Parenting Contents Archive

Just lost my shit on my husband

Someone please tell me I overreacted lol. My husband made her a bottle, (didn't put a lid on it) then before going to the nursery to feed her, made a stop in the bathroom to do #2. When he came out he was holding the bottle ready to go, and I am like "was that bottle in there with you?" And lost my shit. My husband thinks that if we swabbed the nursery and the bathroom it would be the same amount of fecal matter since we change her in the nursery. I think it's gross, lol. Am I just overreacting?

My husband called me an embarrassment to the family

We brought our toddler (2.5) to the zoo for the first time today. About an hour in, he started whining. We had driven an hour to get there and paid $90 admission, so we were committed to staying. I tried to offer him a snack, juice, etc. The whining goes on for 20 more minutes. He then starts screaming bloody murder about how he dropped a fruit snack, and legit scared all the zebras away. I was fed up at this point, turned to him, and said "stop it now" in a firm voice. My husband started going on and on about how I embarrassed our family by correcting him like that in public and completely disagreed that the toddler was being the embarrassing one. It made me feel really shitty. We argued the entire way home about how "I should have just been patient. He's only a toddler. Blah blah." Like, stfu and help me parent instead of letting the kid do whatever the fuck he wants all the time. He's never on my side when it comes to parenting and I'm so sick of it.

Baby Restaurant Etiquette

Help settle a debate for me. DH and I are planning on dinner at a fine dining restaurant. DH wants to bring LO (4m). I think the restaurant/other customers may frown upon this. LO usually does very well at restaurants. We’d go on a weekday and before the rush. Do you think this a big no at nice places or no big deal? Pre-baby we went to places like this a decent amount but I never thought to see if there were kids with anyone.

My siblings are disgusted by my children.

My sister (18) wouldn't watch a movie with me because my baby kept pooping in his diaper and it was "disgusting". My brother (17) stood silently watching my 3 year old because he was worried he would touch his stuff. I drove for 7 hours to get here and I still have an event with my sister that is going to be a nightmare to attend without my bottle rejecting baby. I am thinking about cancelling. Fuck this.

My baby has permanent hearing loss

My baby (8 weeks) was just diagnosed with permanent hearing loss with no hearing in one ear and severe loss in the other. Looking for success stories. Very devastated at picturing the challenges he’ll face and completely unfamiliar with deafness / hearing impairment.

What's something you dread about parenting?

I'll go first, bedtime with a toddler at least for me at the moment is rough. She thinks she missing something but low and behold like most of you know she's not. What is your current parenting dread?

Activities to do when you're running on empty?

LO is 5 months old. I'm so, so tired today, and I feel guilty for not having the energy I usually do. There was a massive tragedy in my family two days ago, and I'm deep in grief. My husband will be home from work in around 2 hours. I did my best to play hard and get a few things done around the house earlier, but I feel exhausted, and I'm not sure how to fill the time when LO wakes up from his current nap. What activities do you like to do with your little ones when you're running on empty so that they still have a fun, enriched day? It's probably related to the grief, but I just feel so guilty that I'm not my usual self and "don't have as much in my pitcher to pour," so to speak.

Bedtime

LO is 4 months old, she goes to bed around 6:30. MIL made me feel horrible that I’m putting her to bed way too early. Am I? That’s just when she gets tired after being awake for a hour and forty five minutes.

SMH

For my daughter's first tantrum, she wanted me to take out all the chia seeds that were part of her bread's dough so that she could eat them. Without any bread. That is all, just want to share.

How to raise a girl

We recently found out we’re having a baby girl. I feel both happy and sad about this. I’m happy as I know girls typically have stronger connections to their dads compared to boys. However I am dreading when they come of age and start having sex. I am really worried to the point of tears about how they’re going to be treated in life and how much more dangerous it is to be a young girl compared to a lad. It’s stressing me out hard I really don’t want my daughter to grow up seeing her on things like onlyfans or sleeping with multiple guys. I’d be happy if she found someone that really loved her but I don’t want anyone looking at her and definitely not touching her. How can I raise my daughter right?

DAE feel like pregnancy and kids made their brain functioning for the worse?

I (33F) was diagnosed with ADHD + anxiety disorder in ‘15. In the past 3 years, I’ve had 2 kiddos (2yo and 1yo). I’ve always been spacey and “quirky” but my husband mentioned that my thought processing, awareness and self awareness have gotten so much worse as of 3 years ago. Right in alignment with kids. I’ve noticed in my work as well. I work a full time job and my boss has shared similar feedback - more around organization and urgency. Figured my brain is just working overtime to keep track of all the demands on me, causing me to seem “worse.” Does anyone feel like their brain functionality just sucks post-pregnancy and kids? Does it get any better in time? PS: I take a variety of supplements, get an avg 8 hours of sleep each night, take meds for my ADHD/Anxiety… what else can I do?!

Survey: how well do you babyproof?

I am a pretty anxious person and want to make sure my house is very childproofed, but it’s hard to know what’s over-the-top or what most people actually do. So I’d be curious to hear yes/no answers on whether you do the following things: 1. Anchor fridge and oven 2. Keep dog’s food/water in a separated area (if so, how? My dog needs access to these things, and I’m in a small, open floor plan apartment) 3. Lock toilets 4. Lock garbage cans 5. Cover outlets of things that are plugged in all the time (like an air purifier) 6. Cover outlets in high places likes kitchen cabinets (in case they climb the kitchen cabinets) 7. Put dangerous things like knives, medicine, cleaning products high AND locked (versus laundry detergent in a high shelf but unlocked or knives in a low drawer with a child lock) 8. Remove chairs and high chairs when unsupervised (in case they climb and fall from a high place)

Are there any good, engaging age-appropriate video series for kids that explains how their bodies work?

I remember watching human development videos as a kid (mid 90s) that made me far more aware of periods way before my friends (I’m a guy), but I don’t know what they were. I now have daughters and I’m looking for something similarly informative and age appropriate so that as they get older they have a good baseline for expectations for their bodies development. I’m sure there’s a YouTube channel that is great at this. I’m focusing here on biological/anatomical development mostly. Less about emotional dev or sexual expression, though that’s welcome too.

Do feeding intervals affect night wakes?

I recently read that spacing out feeding intervals more during the day (i e. Every 3 hours as opposed to every 1-2 hours) can reduce night wakes. Is there any truth to this? Anecdotes welcome along with any research on the topic if anyone knows of any!

going out with a newborn

I'm home with my beautiful little girl who is 9 days old today and starting to wonder.... when will I leave the house again? Right now she is still clusterfeeding randomly so it's a gamble if a 30 minute walk in the stroller will be too much of an outing. When did you feel ready to brave the world with a fresh baby?