Parenting Contents Archive

Is your changing pad positioned vertically or horizontally?

Are there actually people out there who have it positioned horizontally? I find it unbelievable impractical.

So over the judgement for baby sleeping in crib

What is with this lately? I've been seeing it everywhere plus personal comments on it. My 9.5MO baby naps and sleeps at night in his crib. He has a sound AND video monitor we keep on all the time. He tosses and turns a ton in sleep. The few times he has slept in bed with us he just wakes up mad he can't flip wherever he wants. Multiple people in my moms group and friends with kids are astonished about this. Like I abuse my kid or something. "So, you just don't feed him?" If he's hungry at night (rarely now) he wakes up...I go in and feed him...? I have legs, this isn't impossible "So you just let him cry for hours? I refuse to sleep train" What? no. where the hell did you get this..? I feel like they're 2 steps away from calling CPS or something it's ridiculous.

Toddler Hair Products

I have a 1.5 year old girl with curly caucasian hair. It's getting longer and I don't know if I should be looking for kid hair products for any particular reason? I have baby hair gel but she's growing out of it... Can I just use adult products on her?

My sil is having a baby and I have things to pass down that maybe she could use, but I don’t feel like she would appreciate them or it would be nice enough for her and her child.

What would you do? I feel like she thinks my things are of less quality compared to hers. I can’t tell if this is my own jaded thought process or if it’s true. I want to be nice but I also don’t want to look stupid by offering baby items that she won’t like or use. Should I send pictures and ask her if she could use them? What’s a good balance. I always feel dumb when communicating with them over years of being made to feel less than it has affected my thought process when it comes to them.

Parents of teens: how do you do it?

How do you sit through your kids' inane blathering on and on about stuff that is complete bullshit without losing your mind, or going 'OMG, that is so stupid'? I'm going to add that my kid is on the spectrum, so her interests can sometimes border on the obsessive, so there's that. I mostly stick with "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything". But ... I have a limit. When I have overheard her say stuff like "[anime character] is totally LGBT+ because [evidence]" four time in an hour, my urge to say stuff like "OMG, who cares???? Can't you talk/text about something else for a change?" To be precise, it isn't the topic itself. That's just the latest example. My real problem is with the relentless repetition of it. It doesn't help that I'm ADHD, so I don't like hearing the same goddamn conversation twice at the best of times. If you've been in my shoes, do you have any parenting hacks other than just wearing wireless headphones around your kid permanently?

1.5 year old wearing 4T. Need help with diapers and pull ups.

Our son towers over a lot of my friend’s three year olds and even some four year olds. He baffles every parent who asks how old he is because they’re not prepared for me to say anything less than two. As you can imagine, I was shocked to see that size 8 diapers either just don’t exist in stores or you have to order them online in small quantities. Waste of money but I’m about to buy some. We’ve tried cloth but the largest covers they make are too small. Anyone else dealing with this? He’s not ready to be potty trained JUST yet but it seems there’s nowhere upward to go with sizing! I’m frustrated. Size 7 diapers barely fit him and even the 4T/5T pull ups don’t cover his bum fully leads to its own problems. What do you big baby parents do for diapering? (I posted this there but that sub is way smaller than this one)

2mo old won’t stay awake

My 2mo old won’t stay awake for his wake windows. This little man loooooooves to sleep. It’s been a struggle waking him up during the day for his “wake windows”. We try to wake him up after 2.5hrs naps, hoping we can get at least a 30 min wake window. Nope. We get like 5 minutes. If we let him sleep, he’ll cry when he’s hungry, so I feed him then he falls asleep right away. We’ve tried it all. Stripping him down, diaper changes, cold wet cloth, tickling, talking loudly, moving to different rooms, etc. He just loves his sleep… except at 2am. Anyone else experience this? How did you wake up your baby during the day?

Is it considered unsafe sleep if my baby is sleeping on his stomach while on my lap or chest?

It’s recommended that babies only ever sleep on their backs in a crib or bassinet, with no blankets etc. But what if they fall asleep on their stomach while being held?

Let’s share a laugh. What is the funniest thing your kid has ever said?

I took my son to the water park last week. A few girls walked by in thong bathing suits (there’s a park rule saying they’re not allowed, but not everyone got the message I guess) My kid looked at me and asked why “are those girls wearing their swim suits backwards?” I just about laughed my ass off.

I’m afraid I accidentally gave my son spoiled apple sauce

For context, we’re visiting with his grandparents at their house. It was during lunch and he got some apple sauce after his meal. The grandparents had stocked up on some of those apple sauce pouches for him in the fridge, so i gave one my 10 month old one thinking it was all good. I didn’t realize the “best if used by” date was 1/19/2023!! I am panicking because he ate the most of the pouch. I’m afraid i gave him tainted applesauce. I’ve heard horror stories of the pouches having mold in them so now I’m keeping an eye out for any signs of vomiting or diarrhea . I even ate the last bit of it to monitor if I start to feel unwell by it. He seems his usual playful self right now.

Baby has a solid sleep routine. Then poops in his sleep.

It seems like a stupid question - but would you risk changing it so he doesn’t develop a nappy rash, or let him sleep because you don’t want to risk waking him? Well I decided I didn’t want him to have a nappy rash. Changed him, everything was going well until he woke up, just as I was putting him back in his cot. Now he’s awake at 20:30, an hour and a half past his bed time and I kind of regret it T__T Husband and I have been trying to settle him since changing and he’s still going strong. Please tell me this is normal and it has happened to you before :’)

I’m not sure what to do.

So I grew up on the chunky side and so many people treated me terribly. My 9 year old is a little on the chunky side and as much as I teach him to love his body, I also want him to be healthier. I don’t want him to go through what I did or feel how I did. I feel so disgusting even asking 😞 Any advice to help him get more active and eat better without accidentally making him feel discouraged? (I tried talking to him about eating a bit better today and he mentioned that someone called him fat and I instantly broke inside. I told him that there is nothing wrong with him and nothing wrong with being a little bigger. Even that just feels like a dig though. I know part of this is my own trauma.)

Diaper rash help

My 1 month old has a very raw red diaper rash. I feel like I’ve tried all the tricks and nothing is helping. Right now we are using wash cloths and water, letting her air dry for a few minutes, and then putting on stoma powder with Boudreaux butt paste after. Twice a day her pediatrician recommended putting lotrimin on it but it hasn’t done anything for it. I’ve been trying baking soda baths once or twice a day as well. I feel like we can’t stay on top of changing her diaper quick enough because she is constantly pooping. Is there anything I’m missing? I feel so bad for my poor babe.

For those who combo feed: when to breastfeed and when to formula feed?

I offer baby breast milk (primarily pumped) and formula, but let's say the pumped milk I have isn't enough for one feeding, can I give him formula milk right after if he's still hungry or should I wait? For example, LO usually eats 3 oz per feeding but i'm only able to produce 1.5 ounces of milk per pump session. Can I feed him the 1.5 ounces of breastmilk followed by another 1.5 ounces of formula? Edit: LO is a little over 2 weeks old

Can bottle warmers break antibodies in breastmilk?

Hello, I read recently that it's now recommended to thaw breastmilk with hot water (must us warm instead) because it could break the antibodies. Wouldn't this be the case for bottle warmers too? Considering water get so hot it creates steam and therefore it warms the bottles pretty fast. I would like to read the thoughts of this community about it. Thanks in advance!