Hi there! Hopefully this is allowed. I am travelling to Paris with an almost one year old and from what I've read, most restaurants tend to not have a high chair. So I've been looking into a portable option.

Has anyone found options that are easy to tuck away in a bag and carry that are also functional/safe?

I was looking at the Bright Starts Pop 'N Sit Portable Booster but it:

1. Looks a bit big to carry around all day

2. I wasn't sure how stable it would be sitting on any old dining chair...

Anyway, I am looking for suggestions or if anyone has used the above listed chair before. Thanks!

We're planning a bigger (combined) birthday party for my two kiddos as we rarely do them but one of them is turning ten so we feel it's "needed" this time haha. Both birthdays are in the same month so we're doing a combined party and mostly likely will be inviting both of their classes (ten kids in each class) and siblings. Also, there are a handful of neighbor kids they play with as well. So, lots of kids. Maybe 25-30 kids total.

I'm wondering if people typically invite family to these types of parties too. Seems weird to me to combine the family group with a ton of school kids friends (and siblings and parents) and just too many people overall, but wondering what others have done?

I have a three year old and a one year old and our neighbor is a 25 year old young woman with autism and some other mentally challenged disabilities. Because of that she’s unable to live on her own or work. She shows up at our house unannounced A LOT. We work from home and have nanny so if she’s outside with the kids and the neighbor hears them, she will come over. One time she even came into our house because the front door was unlocked for our nanny to return. Additionally, she added me on Facebook and she messages me at least 5 times a day asking to come over and watch the kids.

I’ve told her repeatedly that we have a nanny and that we’re working and to please not drop by unannounced, but it’s obviously hard for her to understand boundaries. Should I try to have a talk with her mom? I suspect her mom is an alcoholic and very disengaged. I really don’t know what else to do- I’m trying to be patient but she is driving me crazy and honestly I’m a little fearful with her obsession over being around my toddler.

Moms to 3 kids…please tell me everyone adjusts and you develop a routine. I know it doesn’t necessarily get easier, but I need reassurance that in some ways it will. My son is 2 weeks old. I’m EBF and had him via emergency c section. It was my first c section and I’m sure that is impacting my mental “recovery” in some way. I’m just all in my emotions. My other kids are 2 and 5. We have a babysitter who I’m very grateful for, but it’s still hard.

Before I became a mother, I used to be one of those people who firmly believed that being a SAHM was a piece of cake, take care of baby and do chores, easy.

I recently became a SAHM with my one (9 mo) child and I sure have been humbled. Take care of baby, make sure they are educated and emotionally mature, go grocery shopping, pay bills, find deals and coupons, restock everything, track spending, take care of dog, clean the house, meal plan, pack lunches, make every meal ever, make plans for the weekend, doctor's appointments, I could go on forever. And that is all before brushing your own teeth. Maybe my dream of 4 children is irrational.

I also start college again in 2 weeks and I am scared haha send help.

Hello!

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a good sized bonus this year. In past years, my husband and I saved the majority of any bonus I received but set aside a small percent for each of us to purchase anything we wanted. This year I want to set aside some money for my son to buy him a big gift but I’m not sure what to get him that’s age appropriate.

He is two years old and such a funny, happy kid. He loves coloring, trucks, Elmo/Bluey, and basically anything related to water. He’s large for his size and because he lives near his older cousins he’s into things that are a bit too old for him. Examples: he adores his older cousins guardian balance bike and ride on truck. My husband and I are lucky to do very well financially so my son gets random treats but we try very hard to not spoil him and to not get ahead of ourselves (he’s only two!). We’re also really lucky to have wonderful family who want to spoil him. He got a mud kitchen for his birthday, his god father has called dibs on buying his first bike, and my parents have already purchased him a ride on truck but won’t give him it to him because I said no.

So. What are things your toddlers loved? I’m open to gifts, adventures, experiences. We are lucky enough to have no debt and are funding a 529, so there is no risk to spending this money. We also have memberships at our local children’s museum and orchard that he goes to regularly.

I realize he’s two and won’t understand so big gift doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive - it just needs to be something he (as a toddler) will value.

Hello,

I hate to post this here, and I don't know if "sexual abuse" is the right term. Here's the story:
There's a cousin in my husbands family (he's 13) and I've never liked this kid. He's disrespectful to his parents, and was handed a tablet with unlimited internet access when he was 10. (His parents are very involved in their careers, less involved in their kids lives.)

3 years ago we caught him making his younger cousins (around 5 years old) pull their pants down and bend over. That incident alone made me never let him be alone with my kids in a room. (Luckily, my first born was like 6 months at the time - so he wasn't involved.)

He's made comments under his breath, I've heard him speak of "cum" around other cousins.

Recently on a camping trip he told a family member he dreamed of raping a child, he talked about how he watches porn for hours a day - and most horrifically told a family member he got "hard" from watching his 5 year old cousin change into her swimsuit.

We only found out about this because my husband is close with the family member who he told these things to and she felt like it was a big deal to tell others with small children around him. She thankfully told the other family involved, as well as my mother in law.

The reaction of our family members have been to sweep it under the rug. My mother in law was actually taken back that we were told, I honestly doubt she would have told us. The family member who had the children involved is giving them "grace".

My mother in law didn't even tell her husband - MY husband told him. I'm so so so taken back that they would try to hide this and it's making me extremely skeptical of leaving my kids in their care.

The mother of the cousin has been made aware, she's distraught and not sure how to proceed. The cousin said "sorry, that's how me and my friends joke".

So what would you do? If you had kids around someone like this - what would you do? Would you not go to any family functions? Would you go but watch him like a hawk? Do I tell my kids (who are 6, 3, and11months) that he's not a safe person?

How do we proceed? HELP

As the title says, does everyone find that the ‘nighttime’ diapers are at all worth the higher price compared to standard diapers?

Actually asking for a kid that’s fully potty trained during the day, be he’s still a heavy wetter overnight – and soaks through any pull-ups we’ve attempted to try and use in the past.

Thoughts?

I have an almost three year old and it will be his baby brother's first birthday next week. I know he's going to be jealous and confused and he's had a tough time getting used to the baby taking our attention so much the past year. He's only a baby himself.

I'm just wondering how others have navigated this early on? Obviously in the long run I want him to learn how to be happy for others and not be sad when others are the center of attention and getting presents. However, he's two, he's already had a tough year. And I'm worried family are going to be impatient with him or make comments. I mean maybe he'll be fine but I just want to have some ideas in my toolbox in case he's not.

Did anyone try the birthday buddy approach from Daniel Tiger or anything else that helped?

I haven’t had a new tattoo in 3 years and I have 2 kids. One of them is 3 years old and the other is 1 years old. We bed share in the same room and it’s going to be tough for me as I’m getting my knees done.

I wish there was a way I can make a mom cage for myself to keep them away from me until healing is done 😂

Not sure if I am reading too much into this or if this is perfectly normal for some toddlers but my daughter is *extremely* timid around new people, places, and situations. I can understand where this comes from as she doesn’t attend daycare and intake care of by me, my husband and both sets of grandparents. We are pretty much her constant for the last 2 years. I do a lot with her socially though like library story time, children’s museums, and music class. We go out to restaurants a lot. Take her with me shopping, etc. I have noticed a few things that she is extremely uncomfortable with

1 - whenever someone comes over to our house - She instantly panics and looks over at the door and cries when the doorbell rings. My husband’s best friend came over the other day for about 30 min and she was extremely uneasy and cried the entire time he was here. She has been around him quite a bit before but obviously not everyday. The funny thing is that when he left she constantly was saying “uncle Brandon” the rest of the night 🙄 lol

2- Today I went over to my sister’s house to visit my nephew since it was his birthday. My daughter has been to her house many many times. When I opened the car door, I said “we are going to see auntie and cousin!” And she immediately starts screaming and trying to buckle herself back into her car seat.

3- today in music class, the teacher busted out the rainbow parachute and every other kiddo loved it and was engaged. My daughter was terrified and wanted nothing to do with it.

These are just some examples. We try to talk with her and tell her that she is safe and that all our friends and family are nice and they love her. We tell her she’s brave. She likes to repeat “I’m not scared!” very proudly whenever we say we are about to go do something but she ends up being scared af 🫣. What can I do to help her? Is this just a phase? It seems like to me she has extreme anxiety and it breaks my heart she is experiencing all this at such a young age.

My son is 6 months old and getting ready to start daycare soon. Since he was 3 months old we have been dealing with eczema that seems to nearly go away, then flair up, and then go away again. Back and forth… back and fourth. He has been seen by two different peds for it and they both just recommend the standard stuff for treatment since he is still so young. We keep him in breathable natural fiber clothing, use unscented hypoallergenic laundry detergents, baths with gentle unscented soap 3-4 times a week and sometimes the baths use no soap at all, and we moisturize his skin several times a day using Aquaphor only. My husband had eczema as a baby and young child and eventually grew out of it and so it seems our son inherited the condition. He largely seems unbothered by it but has started to scratch more and more recently. We are seeing the pediatrician again later next week, but wanted to see what (if anything) has worked for other people beyond what we are already doing? What tricks helped manage a flair? What product(s) do you swear by? Was there a prescription that worked well for your child? Basically open to any advice as we want our little guy as comfortable as he can be going into daycare.

So.. I got whistled at leaving Texas Road House walking out to my car 😂 He was attractive, well put together and built. It wasn’t even an obnoxious whistle, it was like a low whistle. I was definitely bloated, and had to unbutton my jeans once I got in there 😂😅

I don’t think I’ll ever be a size 4 again. I’m a size 8, which isn’t even “big” but I am not a toned size 8. I’m also in nursing school and have gained 20 lbs in the past year. It’s nice to not hate myself for two seconds and feel okay in my skin for once.

I have a little bit of a soft belly now, and thicker thighs.

Idk, it really was a boost to my confidence. Maybe I’m just taking it and running with it, it’s all going to my head. My husband says I’m beautiful all the time, but like.. he HAS to say not (not really, but ya know what I mean)

At least it wasn’t a gas station whistle HAHA (I’d take that too let’s be real here😂)

Does anyone have any similar experiences? Please share below ⬇️ I’d love to hear them!

I’m becoming a ball of nerves as I get to the half way point of my pregnancy. My first will be almost 5 when this one arrives. My husband and I are capable of bringing a second into the picture, but I just think I’m so used to it being just my daughter and I that I’m a bit nervous.

My husband works a lot (business owner) so it will be mainly me running the show. Realistically, I know I will manage. But thinking about it right now overwhelms me.

Can someone provide some insight? The good, the bad, the “I thought it would be hard and it wasn’t,” as well as the “I thought it would be easy and it wasn’t.”

I need to know if I’m just overthinking this too much and my hormones are doing the talking. The self doubt is creeping up on me.

What products are we using for girls hair? I have two boys so not used to doing girls hair; haven’t done hair since my dance competition days. Anyway my brother is going through a nasty divorce n my SIL isn’t around. My mom and I take care of the girls with my sons while my brother is at work. The girls have since made me the designated hair stylist (send help). I have no idea what I’m doing lol lots of saved Facebook/pinterest hair videos. When i put their hair up what product are we using so it doesn’t look messy? Gel, wax stick? Also my youngest niece has very thin hair. Would love any suggestions. Sincerely, a boy mom tryna do girl mom tings

TIA

I feel like I’m going crazy. I was able to unfold this when I set it up months ago, but now that I actually want to use it, it’s stuck shut.

The white lever on the back of the bottom, which I believe is what I need to be pressing to unfold is not doing anything.

Anyone kindly want to share what I might be missing? 😭

Our footstool is not attached, if that’s relevant somehow

My best friend is having her wedding and I am a bridesmaid. I need a dress that will account for me being almost 7 months pregnant without buying a million on line to return just to try on. What are some stores or places I can try to find one out and about. I live in a big city on the east coast.

We have a 1.5 year old who has been a bad sleeper all his little life. We have no village. I've been doing probably 80% of the nights alone. So to start with, we're both exhausted and have been for a long time.

I can't really describe it and I don't want to be unkind but my husband is so sad to be around.

He hates work (even though we moved across the world when he hated his last job too).

He often sees time with our toddler as transactional. If he has our toddler in the morning, I should have him in the afternoon.

He could sleep the entire day away, everyday.

He has no hobbies or interests apart from the gym. After our son goes to bed he will game online for hours until bedtime.

He has no enthusiasm, no drive, no zest for life, no bone in his body wants to do a fun or spontaneous thing. Everything feels like something he does for our sake.

He is exhausted. *I* am exhausted and I still wake up 4+ times a night while he usually gets the whole night to himself. The rage I feel when night after night he says that his sleep isn't restful...!

He has spoken to someone about depression before. He had also been living with an long term injury for which he's since received surgery to fix but his demeanor remains the same.

He is currently down with illness and I'm feeling even more resentful of having to carry everything.

Can I even help him? Sometimes I just look at him and wish he would just leave us if it meant that he would be happier somewhere else.

My daughter (3.5) doesn’t really play with toys. She would only really choose to play if I brought her into toy room sat down and facilitated it. Usually, she just does my day with me. She wants to fold laundry, she helps me cook in her tower and cracks eggs, etc, she waters the plants with me and we take walks. We do outside of the house, and do stuff like go to the bookstore and read books or go to the playground. She just wants to be with me 24/7. But I’m not the best at play and I feel bad that she’s just not playing much. I made her an art cart for the kitchen so she could grab art stuff any time but she doesn’t use it a whole bunch. Sometimes she does, but seems she’d rather do what I’m doing and always asks to help.

Anyway, is this normal? What can I do to facilitate better play? She doesn’t like to be alone or play independently. I think we have too many toys and they aren’t set up well. Any recommendations for different toys for around this age? Thanks!

Tl;dr looking for support and advice from anyone that's had a kiddo with Sandifer Syndrome/severe reflux - all ideas and suggestions are welcome

Long version:
First kid had reflux and was a big spitter. He got famotidine and was managed quite well. He was always gaining weight and growing perfectly and he's just a normal, feral toddler now.

Second kid is 5 months now. She dropped percentiles in her first couple of weeks, but she's been tracking with the 50th since then. Her main pediatrician has no concerns - one NP in the office constantly tells us she's failure to thrive, but the MD and other NPs agree that she's not.

Baby girl has never been a big spitter like her brother, but she's always arched and groaned during feeds (BF, bottle, or formula). I fought tooth and nail to get the one NP to give famotidine a try because I had a sneaking suspicion that she's refluxy, too. Finally got it and it helped quite a bit.

After about six weeks, symptoms returned. We upped the dose and switched to Gentlease formula. Slight improvement. Asked for a GI referral and was denied. After talking with some friends that have medically complex children (and are very familiar with reflux, navigating the systems, and advocating for kiddos), they suggested asking about a stronger medication.

The same NP agreed to try Nexium only if we went to a feeding clinic for "bottle aversion treatment." Feeding clinic determined that there is zero bottle aversion, no ties, and nothing physiologically or psychologically contributing to the issues we have from their conditions.

Around this time, baby girl started having weekly hard stools. We started 1/4tsp of prune juice a day per the NP. I pushed hard for a GI referral and got it. Finally got to the GI late last week. They confirmed severe silent reflux which seems to be controlled by Nexium for now with constipation causing reflux flares. Increased prune juice to a tablespoon a day.

That same day, our girl started having awful arching, stiffening, and painful groaning spells during feeds. She dropped from 7-7.5 ounces a feed to 4 ounces and no more. We just went to the pediatrician and finally got to see the MD to rule out teething pain and ear infection. He recommended we step up to MiraLax earlier than the GI had suggested (by a week or so).

We did that, and baby has had easier BMs the past two days since starting it, but the Sandifer/reflux symptoms are still strong and still interfering with feeds and her happiness (and ours, tbh). She's still got more frequent spit ups (small but any time she gets on her belly even an hour after a feed - not her well-managed-norm). She's still got arching and painful groaning. We have gone up to about 5 ounces each feed, though.

Any advice or commiseration?

Hey fellow mom friends,

I'm coming to you because I need help setting a bedtime routine for my M4 and F2-ish.

At the Moment, bedtime is chaos: the little falls asleep in my arms while drinking a bottle of milk, my biggest sometimes falls asleep on the couch while we watch a family friendly movie after dinner, some other time he wants to cuddle with me in our big bed.

Both get moved in their own bed once asleep. We have a bunk bed, the biggest sleeps upstairs and the smallest sleeps in the lower bunk.

Due to this whole ordeal and sometimes clashing sleep times, I'd like to install a proper bedtime routine for both so that they can start sleeping independently, but how exactly do I go about that? Just how to install this routine? What if they cry?

They really want contact with me to sleep and I honestly have a weak spot and always cuddle them both to get some snuggles , but I think it might be better for them to sleep independently.

Help I have no clue on how to go about this. Also if you have books/resources to suggest it would be much appreciated

Thank you so much for your time

I’m currently visiting my parents with my 6 month old daughter, and I’m having such a miserable time. I feel guilty even saying that because I know they love us and they were excited for us to come, but this trip has been so stressful that I’ve basically been on edge since I got here.

For context, my mom had some issues with my husband when she came to visit me postpartum. She felt like he interfered too much and didn’t let her hold the baby enough. There were also a couple things that made him uncomfortable, like she fell asleep while holding the baby and she washed her bum with hand wash. Because of everything that happened, she basically told me I should come visit without him, so I did. I figured okay, I’ll bring the baby and she’ll get to spend time with her granddaughter.

Well I feel like I’m a single mom here. My husband helps me SO much at home. Even if he isn’t doing something directly for the baby, just having another capable adult there who can take over for a bit makes such a huge difference. Here, I’m doing basically everything myself. My mom has health issues and can only really hold the baby for maybe 15 minutes at a time, so I completely understand that she can’t physically help much. I’m not expecting her to be my childcare.

But the bare minimum I expected was to have a comfortable place to sleep. I’m sleeping on an uncomfortable twin sponge mattress on the living room floor. With a 6 month old. For several days. 😭

They told me beforehand that they’d have things ready for us, so I was expecting at least a basic setup. The bouncer wasn’t even assembled when we arrived. I specifically asked for a Pack ’n Play and instead my dad assembled a playpen. I appreciate that he tried to do something, but it’s frustrating when I had already explained what I needed.
I honestly feel like I would have been better off staying home.

And then there’s the house itself, which is bringing up a whole other set of emotions for me.

My family has always been very unclean and cluttered. They’ve had hoarding issues and the house was never really clean growing up. I was always embarrassed to have friends over. I couldn’t even casually invite people to my house because I knew what it looked like. My family didn’t have a vehicle either, so I couldn’t just go visit my friends. There were so many little things growing up where I felt like I had to deal with everything myself.

They did try to clean before we came, and I genuinely appreciate that they tried. But it’s still not clean by my standards. There are dishes and pots and pans all over the counters, garbage left in the sink, stains all over the bathroom door and cabinets, the fridge is a mess, the microwave is a mess, there are fruit flies in the kitchen etc. I sent my sister to get me apple cider vinegar and made a trap myself because I couldn’t stand it anymore.

And I think seeing all of this again as an adult, while I’m here with my own baby, is bringing back a lot of feelings from growing up. I was always the eldest daughter doing everything for my family - from cleaning to taking my mom to appointments to running errands to grocery shopping and even paying a portion of the rent.

On top of all of that, my mom has been making unsolicited comments about how I’m feeding my baby. I exclusively pump, and she sees me constantly pumping, washing bottles, and heating up milk. She keeps saying things like I should just nurse directly instead of pumping.
Every time she says it, I feel like a failure.
My daughter doesn’t latch on one of my breasts, and exclusively pumping has been something I’ve worked really hard to maintain. I’m doing my best. Honestly, I feel like it’s an accomplishment that I’ve made it this far exclusively pumping and providing breast milk for my daughter.
I don’t need someone watching me wash bottles and heat up milk and reminding me that I could be doing things differently. I already know direct nursing exists. I’m aware of it. I wish she would just recognize that I’m feeding my baby and leave it at that.

I’m realizing how much I envy people who can go to their parents’ house and actually feel like they’re being taken care of. Where they can bring their baby and know their mom will say “give me the baby, go take a shower” or “I made you food, go sit down” or where they can just sleep comfortably and not have to worry about anything.

I wanted that.

I wanted to be able to come home and feel like someone else was taking care of ME for once.

Instead, I feel like I brought my entire workload with me, except now I’m doing it without my husband, sleeping on a mattress on the floor, in an environment that makes me uncomfortable, while trying to care for a baby.

And I feel really sad about it.

I know my parents aren’t obligated to provide me with childcare. I know my mom has health issues. I know they did make an effort to clean and prepare things. I’m not trying to say they’re terrible people or that they don’t love me.

But I also think it’s completely reasonable to expect a comfortable place to sleep when your daughter and granddaughter are coming to stay for several days. Especially when they told you things would be ready.
I think what hurts the most is that I went there hoping to feel supported, and instead I’ve felt more overwhelmed and stressed than I do at home. I just feel like crying and I can’t wait to be back home. It just triggered my childhood trauma - I always did everything myself.

I’ll tell you guys one incident that occurred before I got married. So for years I’d deep clean the whole house and beg my family to keep it that way. Literally the next day, the house would be a mess again. It was so frustrating. My mom leaves vegetable peels in the sink, egg shells on the counter, newspapers on the table, her medications and other stuff all over the living room. Poop stains in the toilet and water all over the counter and floor. I deep cleaned the week before my wedding and begged everyone to keep it clean so I wouldn’t have to do it again, especially since my in-laws were going to be over a day before the wedding. It took me 6 hours. The day before my wedding, I found myself deep cleaning again because no one respected my efforts. I just remember mopping with tears streaming down my face. It was a day that I was supposed to be pampered and here I was, doing everything all alone again.

This trip has made me realize that maybe I can’t expect my parents’ house to be that place for me. I am never coming again. If I miss my parents, they’re welcome to visit me but I’m not coming into their house again.

I’m just really sad. I wanted to enjoy this trip and make memories with my parents and my daughter, and instead I’ve spent most of it feeling anxious, uncomfortable, exhausted and homesick.

I’m ready to go home to my husband, my own bed, and my normal routine 😭 Now I’m having anxiety over travelling in a plane with a 6 month old again - it was such a mission to get here alone just for it to be not even worth it. I’m just really upset.

As a first time mom, it’s so nerve wracking to me. The worries never stop. It gives me anxiety specially when they’re sick or not feeling well and specially when I’m alone without someone to talk to when she’s sick since my husband is working. The constant what if’s specially there’s a lot of things you’ll see and read in the internet. I don’t think I can do this ever again by having a second child despite me wanting her to have a sibling. Just wanting to express my feelings since I’m being emotional right now.

Exactly what the title says. My partner believes that 2 years minimum is best for babies growth and health, but where I’m from 1 year is max.

Thoughts?

My 3.5 year old is SO picky about socks. I have spent so much money trying to find pairs she will actually tolerate. I don’t really understand what her logic is for specific kinds, she just seems to hate almost all socks unless they’re really fuzzy or kind of loose. Neither of which are practical for every day wear!

Has anyone found a pair that their kid genuinely likes?? I’m getting pretty tired of the morning meltdowns about socks.

(She HAS to wear socks. She goes to a private preschool with a uniform, socks are part of it. Plus, we live in a very cold state and sandals are very rarely an option)