Parenting Contents Archive

Anybody else not have a “playroom” for their kids?

It seems way more common than not to have one. We literally don’t have any space for one. We have a 3 bedroom house with 2 children (a boy and a girl). One of the 2 kids bedrooms is on the smaller side too. Our living room is not very big, we have an eat in kitchen (no separate dining room), and a very small laundry room. We do not have a basement or a screened in porch/sun room either (have heard others make these areas into playrooms). There is literally no space for a playroom area. It just seems to me like almost everybody has one.. and it would be nice if there was another place for us to dedicate our kids to play and store toys besides their rooms or a select corner of the living room. Basically just want to hear opinions/experiences/set ups of others

I HAVE MADE THE FINAL DECISION

No more breastfeeding! I am officially planning to wean by the end of January. Had any of you ladies known me in real life, you’d know this is a quite a big deal. I’ve been essentially brain washed by all my “natural crunchy mama” friends, acquaintances, and online “gurus” for too long. Late January will mark 6 months of EBF. During that time, my mental health has completely deteriorated and I am desperate to feel better and to be the mother I know I can be. It feels AMAZING making this decision. I feel proud knowing I’ve made it this long. However this begs the question, how do I even begin to wean? How do I incorporate formula with solids? I know answers to these questions are just a google search away but I’d love to hear from mamas like you. Any advice on making the switch? Thanks!

NOT BETTY WHITE!

Y’all. I’m smashed. I love her so much.

What are some cool New Years traditions you guys do as a family?

I’m genuinely curious, I’m a first time mom and am trying to think of cool traditions to do with family. Also curious to see what everyone eats on New Years? This year me and my family are making home made pizzas.

First Baby!

How did you know you were ready to have your 1st baby? My husband and I are in our mid 20s and think we might want to try this summer (as long as finances and better housing are in place) when we’ll have been married a year. It’s just a really big decision and really exciting but also terrifying! How did you know you were ready for your 1st? How old were you and your SO? What do you wish you knew about getting pregnant/giving birth/baby’s 1st year that you know now?

Teachers and administrators often think of motivation as something that the student brings into the classroom—a student either has it or he does not. Students do, of course, enter classrooms with different motivation levels, but these are not fixed. @ASCD https://t.co/RbNyVKGuJf https://t.co/ZqjZzu4qAw

.@amightygirl is my always #FF. This is a great link of 50 wonderful #books they recommend to inspire #girls to dream big. #parenting #education Big Dreams for a New Year: 50 Books to Inspire Your Mighty Girl in 2022 | A Mighty Girl https://t.co/yPPmOCkO8S

He said that

I have intense nausea and I get scared a little thinking I might be pregnant (Nausea was the first symptoms I had previously). And you know what hubby says? "Oh, you can just take tablets". The one I had to take a few months ago because I had a missed abortion. The ones I had to take because the baby died and my body didn't expel it. The ones that made me bleed continuously for more than 2 months. The bleeding I had to stop by starting combined OCP which I'm still taking. A miscarriage that left me at my worst. A miscarriage, by the look of things, I seem to be the only one that was/is sad about. I hope I'm not pregnant. But my husband just made it clear to me why I keep having doubts about staying with him. P.S. Before you come at me for not knowing, I'm on the pill and only had sex once without condoms. So please don't crucify me.

Help! Newborn visitors

As we all know—we’re in a pandemi. I have a 6 week old and we’ve set some pretty clear boundaries in place to protect him. We’re asking if anyone wants to hold him that they avoid large gatherings/unmasked events for the week leading up to seeing him. This includes church which my in laws are very passionate about. If they refuse to, fine—they just can’t hold him. Now they want to come visit him and they think our standards are completely ridiculous and that they should be able to come up and hold him (masked) and continue to live their lives according to their own safety standards. My family on the other hand are being extremely careful and avoiding large gatherings, so they’ve been able to hold him. We literally have the same rules for everyone yet I think they see it as unfair. They also live out of town so I know there’s some jealousy there. Am I being unreasonable??

Maybe I'm being petty, but it's how I feel.

My ex was not very nice to me for the four years we were married, and he's continued to not be very nice to me in the 16 years that have followed. So when I see him on FB being a cool, laid-back guy, and being a loving husband and father to his other kid, it kind of pisses me off. It's not that he was a bad dad to my kid, but he wasn't the best, and he was a terrible horrible husband to me. I hate that he seems like a great guy now. He really loves his wife. He's so supportive of her. This tells me that he could be a good husband, he just chose not to be for me. I'm remarried now, and I love my husband and I love my life. But still. My first marriage was a little traumatizing for me and I'm kind of mad to think that it didn't have to be that way.

Miserable

Is anyone one else completely miserable in their marriage? I am stuck in a verbally and emotionally abusive marriage. Every day takes so much energy just to get up and function with a fake smile. I pray that one day I will be in love. Be respected. There is no place for me to go. I don't have family close by and no friends. He has money, I dont. My kids keep me going. I am envious of people who are happy, who have found their soulmate. Maybe one day I will find mine...

Should all children have access to #learntocode" toys? https://t.co/7ErdjIpb27 #playmatters

For the struggling New Parents that needs this reminder..

For all us New Parents that don’t have the village, the money, that have to work full time and watch our first child at the same time, for the new parents that are still doing everything they can to protect their baby from the pandemic, for the new parent that has cried and had their marriage tested this year.. you got this, it’s going to pass, we will get through this and one day have that house of our dreams whether that’s a bigger house for our growing family or a clean and organized house, one day we’ll be ridding our bikes with our partner and kid(s) through the neighborhood, we’ll have more days laughing and smiling, we’ll be stronger, wiser and have such an amazing bond with these babies that are now kids. So let’s hold them close, remember this is only temporary struggles and that the love we have to give them is the most important thing at getting us all through. So let’s tickle these babies, get them laughing and let their happiness give us the joy we need.

My 16 month old son has pooped in the bath 8 times in the last 9 days.

The last few times he’s become uncontrollably upset until I get him out of the tub. We bathe him and our 3.5 yr old together. He will cry until he’s taken out of the tub. It normally happens within 10 minutes of being in the bath. Has anyone else ever experienced this? Thanks

2 month old vaccines

My 2 month old had his first round of vaccines yesterday. It. Was. Rough. I have heard parents talk about the trauma of shots but I only ever heard about the difficulty of seeing your baby actually receive the shots. My baby did great with that. Sure he cried but we held him and fed him and he slept the whole way home. Great! A few hours later he wakes crying and screaming. We've been lucky and he's been a pretty happy baby. This was our first time experiencing him inconsolable. It broke my heart. Baby Tylenol was a life saver. And today he is back to his happy self. But man o man my pp hormones and anxiety are now all a flutter.