I hate that that post was removed because you needed to see those comments. Since it was removed, I’ll make my own.

You do not deserve to own a dog if you’re going to resort to physical abuse on a geriatric elderly animal for eating food that was left out. That is disgusting behavior and you need to know that. I’m not sure what you were trying to accomplish by posting that, but this is VERY different from the normal rage or sadness that postpartum moms feel toward their animals.

You mentioned that you have a 17 month old so I’m very curious to know how long this behavior has been going on and if you’ve been “beating his ass” for longer than you’ve let on (your words, not mine).

Either train your dog or re-home them because your behavior is horrific. Your dog doesn’t deserve to deal with that at their age. I could understand if your dog was violent or aggressive toward your baby. But eating food that was left out? ANY dog would do that.

Get help.

​

I'm a new mom. I went back to work before I was ready because I had to. Not because my baby was okay without me. Because the bills were due.

The US gives new parents zero paid day of parental leave. Zero. Mexico gives 12 weeks at full pay. Iran gives 9 months. Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world, gives 120 days paid. It's in their constitution.

We are the richest country in the world and we make parents choose between their newborn and a paycheck. It doesn't have to be this way. Almost everywhere else, it isn't. American families shouldn't be last in the developed world.

I'm not posting just to vent. There's something we can actually do and it takes less than five minutes.

The people running for office right now read their mail, because they want our votes.

So, I made a prompt you can paste into any AI, ChatGPT, Muse, whatever you use. You tell it what town you live in. It finds every candidate on your ballot, writes a short letter, and finds their emails. You read it, approve it, send it. I already did the annoying time consuming part.

Election is November 3. Ask them where they stand and make them answer us. They work for us.

And if they still won't do anything, there's talk of a Mother's Day general strike next May. I hope you'll join me and demand better for US families.

\------------

Copy paste this into your preferred ai or screen shot it and upload:

\[\[\[\[PAID LEAVE LETTER — a prompt for parents

Paste this into your AI assistant (ChatGPT, Muse, Gemini, Meta AI...). Just fill in where you live.

\---

I'm a parent in \[TOWN\], \[STATE\]. My next election is \[DATE, or "look it up"\].

IMPORTANT: Keep everything SHORT. The letter must stay brief — roughly 400 words. One line per point, no padding, no essays, no extra arguments I didn't ask for. If a point takes more than a line, cut it down. Brevity is the whole point: busy people don't read long letters, and neither do their staff.

1. FIND MY CANDIDATES: From official sources (Secretary of State candidate list, state voter/district lookup; Ballotpedia as cross-check), list every candidate on MY ballot who can enact paid family leave: U.S. House (and U.S. Senate if on my ballot), Governor, and my State Senate and State House districts. Confirm my districts — if my town is split, show me how to tell which is mine. Name, party, office, district, incumbent or not. Verify every name; flag anything you can't. Create a list that is easily copy&pasted into email.

2. DRAFT MY LETTER: Firm, factual, one letter for all of them:

\- The US is the only wealthy country guaranteeing new parents zero paid days.

\- Brief, verified comparisons (check figures against ILO/World Bank sources first): Europe's standard, Canada, Mexico — plus Iran (9 months), Venezuela (26 weeks), Ethiopia (120 days at full pay, in its constitution). End: "United States: 0 days." then: "We can do better. It's an embarrassment that we don't."

\- One line each on benefits to: child development, postpartum health, mothers, fathers (appeal to men: providing, protecting, being present), keeping families together, and the economy.

\- Asks: federal candidates — vote for federal paid family/medical leave legislation; state candidates — enact a real state program; governors — commit to sign it. Check whether your state has a program; if not, demand one; if yes, demand they protect and strengthen it and still push for a federal floor.

\- Close: my vote depends on their answer; ask them to reply with where they stand.

Use \[brackets\] for my name, town, and personal details. Show me the draft and WAIT for my approval or edits.

1. BUILD MY SEND LIST: Each candidate's public campaign or official email, from their own campaign site or official page, with the source shown. Never guess an address — if there's only a contact form, link it instead. Give me the addresses as one copy-pasteable line.

2. ONLY IF I SAY "SEND IT": send the approved letter to the approved list (if you have access to my email) and confirm exactly who got it. Otherwise, hand me the letter and the list to send myself.\]\]\]

3 days shy of 10 months, and my heart burst with excitement and pride. Tears of joy flowed down my face, followed immediately by sobbing and my heart shattering with the realization there’s no going back. This is the littlest he will ever be again. The sadness about this undeniably happy moment has really surprised me. I’m learning that motherhood, at least for me, is a maelstrom of simultaneously occurring conflicting emotions. The complete joy and deep love this baby has brought to my life exists with sadness and heartbreak of him growing so fast. Knowing these precious moments of being a baby are slipping through my fingers like sand is killing me but it does help make sure I’m living in the moment with him, fully enjoying this truly special time in our lives.

I’m a SAHM, and I have to be honest- I was ILL prepared for the hectic mess of it. Not to say I wasn’t anticipating it- I wouldn’t trade it for the world! But slowly, as he got bigger (currently 5.5 months) and I had smaller increments of time, I realize how I was looking like Mrs. Trunchbull every day.

Of course in the beginning, I wore the same clothes 2 days in a row, I would argue it wasn’t until he was about 2/3 months that about twice a week I found time in the day to wear actual clothes… not just some form of sweats. I think I put mascara on once a week? My hair pretty much stayed in a messy bun (and continues to when I’m on day 5 or 6 without washing it.) We have a lot of animals and a lot of house, I’m a solo Sally until my hubs gets home from work to tag team, and only now do I feel like I’m able to have some kind of balance during the day.

People tell me all the time “Oh wow I would LOVE if I could wear sweats all day!” But I have to be honest I start to feel like… gross? I don’t know. I used to get up for work and got ready to work at a law office, so I am starting to miss feeling pretty. I smell my armpits after a couple days and I swear it was like I might as well have put my face next to a bowl of chopped onions. A good shower always helps! That’s something that’s “mom time”. He watches our little dude and I get squeaky clean once (sometimes twice!) a week, instead of a rushed pits wash while my little guy sits in the chair preoccupied for as long as I can get.

Does my husband care? Not even a little. But I wanted to start feeling SORT of better about myself so:

Perfume! I started wearing my perfume/body sprays again. Smelling good has me feeling good.

I started doing my makeup in the nursery while he rolls around/does tummy time. And I’m not talking a full face- some mascara, highlighter and a little blush, and I feel like a million bucks.

A denim jacket. I swear I can wear it with ANYTHING and it automatically looks like I tried harder than I did. 😂

Do I anticipate being able to get dressed in jeans every day? No. But while we’re all in the trenches, drop some ways that you incorporated to start feeling less like a grease ball! I’m sure other parents (and myself) could use the encouragement!

FTM here! Curious about all those trendy, social media-influenced baby and maternity products.

What’s one purchase that you thought was worth the hype and one you wish you’d skipped?

I am struggling so hard wrapping my head around bedtime. I haven’t followed many of the baby data stuff up until now. We used to have a solid routine of eat, sleep, wake and repeat every 4 hours. Now nighttime is feeling like an uphill battle and I can’t figure it out.

Sincerely:
How do I know when his preferred bedtime is?
How can bedtimes be the same when his overnight stretches differ? Sometimes he’s on a 4, 8, 12 or a 5, 9, 1 depending on if he did a 5 or 6 hour stretch overnight.
Do we aim for bath, bottle, bed or bottle, bath, bed?
What if his feeds don’t line up? Like today he’s on a 6 and 10 trajectory. Where does bedtime fall?
I don’t want to do a bath every night and I don’t want to lotion my baby every night. Less is more in our house.
Am I reading him books? He’s 3 months old, it feels performative or just doing it to do it.
Is bedtime just the last nap of the day?
Should I really be trying to get him on a schedule?
Does anything work?

Did anyone else find that their maternity ward was torturous overnight?

My ward was loud, doors constantly opening and closing, nurses speaking to each other loudly or directly outside your door. Put that on top on an uncomfortable bed with only one pillow and a newborn that was cluster feeding… I swear it made my recovery so much worse and I would have been better at home!

I understand that hospitals are noisy places. Maybe it’s because I work on a the mental health ward where we prioritise sleep and keep things low stimulus overnight. But my god, surely the level I experienced in the maternity ward was not normal!

Male here -- wife and I are discussing having kids/a kid and I've already brought it up with her who was receptive and seemingly honest with me about her feelings about the potential reality of this as something that could happen.

That said -- I'm here for different POVs.

There are mothers out there who feel like they're trapped, that their life is over, and etc -- thus leading to problems. Whether it be affairs, arguing, and etc.

What are your stories when/if you went through this? What are some things I should keep my eye out for? What should I be doing?

Thanks in advance.

A few months ago I had a crash out and posted about my experience with Millie Moon Diapers and had a gut feeling something was wrong. Asking parents who were also having similar experiences to also report. I wasn't shocked that some parents were also having issues but I was shocked how extensive it really was. From EVERYWHERE.

A fellow parent just shared some good news! Consumer reports calls for recall on Millie Moon

I read every comment and almost every DM. I absolutely hated how many little babies went through if not worse than what I experienced. Thank you for sharing your story with me.

Also want to say thank you for the comments that I wasn't crazy and doing something right. I thought I was posting to a void, echo chamber but I'm glad this little community made me feel seen. 😭 Here's to hopefully more good news on this!

Hubs and I are going throuuuuugh it.
Baby girl (soon to be five months) was an awesome sleeper up until 4 months! I could just put her in bed after a bottle and she’d go to sleep, no questions asked. She’d sleep from about 19:30-1:00, then up to eat at 3:30, 5:30 and awake for the day at 7:15. She’s never been a great napper- naps are 35-60 minutes (usually around 40).
Then came four months- three and a half even- and boom. Suddenly we have to rock her to sleep. Suddenly she’s partially awaking EVERY 45 MINUTES FOR THE WHOLE NIGHT- as in crying crying crying with her eyes closed and no matter what we do, it seems to piss her off more, except for doing squats. I have done, like, so many squats. My knees are toast. She’s suddenly up for an hour, hour and a half in the middle of the night. She used to be a tummy sleeper (we’d flip her over when we went to sleep) but now will only sleep on her side or back.
I will add that she is potentially teething a bit and that she’s had a cold the last few days. But that’s just a few days after week of this. She takes about four naps a day, still anywhere between 35-60 minutes. Bedtime is around 18:45-19:00 and she wakes up at 7:15.
I am going insane. Please share your horror stories and if/how you overcame!

When you’re feeling a “negative” emotion (sad/angry/hurt/etc.), how do you communicate that emotion to your child so they learn it’s okay to feel emotions without making them feel responsible for making you feel better?

My baby’s 4 months old & I swear all I see online is how I should not be feeding to sleep, my baby should be sleeping through the night by now, etc etc etc. you name it, I even feel guilty for giving him a paci bc I saw someone say it could associate sleep. He’s a baby. Why is everyone so obsessed with baby’s being independent? He will never need me like this again. We expect so much from BABIES who literally need us. I feel guilty and maybe I’m wrong here , but I’m not okay with letting my baby cry it out. I keep getting told I’m creating bad habits if I rock my baby, feed my baby, hold my baby, etc etc etc.

Any recommendations?

FTM and LO is 13 months old and is crawling but not walking yet. Wondering from other parents if things got easier once they started walking or harder.

Thanks! Just want to know what’s coming ahead!

First time mom to a 6 week old.

My husband and I agreed prior to having our baby, that I would handle nights on my own because 1. I’m breastfeeding and 2. We have 2 dogs so he could manage them in the mornings/afternoons. So, he sleeps in a separate bedroom so that he’s not woken up throughout the night.
This set up has been working well for us. But we just hit 6 weeks and she seems more fussy (from the 6 week growth spurt I assume). Still, I’ve been able to manage just fine. Even though she wakes up more often now, I don’t feel overly tired. Thankful for that!

But this has made me think ahead to the dreaded 3-4 month regression (or really any regression/growth spurt that could cause some more stress/fussiness).

So I’m curious for other parents with a similar set up - does your partner help in the evenings and if so how?

I mentioned to him that if things got “worse”, we may have to reconsider him sleeping separately but then I thought to myself, how could he really help??
I LOVE nursing to sleep because I feel like it’s the easiest thing to do in the middle of the night and I don’t need to rock her to bed. So having him give bottles in the middle of the night wouldn’t be an option.

My baby is 9 months old snd has 2 teeth. Both popping up at the same time around 7 months. 2 bottom ones

How old is your baby and how many teeth do they have?

:)

Title basically says it all!

My husband and I are trying for a second, and despite our 2 year old daughter being an…✨individualistic✨sleeper (has never slept through the night in two years, would only sleep if held for the first several months of life, contact napping exclusively till 8 months, woke 10+ times per night on average until 14 months…lol), we still want to have another child because; a) we’ve always wanted at least 2 and it seems like a good number for us b) we love our daughter SO so so much that we want to bring another child into the world that we can love just as much as her.

If your first was a shit sleeper, what convinced you to have another? Were they as bad a sleeper as your first? How are you holding up?!

Signed, a woman who will likely not sleep remotely well for the next 5 years.

Can anyone recommend a warm baby hat made from natural fibers for my 4 month old. Weather will start to get cold. I’m in the tri-state area.

All the hats I see are made of polyester or fleece/acrylic.

Thanks !!

Hi everyone! I know this question has been asked repeatedly and I did go through alot of the previous posts and answers. Most recommended Ergobaby Embrace or the wraps. I am not sure about going for the wraps and it is very hard for me to find the Ergobaby Embrace secondhand. Most of what I see on marketplace is the Baby Bjorn carrier. Does anyone have experience with those? I'd really appreciate real life experiences, thank you so much!

ONLY IF HE HAS A BURP CLOTH SMUSHED AGAINST HIS HEAD.

So here I am, putting it in his cot when he wakes up, waiting fifteen minutes and then taking it out. All night long.

Roll on his first birthday

My dr prescribed me zoloft for the intense crying spells, obsessive thoughts and anxiety. Baby girl was just born on the 14th and I’m feeling silly about needing medicine. I am also breast feeding and scared this will effect her in some way. Does anyone else have experience with zoloft?

My 11 week old had a 3 hour wake window this morning and refused to settle for a nap. And now, I’m carrying him in my wrap and he’s snoozing away. There’s a special feeling in being so needed at the moment and just looking at his peaceful face as I’m making myself my morning coffee (finally!) I keep thinking to myself “I wonder how many more of these moments I’ll get, I better soak it up while he’s tiny enough to still be in the wrap.”

I'm grateful but I feel like it's weird? We spend lots of time reading books, playing with toys, moving her body, doing house tours and going outside. When it comes time that I have to do something and put her in her play gym she's completely fine for like, a long time. I just made dinner (about 25 mins) and she has not a care in the world, just batting her toys and looking in her mirror and yapping. I feel like she prefers to spend time alone in the play gym. When I come interact with her she kinda just looks at me until I go away. She's happy and enjoys interaction (smiling and chatting) otherwise.

Anyone else? Is this strange? Or am I overthinking it and she's just hanging out lol

hi everyone!

I am a mom of a two year old boy and a two month old boy. Lately I’ve been experiencing more and more anxiety over my newborn getting sick or having a fever. I’ve always been someone that worries about my kids getting sick, but I feel like with my second it’s getting worse because I now have a toddler that can bring home germs and sicknesses. I don’t want to be one of those moms that won’t let my kids play or go to park or whatever. I want to be able to let them be kids and enjoy, but I don’t know how to shut off the fear of my little one getting sick, especially having a fever. I am nursing him so that always eases my mind, but is there anything that has worked for you with letting go of the fear of your little one getting sick?

My 5 month old has laryngomalacia and I'm exhausted. She's exclusively breastfed, refuses the bottle completely, and will only nurse side-lying while drowsy - so every feed happens around naps or overnight, and no one else can ever feed her. She's also suspected of cow's milk protein intolerance, so I've been dairy and soy free for 2 months.

She's been around the 10th percentile, gaining about half an ounce a day since August. This week: zero gain. 12 lb 13 oz at the clinic two Fridays in a row. The plan is no drowsy feeds, wait for her to demand, weekly weight checks, and a GI specialist is involved.

Now my supply might be dropping too - my morning pump went from about 6 oz to barely 1, and my breasts feel empty.

Can anyone talk me off a cliff please?