Parenting Contents Archive

Baby number two= zips only

Mom hasn't moved since two of her babies fell asleep on her paws.

Crocheted some snugglers!

Crocheted some snugglers!

Rant - I hate the pressure on prenatal health

I keep reading all these articles that are like “prenatal health has a huge impact on babies their entire lives.” Such articles warn against constant stress because it could lead to developmental problems in kids down the road. They recommend singing a song, taking a bath, and who knows what else - deep breathing or some shit. Well I guess my kid is fucked then because my wonderful mom who was also my best friend was diagnosed with extremely aggressive terminal cancer during my pregnancy. She declined very quickly. My dog died. I moved my grandma into memory care and then she died. I had to keep my stressful job because I’m the primary breadwinner. SO GREAT to keep reading that these unavoidable, extremely and constantly stressful events during my pregnancy have increased my child’s risk of struggling in life. GREAT. But thanks for the idea of taking a bath, Healthline, that will solve it all.

What do you do with your newborn at the grocery store?

Do you just put their car seat in your shopping cart? Or wear them?

If you got the Foley bulb induction, how bad did it hurt? Anything you prefer over it?

I'm getting induced (elective) with the Foley bulb tomorrow and I am terrified. They're going to send me home with it taped to my leg. I've heard it's extremely painful and also that it's not. Is going through the insertion pain worth the stress? Or should I request something else? Can anyone share their experience on other induction methods that they prefer over the Foley bulb?

I’m losing my mind over here. I can’t get my almost 8 m old to drink more than a few ounces every feed

It’s been like this for months. He’s a snacker. Drinks 2-3 ounces and then waits another 30 minutes and drinks some more. Has to have a bottle to fall asleep. We’ve tried holding him, laying him down, laying him on the boppy, having him in the nursery chair to eat. He still just refuses after a couple of ounces. It’s so hard to get to at least 24oz of milk a day. Like truly, a battle of wills. What can I do to change this? He’s awake multiple times at night for feedings. I just want him to take a 6oz bottle in a sitting.

0% nicotine vapes

Does anyone have any evidence on the impact of 0% nicotine vapes on a person and then on children that are around them? My husband just started vaping (never smoked before 🙃) and I can only find research that’s about nicotine vapes, just want to know the impact it’ll have on him and our child

How do you survive elementary school band recitals when the band sounds laughably bad?

I'm asking about 1st recitals/concerts. Think recorders, or Elementary or middle school band. How do you still beam with pride and encouragement when they ask how they did? I'm not trying to be mean, I'm simply trying to avoid traumatizing my and the other children. I understand it's a weird question, but I've seen and listened to some videos of random stranger's kids concerts and the squeakiness of some of the performances just make me laugh from just how bad they are. I know they are kids and everyone starts somewhere and I swear I'm not trying to be mean or nefarious, but sometimes all you can do is laugh, and I want to avoid that with every fiber of my being.

Looking for something to do with your kid? Open your spice rack

Me & my 8 month old have been smelling all the spices in my kitchen for like 20 minutes. That’s 20 more minutes of peace than I would have had otherwise. Vanilla extract was a big hit.

Where do you shop for clothes?

I’m so out of touch.. I have an 11yr old daughter and I don’t know where to get her school clothes! 🥲 She doesn’t want them from Walmart, and pretty much everything I see in stores or online are crop tops. Where do you do school clothes shopping for pre-teens? I’m looking for dress code-worthy options that don’t break the bank. ✌🏻

6m old covid vaccine: Pfizer or Moderna?

My baby is going to be 6 months old in June. Pediatrician's office only offers pfizer. I know when we finally were able to get my toddler vaccinated last summer, the efficacy for pfizer wasn't super compelling, so we went with moderna (plus anecdotally DH and I both responded much better to moderna than pfizer in terms of side effects). We need to decide if we want to seek out another provider to get baby moderna, or just do pfizer with pediatrician. I was wondering if there was any updated research/data about the pediatric vaccines given that it's been almost a year now, and they have omicron versions. Thanks all. Love this community so much!

How much does screentime before bed matter?

I don’t ever do screentime with my baby (10 months) but my husband does. I wouldn’t care as much if his baby duty wasn’t right before bedtime while I have dinner/take a bath so I can nurse LO to sleep. So it’s pretty much guaranteed that every day leading up to bedtime she’s watching tv. Does this affect her sleep in any way? She’s never slept longer than 2 hours in one stretch but I know that it could be normal at this age still. However I’m beyond exhausted and would love to hear your input if eliminating screens before bed could potentially improve her sleep or not. Thank you!

Kissing rule

Hi all! FTM here and am working really hard on putting up boundaries and enforcing them. Im usually a pushover, but my baby deserves a mom who doesn't let people push her around. With that being said, I am having a hard time enforcing my no kissing rule. When it does happen, i call them out on it and have even taken my baby away from those that question this boundary. It just doesn't seem to stop people from doing it though, and they always claim they "forgot". Annoying. Is there a video or something I can show these people on the dangers of kissing baby? Or any other advice on how to enforce this boundary with people?