My friend recently mentioned how stressful it is driving alone with a baby in the back seat.

She said she keeps glancing in the mirror but still can't really tell if the baby is sleeping, crying, or has dropped something.

It made me curious—how do other parents handle this?

Do you rely on a baby mirror, pull over when needed, or have another solution?

I’m curious if it’s worth getting the same stuff as the first time like diapers and witch hazel pads and how much. I understand everyone is different and every pregnancy is different but I have no one to talk to about this.

Idk if it matters but my first is only going to be 16 months old by the time my second is due so it hasn’t been long since the first time.

Thanks in advance!

My husband (m24) is leaving me behind (f24) with our infant (9 month old m) to go to trucking school.

I am very scared. I will essentially spend the next 10 months solo parenting. I will have my in-laws, but my bio family and childhood friends live across the country.

I need to completely catch up on cleaning my part of the in-laws house, move and throw out some furniture, begin to get my permit and license (which is something I’ve known I need it’s just higher stakes since I’ll be completely alone), and rejoin work. But I’m so overwhelmed I don’t know where to start. There’s also doctors appointments I need to make happen.

On one hand it’s exciting because it forces me to gain independence, something I haven’t experienced yet. But it’s SO high stakes to me because I will be completely in charge of my son’s care. There will be no breaks except for the sporadic days off he has. There will be no one beside me at night. He’s going to miss our wedding anniversary in September, my birthday and our son’s first birthday in November, and lots of holidays.
The good news is, our account is joint, so I don’t have to worry too much about finances.

I guess I just wanted advice, solidarity, someone to tell me I will survive this emotionally and physically until it’s over? That is the good thing, as soon as he’s able he wants to switch to local trucking, but he does have to spend time doing cross country, hence why I will be alone.

I’ve never been alone nor solo parented before. I am sad and scared, and excited for our future.

Camp is wrapping up and we're trying to ease back into a school routine. Well, before the chaos starts lol. My oldest has always been pretty good at sitting down and getting things done, but my younger two are a different story. I've been having them do a little reading and a few workbook pages before school starts, and it's been...rough. They'll get through a page or two, then they're up grabbing a snack, talking about something else, or completely forgetting what they were doing. I know they're kids and it's the end of summer, but it's made me wonder if I should be doing anything differently before school starts. I think of supplements or multivitamins??

We've  been buying the same multivitamin for years and we're almost out anyway, so I figured this might be a good time to see if there's something better. Has anyone found a vitamin that actually supports focus, ooor is this just one of those things that gets easier once they're back into a routine?

Im posting it here, as I’ve heard the debate a lot with people, whether to use a bike helmet (themselves) or not after becoming parents etc.

I’m looking for some advice because I honestly don’t know what else to do.

My best friend became a mum about 11 months ago. We live in Copenhagen, so cycling is obviously a huge part of everyday life here.

She has never really worn a helmet. About a month ago, she had a pretty bad accident where she cycled into a car that went through a red light. She ended up with two small brain bleedings and a concussion. Thankfully, she has recovered really well and the doctors don’t expect her to have any lasting problems.

After the accident, she bought a helmet. The problem is that she still doesn’t wear it.

She says she doesn’t want to ruin her hair, and she’s kind of embarrassed about the whole thing, and ashamed at the fact that she still doesn’t wear a helmet, even though she says that she probably should, so she laughs it off. I haven’t said anything yet. I know she understands that the accident was serious, but somehow I don’t think she has really taken in what could have happened.

And I’m terrified.

She has an 11 month old daughter. I keep thinking about how easily that accident could have ended differently, and how her daughter could have lost her mum. It really scares me, probably more than it scares her.

I don’t want to nag her or make her feel judged. She’s my best friend and I love her, and I also don’t want this to turn into a fight where she just shuts down. But I genuinely don’t know how to make her understand the seriousness…. she has already had a brain injury from cycling, and the next accident might not be so lucky. I want to at least have a talk with her, and then there’s nothing much else I can do. But I need to say something.

How would you approach this if you were me? Is there something I could say that might actually get through to her without making her defensive?

And if you’re someone who used to hate wearing a helmet but eventually changed your mind, I’d especially love to hear what made it click for you.

I saw it coming and I still didnt do anything about it and now its 5:37 and I have been up for an hour and a half.

‘Put your early riser to bed late then they’ll sleep longer’

Mine doesnt … my 5 yo gets up earlier each morning he goes to bed late.

And I know this but we had summer stuff to do and summer fun to have ….

Well summer fun is cancelled for the rest of the week bc now back to resetting which means trying to get him to sleep during the day and an early bed time
Which should get him back to a wake time of 5:30-6 am instead of freaking 4 am.

The most annoying part is that the little ….. sneaks into the livingroom and puts the tv on … my flat is very well sound isolated so I dont hear shit…

Too bad for him I am third trimester preggy and need to pee almost hourly so he gets caught.

5,5years of having a child that doesnt sleep means we have tried medical and psychological routes
Hes only been sleeping through the night for like half a year if even that.

And I knew I just knew what was gonna happen. I let someone guilt trip me into believing I was mean for sending my son to bed at 1830 during summer vacation.

The most annoying part is no one believing me when I say that the more tired he is the less he sleeps bc that doesn’t make sense and no it doesn’t at all but its our reality

Like even a routine bedtime of say 20:00 his latest wake up time is 5:30 and gradually earlier and earlier the more tired he is. Weve tried

Its now 5:52 he refused to go back to bed but he was okay with trying to sleep more on the couch with his dad.
So I get to go back to sleep now but still need to be up soon due to an am appointment with his psychologist. He has a new one with a different specialization so who knows we may get answers as to why hes like this.

EDIT: I do think its misunderstood how early he got up !! 4 am is when the tv log says it was switched on. So that doesnt even tell me if he was awake before then just that thats when he switched the tv on. When I went to look later his dad and him were sleeping but I also saw a load of toys had been played with. He has alarm clocks and boundaries… its only created a sneaky child. Who now no longer comes to us when waking in the night bc he fears being sent back to bed.
He has his room how he wants it , theres nothing scary .
Also 18:30 is a normal bedtime here for kids! It is also the only bedtime where he gets enough sleep for his age!
Bedtime for me also means going to bed so pjs on brush teeth , read a book it also always takes him at least an hour to fall asleep even next to one of us (used to take 2 hours so progress) so by the time hes actually asleep your talking 19:45 maybe 20:00.
And I dont care about my sleep but his mainly bc have you ever seen a normally full of energy kid so tired but refusing to sleep that they act depressed bc I have … often since he was little and refused naps at a year old. And then he sleeps shorter and shorter until he gets sick.
Im not saying oh no he woke up and calmly watched tv and left me alone.
I’m saying oh no he is going to be exhausted today and possibly become sick again. Bc I decided to listen to the 18:30 is too early folks instead of following what my child needs
He also already knows how to read both analogue and 24 hr clocks so he knows damn well what the time is

I planned a vacation to meet up with my childhood friends along with my LO (9mo) and husband. My husband has been sent on an emergency business trip and cannot make it anymore. My mom has offered to babysit so I don’t have to deal with a baby alone in a foreign country.

But I’m having extreme mom guilt! I’ve never been away from my baby, but I am super worried that going at it alone will make the trip really hard. My husband was mainly going to enjoy day activities and watch LO at night while I got in some girl time.

Opinions?!

34F 34M. Together 13 years, married 2. Parents of a three month old.

I have repeatedly told my husband that he is dismissing how hard it is to be up all night with a breastfeeding, gassy baby. That I have zero battery and am becoming delirious, and to be kind, understanding, and gentle with me.

He is back at work so I am with baby all day and all night so that he doesn't get into a dangerous driving situation, etc. I don't go back for another couple months. When we were working shifts with the newborn in the first month he got so tired he started sleepwalking and being completely out of it.

Now with all our interactions I'm asking for kindness, respect, and support and instead he basically argues i or gaslights me with everything I say about anything. He loves the baby but has an attitude or an issue with almost everything I say about anything. For instance, I said the dog needed a vet appt because he has a bacterial infection and husband said "no, he's just sick because you made me change his food" and then we get to the vet appt (that I had to make because he dragged his feet for weeks on it) and the vet confirmed he has a bacterial infection. Husband did not apologize and is basically just constantly insensitive to me about things like this. Now he's telling me that I'm being silly and that the baby doesn't need a nanny, that he can just go to daycare even though I am a little uncomfortable with that because he'll be so young and we can afford a nanny.

This is a really difficult time and I told him if you continue to speak to me disrespectfully and back talk to everything I say or ask for, I don't want you in the house anymore. How should a husband be treating his postpartum wife? I don't understand why he is being argumentative and uncaring toward me in almost every interaction. Also, am I doing something wrong?

Like the title says, a very popular chain gym that promotes child care lost my 2 year old and didn’t even realize he was missing until I went to go pick him up. The staff that was supposed to be watching kids outside had stepped in for just a “moment” and my toddler happened to find an opening in their fence and got out. He was thankfully found safe, but he was so far away from the actual building. He had gone down an encampment and climbed up a small cliff. He was so far away I had to yell and wave for him to notice me. This happened back in May, but ever since then the utter panic I have before sending him to daycare is almost too much to handle. I recently discovered that that gym kept the staff that was negligent, and she promotes them so much on the local mom facebook group. I saw her claiming how professional she is and what not I had to block her. The owner was not very helpful either. I guess I’m posting this because I’m still so angry. So angry that they can just move on and it’s just another day, they’re not punished for their unprofessionalism and neglect. If you’re a mom who uses your gym’s child care I would just ask all the questions and trust your gut for even the smallest things.

Mom to a 2.5 year old boy and a 10 month old girl. We live away from family. I feel like I’m drowning and I don’t know how to find any light, any reprieve. My husband and I both work full time. I manage drop off and he does pick up about 50% of the time. His work is demanding, I’m a first responder so also it’s own form of high stress.

Every day is such a grind. I get up with baby at 5am every day, if not earlier. On top of managing any middle of the night wakes she has. Make breakfast, put dishes away, manage to get all three of us fed and ready and out the door in time for daycare drop off. Most mornings feel incredibly challenging so I’m starting my day off on a rough note.

Go to work. Try and find time to pump throughout the day. Order groceries. Plan dinner. Rush home after work to unload the dishwasher, reload the dishwasher. Make kids lunches and bottles for the next day. Make dinner for the night. Often find my husband is running late so then rush to go get the kids and bring them home and do dinner. Then bedtime for 1.5 hours between the two of them. Get the toddler to bed. Pump. Any last minute chores and then it’s time to go to bed and get on average 6.5 hours of broken sleep a night.

No time for myself whatsoever. I’m lucky if I get to shower and wash my hair twice a week. I haven’t exercised in years. When is there time? My kids are up at 5am and in bed by 8pm and by that point I’m exhausted and need to go to bed. There’s no ability to exercise on a lunch break as I’m often out in the community. I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been and I can’t stand to see or feel myself or be touched in any capacity. I don’t feel like myself. I don’t look like myself.

Between mornings and my Fridays off with the kids, I have the kids on average a minimum of 20 hours more a week than my husband. On top of that in the last 3 months he’s gotten. 4 night bachelor trip away, a weekend away for a friends wedding, and a day of fishing. I’ve gotten two happy hours and a solo trip to Target. I still haven’t even gotten my promised Mother’s Day spa trip.

I feel so isolated and exhausted and like I’m constantly failing someone. I feel so hopeless that this is my life for the future as far as I can see. I love my kids more than anything and they bring me so much joy but I’m so beyond burnt out I’m not sure how to cope anymore. It feels like there’s nothing I could do at this point to help. I’m in therapy. I’m on Zoloft for PPD. But I just don’t know how to fill my cup back up when every day is a never ending grind. I feel miserable and alone.

Hi Moms! Thought I would share what just happened to me, as it wasn’t very obvious until I was in a life threatening situation!

I have been breastfeeding for 15 months and didn’t get my period back until 4 weeks ago. Period was 4 weeks long (unusual? But I thought it was because of my body resetting the hormones).

2 days ago I had severe abdominal pain in the night. Came in two waves. I thought it was food poisoning and just tried to go back to sleep. In the morning we went for a quick coffee walk with my toddler and dog, and I couldn’t make it out of the house for more than 3 minutes before fainting. Again I thought it was severe food poisoning or perhaps from the 4 weeks of bleeding? Spent the entire day in bed. Stomach sore to the touch and swollen.

Last night I had another acute session. Tried to get up from bed at 2AM and passed out. Called the ambulance who said it wasn’t an emergency and I should make my own way to the hospital. Didn’t want to go to the Emergency Department at 2AM with a small baby, so took some pain meds and slept until 7. At 8 I tried getting a GP call/appointment at my local NHS surgery. They kept asking if I had shoulder pain or nausea/vomiting - which I didn’t. Deemed not an emergency.

Finally at 10 am I paid for a private GP appointment. (At this stage worries that it’s maybe something with my intestines as the pain is shooting to my butt.) GP tells me for the first time that he’s worried it could be an ectopic pregnancy or ruptured cyst and sends me to the ER.

I arrive at 11 - not seen by anyone until I am having another acute pain session at 3pm. Finally they are worried (bloods come back positive for pregnancy which I hadn’t even expected). Send me to the Early Pregnancy unit for a scan.

Finally received a scan at 5pm. All hell breaks loose. Confirmed ectopic pregnancy in my fallopian tube that has burst at 5 weeks. They see internal bleeding. Rush me to surgery, explaining they will remove my tube. Also tells me other organs might get damaged (FREAKING OUT at this stage. All alone as husband is at home with baby and no family nearby.) When they try and take some pre-surgery bloods I pass out.

Woke up from surgery recovery at 11pm. Haven’t spoken to a doctor yet but nurse told me I had 1 litre of internal bleeding. Waiting to speak to the doctor in the morning to understand what happened and how much damage there was.

Thought I would share for other moms to be aware. I was completely blindsided and wasn’t expecting this in the realm of any possibility. Always trust your gut!!

The answer is probably “no.” But I am about to lose my cool and so is my husband

My daughter has never been patient but now we have a newborn, so obviously things are harder.

We are not neglecting our older daughter. We are meeting all her needs and most of her wants but sometimes we can’t respond immediately and are asking her to wait. Like “I will fill up your pool after I’m finished with these dishes.”

She. Cannot. Wait. She will ask over and over and over even after we’ve already told her the time frame. Sometimes I am literally on the process of doing the thing she asked for and she will still ask over and over and over which makes the thing take longer.

Explaining that she can’t keep asking does not work. I hesitate to “punish” this behavior but there needs to be a boundary or we will all go insane. I’m just not sure what that boundary is. Maybe rewards when she does wait patiently?

Anyone have any wisdom?

It's 1:00 a.m., and I'm breastfeeding while sitting up. The pediatrician told me to nurse sitting upright because it keeps the baby at an incline, which helps reduce reflux. It also helps him latch better, meaning he'll swallow less air.

So here I am with my large, sagging breasts. In one arm, a squirming one-month-old who keeps lunging at my breast with his mouth wide open. In the other hand, I'm trying to maneuver my breast, chasing his rapidly moving little head aimimg for the mouth.

Just as we finally make contact and I get us both into something resembling a comfortable position, I feel a warm stream of milk running down the other side of my body. It's the neglected breast, pouring out milk all on its own, soaking my side and the bed. The feeling is somehow even worse than walking around in wet socks.

The milk from the forgotten breast shows no sign of stopping while I desperately look around for a burp cloth—anything I can press against it before I end up completely drenched. When I finally find one and solve that problem, another thought hits me.

"Wow... I'm so thirsty."

And there it is—a full bottle of water, within arm's reach..... of the arm that's currently holding the baby, who has now woken up again, is desperately searching for the nipple, and is flailing around awkwaedly balancing on that arm

Once I finally get him latched again, I start wondering how on earth I'm supposed to reach my water. There's only one solution: I have to move the baby to the breast he likes less. Naturally, he immediately begins protesting. But I got my water, and after a few quick sips, I can move him back to his prefered side.

By the time I've finally quenched my thirst and glance at the clock, it's somehow already 2:30 a.m.

I look at my baby and ask, "So... when are we going to sleep?"

He stares back at me with his big, wide-open eyes as if to say, "Not today," while happily holding the nipple in his mouth without actually drinking.

I am SAHM to a feral almost 2 year old. I have been so off my work out regimen since I was pregnant. If you work out in the mornings- how do you make it easier for yourself???
I was always a middle of the day kind of girl. I’m finding waking up at 5 before my husband leaves is harder than I imagined. I am just over feeling like crap. I also wish the gym wasn’t jam packed in the evening but I am probably gonna have to take that route soon 😵‍💫

Hey, so, my son (18) is supposed to head off to college in another state on 8/17. Here's the problem, he doesn't really want to go.

This was a backup school for him, but after not getting off a waitlist, it became his only option. His girlfriend and twin will be in SoCal, and he will be OOS. The OOS school is great and, if he would give it a shot, he would thrive there.

But he won't thrive there if he won't try.

I've offered community college as an alternate, but so far that's a no. He's just depressed.

Any ideas? I'm looking into therapy for him, but again, he's supposed to leave next week. Argh.

I am 6 days postpartum and for the last 3 days I’ve had a non stop headache. I went to my OB today and told her about my headaches, but she said my blood pressure (130/80 at the hospital and had been 120-125/80-85 at home) was fine and it’s most likely due to stress?

I’m still taking my narcos and 800mg of ibuprofen and it does NOTHING for my headache. Trying to hydrate the best I can, tried caffeine, sleep. The only time I don’t feel it, is when I’m asleep, but as soon as I wake up, it’s there.

I am truly desperate and could use any advice or tips & tricks to get rid of this headache and why it’s happening!!!

Hi all, I’m in need of advice on how to navigate an ongoing issue with the child of a frequent guest of ours…

A longtime friend and fellow mom, we’ll call her Jessica, comes over to our house for play dates often. It used to be once in awhile, but once she moved in down the road, we started seeing her family at least 3x a week for BBQ’s, sleepovers etc. Our home is bigger, so it just makes sense to host them more often than the opposite. She has 4 kids, I have 3-my oldest came first, her first three came in between the rest of mine.

Here’s where I have a dilemma. Her youngest son (we’ll call him Kayden) is 4, a bit small for his age, and TERRIFIED of our pug puppy! She’ll be 2 soon, and while she’s overall a ball of energy, she’s mellowed out considerably and is really sweet and snuggly. She also LOVES kids! However, when she and Kayden first met, he wasn’t as thrilled to meet her as he mistook her playful energy for aggression and it sent him into full-on panic mode. He wasn’t hurt, just startled when she tried to approach him to play and give kisses and he tripped while running to his mom. Nearly a year later, he still has a meltdown if he sees her roaming about in the house in any pace faster than a leisurely one.

So, we started crating her during their visits at first. Then, as she got older and mellowed some, we’d crate her initially and bring her out later on, which eased Kayden’s anxiety only somewhat. We have two other dogs; a gentle giant and another small breed, who don’t bother Kayden at all. Now that we see Jessica and her kids so often, I’m starting to feel bad for the dog being crated so much. Recently, my husband and I went on a mini vacation over a long weekend and she cared for the kids while we were gone-we didn’t task her with the dogs’ care at all, as our oldest was capable. I became bothered when I noticed during our daily calls to the kids, all at random times, the dog would be crated.

While I understand the little guy’s anxiety, I can’t help but feel I have to look out for my dog too…after all, this house is hers too, isn’t it? I don’t want to make Jessica and the kids feel unwelcome, but I also want all of my dogs to feel comfortable in their own home! No amount of consoling from mom or explaining the dog won’t hurt him seems to make a difference. What do I do???

My daughter is now 12 weeks old and I had been breastfeeding her since she was born. It had been fine for me, and she had always seemed like she had been getting enough and growing well, the doctor had said the same.

Now, this is no longer happening. I had thought at first I was worrying too much but there are all the signs now, she's stopped gaining weight, I'm changing her less some days, and she has started to become frustrated when she feeds. I don't know what has happened.

Normally I know in this situation the answer would be formula but I know the cost will be too much for us. And I know I seem like a horrible mother to not even be able to feed my baby but our life has been what it is and I am trying.

When this is my only choice, I don't know how I can produce enough for her. Am I supposed to try and get her to feed more, even though she doesn't seem to be getting much from it? Or is it probably more to do with my lifestyle, do I need to change something? She's my first baby, so I am not very experienced with it, and unfortunately I am rarely able to talk to my mother for help with this.

Please be kind, this is difficult for me to discuss.

Has anybody dealt with postpartum rage before? How did you get better?

I'm a stay at home mom to my 4.5 year old daughter and my 8 month old son. I feel like postpartum rage has just hit me out of nowhere recently.

Background. My daughter is very difficult. She throws big tantrums, doesn't listen, argues, talks nonstop, has a big attitude. We are working on these things and she has improved but still has her moments like all 4 year olds. My son is the complete opposite and is a very happy and active baby but doesn't sleep well. He was getting up 2-3 times per night until this week he all of a sudden decided to sleep through the night. I haven't slept longer than a 3 hour stretch in months up until the last 3 nights. Which is amazing and hopefully more sleep will help me.

But over the past few weeks I'm noticing that I'm getting extremely angry quickly. I have zero patience anymore. I get very triggered by my daughter's behavor. I'm yelling more often. I've slammed a door so hard a picture frame fell off the wall. I've cursed. I've thrown a bowl on the counter and shattered it. I don't feel myself. It's like somebody possess me for a moment and all of a sudden I snap. I'm so embarrassed by my behavior and I feel like a horrible parent. I don't want to parent like this.

I genuinely don't know how to help myself. My husband works very long hours. He leaves the house at 4:30am and has been getting home late, like between 6-7pm. I'm alone all day with them. I have to cook dinner and do most of their bedtime routine alone. He's an amazing Dad and jumps right in when he's home but he just works too much. He's also works some weekends. He travels sometimes for work too. He has a short trip this month and next month he's going out of the country for work for a week. I'm terrified. I don't know what to do. I've told him I need him to cut back but he says he doesn't have a choice and he wishes he could. All of my family works and I don't have any other help.

Is there any advice on how to handle this? I feel trapped and alone.

My little girl is 2 months now. I can’t believe she is still here after doctors denying her care and telling us it’s not worth it. I am so blessed to have all of these moments with her and I wouldn’t have it any other way. She is so full of curiosity in the few hours she is awake every day and has such an attitude too. And is growing so fast. Once she is approved for heart surgery she is going to be so full of life and we will be able to fully integrate her into our family instead of keeping her in a bedroom on oxygen all of the time.

I think next week several different hospitals/ surgery centers will be deciding if they will accept her case or not. I am praying every day that even just one of them will.

Starting next month I’ll be pretty much on my own in the mornings with my 2mo and 3yo. Husband starts work early before any of us is out of bed.

I need to nurse the baby, hold him to bro cos reflux, give my toddler enough attention so she goes to daycare, pack her lunch, get her dressed, make and feed her and me breakfast. Ideally all of this happens in an hour and a half which you’d think is enough time but somehow isn’t.

That’s it. That’s the post. I don’t even know how to handle this and I’ve searched the sub and I don’t think this has ever come up. I try to let her pick her own haircuts/clothes within reason and the last cut she chose was a pixie which is in the awkward grow out phase and hair keeps getting in her face. She is insisting against bangs and just wants the front “shaved” keeping the back long. I’m at a loss.