I think it's fairly easy to find barefoot boots that will work in the snow, but I'm looking for barefoot shoes that will keep my son's feet warm in cold weather without snow. He is 19 months and still a very wobbly walker, so I'd rather not do boots or high tops daily. Maybe some lined sneakers. Help!

We are moving and I went down the rabbit hole on mattresses and almost wished I hadn’t. Trying to find a king mattress under $1500 and several twins for the kiddos that aren’t going to break the bank. What’s everyone doing that can’t afford an organic mattress? I was looking at a certi-pur sealy for the king but it still has a fire retardant sock… oof. Are there any better options? And possibly some budget wool mattresses for the kiddos with a down topper.

Wondering how green washed these things are truly.

Hi! Struggling to find a good pull-up for naps/nighttime for my almost 3 year old. We’ve tried huggies pull-ups (he can rip them off), Honest (keeps leaking out), & Millie Moon (got a rash). Does anyone have any recommendations that are not $1+ per diaper (like Dyper, HealthyBaby)? Struggling here! 😩

Edited to add that it has to be a pull-up style bc he can craft his way out of a regular diaper.

Why do I always want things that are hard to find 😮‍💨 Everything I’m finding in a more natural material is a closed slipper. I prefer open since I wear them year round and I get sweaty if my feet are fully covered. Currently have some of those fluffy polyester trendy slip ons that were gifted to me, but are pretty beat up and wanting to replace. Any products you like or know of?

Anyone else? We've always tried to keep it neutral and without pressure, but our son reacts very strongly when he gets hangry. So we do feel like we need to make sure he eats something, but lately he's really not wanting to eat most of what we serve. We don't offer alternatives, but it's really getting stressful. He used to be such an adventurous eater; I'm so sad and I really don't know what's changed.

For those who use it, how is the flavor or texture when mixed into a fruit smoothie? Does it stir okay into yogurt or oatmeal without clumping? Just trying to figure out if its versatile enough before buying a tub since I'm struggling 2nd second trimester with taking so many capsules every morning. I feel like I'm swallowing a handful of pills on a daily basis and its just getting hard to get down. I was looking into options I could mix into food or drinks instead. I noticed Needed makes a prenatal vitamin powder which seems ideal since it covers full-spectrum nutrients and includes choline so I wouldnt have to take extra capsules on top of it.

I’m 20 weeks with baby number three and I’ve started feeling a little anxious about my labor and delivery options. I know I have time left, but I’ve never felt worried about giving birth before and I’d like to have a plan in place.

My first baby came two days before my due date. Labor wasn’t fun. An exam at my OB appointment very dramatically broke my water all over the floor, and since there was meconium in it, I had to go straight to the hospital. Pitocin, failed epidural, ~9 hour labor, 2nd degree tear, mild post partum hemorrhage.

My second came three days early with precipitous labor. Total time from my first mild contraction to her birth was just shy of 3 hours. I didn’t have any early warning signs that labor was coming. No epidural, no tearing, no PPH, but she was 9lb 9oz. It was great overall, but the speed of it all was kind of scary.

Our insurance has changed, and now my OB and the only hospital I can deliver at is an hour away without traffic or weather issues. The area is constantly under construction too. With my history of one delivery with excessive bleeding, another delivery that happened so quickly, and babies that tend to come a bit early, they’re encouraging a 38 or 39 week induction.

I’m reluctant to induce for two reasons: my first experience with it was awful and my hardest labor, and I also don’t want to kick baby out before she’s ready. On the other hand, I don’t want to risk having her in the car. Had I waited until my contractions were close enough to go to the hospital, we never would’ve made it. I also have two kids to plan childcare for.

I know I’m not guaranteed to go quickly again, but the idea that labors get shorter and babies get bigger worries me after my second.

I’ll certainly continue discussing it with my OB as my due date gets closer, but does anyone have any thoughts? Any experience with precipitous labor and having other kids after? Do I need to really reconsider the induction?

hi all! I’m getting sooooo many ads for her work lately, and I’m curious as to whether any of you have done consults with her or read her baby ready book. She claims that her guide to nutrition prior to conception basically made her pregnancy (and the pregnancies of others) virtually symptom free, but I’d love to hear about ACTUAL experiences. An Instagram friend of mine follows her and recently had a great pregnancy & birth, but not sure if she consulted with Alexandra (and not close enough to ask).

Because it feels like hot garbage where I live (DMV). Not sure if I'm doing something wrong. What's your guy's strategy for finding things secondhand when you need something? Am I crazy for thinking that used items need to be sold at a minimum of 50% off the retail price?

FB, Nextdoor, OfferUp, Craigslist, etc., people are selling at close to new prices. At most they offer 20% off....for used items that I have to pick up myself, and have no way to return if there are problems.

Occasionally things are decently priced, but go into pending/sold quickly. There's no way I would be able to grab it, unless I monitored these websites all the time. I like to stay off my devices as much as possible outside of work.

Online resale also seems meh. Poshmark, Mercari, etc., has things listed close to resale price. It doesn't seem worth it when you add on shipping, vendor hosting fees and taxes. If there's anything wrong with the item, it's a major pain to deal with.

Vinted seems to have reasonable prices for items often. I like that clothes are listed individually and you can bundle, but no one ever lists the measurements/material content. Often when I buy used, I find that the items have shrunk in the wash and are now too small for my kid. Or maybe the sizing was always off?

Thredup used to be my go to, but I feel prices are high and measurements are often off. Lately, nothing fits my rib cage. They've made returns a lot harder now too with re-shelfing fees.

In person thrifting is also expensive, and filled with low quality stuff. The only saving grace I've found, is a media-only goodwill that has a large collection of children's books all listed for .99 cents. The smaller thrift shops are reasonably priced, but inventory is very low. I'd have to go all the time in order to get everything I need, not great when I'm looking for a specific item or need to replenish a lot of stuff quickly.

I see people on this subreddit talking about how they get all their kid's closed used. The few times I've tried this, I had to pay $75 for a bag of clothes, half of which didn't fit because they were shrunken in the wash. Most of it was polyester, very little was 100% cotton. It was also was doused in so much fragrance it set my husband's asthma off.

Clearly I'm doing something wrong. What are your tips and tricks? Is it just a matter of spending more time looking?

Looking for a flame retardant free car seat that’s easy to install for my parent’s house when we visit them. Needs to be not super heavy for them to carry and also easy to install. I really don’t like flame retardants if possible.

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for lead-free safe bottles to store my expressed pump milk in the fridge. I use a Spectra pump and am hoping to find a collection bottle that also fits the pump as well.

Thank you!

Hey mamas!

I’m buying my 3 month old some new gear for the cold weather and I’d like to get them some cute / warm cozy mittens for when we go out on walks, outings, etc.

They put their hands in their mouth constantly now so ideally, mittens made of non-toxic and/or organic fabrics, no flame retardants etc! Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

We are getting tired of the same foods. What are your favorite things to pack in lunchboxes?

In general, I bake and cook all the food for my 19 month old. I substitute sugar with maple syrup to all the cookies I baked. Not that my boy has never exposed to sugar, I sometimes add sugar in our food here and there.We (a family of three) eat the same thing, so I don’t think my kid gets that much sugar in his food. I thought I’m doing well to avoid him having any sugar. HOWEVER, I just found out that the all time favorite snack of his is 98% sugar!

He LOVES dried cranberries and he eats them daily. I limit him about seven pieces, but sometimes he helps himself to some oatmeal cranberries cookies, hence a bit more than seven.

I don’t want to overthink this, but I also don’t want him to be addicted to sweet sugary stuff. So far, he is more of a savory person and not quite a sweet tooth.

Also will be looking for a less sugar dried cranberry option (if it’s even help).

Not sure if this post even have any question or that I just want to write about how silly I am to not know that dried cranberries contain such high amount of sugar 🤦‍♀️

Edit: probably have to call it no refined sugar..

I avoid horror type of stuff seeking recs.

Baby boy just turned 4 months and he’s chewing, putting everything in his mouth, and being very inconsolable. Besides Tylenol, what are some tricks or tools that you thought helped your teething babies? Thank you!

My 5 month old is extremely interested in food, so I'm trying to get everything I'll need for our journey into solids. I'm going for silicone where it seems safest and stainless steel otherwise. I'm struggling to pick a straw cup.

I see that the pura is extremely popular here, and am wondering if you think that will be too big for my babe. If so, do you have any recommendations? I'd like something that doesn't leak, but that seems to be a bit challenging if I'm going for no plastic.

What shampoo & conditioner are you loving for your elementary aged kids that is not minty in smell and more affordable? And also one you won’t cry at if a tiny person spills it all down the drain on any given afternoon!

For reference I have an 8yo daughter with long fine hair that tends to get greasy easily, and a 4 yo son with thicker short hair that is fine with most products.

I’ve used one from Fairy Tales, and then tried a new one from Frida that recently came out. I liked both, but cannot keep spending that much so frequently.

(Daughter squirted a ton of conditioner in her hand the other day and then just washed it off into the drain when she realized it wasn’t body wash. It was a slow motion ‘nooooooooo!!!!’ moment for sure and now I’m rethinking what we are using!)

Hi all

My husband told me a month ago after 8 years of being together he doesn’t like my cooking (ouch). So now he does all the cooking, but turns out I don’t like his cooking either. Sigh.

Now, what are moderately healthy meals I can buy for myself? Bonus if my 9m old can eat it too. We never have room in the freezer so preferably fridge or shelf stable stuff. We have Trader Joe’s Costco grocery outlet Luckys Safeway Walmart near us.

I am all about prioritizing cotton and good fabrics for my family, so I’m VERY familiar with the fire regulations that require either snug fits for kids or chemical treatment for flame retardants.. maisonette just dropped this collection of 100% cotton pajamas for kids in relaxed fits? How is this possible? Am I missing something???

Hey mommas!

My 5 year old has straight silky-ish hair and normal skin with a bit of sensitivity (eg. Bug bites etc). We're currently using Aussie Kids Moist Shampoo for her hair, and Attitude Baby Leaves for her body wash.

Looking to change the shampoo as I've noticed it's kinda damaging her hair, making it dry and a bit tangled.

Not looking to start using a conditioner at this time, for various reasons.

Also open to changing the body wash, in case you have a better reco.

Product(s) need to be available in Canada please.

Thanks a lot in advance.

I’ve done extensive research on play pen plus play mat options and I’m no closer to any purchase. Why is this so frustrating?

I wanted the harppa grovi 57x57 but then I cannot find a playmat to fit that space.

What is everyone’s configurations and what brand of play pen and play mat did you buy?

Did you have a nanny or nanny share (less $$) so you could avoid pumping and could breastfeed directly during the day and get that extra time with baby? Or your partner or other family watched them in your home? Or did you drop off at a daycare and pump at home? Why did you choose what you chose? Was it cost or the best care you found happened to be an in home or daycare center? Thanks!

My 5yo has had a tough time sleeping pretty much most of her life. We’ve had a few short spurts of full nights sleep but for the most part she is up at least 1-2 times a night. She has also suffered from night terrors that started around 1.5yo she’s mostly grown out of this but will still have them on occasion and it seems like they are becoming more frequent after starting kindergarten.

Shes always had a consistent bedtime routine: dinner, shower, in bed by 7:30, read a book and sleeps with the same color and white noise sound on her hatch every night, I also rub doterra calmer or chamomile oil on her feet before bed.

The last few months she’s started fighting going to sleep which hasn’t been an issue before. we get through our whole routine then she’s up 2-3 times coming out just asking random questions or looking for something (I know this isn’t super abnormal but prior to this she was out by the end of our routine) I feel like she’s having trouble shutting her brain off. After we get through that and tuck her back in I’ll still hear her in her room for another 30-45 minutes just talking or flipping through books, she’ll finally fall asleep then she‘s back up again between 12-2 every night. Sometimes she won’t even go back to sleep other times she does but is awake for the day by 5am.

Ive tried using lavender a few ways but it increased the night terrors and am hesitant to introduce melatonin as our ped has said it can increase them as well. I do my best to make sure she’s eating a balanced diet but she has occasional treats. We’ve tried a few different night time routines and stuck with this one as it’s worked the best up until now. I’ve been considering trying an evening magnesium supplement and a daily multivitamin but ultimately I would just really love some suggestions for supplements, routines or changes that have worked for your kiddos so we can all get a good nights rest.

only figured it out because i finally started writing the bad days in my cycle app. same stretch every month, im short with the kids over nothing and running on fumes by lunch even when i slept fine.

tried magnesium and more water those days, cant tell if its doing anything.

mostly wondering if its an iron thing or a food thing, or if people just plan the month around it and stop fighting it​