Parenting Contents Archive

RSV IN BABIES

Why the hell does no one talk about RSV? Why wasn’t I ever warned that if my baby gets sick to watch for this. I just spent 6 days in the hospital one of which in the ICU because my 3 week old got RSV and pneumonia. I thought it was a common cold, until it wasn’t. I was terrified. The doctors said it’s so common and hospitals are overwhelmed with RSV patients. BUT WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT IT

What ended up being the worst/most useless thing you put on your baby registry?

I’ll go first: cute changing pad covers. LOL.

What do you pack your child for snack at school?

My 5 yo started kindergarten two weeks ago, I have to pack her breakfast, lunch and a snack. I try to keep things healthy but I'm struggling for her snack. I sent her to school with veggies and hummus, she enjoys those but she takes forever to eat and her teacher told her that I should pack something "less messy". I have no idea what I can pack her other than processed junks, I'm not against those once in a while but this is not filling for an everyday snack IMO. I thought about smoothies but she already has two insulated bottles (water and milk) and a thermos for lunch, added another one might be too much to handle for a 5 years old. What are you go to healthy-ish snacks?

What are babies that sleep by themselves like?

I can't imagine my girl falling asleep on her own, but it's my biggest dream currently lol I tried drowsy but awake, soothing environment, by my side on the bed while shushing/patting, white noise on etc. She always gets restless, whiny and finally cries a lot. My issue is mainly with naps, because the night routine ends with nursing and it works fine. During the day she needs to be rocked while walked around the house for more than half an hour with a pacifier on and white noise on the background and even then it's hit or miss... As you may know, this is incredibly taxing. Sometimes I wonder how babies fall asleep on their own, like are they playing aline when it happens? Is there white noise on? Let me know what it looks like so I can see if I get some inspiration! Edit: she just turned 4 months old

How do you balance school & extracurriculars?

My oldest (7) does karate right now a couple of times a week, but I would also really love to get him into soccer or another group sport. I think it'd be great for him to learn to work as a team with other kids, and also experience what it's like to lose and win. I'm worried that we might be packing his schedule too much with school, homework, and extracurriculars, but I also see kids doing multiple sports and activities and I'm not sure how people make it work. How do you all juggle everything (especially with younger kids) and still ensure they have enough downtime to relax at home and spend time with the family?

What little thing are you grateful for today?

I have a 2 yo and a 3 mo and I’m SO F***ing grateful for baby swings 😭😭❤️ I swear it’s some of the only times I get to sit alone. What are you grateful for today?

Owlet for short, but frequent monitoring?

My little guy (just a little over a week old), was diagnosed with a very mild case of SVT. We were advised to monitor his heartbeat regularly (when we change his diapers) and we were wondering if the Owlet sock would be an easy and reliable way to do so. The cardiologist advised against it, mentioning it doesn’t provide a reliable reading and that using a stethoscope is far easier once we are use to it. Any thoughts?

ISO Baby Book Suggestions

We read to our little girl (6mo) every day and she loves it, especially pop-up & colorful books and honestly, I really enjoy it too! Any favorites or suggestions? Trying to build our library but also stay cost conscious. I tried the Dolly book club but it’s not available in our area. TIA 😊

Explaining depression to 4 year old

Hi parents, I need your input and ideas. I (f, 34) have a 4 year old daughter and have been suffering from depression in phased almost all my grown-up life. I was at a good place when I became pregnant but the change of, well, everything plus the hormones had me struggling a lot. Unfortunately after almost 5 years as a mother, I still struggle with motherhood and go through phases of depression. Some days I have no energy left to take care of my daughter (thank God she has an amazing father and grandmother who help). She clearly notices that I am "sick" but I feel like it is time to explain to her what I suffer from but I want to do so in a gentle, child friendly way. It's important to me that she doesn't feel guilt or responsibility. Do you have any thoughts on how to teach her about mental health and depression in particular that respects the "horizon" of a 4 year old? Thank you!

I had to file a restraining order against a contractor today!

The dude has a record. He's a friend of a friend who needed a second chance. My fool ass gave him one. Now we have a torn up back yard, broken fence, a half finished porch, we're 4k in the hole, and he's threatening my children if I don't give him more money. I *know* he doesn't have a leg to stand on if he tries to take me to court. I'm a paralegal and my documentation is extensive. He made threats over text. But I'm scared for my kids. We have security cameras, we have a dog, the TRO has been granted. I am still panicking about my kids. Tell me it's gonna be okay.

Is my 5yo lazy or is something wrong?

I have a 5yoF (just turned 5) and an almost 3yoM. I was at a palace garden yesterday. In all we walked about 4 km/2.5 miles. We had a lot of rests in between (picknick, activities like shooting bow and arrow, theater). My son walked about 2/3 of the time and I insisted on most of the time in the stroller because I knew we would be walking a bit further. My daughter was in the stroller about 90% of the time. She often complains about being tired when going for a walk, even to the park behind our house. She often wants to be carried and I am becoming a bit worried. It isn't normal to be tired so quickly, right? Is she just lazy and guessing saying she is tired will be effective? Is she really tired that often? Should we talk to her doctors about this?

How or when did you decide you were done?

Is 12 weeks too soon to decide I don't want another baby? I've always wanted three, having a big family was important to me. I never had a big family or a close family. So I always wanted to give my kids that. However, 12 weeks after my first... I'm not so sure I want that anymore. Sure, things have gotten easier, but easier enough to want another? I'm not so sure. My husband wants one more for sure but mentally I just don't know if I can do that. Maybe it's my sleep deprivation talking, who knows...

6 year spit on student

When I went to pick my son up from ASP the teacher informed me there was an incident and I needed to talk to the counselor. I million different scenarios ran through my head… The counselor told me that my son had spit on another student. I asked him what happened when we got in the car and he won’t give me a straight answer. I asked if they were arguing or maybe playing some weird 6 year old game. Anything to explain this behavior. He got really upset and kind of just shut down. The mom of the other kid said something to me as we were walking out and I just feel so bad and embarrassed. Has this happened to anyone? Any advice would be great!

Can't find my car key

Help. List any place really specific, inside your home, where keys might hide. It's just one key, the fob to my car. I swear I have looked EVERYWHERE. I'm not even sure I'm the one who lost it. Pretty sure the dog or a kid picked it up. It's the only key to our car. We are literally stranded until it comes up.

When to make a schedule?

Need some advice from experienced parents! When do we need to get serious about getting our new baby on a schedule? My newborn is nearly 3 weeks old. The only schedule we have for him is for feedings. He was born at 35 weeks so these past weeks we’ve been focusing on getting him to gain weight and establishing breastfeeding. I feel it’s hard to get him on a schedule because he naturally sleeps a lot. It’s hard to catch him awake and keep him that way for a stretch of time. So no really set nap times We go to bed around 10-11pm and get up for the day around 8:30-9am.