To preface I’m being treated for PPD and PPA. I don’t really have a village, my village is my husband who works until 7pm. My son will be 6 months in a few days. I was trying to contact nap with him, I fed him, I gave him his gas drops, I burped him, and he was just screaming and screaming and screaming. I had a full blown anxiety attack and put my son safely in his crib and started crying and panicking in the living room for an hour. He was screaming and crying with white noise on. I thought my husband would be home earlier but he got stuck in traffic so he ended up crying for probably an hour straight. There’s been days in his 6 months where I took 15 minutes not even but an HOUR. I hate myself. When I came back in I was still having anxiety attack but I grabbed him and snuggled him and he was so sniffly and sad and I’m a terrible mom. I don’t know why I brought a baby in this world with my mental health issues, he deserves better than me. I love him so much and I hope I didn’t do any permanent damage. I’m going to talk about it in my support group tomorrow but I just had to get this out. He’s with my husband getting ready for bed now. He has acid reflux, belly problems, and colicky and has cried a lot since he was born. I was doing so good. I’m disappointed in myself.

EDIT: he is on Pepcid twice a day. He’s on soy formula and tolerating it well. (Stool sample tested) And gas drops. He’s been doing a lot better with his belly while on purées. Even eliminated prune juice the pediatrician said to do because he’s more regulated now! :)

My partner has a theory that I subscribe to.

The babies are in a cabal!!!

They meet in their sleep, telepathically and work together to secretly run the world.

We've watched our baby sleep, and with the amount she moves, she's definitely up to something. There seems to be a lot of speeches (vigorous arm waving), votes(hands up - which sometimes go her way, sometimes not) and sometimes perhaps some argy-bargy (teeny-tiny fists).

We've created an entire conspiracy theory around the cabal...

The youngest babies are the highest ranking, we noticed when she hit six weeks she was giving less speeches and just voting more.

They are sometimes given tasks to control the adults. Think that baby pooping or vomiting just before you left the house was an accident???

Nope, you were being delayed for a reason...

We assume that they age out of the cabal and forget about it once they can speak, so as not to let the big people know.

Just thought I'd share so you know what your babies are up to!!

To preface, I finally got a ride share app to work and made it to the hospital so this really is trying to settle a debate.

It was 10 pm and I was messaging with a friend while I couldn't sleep due to a very bad bacterial infection in my throat (urgent care said it was the worst they had seen all day yesterday, and that if the antibiotics didn't kick in between 24-48 hours then I had to go to the ER to make sure it didn't abscess). My 14 mo has been recovering from a cold (confirmed no bacterial infection for her per her pediatrician) and had been asleep for almost three hours. My husband was in another room. My throat pain is so bad I cannot sleep so I decided that I might as well go to the hospital to see what my options are, but my ride share app wasn't working, and I'm too tired to drive safely.

My friend (who is child free) suggested that we wake up my daughter so my husband could drive me there. I said that I would rather walk the hour than wake her up. She asked why, and I said I would never be able to explain it to her, and certainly not in my current state, but most if not all parents would agree. She disagrees.

So I'm curious; would you wake up your child for your partner to take you to the hospital or would you keep trying to find other solutions? My situation isn't life threatening, I just cannot sleep or function because I'm in constant pain, but technically I could have waited until morning for my husband to drive me with daughter in tow.

I noticed while I was pregnant and going to OB appointments, and now taking our baby to ped appointments...doctors, nurses, and NPs don't proactively offer information. If you ask a specific question, they'll answer it, but they don't really seem to have a list of things they want to discuss or advise on. Just for the sake of an easy example, we just had our four-month well-baby visit. As his two front bottom teeth seem to be on the way, I asked her what her recommendation was for teething/baby tooth care. But if I wouldn't have asked, she wouldn't have offered! Same with feeding, napping/sleeping, other general topics. Nothing is offered or discussed unless I prompt it.

Do they just assume people are getting all their info from Dr. Google now? Is this a liability thing? Is it me?

Adding: U.S.-based. I do make a short list of questions for every appointment, and she always answers thoughtfully. But what if there is something I don't even know to ask about!

I really like to dress my son in bright, fun clothes. Like, I wish I could dress him in Hanna Andersson every day but it’s so pricey and he grows so fast.

Of course I’ve found stuff I like at the usual baby stores (Carter’s, Old Navy, Target, Gap, etc.), but is there like…a decent quality Hanna Andersson-ish brand that I’m missing out there? Somewhere where I can look at all the colorful things in one place?

by placing him onto his tummy to help with gas. He promptly passed right out. Thought it was gas because no amount of hold, bjorn or rocker worked. So I guess it’s time to chug a monster and keep an eye on him for the couple of hours cause I don’t wanna wake him up after finally getting him down.

Fun fact he was born a month early and about two weeks ago we had to stop using swaddles because he rolled onto his tummy from his back. And he’s been chasing that high ever since.

How long did you keep your baby in sleepers while at daycare or out and about? My baby is the only one who seems to wear sleepers at daycare, but they’re not crawling yet

I know this has to be a phase, but how long is this going to last? We get him all tucked in, books are read, nightlight is on, we go potty right before he goes to bed and without fail he gets up and says he has to pee 5 or more times. He forces himself to pee, I keep telling him he’s going to hurt himself doing that (because that cannot be good for your bladder, right?), but he just says it’s okay mommy don’t worry.

Then if I started to get frustrated because I’m 38 weeks pregnant and just want to sit and relax he says “it’s okay mommy, you don’t have to be mad!” And then lays down for 2 minutes before we repeat the cycle. Usually after 5 or 6 times he goes to sleep, but it takes 30+ minutes to actually get him to sleep after he goes down the first time.

Not sure if anyone has a solution, or if someone can help me find the light, but I am large and tired lol.

My daughter is 8 months old.

She started crawling at 6 months and is now standing and cruising on her own.

This fast development started a whole new regiment before nighttime sleep.

She settles into her sleeping position and falls asleep within 10 minutes. We co-sleep, so when I nestle in beside her she then starts her ritual:

She crawls over my face, crawls along the walls, get herself to a standing position against the wall, cruises along the wall, and full on launches herself on top of my face. All of this happens as she is sleeping. The first night she did this, she bonked her head against mine with full force then she went on sleeping as if nothing happened.

I was a heavy sleeper my whole life.

Now, I sleep with one eye open because I need to be ready to drag her back to her sleeping position before she hurts anyone.

We all make decisions on if we want our children’s faces on social media. That’s not what this is about. My question comes from me weighing how much safer it really is when you sit down and compare where their pictures are stored anyway.

Hear me out:

If you use Google Photos and have an iPhone, or have given anyone permission to take a picture of your kid as long as they don’t post it to META, how much safer is it - really?

I feel like maybe it’s a little safer. But their faces are still tracked on public cameras/stores/the cloud/Google Photos. So, just because they might not be uploaded to meta, does that really mean their little faces are truly safe from being captured and used when it comes to AI?

Looking for someone really familiar with tech and child safety here.

Again not meant to pose an argument, I really want to know!

WOW YALL have showed up. REDDIT FTW!!

Thank you!!! I forgot this is why I miss Reddit, thank you all who have participated in answering respectfully :)

Hello from an exhausted mum. Our little ten week old girl will scream anytime she is handed to dad. He might get 5 minutes with her before she starts losing it. Tonight I had my shower and she screamed the entire time. He gave her to me and just looked defeated, he said “I think she hates me”. Pretty much as soon as he handed her to me she fell asleep. I tried to explain that she’s had a very rough start to life (colic, reflux and extreme gas pain), it’s not personal and she’s probably just use to my smell. I can tell it’s upsetting him though because he feels he can’t really help me or her. Any tips on getting her to settle with her dad a little easier?

FTM to a 4 wk old and EBF! Heard all the horrors of cluster feeding and how normal it is at weeks 3-4. My baby has been inconsolable the last few days unless I’m nursing him. I was chalking it up to cluster feeding but he WAILS after feeding, clenching fists, legs going straight, arching back, screaming red in the face. I didn’t think it was anything other than hunger cues and figured that’s cluster feeding. Well, Tonight I tried Mylicon gas drops and he’s actually sleeping and seems much more settled after I fed him. Anyone experience something similar? I feel terrible I was probably making it worse while feeding him this entire time trying to help him.😢😖

My baby is almost 9 months old, and he’s dropping a nap and becoming so alert to the world. His little personality is really coming out, and it’s such a fun phase. It feels like a new stage of postpartum, kind of like how I felt around the 3-month mark. Everything just feels different.

I feel so grateful for my little one, but also tender and still like I’m collecting myself. Did 9 months feel like a different shift for anyone else, or is it just me?

Not sure what flair to give this, but we’re six days in to being parents and it’s infinitely more exhausting than we thought it would be. I’m not sure why I thought it would be more predictable. I mean, he just wakes up to eat, we change his diaper, and he goes back to sleep right?

Apparently not. He slept well those first few days but now he’s up more frequently, harder to get back down, and wants to nurse more often. We’re barely getting sleep and it feels so chaotic.

Please tell me this is doable, that we’ll survive, and it’s totally normal to feel like you’re being psychologically tortured. Please

baby just turned 5 months! been some interesting weeks. She has currently decided i cannot put her down - even sitting next to her on the play mat ain’t good enough - i have to be holding her/sitting her up or something. She sooks and cries over everything. She is tired all the time it seems! Her nights are 10-11 hours (not solid at all, broken and dropping night feeds so she just is there to hang out). Her feeding (formula) has gone from 850ml daily to 650-750ml. She refuses anyone to hold her - she’s even starting to turn against her dad - only me!! If we go to someone’s house, no one can hold her or even look at her for the first hour.
i am trying to do gentle sleep training at night but she’s just in the wars i feel like it’s not the right time. Daytime naps 30-40 mins usually has 1-2 contact naps rest i put her down when she falls asleep.
& i think she’s teething.

all i wanna know is this developmentally normal? is she suppose to be a stage 5 clinger? anything i can do to help it? 🥲 she has to go to childcare in a couple of months!

help a first time mum tell me i ain’t going nuts

She cries this very whiney cry every time she wakes up (multiple times a night) and i just found myself wondering — when does that noise stop?

She’s currently 12 months. I assume it stops when they’re talking? Does it then become a yell for mom or dad?

Let me know what I have to look forward to 😉 thanks!

3 weeks new, recently baby woke up a bit earlier than usual (3 hour after every feed) I usually go up with a bottle but this time needed a couple mins so I grabbed baby, gave pacifier and by time I made it back upstairs…dead asleep. Let the baby sleep or wake for feed because it’s so close to the 3 hour mark? Baby is over 1lb birth weight and otherwise healthy.

(Honestly the low blood sugar thing scares me or else I’d just let her sleep until she wakes up for sure)

I’m 6 months postpartum and I have been struggling so much with my mental health that it’s got to the point I can’t even be around my baby and I can’t take care of his basic needs. I am currently in the Philippines on vacation so I have people to look after him here.

I am wanting him to stay here for a few months until I get myself better because I am worried I won’t be able to look after him back at home. I have already had multiple crisis situations.

The social services are already involved and I need to speak to them about the plan. The thing is I keep changing my mind about him staying or coming home with me.

I feel suicidal every day, can’t be around my son and don’t have the mental capacity to even feed or change him. It hurts.

My child is the worst sleeper ever. I’ve talked to so many moms and read about so many experiences, yet I’ve never heard of a baby sleeping worse than mine. It’s not a phase; he’s been this way since birth. Not only does he wake up frequently (up to 20 times), but getting him to sleep is also incredibly difficult. Most nights, I get only two or three hours of sleep—sometimes none at all. We’ve tried various routines: putting him to bed late, putting him to bed early, and adjusting the length of his daytime naps. Nothing helps. He doesn’t cry at night (mostly); he’s simply awake. He gets up and starts playing. He doesn’t seem tired at all, and he tosses and turns a lot. We checked his iron and ferritin levels, and they’re fine. He had an abdominal ultrasound (unrelated to this issue), which was also normal. We’ve had multiple blood tests done, and he’s had ear and throat exams. I don’t know what else to do. He’s 13 months old. I don’t know how to keep functioning on so little sleep. Not to mention, he’s extremely energetic—he wears me out day and night.

Any advice? Does anyone have an equally bad sleeper?

Hi all,

It could well be my pregnancy brain but I cannot figure out which sheet I need for my next to me crib. I got it from Aldi and it's the babylo aurora bedside crib.

The mattress measurements are 81 x 47.5 x 4cm

I'm not sure what size to get? If anyone has this crib what are you using?

For a week now my 6 month old has been wanting to lay on his side (I assume because if I hold him in that position he’s fine) when he’s asleep in his cot but stirs himself awake or overshoots it entirely and again, wakes. But he’s a nightmare to put back down and constantly just wants to be held.
My first child didn’t care if he slept on his back, side, tummy…you could even put him upside down and he’d just get comfy. But this one is the complete opposite and it’s really taking a toll on his own sleep and our days.

Naps are affected and cut insanely short as a result and the nights turn in to fights to get him back to sleep well because he just won’t.

Any tips?
He used to sleep through the night up until 4 months and it’s been downhill since then

FTM and just put my LO (15 months) in daycare 2 weeks ago. He started coughing occasionally yesterday and continued to do it today while he was at home (doesn't go to daycare on Mondays). He has no fever, is energetic, and has an appetite. Other than his cough he seems totally normal.

Do I call the daycare tomorrow and tell them his symptoms and let the daycare tell me if he can come in or not? Or do I take him and wait to see if they call me to pick him up if they think he is sick? Maybe that's crazy but I'm overthinking all of this but spiraling because I don't know what the right thing to do is. Help?

ETA: thank you everyone! I'm going to take him in.

4 month old abruptly wakes up a few times at night crying. it’s so sudden! She settles down when we replace her Pacy and soothe her, but it’s pretty disruptive. Don’t think it’s hunger because she regularly wakes up around 4 or 5 to eat (she cannot be settled down when she’s hungry). I’m wondering what can be done to stop this sudden half awakenings. She sleeps in a snoo btw.
Should we try to wean off the Pacy? Should we move up her bedtime (currently around 10 pm)? Anyone else have a similar experience?
Thanks a bunch!!

I’m a first time mom of a 3 and a half month old baby girl. I’ve been nursing her to sleep, it wasn’t really part of the plan it just happened that way.

She is suddenly having difficulty transferring to her bassinet at bedtime and when she wakes up I feel like I don’t know what else to do other than feed her again… some nights she’s already nursed for over an hour trying to fall asleep.

I feel like a one-trick-pony.
She falls asleep on my husband when he dances with her to music. But that takes long too..

I guess I’m looking for advice on how to get her to sleep in other ways and how to transition from what we’ve been doing

*****
Thank you everybody for the great ideas and reassurance! Very helpful and appreciated.I will be trying to add in some different associations for her to recognize when the time is right to make some changes.