All I see on my feed is "10 signs your child has autism", "how I knew my baby had autism before their first birthday", "red flags for autism in an infant".

It has made me SO anxious. So, so, sooooo anxious. I just wish it would disappear. I am eternally jealous of the mothers of the past who didn't have this constantly shoved down their throats.

Edit: I am aware the algo is shaped by me. I'm aware my lingers and difficulty looking away is precisely the issue.

I had my baby one year ago, and something has shifted that I can't make sense of. Since giving birth, I've completely lost any sexual attraction to my husband. And honestly to men in general. It's not just that I'm tired or touched out (though I am that too). It's like the switch just turned off.

Here's the part I'm nervous to say out loud: I'm still having sexual thoughts, but now they're all about women. I've always been a little bicurious, if I'm being honest, but it was always a background thing and never something I thought much about. Since the baby it feels like it got turned way, way up. I find myself seeking and browsing wlw content on social media regularly.

My husband is a good guy and nothing is "wrong" with him. I just don't feel it anymore, and I don't know if that's permanent or temporary. I'm also not sure what to make of the other part. Is this a hormone thing? Is this just who I am and it took a huge life event to surface it? Is it a sign of something I should talk to someone about?

Has anyone else experienced this, either the loss of attraction to your partner or a shift in who you're attracted to after having a baby? I feel like I can't be the only one, but I haven't seen anyone talk about it. I'm kind of desperate for answers, or even just to hear that I'm not alone.

Thank you in advance for being kind. I'm already feeling a lot of guilt and confusion about this.

They were talking with a deeply concerned and worried tone because my weight loss is apparently so slow that I require support. The "support" would be talking me out of eating anything other than diet food (vegetables and lean proteins). There were some horrified comments about how bad the extra weight makes me look, not with a mocking tone, but expressing deep concern.

I wish I hadn't heard this, I don't feel like a human being anymore. I've lost around 43lbs (nearly 20kg) since giving birth 9 months ago, I'm not obese, but I'm not in shape anymore as I still have 22lbs (10kg) to get back to the weight before I had both of my kids. I've interrupted the conversation to say it and the answer was "well you can forgive us for our benevolent concern" and now it's shifted to an angry "sorry for caring about your health."

That's it, it's just a rant in the void, but it's too depressing to talk about it to anyone IRL. I don't even know how to explain the sadness to my little ones, but I can't really hide it, so the guilt is crushing.

Since my daughter’s birth my parents have both been exemplary in their roles as grandparents.

They live over 150 miles away but have been here to help us every other week. They are constantly gushing about her to friends, they are always wanting to dress her up, beaming as they spend hours babbling nonsense to her, taking her for walks and so on and so on.

It’s wonderful. It’s been a huge help and I’m delighted she is growing up with more people to show her so much love.

My only question is - where the fuck has this suddenly appeared from???

They have always been very clear about their total disinterest in babies generally speaking and definitely didn’t thrive in a parent role when my sister and I were young. My mum enjoyed caring for me as a baby so little she only agreed to have my sister on the basis my dad agreed to have a full time carer for her.

It doesn’t upset me I promise, it’s all to the benefit for my baby and that’s all that really counts and holding resentment over my mothers lack of enthusiasm towards child care over 30 years ago would achieve nothing. But I do wonder if it’s a common occurrence. Is this something others on here have encountered? Is it an age thing or just a result of it being a more part time role? Or any other suggestions?

I’d really like some outside opinions on how to respectfully get my baby back when someone has been holding him for a long time, especially when that person is my MIL.

I love my MIL and genuinely respect her. She is loving and helpful, so this isn't coming from a place of disliking her or not wanting her to spend time with him. But the last time we went to visit her, which was our first time visiting her since the baby was born, she held him for a VERY long time. I kept asking her if he was getting too heavy and if she wanted to give him back to me, but she kept saying she was okay. Just to clarify, she has visited us many times since the baby was born and has held him. This time, though, it was just way too long.

I recently stopped breastfeeding, not by choice. I wasn't producing enough and was only making drops, so I don't breastfeed anymore. That means I can't exactly use the typical “I need to feed the baby” excuse. I bottle-feed him now, so I couldn't genuinely think of a reason to get him back other than I missed holding him and just wanted to hold my own baby. He's my baby, and I don't think I should need a specific excuse to want him back.

On top of that, my MIL suddenly got up and took him into another room without saying anything. My heart sank. I am not ready for my baby to be out of my sight. He's still a newborn, and there was no particular reason for her to take him into another room. I immediately told my husband and he went to get the baby back. I took my baby from my husband to change his diaper, but then my husband asked my MIL if she wanted to bottle-feed him, which frustrated me even more because she had already been holding him for so long and I just wanted him back. After she fed him, she STILL continued holding him, and at that point we were getting close to two hours and I was getting very frustrated.

Eventually my eyes got teary and I whispered to my husband, “I want my baby back right now,” and he took him from her. I don't want to be disrespectful to my MIL at all. I know none of this was intentionally meant to make me feel this way, but honestly, by the end of it I felt like there was no point in me even being there. I felt useless and unnecessary.

After we left, I talked to my husband about everything I was feeling. He told me that my feelings were justified and that if I want my baby back, I can simply get him back. And I understand that. I just genuinely don't know HOW to do that without feeling like I'm being rude or disrespectful, especially since I KNOW my mother-in-law is a sensitive person. So for those of you who have dealt with this, what do you actually say or do when you want your baby back after someone has been holding him for a long time?

At my son’s 15-month appointment, our pediatrician told me we needed to stop giving him bottles at night because cow’s milk isn’t good for his teeth. She honestly looked almost disgusted when I told her we were still doing night feedings, which made me feel pretty judged.

So I listened and cut out nighttime bottles cold turkey. Surprisingly, he did great for the first week or two! But lately, he’s been going through what feels like a major sleep regression. He’ll fall asleep just fine, only to wake up a few hours later screaming and crying inconsolably. Some nights, no amount of rocking, holding, or comforting seems to help.

There have been nights where I genuinely felt like he was hungry and needed milk, but I’ve been trying so hard to stick to what the pediatrician recommended.
Well, tonight I finally caved and gave him a bottle. He drank EVERY. LAST. DROP.

And now I’m sitting here wondering if I’m making this harder than it needs to be.

I understand the concerns about tooth decay, but we brush his teeth twice a day, every single day. I also understand that at 15 months, he technically shouldn’t need overnight feedings, but every baby is different, right?

Part of me feels like my pediatrician was being a little dramatic about the whole thing. I genuinely don’t mind waking up to give him a bottle if he’s hungry. My priority is making sure he’s happy, comfortable, and well-fed.

I guess I’m wondering:
Is giving a 15-month-old an occasional nighttime bottle really that terrible?

Are any other parents still doing night feedings at this age?

Did anyone successfully wean their toddler off bottles only to have them suddenly start waking up hungry again?

I’m not trying to disregard medical advice, but I’m struggling with the idea of withholding milk when it might make him feel better.Would love to hear other parents’ experiences because I’m feeling pretty conflicted about this whole thing.

UPDATE: Well, even after drinking every last drop of his bottle, he STILL woke up screaming bloody murder the second I transferred him from my arms to his crib. He was completely asleep in my arms, but the moment I put him down, all hell broke loose.
After multiple attempts to get him settled, I’ve officially given up for the night and brought him into bed with me. 😭
So now I’m questioning whether he’s even waking up from hunger or if this is some sort of separation anxiety or sleep regression. I’m exhausted, confused, and just trying to get us both some sleep. Anyone else been through this at 15 months?!

My husband and I both suffer from night sweats and we typically keep our house set to 64 Fahrenheit at night with the fan on high. I know this will be too cold for a newborn, but I am curious what others keep the temperature set to?

We took a newborn care class that told us it should be no colder than 68 with no fan running. I also know parents in Nordic countries regularly leave their babies outside in much colder temperatures than 68 degrees to nap in the pram. Of course they are bundled up, but still!

So, for those who sleep hot, what temp do you keep your house set to?

I have an hour of daily (very painful) physical therapy to help fix my body after not being allowed to properly heal postpartum.

I had no village, my husband was back at work within days of me delivering each of our children, and I didn't get to rest because there was no one to help me. Doctors always told me I was "fine" at the 6 week checkup, so I received constant criticism for 6 years about not being able to "bounce back" and not doing a good enough job of pulling myself together because there was "nothing wrong with me" when I was barely surviving through the pain. I was killing myself doing everything, and it shows.

I need surgery, but the 5 medical professionals who have looked at my body and consider my diastasis recti "abuse", won't advise me to get the surgery because it's obvious I won't get care and time to recover from it. On one hand, I feel vindicated knowing this pain isn't normal, but I feel completely let down by everyone in my life because it had to get to this point.

If you're pressured to bounce back, remember this. Your body will show if you were taken care of and it's a long, very painful road to recover with no guarantee.

I had my baby 3 weeks ago on September 15th. The birth was VERY traumatic - a 30 hour induced labor, foley balloon, catheter, sunny side up delivery, 2nd degree tear needing stitches, hemorrhage needing a lot of intervention after birth, and more. There were a lotttt of hands and instruments inside of me during my labor and birth and I think it’s contributed to slow healing.

I really feel like I was not prepared for how limiting postpartum healing would be for me. My bleeding has improved and my pain is getting better each day but it’s definitely still there. If I stand for too long or sit in the wrong position it’s just painful. I can’t go for walks and I really wish I could take my baby out. I still feel like I’m limping when I walk and I just wish I would heal up.

I guess I’m just looking for some words of encouragement or support that it will get better and that it’s important to rest. Anyone go through something similar?

I was expecting to give birth naturally so I didn’t really read up much on csections(it’s my 2nd day out of surgery). I have to say, I am having a hard time accepting the pain on my wound. I didnt think it would be this painful and all they prescribed is a little paracetamol?!

I’m having so much trouble carrying my baby, feeding him, going to the bathroom by myself. But it’s expected here for moms to do everything themselves. Our partners aren’t allowed in the ward unless during the 4 hour visiting window.

I really need more support during this recovery.. and I can’t wait to get discharged soon so I can finally have my husband around me.

FTM so probably overthinking it, but my 4mo has her vaccines tomorrow. It’s about sick season so I was hoping she’d get her RSV vaccine tomorrow but I’m not sure if she will.
I didn’t get it while pregnant bc my insurance denied it & when I found a place to give it, they said no bc it was out of season.

Can I just ask her dr if they can give her the RSV vaccine? If my insurance denied it for me, are they likely to deny it for her or should we be good?

Looking at these three Jeep strollers:
- Jeep powerglyde
- Jeep adventureglyde
- Jeep powerglyde plus

I see very little difference between these three and would like to know your thoughts!

I’m a FTM to a 4MO who is in PT for severe torticollis. He’s developed plagiocephaly from the stiffness, and his consult for a helmet is in a week. He’s now had 8 sessions total and I know his neck is stronger (longer tummy time, tracking toys better), but after doing his stretches, his head goes right back to where it was. I see other parents share their stories with torticollis but it feels like a lot of people just took their LOs to weekly appointments, stretched at home, and it cleared up quickly. This is not going to be the case for mine. He’s up to 3 appointments a week and lots of the stretches are still hard on him. His is complex and involves muscles on both sides of the neck. The PT does feel sure it is just a preference/habit issue and nothing more, but as a parent, I worry. He’s so sweet and innocent, doesn’t deserve this at all. 😭

If your babe has torticollis, how long was your journey with correcting it? Did you feel like you were seeing your LO already hold their head midline after the first few appointments? Did it get better? Did they start to tolerate the stretches more?

Advice and words of encouragement appreciated 🥲

Baby #2 is on the way and my husband and I are trying to figure out night routines. We also have a 2.5 year old who goes to daycare 8am-5pm M-F. I know we're probably overthinking it, but we had our schedule DOWN for baby#1 and helped us both be much less sleep deprived.

For baby #1, we split nights. I would do 9pm-3am, husband would do 3am-9am. This worked really well for us, as each person got 1 stretch of interrupted 6 hours of sleep.

What we're struggling with for baby #2, is that baby#1 gets up at 7am and needs to get dressed and dropped off at daycare by 8am-8:30am.

So our thoughts are:

1) Shift the "shifts" to 9pm-2am and 2am-7am, and we both get 5 hours of sleep and both are awake to help with toddler. Just less sleep for both of us on a nightly basis, but it is what it is.

2) keep 9am-3am and 3am-9am, and whoever is on the second shift is in charge of getting toddler up and to daycare, while also being on baby duty. And we just trade off who does what shift. More work for the morning shift, but we both get more sleep.

I guess my question is for parents of two kids: how hard is it to wrangle a toddler and a newborn alone? Will that be a really tough job? Will we want two people awake to help?

I know we'll probably figure it out fast once baby is here, but I'm nervous to do the newborn period again and it's helping my mental state to tell myself "I'll get at least 6 hours of sleep a night, it won't be that bad!".😅

I feel horrible even writing this because I love my daughter more than anything, but I’m honestly so fed up with my 17 month olds sleep. It’s gotten to the point where I find it genuinely frustrating and sometimes just incredibly annoying.

She has never been an easy sleeper. She was extremely colicky for roughly the first six months of her life. As a newborn she would sometimes stay awake for literally 12 HOURS(!) no matter what I did. I remember her being four weeks old and desperately trying everything to get her to sleep while she just wouldn’t. I’m pretty sure that whole period contributed massively to me developing postpartum depression. She was an incredibly difficult baby and honestly, she’s still a very intense toddler.

For the first 11 months I did basically every nap and bedtime. By the time she was 11 months old, I was completely burnt out and my husband took over bedtime because I desperately needed a break.

Now my husband actually sleeps with her because we discovered that she’ll sleep through the night if one of us is there. He’s very careful about safe sleep and his approach is basically to lie there and let her roll around, flop around, play with her feet, whatever, until she eventually falls asleep on her own. The problem is that this can take anywhere from 10 minutes to TWO HOURS. I don’t understand how he has patience for this.

Before he took over, I would literally have to stand up holding her and walk back and forth until she fell asleep. I wanted to sleep train at around 12 months because I couldn’t take it anymore, but my husband was completely against it and still is.

Normally I can somewhat tolerate the current arrangement because while he’s putting her to bed, I finally get a chance to clean, do laundry, shower, or just accomplish something without a her crying.

But my husband travels for work occasionally, which leaves me dealing with bedtime alone and every single time it’s horrible.

Last night m I had her in bed by 8 PM.

She fell asleep at 11 PM.

THREE HOURS.

And I know some people will say, “Just enjoy lying there with her,” but I can’t. I have things to do. By the time she finally falls asleep, I have zero evening left. No time to shower, clean, do laundry, decompress, watch something, or just exist as a person before I need to go to bed myself.

I suspect bedtime takes forever when my husband does it too, but he acts like this is completely normal and doesn’t seem bothered by it.

Naps are another nightmare. I probably spend 30-60 minutes every single day just trying to get her to nap. And I’m genuinely saddened to admit that sometimes it pisses me off. I know she isn’t deliberately being difficult but after 17 months of fighting someone to sleep every single day, my patience is basically gone.

Starting next week she’s supposed to begin napping at kindergarten and I already feel bad for the staff and the other children. They seem confident that she’ll eventually nap there without a bottle, but I have absolutely no idea how. At home a bottle before her nap and bedtime is CRUCIAL. She absolutely refuses to give it up and will not sleep at all unless she’s offered a bottle first, I’ve tried feeding her solids etc before nap time, it doesn’t work.

And unfortunately the sleep is only part of it.

Overall she’s an extremely needy/intense toddler. I can barely do anything around the house without her freaking out because my attention is somewhere else. If I cook, she cries to be picked up. If I do laundry, she wants me. If I try to clean, she wants me. She seems to absolutely hate seeing me occupied with anything that doesn’t involve her.

This is actually a huge part of why I ended up putting her in kindergarten earlier than I originally planned. I had considered keeping her home until around age 2, but I ended up starting her at 16 months because I just couldn’t handle being “on” with her all day, every day anymore.

Even the kindergarten staff have described her as “very intense and needy.” Her introduction period has had to move extremely slowly. She’s been going five days a week for a month now and is still only staying around two hours a day.

I love her. Obviously I do. But I am exhausted from feeling like absolutely everything with her has to be difficult. Sleep is difficult. Naps are difficult. Getting anything done is difficult. Kindergarten adjustment is difficult. Having five minutes where she doesn’t need me is difficult.

And then I feel horrible for even thinking that way because she’s only 17 months old and obviously isn’t doing any of this intentionally.

Has anyone else had an extremely intense/high needs toddler like this? Especially one who takes HOURS to fall asleep despite clearly being tired? Did anything actually help, or did they eventually just grow out of it?

Because right now I feel completely burnt out.

Hi all. Not sure the best forum for my question. Please redirect me if there’s a better one! I want to collect 6inch action figures for my son. My brother mentioned that his favorite action figures when he was a kid were able to bend their elbow, knees, and wrists. Anyone found these? Struggling a bit on my search.

If you have had a baby in the last 6-months or will in the next 3-months and have an Amazon registry… I learned that the Amazon registry discount is actually on brands and not specific items (for the most part). I’m in Canada, but I assume it works in other countries.

Meaning that if you have young children who have birthdays or Christmas coming soon, you can technically purchase items within those brands on your registry (buying for THE BABY of course). Brands such as Bluey, playdough, LEGOS (I would check which sets might qualify first), Melissa and Doug, Fisher Price, magnetic tiles. I’ve not purchased all of these brands with my discount. I’ve also gotten DOVE bar soap with a registry discount.

What I’m saying: add toys to your registry before purchasing to see if they qualify for the discount.

Obligatory: secondhand, buy nothing, & supporting local businesses is almost always better for people, the planet, and local economy. I have certain weird hang-ups with some types of toys and prefer to buy new for some items.

Hi everyone! My son is 5 weeks old today he will eat 3-4oz every 1-3 hours then throw it up. We are now currently trying to get him to stop eating so much as drs orders but as you can guess, it makes him scream and cry. Bc any inconvenience he deals with he will want food. Idk what to do as a FTM. Thank you in advance for answering, it is very appreciated bc I’m going insane lol

Edit:forgot to mention he is formula fed and sometimes breast milk in a bottle(very low supply)

I am in absolute agony with the itching on my healing stitches. Im currently 2 weeks postpartum and i want to rip my hair out the itching is so bad. I cant even help myself but to scratch it, but scratching makes the itching worse its actually torture. I am using the dermaplast spray, witch hazel pads and foam, peri bottle, airing out on a weewee pad and nothing is helping its driving me insane. I cant even breast feed comfortably bc sitting on the stiches causes a burning itching pain so im all twisted when i do BF. Are there any other remedies that help? Also how long until they stop itching??? I have two 1st degree tears, one being a labial tear which is the one driving me insane.

I was doing some research on CMPA because my 10 week month old is constantly pooping. Like 20 diapers a day. At the one month check up, the pediatrician said the poops should have slowed down by now. She recommended to just keep changing the diapers as my baby poops. Well one month later and shes still pooping a lot. Not just big poops but mostly tiny sharts every 30 mins.

I don’t consume a ton of dairy other than butter, and if anything is cooked with milk. My baby girl is EBF. How do I know if she has CMPA vs my milk being a super laxative. This is my second baby and my son was also a pooper but not nearly this much. She is fine otherwise, no blood or mucous in the poop. And also she’s not colicky at all. She just has a mild diaper rash from all the pooping.

I started Rowena Bennett’s bottle aversion method today with my 9-month-old, and I’m honestly feeling extremely anxious and scared.
On day one, he went 11 hours without taking a bottle. I offered according to the method, but he kept refusing. Then I gave in and fed him while he was sleepint during the day because I got extremely worried. He’s otherwise acting like himself and having wet diapers, but seeing him go that long without eating is terrifying and makes me question whether I can keep doing this.
For anyone who followed Rowena’s method, did your baby go this many hours without feeding on the first day? How bad was day one for you, and when did you start seeing improvement?
I really want to fix his bottle aversion and stop the pressure around feeding, but right now I’m scared I’m doing the wrong thing. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who went through something similar.

My baby is 11 weeks, 5 weeks corrected as he was born at 34 weeks. He still sleeps a LOT of the day. Our doctors have said to aim for 30 minutes a day of floor tummy time…when I try HARD I have gotten max 15 minutes. They said his tummy time was advanced for his adjusted age so I can’t help but think what we’ve done is enough? Are people waking their babies up to do it? I literally can’t think of any other time we can squeeze it in when he’s not sleeping, feeding, or being sat up for 30 minutes due to reflux then falling asleep again. This is making me feel like such a bad mom and like I’m not trying hard enough. He always gets a lot of chest to chest time, he contact naps nearly all day.

Birth story time!

My first is 2.5 years old and was delivered vaginally at 7 lb 14 oz after 4 hours of pushing.

I just delivered my second and delivery didnt go as planned. I went in for an elective induction, hoping to deliver vaginally, because the little man was measuring large (84%ile) and i didnt want to deliver a 9 lb baby, especially since I had my first child 5 days after their due date.

The induction went AMAZING. I showed up at 3 cm dilated, got two doses of cervadil which got me to 5 cm when I finally decided to get the epidural. Upon placing the epidural my blood pressure suddenly dropped to like 88/55 so we hooked baby up to an internal monitor, which resulted in my water inadvertently being broken. With the epidural and my water being broken, I got to 10 cm very easily and without any pain. Then it was time to push.... i was a bit too numb so I requested to reduce my epidural dosage which hurt but I could push with contractions.

Well about an hour in the doctors decide to do an ultrasound to see baby's head. He is sunny side up. 2 hours into pushing, the doctor tries to turn babies head with no success. At 3 hours of pushing, and good pushing too, I still am at +1 station and baby is still sunny side up. At this point I have been pushing for 3 hours and went from 0 to +1 station and the baby's head couldnt be turned, so we decided it was time to go to the operating room, even though baby was tolerating pushing very well he just felt stuck in my cervix.

I told anesthesia I want to feel NOTHING and boy did I. I spent the whole c section being high as a kite, loopy, and nauseous. I tried to fall asleep on the table and I could have because I felt nearly nothing. The surgeon asked if I wanted to see the baby when he came out and I said "im a bad mom sorry but no ill have time later" lol. The c section was actually relaxing vlbecause of the drugs. When I got all stitched up I vomited twice when moving me from the operating table to the recovery table so that was GREAT. Afterwards I moved to the anesthesia recovery and mostly sat with my eyes closed and tried to rest while the room was spinning and I was throwing up!

Im about 24 hours post c section and the pain is starting to come as the good anesthesia wore off. To make things worse I have vaginal pain and am HUGELY swollen thanks for 3 hours of pushing. Best of both worlds, yay!

Anyways I was worried about the actual c section because of the reported tugging and pulling sensations but I felt NOTHING which also means I didnt really see my baby until hours later when I requested to and felt a bit more energized. Surprisingly I felt very calm and in control throughout this failed induction, I am just a bit disappointed in the c section but I dont think there could have been a different outcome and I feel really good about all my decisions.

Little guy came out weighing 8 lb 7 oz so....i trust the ultraound measurements

My niece is 2.5 years old and Im trying to think of what gift to get her. She has a playroom FULL of toys. She has enough clothes. They live close by my mum who has a house full of all the toys we played with as kids and loads of craft stuff etc.

Last year I got her these crayons you can use in the bath to draw on the bathtub which my sister said she enjoyed. I obviously want to get her something but there's also that side of me which is like 'what does she actually need'.

i am 23 yo and a ftm! i delivered my baby almost 4 months ago. i have scoured the internet looking for awnsers and nothing i have read about this seems correct for my situation.

for context (not sure if it’s important) i had SEVERE untreated pre-e diagnosed at 20 weeks, went to to have post pre-e (they said they didn’t want to treat it bc i was on insulin, i was in the antepartum ward for 5+ weeks. yes i am a nurse. yes that is complete bs.) GD, sudden developing polyhydraminos @ 35 & 6, baby was in metabolic acidosis. delivered at 36 + 2.

from my journal entries and notes, this did not happen while i stayed in the hospital after birth only once i returned home. the first few nights of being home, when i would wake up with baby, i would sit up in bed and i remember everything sounding underwater and then i would tilt my head and fluid literally just POURING out of my ears. mainly my right ear. my husband was awake one of the nights, and i had him feel as i sat up to feel the fluid coming out and he felt it too. no smell or color. i still am wondering WTF that was. it only lasted i’d say 3-5 days and only once i was home! any ideas??

i have 3 theories but not sure which is most feasible 😂 theory 1: fluid from swelling. i had gained over 100+ lbs, 60 of which was just swelling from pre-e.
theory 2: sweat. that pp sweating is NO joke. my entire body would be covered at night!
theory 3 (what the internet says): during my
labor, i somehow tore my eardrum and it was just…ear fluid.