Parenting Contents Archive

How can I be sexually attracted to someone I have to clean up after?

And cook for nearly every meal. Cleaning up after everything they he does because he always leaves a mess no matter what it is. Doing his laundry. Generally just caring for him like a third child. I’m supposed to want to have sex with this person? It sounds like I’m being sarcastic here, but I am genuinely struggling and I would love some advice. We’ve had so many heart-to-heart talks about how his purposeful helplessness is killing me. This person has multiple degrees of higher education so he’s extremely capable. He tells me he’ll change; he doesn’t. It’s making me not feel sexually attracted like I used to be. What do I do?

Tomorrow I’m going to do my husband the same way he does me

I booked a nail appointment for noon tomorrow. I’m going to leave my husband with the babies and toddler, not tell him that I’m leaving or what time I’ll be back, and just go do what I want to do. Same way he does me. I’ll only be gone for an hour or two, usually when he leaves it’s for WAY longer than that. So excited, I haven’t had my nails done in years, I haven’t been away from the twins since they were born pretty much. He will be pissed when I get home but I don’t care. I can’t keep caring for them 24/7, completely cut off from any meaningful adult interaction. I will literally go crazy.

Are there any "easy" 2nd babies?

I've never heard of anyone having an "easy" 2nd baby. Everyone's always like the 1st one was easy peasy, slept and ate like a champ so I did it again and got demon child. Honestly this really scares me out of wanting to have a 2nd. My baby for all intents and purposes is a super easy baby. Not saying there weren't hard times but she's definitely the definition of "easy baby." I feel if I were to have another one it'd definitely be demon from hell considering everyone who's ever had an easy first has a miserable 2nd. So anyone had an easy 2nd?

Suggest a book for a girl who gets constant compliments on her looks

My daughter turns 5 tomorrow. She is a bright, smart, sweet, fun-loving, and headstrong kid and I'm very proud of her. She's also very much a girlie-girl, obsessed with anything shiny and pretty pink princess stuff. She loves dressing up, wearing ribbons or headbands in her hair, necklaces, etc. I'm glad that she knows what she likes and can enjoy it. She's a strong and healthy kid, and is conventionally/eurocentrically attractive. I have a heart full of love, pride, and gratitude for everything about her. A stress that I have with her is that it seems no matter where we go, she gets bombarded with compliments on her looks and clothes from adult women. There's no doubt in my mind that it's affecting how she sees herself, and how she judges her sense of self-worth. I would really like to see her value herself based on her abilities and accomplishments. Any books or other media that you think would be helpful for fostering that mindset would be much appreciated.

Soooo… where am I supposed to put the saggy apron belly in my clothes?!

(Content warning because talking about weight, body changes, etc.) Kind of a silly title, but it’s a genuine question. I was a U.S. size 14-16 pre-pregnancy, 190lbs. I went up to 210 during pregnancy but went back to 190 & size 14-16 clothes shortly after birth and have stayed there (now I’m at almost 1 year PP and still breastfeeding). The biggest change, is that I didn’t have an apron belly pre-pregnancy but I do now. And holy bowl-full-of-jelly Batman. I just tried on a one piece swimsuit and my belly POPPED OUT OF THE LEG HOLES. 😐 Any tips for dressing this thing? I’m overall pretty comfy & confident in my PP bod, but I’m struggling to find clothes that look and feel good on the belly. I’m going on a swimming-heavy bachelorette party in a month, I’m the only mom, the only plus-sized attendee, AND to boot one of the attendees is a literal NBA cheerleader. 😬

What are you getting your SO for their first Father’s Day ?

I need ideas :) we had a girl a month ago!

Sometimes my husband and I play our kid’s games, but with 1000% more competition

Tonight’s menu (best of 5): - Hey, That’s My Fish - Spot It - [Pisa](https://www.thimbletoys.com/en/merken/jumbo/detail/2050493-toren-van-pisa-reisspel) - Don’t Break the Ice - Trouble He’s going down

Weaponized Incompetence

I know that weaponized incompetence is where the person says they can't do it to get out of it, but does that also include just not doing it, like not remembering to do something vital? Our AC is about to kick it and my husband said that he would call someone. Two weeks later he never called anyone. We have two kids amd I don't want them to have to suffer a lack of AC because he said he was going to call and didn't.

How big is your kid?

Just a for funsies sort of discussion. My nearly-7 month old is huge! She wears 12 month clothes. Ever since she was born shes been in the "upper 1%" when it comes to size for kids and she just keeps going. Everybody tells me shes going to be a very tall person. But on the other hand, I know some kids start in that upper size bracket and average out over time. So I want to hear from you! How big were they as infants, toddlers, up to teens? Have your big babies turned out to be tall when they get older? Or maybe vice versa? Have your kid's height ever surprised you?

My kid (7) started baseball and doesn’t want to finish the season

So they started baseball last month, and they have games every other day and practice on the days they don’t have games and they’re exhausted. They’ve been falling asleep at school after game days, it’s hot, the games get over late in the evening and they’re just not enjoying it. I know a lot of parents are about making them finish something once they start it, but for they’re own well being, does anyone else agree it’s ok for them to just quit? They have 4 games left.

I need to know it gets easier

FTM here with a 2 week old. I’m so sleep deprived. I cry almost every day now when the sun starts to set. I have good support from my husband but the baby blues have me feeling down. When does it get better?

Step daughter/dad advice

My husband and I have been married since December. He has an 8 year old and I have an 11 year old. Both are girls. Him and my daughter butt heads constantly. She can’t hardly stand anything he does. And I’ll say he can be annoying at times. There have been times when I have gotten angry with him because I felt like at this point he should be aware that she is sensitive to anything he says or does and he still picks with her or does some annoying dad stuff…. I’m at the point that I don’t know what to say or how to handle it. My daughters dad has been absent for a long time and she doesn’t have a relationship with him currently. I know that attributes to her anger and annoyance. Both of them end up getting frustrated, and then I am frustrated and this is exhausting to deal with. I almost just want to throw the towel in because living with this everyday and having to walk on egg shells is not how I want to live.

Update- my child said her stepbrothers have been touching her vagina and bottom

I posted one update on my original post. I know many had asked for an update. We had court today and he gets her saturdays 10-5 and wednesdays 4-7 with his parents (???) supervising, not that that will make any difference. I’m angry it’s not supervised by a social worker at least. This is only until the next court date in a couple weeks after the forensic interview. I’m not feeling very hopeful after what happened today and I’m scared and upset. What if he still gets partial custody? Since he says he will “supervise better now” and the judge doesn’t want to uproot her life too much, apparently. I’m not feeling well right now about it all. Any words of encouragement will be appreciated. I am not worried about the forensic interview at all (she’s telling the truth and not coached) but only the final decision. 😩

My car…

“Hey babe the garage door wouldn’t open so my car is in the driveway….” Him rushing to get to discount tire before they close…. “Hey”…..me getting dinner ready…”remember my car is in THE DRIVEWAY…!!” I hear a crunch. Both cars now have damage. I feel like I have to yell to get him to listen. I’m so damn annoyed right now.

Halfway through our second trimester, and weighing the pros and cons of moving into a house located ~1,200ft from a highway.

We're trying to get out of the in-law's house and into our own so that we can start building a home before the baby arrives. We thought we'd found the perfect spot, in a certain Northern California city, but now I'm laying awake at night worrying about the potential risks of living close(ish?) to a busy city freeway. ​ There are a lot of different recommendations out there about what is a safe distance to be from highway pollution, and the health implications for a fetus/infant can be pretty troubling. 1,200ft is better than some of the more liberal estimates, for sure, but I can't help wondering if it wouldn't be worth it to just abandon this spot and keep looking (a somewhat disheartening prospect). ​ Has anyone else grappled with this problem? How did you resolve it and what conclusions did you come to? Were there studies or data that you found more reliable than others? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!