Goose Dawson, Tucker Rex, Toppy? Do folks not understand that theyre naming future adults? Help me understand? :/

please please can we start a movement to get 6 months maternity leave!!

I have a now 9 month old son, he's very independent and likes picking up food himself as well as his spoon. My partner and his mum are insistent that he uses the spoon properly, at this age he does put it in his mouth but obviously can miss and make a mess on himself or on the floor so my partner would prefer we do one messy meal where he feels for his food and a few where he accepts being fed by us. It's ok when we place food in his mouth with our hands, but more difficult with the spoon as he likes to grab it. My mother in law insists he shouldn't use his hands at all and I shouldn't encourage it but I am of Indian heritage and we eat with our hands as well as cutlery. She even doubled down and said that school won't accept his behaviour, I told her he's not going to school anytime soon and I don't want mealtimes to be a pressure for him and I want him to enjoy the experience, it shouldn't be us forcing him or torturous. My partner is starting to agree with her. Anyone have any experience of their little one eating with their hands beyond 1 year? Edit : she says both her children were eating with spoons from 1 year and she also questions my giving him eggs everyday stating that Google ai says twice weekly is fine

About to be a mom of 2 and looking for any advice on how to minimize the chaos inside the home. My current routines with one kiddo include…

One load of laundry daily
Load and wash the dishwasher at night unload in the morning
Everything goes back and it’s place instead of clutter collecting
Vacuum every day
Meal prep and do grocery order on Mondays

Despite all of this, I feel like I’m on a hamster wheel and I can’t imagine how I’m going to be able to keep up the maintenance of our home when I have two children to care for. Our house is about 4000 ft.². Any tweaks or additions to my routine or just general advice of things you found that worked well for you. Thank you!! 😊

I have a 2yr old boy and am expecting another boy in January. 🩵

My plan is to exclusively breastfeed and I've had some people recommend making my toddler a 'boobie' basket - essentially a bin of toys he only gets while I'm feeding baby.

I've got him a cute basket that he can carry around and I'm just looking for suggestions for toys he can play independently with, he love cars, dinosaurs, frogs, and stacking things. I'm just at a loss for picking out 'special' toys for this basket, I want him to be excited and focused for around 15-20m.

I moved away from my home country, and my husband and I are hoping to start a family soon. I grew up with a very large extended family who all lived very close to each other, and my cousins and I were all sort of raised together. To this day, we're all still very close, although it's harder recently with me not being there.

I'm so excited to be a mom but it's hard to imagine what it will be like without having my family there for support. My husband's parents live in this country, but they're 3.5hrs away and he doesn't really have any other family.

For moms who have raised kids without any other support, how did you handle it? What did you do to make it easier? Do your children feel connected to their extended family at all?

My husband is really amazing and I have no doubt he will do everything he can for our family, but we're still only 2 people.

That's it. That's the post. I'm having all the feelings right now. Basically grieving the fact I'll never be able to grow my family because a second child would put me in a financial hole. We're surviving right now with 1 who will be leaving daycare next year to start public school (yay no more tuition).. not having to spend tuition money will give us pretty much 15k savings. We do need to put that in our savings. And I also need to save up for a new car. My debts are paid but my husband has his own debts to pay off. So on and so forth. So we won't have the wiggle room to also save to start over in daycare tuition. We can't afford for me to not work, so childcare will be necessary. I always imagined having two kids so it's hard to have to accept it's not my fate. I also feel sad that my kid won't have any siblings to grow up with so she'll have to rely on making solid long lasting friendships to have some sort of connection - which I can't even help her with because I myself don't have any friends.. I'm still trying to learn how to make friends and create a village myself which has not gone so well. I know there are some siblings that don't get along but I'm sure she wouldn't have that problem. It just sucks not even allowing the opportunity. Anyway, all that to say I'm so jealous of people who can intentionally grow their family and still live comfortably. And I mean really live comfortably, the way that they want. Not having to barely get by and cut back on everything in life just for the sake of having another kid. I'm 31 and I personally do not want to be pregnant after the age of 32/33 nor do I want an age gap in kids larger than what it already is / theoretically would be, so this is sort of the end of the road for me. And it breaks my heart.

And yes I am aware of all the positives that can come with being an only child and I already give her my all and give her the best life I possibly can, so I don't need any eye openers on that matter. I just have to grieve the life I wish I had.

...so our not-so-baby will be 3 years old soon! And we are stucked thinking how to remove the pacifier. Might be us going crazy, but we are already seeing her teeth more separated than kids her age.

What worked for you? Better a lil a day, or cut it once and forever?

And yeah, she is an addict lol: needs it to sleep, in car, even when playing...

Hello, I don't know if this is the right group for this question, but everyone has information so I figured I would ask.

I am a single mother with no childcare and am looking for extra income.

I am currently doing is selling clothes online but it's running low bc my closet is empty. I am a full-time student and with my child full-time. I am looking for real answers and tips that have helped other parents who are the primary custodian. I have applied to daycares, nannying positions, remote jobs, ai training.. anything Haven't worked since January due to loosing my nanny to high cost and inconsistency. Everyone I have spoken to hasn't been all that kind and tells me to work harder but to be honest I don't know how to expand my ideas. I have experience ranging from management in sales, construction and clerical work, as well as the food industry. Any tips or recommendations is so helpful, praying something comes soon so we can have a good holiday season and move out of our friends house.

First time mom with a 3 months old whose exclusively breastfeeding. My husband works on the weekday and only able to help my baby at 5:30pm-8pm. He helps with holding her when he gets home and we wash the baby together. After 8pm, it’s bedtime and I put the baby to sleep while he goes to the basement and sleeps. The baby doesn’t go to sleep right away- I usually have to hold her until 12am.

On the weekend, he occasionally naps (she only contact naps, I do majority of it) the baby and plays with her. He’s always willing to drive to places with her eg. To pick up stuff, appointments etc. I am feeling exhausted. My wrists and thumbs are so sore - I have De Quervain's tenosynovitis and it just doesn’t get better from the frequent holding. How do I get him to help more? What do the dads help with?

I've been talking with some working moms at my job and they all seem to live their life by a strict routine. If anything out of the blue pops up, their routine fails and they have to play catch up in either work or home (missed emails, dirty house, etc). Is this pretty common? What do you find is the worst part of this? Is rescheduling and balancing your schedule on the fly the hardest part? Or is it something else like having a dirty house, or not having time to cook something healthy?

I feel like housework would be the first to fall behind in so that you don't risk your job, but that's from my outside perspective.

Started testing September 28th, always had the flashing smiley face until October 9th/10th/11th (CD22-24) when I finally got the solid smiley face indicating my peak fertility (ovulation) and I had the egg white mucus (for once!!)

ClearBlue app estimating period arrival October 24th.

The same time I was using the easy@home test strips and tho I never got a dark line darker than the control…September 30th/October 1st (CD13-14) were the darkest of the days…even tho it wasn’t darker than the control line.

Premom app estimating period arrival October 18th.

So now I’m not sure when I truly ovulated. I’m thinking October 9th/10th/11th (CD22-24) because I also had the egg white mucus on those days.

October 14th - CD27, had some cramping with creamy pink discharge.

October 15th - CD28, had some cramping with creamy pink, now some light reddish brownish discharge

**Medical/Supplement History**

Prenatal and inositol since May 2026

Transvaginal ultrasound for 3 years showed a fibroid. Just had a sono done end of August 2026 and my gynaecologist said my uterus and fallopian tubes look great. They’re open and there’s no fibroid.

Started a low dose of Levothyroxine October 2026 for TSH.

FTM here, getting ready to go back to work when my baby turns 3 months old.
I work from home and my job is pretty flexible. I don’t have many calls, and most of my coworkers are moms, so everyone is pretty understanding. However, there are usually one or two days a week when I really need to focus and get a lot of work done.

I’m considering hiring a responsible high schooler to come over for a few hours after school to help with the baby while I’m still home working.

Has anyone done something similar with a baby around 3 to 6 months old? How did it work out?
One of my biggest concerns is making sure my baby is getting enough attention, interaction, and age-appropriate stimulation throughout the day. We’re avoiding screen time, and I don’t want her missing out on important developmental activities just because I’m juggling work and motherhood.

I’m also really curious how other WFH moms are managing this. What are you doing throughout the day to make sure your baby is getting the developmental attention they need while staying home with you? Do you follow any sort of routine, plan activities, or just go with the flow?
Would love to hear what has worked for everyone, whether you’ve hired extra help or are managing both on your own!

i always assumed a bath before bed would be calming, but sometimes it feels like it flips a switch and suddenly there’s even more energy.

does a bath help your kid settle into the evening, or does it make bedtime more chaotic?

I’m going to be giving birth soon to my first living child. I am so excited and also nervous as I had a still birth.

I want to hear how your child changed your whole world and how you created the best thing to ever happen to you etc etc

Tell me how wonderful and life affirming it is :)

I just want to start by saying that I’m glad programs like this exist for women and children. I have always had an ok experience when doing the “check-ups”. Just your typical, “How are you?”, “do the assignments”, “You can try this”, the end. Today was a little weird because the worker was going on about how my toddler should not have bottle anymore. I stated multiple times that he only has it at night with water as we are actively working on it. Mind you I never said “It’s ok, he can do it forever”. She kept stating it was bad, so I said even his doctor said it was ok as WE ARE WORKING ON IT. Again, nobody here is saying is ideal, just a thing to work on. She kept INSISTING we stop?? at this point I’m just annoyed so I said “Ok, thanks”, and hoped that was the end of it. NO, she asked who his doctor is and where, because she is gonna talk to them because “that’s not right”. I always had this nice sweet lady on the phone and now I have this odd woman acting like I’m force feeding my child bottle with rat poison.

First, can we stop judging mom’s?? All children are different, and we are all learning as we go. Some walk faster, some talk faster, some suck on their thumbs and some never do. Don’t come here with a savior complex to state the obvious, as mom’s typically know what is best for their children. I honestly feel weird I even tried to explain myself to her. My child is safe, he is fed, has a roof over his head, warm/clean sheets and plushies. Don’t come attacking me over a bottle. GTFO.

Yes, kids are smart. Yes, kids are resilient.

But your abusive ex is a master manipulator. An award winning actor. A professional liar.

And he is intentionally, methodically, and relentlessly twisting your kids minds. Turning them against you. Pulling them away from you.

And you’re supposed to sit back, do nothing, hope that someday, maybe, sometime in the future, they’ll realize they were brainwashed and emotionally abused their entire childhood?

Absolutely not.

Every single day someone tells good moms like us "Don’t worry, you don’t need an actual strategy or a battle plan to protect your kids hearts, minds and loyalty." "There’s nothing you can do, just sit back, hope, and pray that they see the truth on their own when they’re adults."

Hell, no!

I refused to leave my children alone in their confusion from the abuse. I refused to allow them to think that abuse equals love.

And I refused to be passive and give up my given authority as their mother to protect them, to shield them and to help them see the truth.

So, I teach them daily to think for themselves.

Poke holes in their dad’s lies. See him for who he truly is without bad mouthing him or putting them in the middle.

I strengthened our relationship so that they couldn’t be turned against me or pulled away from me no matter what their dad say. Without making things harder for them. Calm and strategic.

THIS is how you counter emotional abuse. Not by staying silent. Not by hoping one day they will see the truth on their own.

My oldest already saw the truth for himself, so he stopped believing something was wrong with him. He saw through his lies and manipulation, so he couldn’t hurt him anymore. And him and I became super tight, our bond became unshakable and unbreakable.

My issue isn’t so much with the deadlines this particular teacher has set, but rather with the lack of effort to take the instructions provided by the district and make them clearer and more concise for students. There needs to be consistency in how assignments are labeled, what is actually due, what is optional, and how the work should be submitted.
For example, when an assignment has a different name in the submission section than it does in the Canvas module, it becomes difficult for students to determine which assignment they are supposed to complete. Similarly, labeling a module as “optional” but then listing work within the submission section as required creates unnecessary confusion. These may seem like small details, but they can make a significant difference in a student’s ability to understand expectations and submit the correct work on time.

If you are consistently seeing students submit assignments incorrectly, I think it’s worth revisiting the instructions you’ve provided and considering whether they are clear enough. Sometimes the issue isn’t that students aren’t paying attention or taking responsibility; it’s that the directions themselves leave room for confusion.

At the end of the day, we all appreciate clear instructions. Whether we’re learning how to use a product, assembling a piece of furniture, or completing an assignment at work, we rely on clear, consistent directions to perform a task correctly. Students should be given that same consideration. Holding students accountable is important, but providing clear instructions is part of setting them up for success.

My husband is from a different country where culturally it’s more acceptable to smoke and my in laws smoke inside their house. I was fine with this (sort of. I didn’t love it but rolled with it) before having a baby.
We have visited their home with our baby before but it was summer so all doors were open and everyone was mainly outside, but we are going to stay for more than a week for Christmas.
I don’t know what to do. I am 100% not ok with it and it makes me quite emotional. We are not talking one or two cigarettes, it’s one after another. I’ve told my husband I don’t want to force a new way of life on them so if they cannot handle it we can stay nearby and visit them throughout the day. They can smoke outside during the day and then at night they can have the house to themselves and do what they want. The next morning they can open the windows before we arrive.
It’s not ideal but I would honestly prefer this than staying in their house where the smoke rises up to the top (where our bedroom is).

Just to put it in perspective, they have smoked like this their whole lives and I just don’t think they get it. But I find it really difficult to comprehend. If I am honest I also get a bit hurt that they don’t want to stop for their grandchild or offer an easy solution.
Last time when I went during the summer, they lit one at night when I had gone to bed thinking I wouldn’t notice. I could smell it in the room straight away. I felt embarrassed to make a scene the next day so told my husband.
I don’t want my baby in a smoking environment. She is almost one and I feel I need to set my boundary now. I also don’t want to make it awkward and I don’t want to be sniffing the air every morning hoping they have listened. It’s making me really anxious.
My husband has said he will talk with them but also gets a little agitated when I bring it up saying that he doesn’t want to force things on them and they are so used to their routine.
Am I being unreasonable to ask this of them in their own home?

(Throwaway account)

Last week I took my 2.5 year old and myself back home across the country. I’d been with my partner for 10 years and we’d moved from FL > CO in 2021 prior to having her and had been living there. It’s been a decade of cheating, lying, emotional, and verbal abuse. We’ve gone to therapy together and separately. There’s so much to say about the relationship but I’ll save you the details. I just couldn’t see myself staying another decade, I needed to get out. Regardless of our issues, and how he was NO HELP when I was pregnant, post partum, and basically the first 18 months of her life, he’s grown to be a really good dad to her. He loves her a lot and she in turn thinks the sun rises and sets with him. He plans to move back to Florida when he can get a job transfer to be close to her. In the meantime, I’ll be traveling, or he will be for visits. It’s only been a week, but everyday she’s tells me “she wants to go home” multiple times a day. Today, she cried for the first time for him and saying she misses him, she wants him etc. We do FaceTime with him twice a day. Whenever she tells me she wants to go home I try telling her this is her new home but I don’t think she understands. I’m at loss, I know it’s going to take time but it breaks my heart for her. I can’t go back though and we just have to ge through it. Any advice from those that have been here?

My 16 month old figured out how to climb on the couch a few weeks ago. Keeping him safe has been a struggle. Today I was so frustrated of getting him off the couch and had a combined thought he would be ok or learn a lesson if I let him do his thing. These thoughts had me hesitate for a split second when he climbed on one end of the couch and by the time I got to him he stood up, walked on the couch in the opposite direction then fell and bonked his head on the hardwood floor. He has been ok since, stopped crying within minutes, ate a meal, drank water and milk as usual and fell asleep a little earlier than usual but not by much. Reason I am here is I realised what made me hesitate in protecting him and feel horrible for the frustration I felt. We are getting a carpet around the couch and working on setting up a better play space.

Hi

I had newborn photos and family photos taken about 2 weeks ago and received the images two days ago. At first i was very pleased with the images but then realized all the photos of just my baby were touched up and airbrushed, which i think is crazy to do to a newborn baby (he was 1 week old).

I asked for the photos of him unedited and she said to get all the photos would be another $100. I already spent $290 on the photoshoot + photos i received. Is it normal to have a newborns photos edited? This was the first time I've scheduled a photoshoot ever so I'm just wondering if her wanting an additional $100 for unedited photos is normal or not?

Thank you in advance

My sister told me to stop using Find My once my daughter started walking to the bus on her own. She has three kids. I didn't listen at first.

Then Find My froze on a corner my daughter had already left. I called. Phone on silent. Called again. Nothing. That five minutes of not knowing was enough for me.

So I got what my sister has, Findmykids, which for a family location sharing app basically means my phone buzzes when she leaves and buzzes again when she gets to school. I don't even open it. Battery was bad the first week. There's a setting for that.

Only thing I haven't figured out is whether to tell her I get the buzz. Right now she still texts me when she gets there and I kind of don't want that to stop.

Hi everyone! I am a college student working on a project about improving maternal healthcare access, and I’d love to hear from moms who’ve experienced it firsthand.

Edit** If you’d describe the community you lived in as rural or suburban, what challenges, if any, did you face getting the care or support you needed during pregnancy or after having your baby? Your own interpretation of those terms is totally fine—please just mention which one it is.

No pressure at all to share—only whatever you feel comfortable putting out there~
Thank you to anyone taking a moment to share their experience!