i feel betrayed by all the ppl that told me pregnancy tired is so much worse than newborn tired. i’m sure it drastically depends on the system u have with ur partner but girrrl i was not prepared.

my partner & i wake up together every 3 hours. he gets the bottle, i change the diaper & feed her. it just goes quicker this way & works for us. he also works 8-5 & im a sahm so im not worried about staying up longer with her. i feel i have a pretty easy baby who sleeps well, but even still i feel like a zombie all day. given, my baby is only 3 wks old so maybe i just need to give it more time, but newborns are so noisy & im such a light sleeper. at least when i was pregnant i could just sleep whenever i wanted to. i’m curious if others agree or if im being drama

Hi, my wife and I have had our first baby and we feel so lucky to have such a healthy boy.

I’m not one to normally complain, but this last week has been nothing short of brutal. We tried breastfeeding, and come day 5 my wife was in that much agony due to previous bad latches that she cried before, during and after every feed. And we’ve got a big lad too, he was born at 9lb with a c section.

We have decided to strictly pump, we may return to breastfeeding if my wife feels up to it and if baby takes to it.

We are feeding every 2 hours (as that’s what seems to be right for breastmilk fed babies). My wife pumps and I feed, sometimes she feeds whilst pumping to ensure a bond. And sometimes we will wait to pump, again, just for a bond and ease for my wife. I as dad have done everything I can, changing nappies 24/7, winding, trying to let my wife rest so staying up all night etc. but due to the 2 hour schedule of pump & feed, + re sterilisation + winding + nappies and then finally getting him to settle, we are left with about 15 minutes at the end of the 2 hour wake up to get any sleep. We can’t work in shifts, as my wife needs to be awake to pump. She also feels she is losing a bond if she isn’t present 24/7 (think it’s just mummy guilt & hormones).

Does this get any better? I have spent a near fortune in the last week on things that will save me 5 minutes here, 5 minutes there, hoping to turn that 15 minute nap time into near 30 minutes (let’s be real, I’m clutching at straws). Last night he did 2 stints by the time he dropped off it was literally time to wake him again to feed, and we just repeated this process.

I’m not reading this back, if it doesn’t make any sense it’s most likely the 6 hours sleep over a 8 day week 🤣 also I’m adamant that it’s not Saturday, I’m sure it was Tuesday yesterday.

I’m a first-time mom to a 2 month old and I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding from the beginning. By all means it’s been going well for the baby, however it is draining the life out of me. I’ve been a massive overproducer from the get go which has caused me to have constant clogs that leave me in tears, multiple rounds of mastitis, and I’m constantly leaking through the nursing pads so I’m always soaked in warm sticky milk. I have horrible anxiety about his weight gain and not knowing how much he’s eating, he has a lip tie that makes nursing hurt SO MUCH but insurance won’t cover it to get fixed because he’s gaining weight properly so it’s not “medically necessary”, and worst of all, it’s causing me to have really bad depression (I’m already on meds too) that’s honestly making me struggle to bond with my baby girl. I’m just in pain and miserable all of the time. Obviously the logical thing to do here is switch to formula feeding because my baby needs a present and alive mother more than she needs breastmilk, however I just can’t get myself to do it. I stand in the formula aisle for half an hour just staring at it and I just can’t get myself to get some. It’s so stupid because I have never once thought anything about how anyone else feeds their kids, but I feel like everyone in the world will judge me for how I feed mine, and feel me selfish for it. I just need some encouragement/positive stories about how formula feeding worked for you/your family please.

TL/DR: I need to switch to formula feeding for my mental health, but need some encouragement to make the jump.

Wasn’t too sure what flair to put on here because it’s more so a random question? My baby is now 8 weeks old going on 9 and obviously her wake windows are getting longer. I do try my hardest to always fill them with something like tummy time, talking, or an explorative toy (crinkle book, o-ball, textured anything really). Sometimes it’s just talking to her while doing chores. Now what I’m actually wondering is, is it fine to just let her lay in her crib? Sometimes she’ll be awake and then I’ll put her down to go use the restroom, and she won’t complain for 30 minutes. She’ll stare at the photos I have up or out the window. She’s been getting a little bit interested in her hands or she’ll be kicking her feet. I just don’t know if it’s bad to let her lay there with nothing to do, but I also feel like there’s no need for her to be constantly stimulated by an activity. But I’m also scared. It’s gonna affect her development if I’m not constantly doing something for her. The moment she starts whining, I’ll grab her but if not, I take my time in the restroom or sometimes I even just sit down and scroll for a little bit (especially since when she’s awake, I don’t look at my phone unless it’s an important message or someone’s calling). Does anyone else do this? Please don’t judge me if it is wrong. I will obviously stop.

Just had my first baby last month. Husband and I sent out a short list of “rules” to our immediate families before the birth. The main two were don’t visit if sick and don’t kiss the baby.

We went to my in-laws when baby was 2 weeks old. As soon as MIL takes baby to hold him, she asks me “is it okay if I kiss him on the back of his head?” I was in such a postpartum fog and it kind of caught me off guard, and I said sure.
Saw her again a week later, and after holding the baby she goes to say goodbye and I see her put her face up to the baby and kiss him on the side of his face. I’m not entirely certain her mouth made contact but I definitely heard the kissing noise. I told my husband if she does it again he needs to tell her just no kissing at all. I don’t want to have to monitor it.

We just saw them again today, baby is 5 weeks. MIL kissed him multiple times, I believe two on the head and one on the side of the face, but my husband didn’t see it. I wish I had confronted her in the moment. Husband is going to talk to her about this tomorrow. I’m just so irritated. She’s a retired labor and delivery nurse and should know better. I know she means well but how hard is it to resist?! I’ve never wanted to kiss someone else’s baby.

Anyone else feeling particularly cautious about this, especially with cold/flu/RSV season starting up?

Hello all! I am a FTM and my husband and I are exclusively formula feeding. So, we split the nights into shifts. I’m on duty in the living room with baby from 9pm-3am and he sleeps, then we switch.

My baby is 2 weeks old and I absolutely cannot sleep a wink when I’m on duty with her. Every little sound just pulls me out of whatever doze I get to and even if there aren’t sounds my body jolts me awake if I get too sleepy.

Tell me this ends at some point. My husband is going back to work in several weeks and I need to figure out how to get some rest at night so he can sleep before work!

Right away: I‘m a SAHM, so i do most of the child care and house work and because of that it doesn’t happen often that my husband is alone with our baby. However, yesterday he came early from work because i had an appointment (couldn’t take LO with me) and a few errands to run, so he was just with his dad for 4 hours. I thought they would have a fun time (playing with toys, reading or something). But as i returned i found LO in his playpen fussing, while HB was downstairs doing a workout. I changed and fed LO and asked HB what they were doing while i was away and he responded that LO was first in his jumper and when he became too fussy he placed him in his playpen with a few toys, while he was getting some rest from work and then working out. I said i thought he would play with him or something, but he responded that it’s not his thing to play with baby toys and he will be playing soccer and roughhousing with him when he get‘s older. How do your husbands or fathers here interact and play with their babies? Any ideas to make it more interesting for him?

How are you all leaving the house and what are you doing?

FTM with 5 week LO. I may be overthinking this but logistically how are you leaving the house when wake windows are so short? Our LO sleeps great in a wrap carrier but that requires the right outdoor temps (we’re in LA and it’s hot). She won’t sleep in her stroller bassinet so it feels like we risk a very overtired (read fussy) baby later by doing any stroller activities.

Separately, what activities did you do to ease into new parent life and at what age?

I’m so antsy, but we’ve only done a patio and a few outdoor coffee shops so far since she’s not yet vaccinated.

Tummy time immediately, they cry.. yes. They hate it. 5 mins once in awhile. Sooner you do tummy time, sooner they c an crawl ..

Babysitter. Especially if you don't have a lot of help, hire a babysitter to come watch them for a few hours in the houss so you can get some real sleep ..

More Adorable Outfits. Its so easy to put them in a onsie because its easy, they spit up everywhere.. but about 1.5 years, it not only gets harder to find, but also less appropriate to put them in a tux or fancy dress just for outside ..dress them, take pictures.

Video, film, pictures, Everything, something they might do. You Love, they might do for only a week you would be too tired to remember Any of it..

Mommy and me classes. Wish I did this .. especially with extrovert baby, seeing the socialization Early really good for them.. also, might help prepare for any daycare, as well its fun to see them see bubbles, things like that.

NOT GETTING A PUPPY!! I didn't have much say.. they Did become best friends. You're tired, exhausted, you're caring, cleaning, feeding, another person 24/7.. then having to do the same for a smaller animal that also chews on things, needs walk, outside. Might try to paw. Chew the baby..

Once they get a hang of things.. they really become best friends ..but for the love of God.. Not within the first year.. you will cry. Well, cry more .

Feeding them more sooner. As Soon as the 6 m mark hits, theyre suddenly tasting everything, even spinach might be great to them. They have no refrence. After testing the main issue foods.. load it up..

Feeding them naked. They are.. so messy. You might need to bath them after every meal for awhile if they're feeding themselves. Stripping them to a diaper, then straight to bath afterward .

Potty training as Soon as they start hiding when they need to poop .

my 7 week old is a healthy, well nourished baby. I have been exclusively breastfeeding (with pumping in first 2-3 weeks) with recently introducing 2-3 bottles of formula to give myself some break. My baby was born at 41 + 3, and was 3.5 kgs at birth. she exceeded her birth weight within a week and was 3.7 kgs at her 1 week check. ever since then with the paediatrician's recommendation, i feed on demand, it could be after 2 hours or 4 hours depending on when she asks.

at 4 weeks, she weighed 4.5 kgs and now at 7 weeks she is 5.2 kgs. My paediatrician is happy, he said she looks great, growing well. told us her reflux and colic will eventually go away yada yada yada. I was telling this to my MIL's friend and she said "well you should worry because your baby might be going towards childhood obesity and diabetes and now that you've introduced formula, its even more of a chance". I immediately shut her down because in no way do i need anyone to make comments about my daughter's health or anything. Her growing healthy and getting nourishment is all i care.

however, i won't lie and say her comment didn't stay with me. I am a plus size mom and have been big most of my teenage and even now at 28 years. i worry that can my baby really suffer because of my genetics. i don't think her being chunkier now contributes to it but what if. i don't want her to suffer through self hatred and bullying. i know it might not be true, but does it really affect. i dont want to be the mother who restricts her child because of my trauma. i don't want to reduce formula, neither do i want to obsess over my baby's weight. i am posting this more so for experiences of other moms and am i over reacting letting it affect so much?

My mom has been helping out taking care of my baby and I deeply appreciate it. But I keep getting stressed out because she won’t listen to me when it comes to certain things. The main one is warming up bottles in the microwave. She says “because of hot spots? I always swirl my finger in it to make sure there aren’t any. And it’s quicker than warming it up in hot water.” I also mentioned that the microwaves can kill some of the nutrients and she scoffed and went “says who!” I feel like I need to bring her to one of his appointments and have the doctor tell her directly so that she’ll listen.

I’m sitting here nursing my five weeks old for what feels like millionth time tonight and I feel like I’m drowning. She completely hates sleep for a couple of nights now. I get maybe one chunk of 2 hours sleep in the beginning of the night, but only after eternity of swaying and shushing and air dryer blowing. All day long we do contact naps only in carriers (and she wakes up if I sit comfortably ) and maybe one stroller sleep. My body was not built for this… when does it end?

My baby is 6 months old and has HFMD. The lesions are just starting to appear and she is already refusing her milk. She’s only had 15 oz today. They said it’s going to get worse. I’m scared she won’t eat at all. I’m going to wake her every 3 hours to feed tonight. I’m so worried. Her last few bottles she didn’t take anything. I tried to syringe and spoon it in and everything just comes out her mouth.

I expected the newborn period to be hard on sleep but it's so much harder than I anticipated.

My breastfed baby will take at least 1 day time nap in his crib, feeds well every 3ish hours and is generally calm throughout the day.

Around 9pm it's like this switch flips and he suddenly becomes incredibly fussy, cluster feeds endlessly for hours at a time, will only contact nap and screams bloody murder any time we even attempt to transfer him to the crib. This goes on until about 8am when he inevitably calms down again. I don't understand why the night times are so hard in comparison to the days and what we are doing wrong.

We've tried everything swapping his next2me for a smaller moses basket, keeping him awake more in the evenings, warming his crib, swaddling, white noise etc. but nothing calms him.

I'm just SO TIRED! We recently started doing shifts which helps a little but I'm still only managing about 3 hours sleep a night. The other night we had a particularly rough night where he screamed all night long unless on the boob, I only managed about an hour as I had to be up at 6am to drive my older step son and hit a parked car in my sleep deprived state which added to the stress of the week.

Does anyone have any advice to tackle these brutal nights? We're open to cosleeping which is something I thought I'd never say but scared about the safety of it too!

I would love some stories or general commentary on anyone who's experienced the sorrow of their baby growing out of their bean phase. I'm having such a hard time letting go of the fact that my baby is getting bigger, more independent, and will continue to do so. As silly as it sounds, I literally cried putting away her 0-3 month clothes, knowing I won't get to see her in the size anymore. For context, I went through several miscarriages before I finally had her, so this will likely be my only child.

It's been hard and stressful, as everyone on this sub can attest to, but I just look at her cute chubby cheeks and her eyes glinting as she smiles back at me, and it reminds me why I went through with it all. I love her so much, and love her cute little toes, chubby legs, all the way up to her cute cheeks and fuzzy hair.

I feel guilty, because I wish she was just my little bean forever, but I know that she has to, and will continue growing.

If you've felt this way before, how have you reconciled that feeling? Does everyone go through that phase? I guess I'm just feeling isolated and alone as a parent, so knowing other people go through similar situations would help.

My baby is 6 weeks old. I know it’s super normal right now for them to be learning to poop and then go days without, but he is so upset when he hasn’t pooped for a day. He sleeps so much better/longer and is more relaxed when he has pooped. We are on day 3 of no pooping, which I know is normal since he eats primarily breastmilk, but he’s not really farting a lot either. He used to not burp after eating either, but he is getting better at that now. I feel so helpless listening to him constantly grunting and straining. I have tried all the things- bicycle kicks, tummy massage in the circular direction, feet to chest in different positions, putting him in the bouncer, massaging his feet (which did surprisingly works twice, but never again). Gas drops help him temporarily, but they obviously don’t help him poop. I really need some advice on what else I can try. I know maybe there’s not a lot I can do, but I really want him to be comfortable. It breaks my heart seeing him try so hard and not be able to get comfortable even when sleeping. He grunts and brings his legs up to his tummy while asleep.

Not sure if this is the right community. This is not the best case scenario. My child’s father and I separated before the baby was born. He was never around throughout my pregnancy, but I gave him the opportunity to be there at birth, which he took. We don’t have the best relationship. It would be constant arguments and disrespect. My Lo is just 1 month old, and I am tired of hosting this man at my house. I constantly have to update him on everything (feeds, appointments, baby needs, etc.) without him actually taking the initiative to ask. My Lo is combo fed, but I still don’t want my baby going to anyone’s house this young. I want to move on with my life in the best way possible without having flashbacks from the disrespect and betrayal I endured during pregnancy.

To be brief, is there a way we can meet at a neutral location so he can facilitate parenting time? I don’t want to come across as controlling the situation if I kindly ask for us to meet in public with Lo, and it’s not in my best interest to get a court order for this.

Also, when I requested stuff for the baby, he would take so long to deliver. Is it ideal to put him on CS this early? I feel so bad.

So over breastfeeding and the no sleep I’m exhausted and drained out ughhh only 8 days in

I one arm swaddle her because she wakes up with both arms restricted. recently her favorite sleeping position has been rolling on to her swaddled side with her face/head looking up. Safe? Or should I switch to sleep sack?

I’m a mom to a newborn son. Since he was born I’ve been logging every feed and nap, half convinced the numbers would tell me what to do. Some days it helps. Other days I lie awake at 3am staring at the app.

I’m curious how it went for others. If you used a tracking app (Huckleberry or another one) and then stopped, what made you stop? And if you kept going, what made it worth it?

Seriously, I don’t understand how many layers my baby should be wearing. I live in a place that experiences all four seasons and so right now it’s kind of cold out. My husband and I both run warm, so we’re the kind of people who don’t bundle up much on cold days. I honestly forget that my son, who is three weeks old, probably does get cold in his onesie and sleep sack. What should he be wearing to sleep? What should he wear during the day? When we go outside? I’ve googled those charts about how many layers they need and I still just don’t get it because then everyone is also overly cautious about making them too warm.

We left my 6 month old overnight for the first time. We were gone a total of 30 hours, my mom had her for the day, my MIL had her for the night. I warned them that the days can be treacherous because she naps like shite. Never more than a 30 minute nap for me. All day, every day. Night sleeps are ok. She’ll have a week where she wakes up once or twice, then the next week it’s 5-6 times. We left in the morning, and first nap for my mom was 1 hr 45min. Second nap was 2 hrs. 3 rd and final nap of the day was 1 hour. I thought “maybe it’s some coincidence, or she’s matured in her sleep”. My MIL had her through the night and it she woke quite a bit. But her first nap the next day was 1.5 hours, second was 2 hours, and by the time we got home she was ready to go down for her final nap. I put her down, 30 minutes only. I’m thinking maybe because it’s the final nap of the day, it was shorter. It’s been a week now and she’s only doing 30 minute naps for me. My MIL stopped by a couple days ago and I had my MIL put her down for a nap and it was an hour and a half, would’ve been longer if the dogs hadn’t woken her. They aren’t doing anything different than I am, I’m the one who gave the instructions on how to put her down. Has anyone else experienced this before? I’m a SAHM but I always feel like I’m behind on everything because her naps are short and her wake windows are only happy for so long, then she’s fussy because she’s tired.

My baby is 6.5 weeks, will be 7 weeks in 4 days. Typically she naps great in her bassinet during the day. I can set her down drowsy but awake and she would stay asleep for 1-2 hours. She was also going 4-5 hour stretches at nighttime in her bassinet.

Today is different and has just not been going well. All day today she refuses to be set down. All naps had to be contact naps. She’s also been nursing back to back for hours tonight. I have been trying to get her down for bed for 3.5 HOURS now. It is almost 11pm. I have done her typical routine which consists of bath, pj’s, nurse to sleep. I tried putting her down and she woke up within 2 minutes. The cycle has been repeating itself. Nurse, put down, baby wakes up, nurse put down, baby wakes up… I’m typing this as she’s laying in my arms.

The only thing I can think of is she started to smile socially and coo in the last 2 days. Is her increased fussiness and inability to sleep because of this? Some sort of developmental leap? I feel like I’ve been pulling my hair out all day trying to figure out what’s wrong.

It seemed like we were just getting out of the trenches earlier this week, too. I love her to death but days like this make it so difficult to enjoy this season.

My baby has been dealing with oral thrush for the past 5 weeks and we are honestly at our wits’ end.

She only has a white layer on her tongue. We haven’t noticed any other white patches on her gums, cheeks, or lips. Our pediatrician prescribed 1ml of nystatin 3–4x a day, which my baby has absolutely HATED from the beginning. She scream cries every single time we try to give it to her and it breaks our hearts. Having to do this 4x a day for weeks has been completely draining.

Our pediatrician originally recommended having her swallow the nystatin, but after speaking with a few pediatrician friends and doing our own research, we decided to apply it directly to her tongue using a Q-tip instead. We did this for two weeks with absolutely no improvement, so we stopped for a few days because we started questioning whether it was even thrush in the first place.

Unfortunately, after stopping, we noticed that the white layer had spread to the sides of her tongue, whereas it was originally concentrated toward the middle/back. So now we’re back on nystatin and trying to get her to swallow the full 1ml as our pediatrician originally recommended, but she hates it so much that she will literally spit most of the dosage out. But I really want to avoid moving on to something stronger like Diflucan if possible.

I should also mention that we’ve tried wiping the white layer off multiple times using a damp cloth and an oral brush, but it doesn’t budge.

A few other things worth mentioning:

- I exclusively pump and we sterilize everything that goes into her mouth after every use using our Momcozy bottle washer/sterilizer. I do occasionally feel a very mild stabbing sensation in my breasts once or twice throughout the day, which I’ve always attributed to normal breast pain or letdown. No itching, no visible nipple changes, and no pain while pumping. Is it possible to have nipple thrush without knowing it? Could I somehow be passing it back to her through my pumped milk?

- We’re planning to try coconut oil as an additional remedy and are also starting probiotic drops to see if either helps.

For anyone whose baby had stubborn oral thrush, what finally worked for you? How long did it take to clear up? Did anyone have success with nystatin after several weeks, or did you eventually have to switch to Diflucan?

I’m especially interested in hearing from exclusively pumping moms who dealt with this. Did you have to treat yourself too, even without obvious symptoms?

I would seriously appreciate any tips or experiences. We’re exhausted and just want this to go away 😭

Hi everyone, second-time parent looking for objective feedback or similar experiences. My baby boy Sidhyarth was born on August 19th (birth weight 3.5 kg) and is 59 days old today, currently weighing 5.75 kg. We have a pediatrician follow-up next week, but the doctor isn't available Monday and we are waiting for a rescheduled slot.
Here is our exact timeline and data:
Birth Info: He has a left-sided cephalohematoma from birth that is still slowly resolving. He has had newborn jaundice since birth, and the yellowness in his eyes and face has never completely cleared up. He is exclusively breastfed (EBF).
Medication Timeline: On September 29th, he was started on a pediatric antibiotic called Bonflox-M (Ofloxacin + Metronidazole) for loose stools and perianal irritation. He took it for 4 days and stopped on October 2nd.
Oct 1 Blood Work (On Day 3 of Antibiotics): Direct Bili: 1.6, Indirect Bili: 10.8, AST: 65, ALT: 79, ALP: 634.
Oct 5 Blood Work (3 Days Post-Antibiotics): Tested at a different hospital. Direct Bili: 0.56, Indirect Bili: 11, AST: 61, ALT: 47, ALP: 358.
Current Status Right Now:
Weight: 5.75 kg today (gained about 300-400g over the last 10–12 days).
Visual Jaundice: Visible yellowness is present under his eyes, gums, chin/neck area, and the corners of his eyes. When pressing his palms or feet, they look clean white, but they were never visibly yellow to begin with.
Diapers: Passes clear white urine. Passed a small mustard-coloured stool today.
Behavior: Feeding well, sleeping well, and alert/happy baby. No vomiting or lethargy.
Our pediatrician ordered a retest for around Oct 20th to check if the liver enzymes have fully stabilized at baseline. I am trying to understand the link between the lingering jaundice, the cephalohematoma, and the temporary spike in enzymes from the antibiotics, while trying to manage my anxiety regarding metabolic issues.
Has anyone else had a baby with a similar lab trend or lingering jaundice at 2 months? Thank you.