Parenting Contents Archive

I can't make it through Love You Forever

My son is 8 months old, he loves being read to. As a terminal bookworm, I'm thrilled my little guy loves story time as much as I do. Anyways, so I show him a couple books so he can choose which one to read every night. Where the Wild Things are has been top of the charts for about 3 weeks now, but last night he chose Love You Forever. I remember my mom reading it to me when I was little and loving it. As a mom now, I honestly don't know how in the hell she managed to read that book to me at all. I barely made it past the 3rd page before I was just sobbing. We made it through the book, and the top of his head was damp. Any fun tips on how to avoid being a sobbing mess while reading Love You Forever??

I hate being a mother

My baby is 9 months old. She was a surprise and I thought about abortion. I couldn't bring myself to do it so now here we are. I'm a stay at home mom so I'm home with her all day, everyday. I miss my body before having a baby. I miss my freedom. She always wants my attention. I can't keep my house clean or do any of the things I enjoy doing. I'm filled with so much rage every time she cries. I keep having thoughts about hurting her or myself though I don't think I could actually do it. I can't talk to my partner about this because I don't want him to have any extra stress. Please tell me I'm not alone here.

It does get better!

I’ve seen lots of posts recently asking if it gets better. I hope for all of us in the trenches that your day/night goes smoothly but tonight was a turning point for us. Our boy is 5MOs and today my boyfriend and I ate dinner just the two of us (the first time since baby was born) as baby slept upstairs. I then had a bath and am now sitting with a sheet mask on, video monitor next to me and we’ll be watching an episode of Moon Knight with some ice cream on the sofa. To keep the parent vibe going though I have used a muslin cloth to tie my hair back as all my hair bands are upstairs and I’m not risking walking up those stairs until it’s time for dream feed and bed! Let’s not push it!

When did we agree as a collective that kids weren't safe outside anymore?

Real Question: Wtf happened? It's like the US just decided overnight that we should stop letting our kids be kids. I (36F) was talking to my daughter (12F) about exploring the "witch's hut" deep in the woods by my grandmother's house. I was maybe 7 or 8 at the time and just had to be home before the lights came on. She asked why she and her brother never got to do things like that when they were kids (they have free reign now bc they both have cell phones and we live on base, so there is a sense of security.) I didn't have much of an answer. Besides the fact that they grew up away from family, they just never went out much without me. The one time they were playing in the cul de sac for 10 minutes without me at age 9, a nosey neighbor called the police on me. Since I had just run in to grab snacks, I was outside so it wasnt an issue, but my mom would have laughed in their faces and spit at the neighbor. I just apologized and felt like a terrible parent.

A section in every piece of "sleep advice"

You: my kid won't go to sleep Text: is it possible they're overtired? that actually makes it harder to fall asleep Y: oh, yeah, i guess it's been a long day T: thought so Y: so you have advice on what to do now? T: hahahahaha goodness no Y: what? T: shouldn't have let it come to this Y: right ... but it happened and i'm here now T: lmao sucks for you

do I cook too much?

I recently had a conversation with some friends. They were shocked that I make a full meal 4 or 5 nights a week and we use the left overs for lunch or plan ahead leftover nights for nights I don't have time to cook. Is this not the norm? Growing up we always had dinner together at 530pm at the table with salad, meat, cooked veggies and starch then dessert. Always from scratch. I just don't do desserts nightly. Maybe once a month, but it's a treat not a given. Yes I work full time and do a lot of prep work and plan meals out knowing how much time they take and effort. My crockpot is my best friend and I'm known to make huge batches of sauces to freeze and use later for "quick" dinners.

I can’t get my kid to drink water

Or any beverage, really. It doesn’t matter if it’s water, milk, juice, etc. This kid refuses to hydrate, it’s like she’s never thirsty! I took her to the pediatrician a few months ago because her urine was cloudy (no infection, just dehydrated). Sometimes I can entice her by mixing a little Gatorade into water for the color or using a cool bottle. But it just seems like she’s never thirsty and I literally have to force her to drink water when she eats or she’ll never drink at all. Am I alone in this? Anyone else deal with this problem and how did you solve it. She’s 3.5 years.

Obsessed with Baby: Normal?

Is it normal to be obsessed with my baby? I'm a FTM with a four-month-old. I've been back at work for about a month and basically just think about him all day. I tried to get to the gym for a quick half hour workout after work today, but I didn't want to wait to see him! When he naps, I miss him. I talk about him and show pictures to anyone who will humor me. I'm probably insufferable. It feels like a new parent honeymoon phase. When will this obsession wear off? I don't want to be a mom who makes her kids her life, but I also just miss him so much.

So Husband Scores a point today

He agreed that the kids should go to school/daycare in their stormtrooper/Mandalorian costumes tomorrow since it’s May the Fourth!

I have a few questions regarding starting solids...

Hello :) I'm a first time mum and mostly just completely winging it. Bub is almost 5 months, terrific milk drinker and weighs above average. Doc told me a few weeks ago I'm all good to start solids. I waited up until yesterday when I decided I just wanted to try a little bit to see bubs reaction and how we handles it. We gave him apple puree... he loved it, he only had half a teaspoon but he was upset once we stopped and continued with his milk. This had me thinking.. Should solids (puree) be given at a certain time around milk? Before or after or in-between? Is there a waiting period between the two? I've googled but the info is fairly vague. If bub happily swallowed with no issues, is that an indication that he's ready? And how would I know if I'm giving him too much? Is there such a thing? Lastly, if I'm going to start giving him purees.. do I cut down on milk? Urgh so many thoughts lol Thank you 😊 Wait, one more thing. Will his poo change significantly?

If I were to leave the country how would I do it?

I’m a stay at home mom to soon to be 2 kids but I do have two very small side hobby businesses I run. With all this regressing bullshit happening in the US how do I get the fuck out of here? I don’t want my daughter growing up being a second class citizen or being charged with murder over a damn miscarriage.

Embarrassing question, teenage boy smell.

Hey all, I’m a guardian to a 15yo and I could use some parental advice with a touchy subject. My ward Chaz is 15 and has been living with us full time for about a year. I converted the loft into a huge bedroom for him so he didn’t have to have the room next to my boyfriends and I. His room has its own wet room and is large and airy. My boyfriend changes his bedding once a week and does laundry every other day. Chaz showers twice a day diligently and I know he’s doing it because we shower at the gym most nights. He never really has any noticeable body odour and is fastidious in staying clean. The thing is his room has a really strong smell/funk to it. The only way I can describe it is a musty teenage boy smell. I’ve asked other friends with kids and they tell me this is pretty much normal. Is that correct or is there something I should be doing?

Has anyone figured out how to integrate exercise in your routine with an infant?

Hi all, FTM to a 5 month old . I have a very very very ( i mean it) active baby. She is still figuring out how to be on move and me and my SO are already getting tired entertaining her in her awake windows. I know i have to improve my stamina to keep up with her as i can already see she will be more and more active with time. I also would like to exercise to maintain my weight as well. I work full time remote and go on 20-25 mins walks after work with baby. I am open to staying up late at night or maybe dedicating some lunch time to the exercise , but going to gym doesnt seem feasible with current baby schedule. Any ideas or apps or anything that can help? really appreciated.

Balance Bikes --- why?

When I was a kid, I had a Radio Flyer tricycle, then a bicycle with training wheels, then a full blown bicycle. It was a good progression of learning. My daughter received a [balance bike](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71W4-1z3tlL._AC_SL1500_.jpg) as a gift when she was a toddler. I didn't know what to do with it, and my wife doesn't ride bikes, so my daughter didn't use it much. My son is now tall enough to use the balance bike, and I regret not using it -- I feel like I should've made more of an effort to understand -- what exactly are kids supposed to do on these things? I can't even begin to imagine getting that thing up to speed and lifting your legs up. Seems kind of dangerous. I do see the value in learning how to steer. My wife never really got the hang of turning a car while going in reverse. Maybe if she rode a balance bike, she'd be better at it? I dunno. What are kids supposed to do and learn on balance bikes? Just walking around while sitting on it?

My opinion before kids, and after 3 kids.

Before I had kids, I thought, “I’m not going to be that parent that does weird tricks to get my kids to eat.” Yet, here I am with. 2 year old, pretending to be a dog, and me barking while she eats Brussels sprouts, with my 3 year old pretending to be a fish, and me having to ask her, “how do o feed a fish??”