Parenting Contents Archive

Is laying baby on the bed okay temporarily (supervised of course)?

My son is 4wk tomorrow and I’m overly anxious (pre pregnancy still very anxious but PPA has smacked me hard lol). Sometimes he doesn’t want to be in the bassinet, especially between 5-11pm. I don’t mind holding him all day for him to sleep if need be, but it’s hard when I’m ready to eat. I laid him flat on the bed between my legs so I could eat and he was content with that, but suddenly I’m worried that’s unsafe because my mattress obviously isn’t firm as an infant one would be, I don’t want to put him in harms way ever! That and I worry about content napping as he isn’t flat on his back, but contact napping is encouraged! And I love to do it, it’s just so stressful worrying what is and isn’t safe!

Support groups

TW- suicide My 14 year old was checked into inpatient care for 9 days after a suicide attempt. They were home roughly 48 hours before they went back today. I’m trying to find any support groups or things for parents dealing with this. I feel like I’m treading water and have no idea how to navigate what is going on. So if anyone knows of any groups please let me know!

Working mums, how do you fit excercise into your routine?

I really really need regular excercise for my mental health. Have recently started back at work and struggling to find the time. Even when I was on maternity leave I could do home workouts which my baby found entertaining! And go out for walks with the pram. Now I'm always trying to wrangle getting him and myself ready in the mornings and then driving to nursery or grandparents, back in the car to drive to work and sitting at a desk all day. Its driving me mad. I do try and leave early so I can park further from work so I get a bit of a walk in the morning, also walk on my breaks. The only "proper" excercise is a mums and babies class we do once a week which has been my lifeline, but it's just not enough! How do you manage to fit excercise (or any form of self care) into your routine?

Need help with mother in law

Hi. My son is autistic and my mother and father in law refuse to accept it. My son is totally different with them than me. I am a stay at home mom and all the doctors and therapists I see, tell me he is this way because he masks his feelings with everyone else except me. Now my mother in law wants to be by my side every day for a month so she can see what I'm doing wrong. My mother in law says I'm the one disabling my son and incorrectly labeling him. She refuses to accept that multiple doctors and the school system have confirmed that my son is autistic. How do I prevent my mother in law from spending every day with me? It will only make things worse for my son because he can sense the tension. Thanks for your advice and suggestions.

Older mothers (or birthing parents) what is it like looking at your adult babies?

I just constantly look at my beautiful son (2.5) and daughter (4 months) and can't believe I created and birthed these beautiful, amazing little creatures. I know it has to be different once they are older and much more their own people. Is it still the same wonder? Or is it more like looking at another adult? Maybe a mix? It's just something I've been wondering. My mother and I have a complicated relationship which is probably part of why I am curious. How could she look at me and feel that same amazement and peace but also act the way she does sometimes... not that I don't get adult children and parents' relationships could be complicated. 0

Heartbroken over prospective IVF rejection

I'm trying to donate. I am a good candidate in all standing, however I have a seizure disorder. I have only had 1 seizure in my life, do not have epilepsy, take meds for it, but it wards parents off. I made it through the official screening so I know that on paper it is fine, but would knowing your egg donor has a minor seizure disorder be a deal breaker?

Needing to vent about false positive test.

I (f27) took a test on Monday and it was positive (I’ve been extremely tired and breaking out on my face but I guess it was from heat). The whole day I was excited and dreaming of the life we would have as a family of four. My husband (m31) was really excited as well. He kept telling me how excited he was that our son (2 in sept) will be a big brother. It was an exciting day. But then yesterday and today we’ve only gotten negatives. I’m so sad. I was so scared to have another baby but once that test was positive all of those fears went away. And now, I’m left with wanting one so bad. We’ve been trying for 6 months. I can’t talk about it to my family because they wouldn’t understand. I don’t know how to get out of the funk I’ve been in. I’m just so sad.

Mandatory reporting

I'm not sure where to put this so sorry if it's in the wrong subreddit. If Child A said that Child B was physically inappropriate (bordering on sexually, but it's difficult to tell what actually happened), and A wants to get therapy to process their feelings around the event, but NOT trigger a child services investigation or a police report against B, is that even possible? Will the therapist insist that a report be made? Will Child B or their family be contacted? I think therapy should be confidential if the patient requests that, but I'm just not sure what's possible here. If Child A will not seek therapy due to this mandatory reporting policy, because they refuse to get Child B in trouble in any way, is there a way to support A via some kind of DIY therapy at home? Thank you all in advance.

Back to school, Holidays, and the year is gone.

Anyone else feeling like it's basically the end of the year. I know it sounds dramatic, but we're less than a month away before the kiddos go back to school, and the Holidays come so quickly after that. Have you started eyeing holiday gifts? How do you guys keep a list of everything you like and want to save for later?

Im feeling exhausted

Im 33 M. My wife and I had our daughter in october. I couldnt afford the Healrh insuarance any more so I enlisted in the Air Force for Tri care. I made it through basic but it was the hardest thing I did because it was hard to leave behind a wife and 7 month old baby behind for that long not to mention Im writing this in Tech school so I have another 3 months to go. I just feel drained because within a year and half I got married had a kid and entered the military. Idk maybe im complaining to much and I know my wife is going through alot to.

16 week old won’t nap

Hi everyone. My first was born 4 weeks early, and he is about 3.5 months right now. Thankfully, he has been sleeping well at night for weeks now. He usually sleeps 5-7 hours at first and then another 3-4 afterward. He usually goes down around 7:30. We use all the tricks for sleep, blackout shades, white noise, change and feed right before, and do the same things for naps, but he usually refuses to go down. My wife can take up to an hour to get him to calm down and fall asleep. When we tried just leaving him, he immediately wails and gets all sweaty and worked up so he won’t sleep. We use Huckleberry. We’re aware of wake windows. He does have bad reflux but he gets medicine twice a day now which has helped a lot. Anyway, all I’ve seen online from people with similar challenges is “it gets better!” But my wife is at her wit’s end, and it’s frustrating that I can’t help. Any advice?

Why is my baby rejecting me?

FTM to a 4 month old. Due to blood sugar issues when he was born, we have been combination feeding since birth. He typically gets 1 bottle of formula per day, and is breast fed or bottle fed with breast milk (when I’m at work) the rest of the time. Recently, he has been rejecting my breast when hungry. Not only does he not want it, but he gets very angry/frustrated when I so much as offer it and sometimes even screams and cries. Since I track his feeding fairly well, I am certain he is hungry. I will make him a bottle of formula, and he drinks it eagerly. I haven’t changed my diet at all. What is going on? Is my breastfeeding journey over? Did I do something wrong?

I hated my partner after having a baby

I used to love my partner immensely, my son is going to be 5 and I still can't shake this feeling. He is an amazing father, but I have this insane resentment that won't go away. Has anyone else experienced such a decline in satisfaction after having a child? How did you work through it?

Kindergarten Readiness

So my husband is fine with me doing preschool homeschooling - because we don't have free preschool. But he's not sold on homeschooling after that. I an effort to support my arguments, I searched for the expectations my state has for incoming kindergarteners - which they have a standardised test for, of course - and I'm really not sure they're developmentally appropriate? Can anyone else who maybe knows more about child development take a look at them for me? I'm just worried that the requirements for kindergarten these days are inflated, and wonder if they're evidence-based. They definitely are expecting more and expecting it earlier. I don't know exactly where this lands in terms of development, though.

Baby seems to want to eat A LOT

Hey I’m sorry if this comes out a mess, I’m not really the greatest at describing things. My LO is a little over 2 weeks old and he’s getting breast milk in a bottle and every feeding he is taking 3 oz and is sometimes still hungry immediately after or will wake and want a feed only an hour later, not 2 or 3. I’ve talked to his pediatrician and a lactation consultant who both say 3 oz is okay but it is a lot and I should try to keep him at 3 oz and no more past feeding. Has anyone else had a super hungry baby? Should I continue to feed on demand until he’s full or should I try to limit him? I’m pumping and can only get about 3 oz every 2 hours so I have to cut some of his bottles with formula or give him full formula when he eats more or sooner.