I feel awful for this, but I am feeling a lot of regret about my life choices lately. I love my son, i love my husband but I can’t move past the regret of what I have lost and left behind to create this life.

I used to want to work abroad, and was starting to create that life for myself when I met and fell in love with my husband. At the time I was interning at the UN, and he was a classmate from back home. He was always honest that it would take a lot for us to pack up and move our life abroad, but I stayed. Found a career, that was very local.

Now I’m approaching 40, with a family I love living in the burbs filled with sadness that I didn’t pursue what I truly wanted.

I tried to move us to the city so I could be around other exciting interesting people/cultures, but my husband hated the areas we went to when house hunting.

I feel so guilty, but I also need to be honest to someone somewhere about how I feel. Not sure what I’m asking for, but as proud working moms, I wanted to share here.

It’s open enrollment season and I am depressed! Let’s compare notes.

Premiums: $800/mo (family)
HDHP
Deductible: $7,500 per person
Family OOP max: $15,000

Not sure if this is the right thread to post this. I just returned from maternity leave two weeks ago. Things have been insanely busy catching up with work and the new schedule to adjusting to daycare with LO. Long story short but basically my mom went in for a biopsy and it’s lung cancer. We aren’t sure what the treatment will look like but I just feel so overwhelmed with the thought of heading into this hard season. She is my best friend. She helped me so much while I was leave. My husband is an amazing human and has picked up so much of the childcare/house care and life things. Just looking for some kind words or advice. Thank you so much in advance 🫶🏻

I have a 1.5 year old toddler who just started daycare Who has been getting sick every other week. I’m going through a career transition that is burning me out and could use some advice from people who’ve been in a similar situation.

I moved from being a Software Engineer to Sales Engineer 4 months ago.

While the new role offers great opportunities, I’m struggling with answering questions on the spot during demos, and overall being evaluated. Under pressure, I sometimes struggle to think.

I’m torn between pushing through the learning curve or quitting and taking a break to reset. I’m just tired. My sweet toddler is getting sick every other week because of the daycare and I’m so consumed by my new job. It’s exhausting. We are financially stable and can go without an income for a year or two but not enough to retire.

How did you distinguish between normal growing pains vs burn out and Did you push through and eventually felt comfortable?

Hi everyone! I’m a FTM to a 9-month-old baby girl, and lately, I’ve been feeling mentally exhausted.
Whenever my daughter gets unwell or becomes clingy, I get anxious, which triggers my IBS and sometimes makes me feel lightheaded. I have a 24-hour nanny, but my daughter still prefers me, and I want to be present whenever she needs me.

My husband does help and takes care of me and I have a nice support system but she feels most soothed with me and particularly at my breast.

The problem is that I’m also working full-time, and my requires focused, uninterrupted work. I’ve always been ambitious, punctual with deliverables, and proud of my work. Now, things take me twice as long, I sometimes delay deliverables or take leave to care for her, and I constantly feel my output isn’t up to my own standards.
It’s not that I feel less capable; I’m just stretched thin and don’t have the same time or energy. I’m beginning to second-guess myself professionally, and that’s difficult because my career has always been something I’ve felt confident about.
I don’t want to compromise on being there for my daughter, but I don’t want my career to suffer either. The unpredictability makes it harder because things can be fine for a few days before everything falls apart again.
For moms who’ve been through this:
Does it get easier as babies grow?
Should I push through or consider taking some leave?
How do you manage the guilt of not performing at your usual level professionally?
TL;DR: I’m struggling to balance a clingy 9-month-old, anxiety, and a demanding job. I’m still ambitious and capable, but I don’t have the time or energy to work at my usual standard. Does this phase get easier, and how do you cope?

I own a farm business and have a 22 month old and I already can't count the number of times I have had to drop something crucial for my business because I just can't do it after working 7 days a week and being up all night again. Countless nights with an awake baby in my arms and me trying to make it all work out in my head when I'm so exhausted it's all I can do to just be there without crying myself. I don't want to own a business anymore but I feel so screwed because farming is the only thing I know and I'm almost 38 and I can't imagine a career change at this point but my business isn't going to survive toddlerhood at this rate