises other than the Barrier gestures?? i was on a little cloud now i’m almost depressed.