My 8 month old is a little chunk. My back is in shambles. My lower back is killing me and now I think I have a pinched nerve in my upper back because it’s burning and radiating down my leg and chest. I’m trying to stretch and lift baby ergonomically, but I don’t know what else to do!

What has helped save your back? Any workouts or physical therapy type stuff you’ve done to help?

I’m 35, married to a lovely man, 36. We have our first son who is now almost 11 months.

I have ADHD (officially diagnosed at 32) and diagnosed CPTSD that I’m working with a therapist on and I had Post Partum Depression that I was taking meds for from March to October.

However I’m very much struggling with anger, especially overstimulation from my son, and feeling like I do everything in my relationship.

My son has always been a very, very high-energy/high-needs, terrible sleeper. We did sleep training around 8 months and he went from struggling to nap, and waking up every 3 hours, to finally sleeping through the night.

I still get very stressed around nap time and feeding time, because he hates to sit still, will whine if we try to get him to do something he doesn’t like (even if we know he needs it, like food or a diaper change) and whines in bed sometimes when we try to get him to nap.

At Christmas, he was grumpy all day (teething we think) and though we had family over, all he wanted to do was be in my arms, but then annoyed when I tried to sit down or hand him to someone so I could continue hosting.

He often wants me to hold him, but if I sit down, he tries to push away. Then if I put him down, he whines.

I’m feeling so frustrated because I just want to relax, but he’s so high energy, and always has been… I never get a moment to myself… we’ve always had to walk him around and entertain him one-on-one CONSTANTLY. Since he was even 3 months old, if we sat still he would complain.

He’s incredibly smart, we know this, but even if I set up some games for him, he gets bored quickly and will crawl away and try to do something else.

We tried a play pen to contain him in one area but he hated it and cried to get out.

I’m sorry I’m probably rambling but his constant need for stimulation and his lack of good nap habits (he’s down to one 1.5hr nap in the morning now) means that I’m absolutely mentally drained trying to chase him around and keep him entertained all day.

I’m resorting to Miss Rachel a little more often than I like these days, just for a break, and it makes me feel bad.

I also have been yelling at him a lot too, or putting him down a little less kindly than I’d like when he pushes away from me (after wanting to be held)

Idk what to do but I’m fantasizing of abandoning him and my husband, regretting having him, even having thoughts of suicide on occasion, out of frustration.

I’m not depressed I don’t think… I don’t cry like I did when he was first born… but I can’t seem to enjoy my time with my son these days. I count down the hours till bedtime.

I do love him though because I feel SO bad at the end of the day, like I’ve failed him.

I actually am looking forward to returning to work… but feel incredibly guilty about him going to daycare at the same time.

I just need some advice or encouragement because I hate who I’ve become.

Edit: I should mention that my husband is amazing with him, and the household. He spends all day with my son if I need him, is incredibly patient, will do chores that need done, etc. We just don’t have much of a relationship anymore because we are so busy with the baby, and one long-standing issue in our relationship is he doesn’t plan dates for us, and I have to remind him that we need time to ourselves. My issue in our relationship right now is that I don’t feel like we are married, just roommates. There’s no fun anymore.

Thanks for listening.

Edit: I don’t really think I’m depressed anymore to be honest, as one commenter said, I think it’s a mix of low frustration tolerance and quick to anger as a result of my ADHD. But I’ll talk to my doc and see about taking a different antidepressant. I’m on stimulants and they help a bit but generally I’m still just overwhelmed and honestly super bored with the same routine day after day.

Thanks for the advice everyone

Whyyyyyyy

We’ve had this thing for SIX. WEEKS. For six straight weeks I’ve been listening to one verse of the Purple Monkey song every five clicks. Just ONE VERSE. I thought that’s just how it was, and whenever people bring up the Purple Monkey song I was like “well yeah you DO hear it all the time!” I had no idea there is more than one verse to the song, let alone that there are OTHER SONGS we can hear.

My little guy just loves it so I just tried to block it out. I didn’t learn ours was broken until I heard a normal one 😂 my entire world was turned down; you mean there are different modes?? Multiple songs??

I’ve been stuck in Purple Monkey purgatory. Everything was a Purple Monkey; it’s Purple Monkeys all the way down. The world started to look perpetually purple. Happy to report my husband pulled out the little plastic piece I twisted incorrectly, and I’m going to enter Kick & Play rehab.

My 6.5 month old just woke up at 2:30am to babble at top volume…. I’m glad she’s not crying but… like… I’m not sleeping

Sigh

My baby is almost 7 months.

All the “books” say he should be taking 1-1.5 naps yet he takes 35-45 min naps. And I know he needs longer ones because his night sleep is being affected by waking up at 5am now.

When he gets solid sleep during the day (we will get a burst of 3-4 days of him taking great naps) he sleeps amazing and wakes up at 6-6:20. Yet I don’t know what is different. We watch his wake windows and cues, he naps in the same place around the same time (crib nap) yet some days I’m like I nailed it, he fell asleep so quickly, yet will wake up 35 mins later.

I’m tired of reading the research of “he’s overtired” “hes not tired enough” because we’ve tried it all.

Just curious if this is developmental? I feel like by now he should be napping longer.

Anyone else with a 9 month old or a few months older and notice a significant change in your baby?!

This month has been huge. My son got his first 2 teeth, started proper 4-point crawling (he was army crawling and doing a scooting thing before), he’s eating solids like a champ, and this week week he’s been pulling up to stand and then LETTING GO AND TRYING TO WALK ?! I’m like what is happening!!!

He also seems mentally different, if that makes sense? Like if I look at him and go “mama” he points at my face. If I say dada he literally turns to look at my husband. When we hand him a new toy or he picks up a new object he will intently stare and examine it lol. It’s like I watch him play and he’s this new little person. I can’t explain it but if y’all can relate I guess 😂😭

He turns 1 in 10 weeks and I am just thinking how fast it has gone by.

We have an almost 11 mo son and I am the only one who can put him down for naps and bed. If my husband tries, he screams and cries and will not settle. For context my hubs was not very involved when our son was little and I was doing everything for months so I am afraid that it's too late for him to establish that comfort bond with our son. I'm a SAHM so I do all the night wakings which is fine but it'd be nice to know that someone else could successfully do bed time or naps every once in a while. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it normal or should my husband be able to get our son to sleep too? I feel like some of the onus is on me becuase I rarely leave the baby with anyone so im usually home and intervene after i listen to my son crying for more than 10-15 minutes. Any advice would be great appreciated.

Just feels like my girlfriend and I are living the same day on repeat right now. Our little guy is almost 5 months now and I know it's good for him to be in a routine and everything but man are we feeling it. Unfortunately it's winter in Canada out so we're kinda stuck inside. We try to go for a car ride a few times a week but other then that it's just rinse and repeat. I know I'll miss this when I go back to work in January but man anyone else feel the same ?

I’m trying to enjoy being a mom. Something that i wanted my entire life, but i feel like im really not enjoying it and I feel so disappointed and ungrateful.

When does it get better? I’m just over 2 weeks post partum.

Looking for hope. I keep hearing it gets better but when?

I think my almost 4 month old son is going to be starting teething on the earlier end for babies, and I want to be prepared.

What teething hacks did you do that helped? Any specific teether toys recommendations?

Hi!

I’m wondering how everyone is managing night shifts with your partner if the mom is breast feeding ?

We tried with my first born but I always assumed I would need to wake up to pump If baby was getting a bottle anyway so just found it easier to wake and breastfeed myself.

What is the important stuff to remember with a new bub? I left hospital quite quickly this time and I feel like I missed out on a lot of the good advice I got last time, and with not much sleep and a newborn and 16 month old, I think I’m forgetting a lot!

One thing I’ve picked up that is working so far, is not to burp when in the throes of cluster feeding. Burping can wake them, and when sleep is so fleeting on these nights I’ve found this to be helpful. Although I know not all babies would get away with this, I don’t think it would have worked on my last!

Any tips appreciated. Especially penis related ones as this is my first time dealing with a teeny tiny penis lol.

My son is 4 months old and I’ve recently discovered that he has the cutest way of greeting me when I get home from work. He’s a mama’s boy, and when I get home the first thing I do of course is pick him up. He will put his face against mine and then shake his head back and forth with the biggest smile on his face. It’s so dang cute, and he will do it over and over and over again. Im curious what everyone else’s LO does when they’re excited or to greet someone!

Baby is almost 5 months, and my older son is 5 so I’m starting over a lot and trying to remember certain stages lol. At this point she’s kind of over being in the swing and on her play mat so I’m trying to think of other things for her to do. We never had a play pen before because our house was way smaller and we didn’t have dogs. This time though I’m thinking it would be helpful since we have a bigger house and now 2 rambunctious dogs, I worry about her getting run over being on the floor in the living areas. She is now rolling over a bunch and I’m sure will be on the move soon. Right now we only have her on the floor in her bedroom. I’m getting one of those skip hop activity centers today for her and thinking of a play pen maybe in a couple weeks. Did you find this helpful or not necessary?

Edit: can anyone share names of ones they recommend? We typically use Amazon

Our baby is 6w3d and since the 6 week mark she has been a totally different baby. Crying, seems to be in pain from acid reflux, won’t nap or sleep.

We just switched her formula to a gentle ease on Sunday which helped her constipation , but now I unfortunately think made her acid reflux very painful. She’s arching her back the entire time she eats and crying throughout her bottles.

Should we consider changing formula again? I’m at a total loss and just want our happy baby back! She was never upset when constipated but had hard rock stools so we had to make a formula switch.

Honestly as a mom it’s so hard not to worry. I’d worry if she was small but also worry that she is big.

She was born at 8lbs 15oz and my husband is 6’3. We were both big as babies. I was measuring similar to her and am only 5’4 and healthy weight.

The doc wasn’t worried just said she is big and almost the size of a 1 year old. Since she’s not siting up on her own yet it is very heavy for me after a while. And I’m still nursing for now, but again very hard to hold her and the “dead weight” as the doc said.

She’s healthy which is all that matters but mom guilt has so many facets!!!

Adding - I didn’t have GD and only gained 20 lbs when pregnant too..!

We are EBF, so I'm dying. Countless failed transfers. Baby doesn't want to nurse. Baby doesn't want to bedshare. Baby doesn't want to be rocked. But she fell asleep just leaning against Dad in the playpen.

Am I doing something wrong? Is this a regression? Teething? Do we try and night wean? Sleep has gotten progressively worse. It's frustrating because I feel like I should have things figured out by now. Anyone? TIA

LO is 8 almost 9 months old, and unfortunately is battling RSV. He’s doing pretty well though. No need to go to ER, but we made the call to skip out on Christmas dinner with the family because it was not in his best interest to bring him out of the comfort of his home.

Sharing this because it allowed for my husband and I to have a nice, quiet Christmas at home. LO napped and slept peacefully in his own crib. And he absolutely is turning a corner today and is on the mend. It’s okay to say no to family events, even during the holidays. Do what’s best for your family and baby.

Hi everyone. Almost 5 month old baby girl, used to be the happiest baby, never cried, all smiles all day, suddenly seems to be uncomfortable and fussy most of the time. She fights naps like it's her job, always contact naps and never more than half an hour. She used to be able to nap in the car seat and the stroller but surprise surprise, not anymore.

At night, she only goes down while nursing or bouncing on the ball, sometimes it takes me an hour and a half to get away, because as soon as I put her down or move an inch away, she's wide awake. Sometimes I get a 2.5 h stretch at first, then it's wakings every hour. She squirms around so much, and will not relax until shes nursing. She just wants to be on the boob all night, and she sleeps great that way and wakes up super happy, but of course I haven't slept a wink. I'm so exhausted and sad, she's still such an awesome happy baby, but wayy fussier than before and she sucks at sleeping. Oh, and she won't fall asleep with anyone else until shes absolute miserable and falls asleep for 20 min on their arms.

I need to be able to leave her with dad or grandma for a bit, but she won't take a bottle and she won't sleep, so I cannot be away from her for more than an hour and a half. How am I supposed to go back to work?? I really don't want to but I have to.

I know it's probably the infamous sleep regression, but what do I do??? Just wait it out or am I missing something? Should I sleep train? CIO sounds like absolute torture for me, I cannot stand to listen to her cry. What if there's something wrong with her and I'm just assuming it's the regression?

As I'm sure you can tell, im a lost and sleep deprived FTM who really needs a bit of help. So sorry for the super long rant, but thank you for reading if you made it this far.

Me and my parents have always co parented my younger siblings (it’s a long story, but it’s always been this way.) Recently, my five year old brother has just been pissing himself randomly.

There’s never an onset and it’s just randomly come to this. He was super easy to potty train and he’s started doing this at school, mine and my parents.

We’ve tried asking him about this, asking if he felt like he needed to go or whatever but he is always super normal about it and is like ‘i didn’t feel anything.’

He’s also started doing this at other peoples houses, it’s really not like him.

My parents are brushing it off but im really concerned this could be something medical?

I’ve also noticed him not needing the toilet, or going.

My LO is 4 mo and we got the ok to start solids if we want - I want to just expose her to purées for now and plan to make them myself. What are everyone’s top purées to make/give baby first?

This was my LO's second Christmas, but she was so little last year, we didn't get her much. She was mostly gifted things we needed - like clothes, diapers, etc and the toys she did receive were little - like books, rattles, etc.

This year? Whole different ball game. Holy hell my house looks like a toy store threw up in it. These things are so bulky and loud and I have no idea where to put any of this stuff. Our house isn't huge... and it's open concept with minimal storage. Right now I just have everything shoved to the side of a room and it's just piled up haphazardly in a failed attempt to be as organized as possible. It doesn't help my house already feels "full" because of all the Christmas decorations, too. I cannot wait to take this stuff down and put it away.

So, what is everyone else doing to organize this new stuff? Recommendations on storage options?

Hi everyone,

I’m a new dad, and my little girl is only 4 days old! It’s an amazing feeling to be a father, and I’m loving every moment of it, but I’m also learning a lot as I go.

I’m looking for some advice from other parents about the Dos and Don’ts during these early days with my newborn. What are the key things I should be focusing on to be the best dad I can be? What are some common mistakes to avoid? Any tips on handling the sleepless nights, bonding with my daughter and supporting my partner as well?

Speaking of which, I’m doing my best to keep my wife as comfortable as possible during this time, but I’d love any suggestions on how I can better support her emotionally and physically in these early days. She’s been amazing, and I want to make sure she’s feeling cared for too.

Thanks in advance, and I’m excited to be part of this parenting journey!

You know, when she was 2 weeks old, all the way to 3 months old, her best friend was the ceiling fan. Nothing made her smile more than the ceiling fan that we called, of course, Fanny. I was jealous of Fanny because it was the only thing that made her smile. Then the Baby Bjorn bouncer! The all mighty bouncer that helped us cook a few times and get some gas out. Well, they both lost their thunder and I was feeling kind of nostalgic about it today. The only thing that remained a constant is youtube best, the dancing fruit !! The 27 minute one. To this day, she’s mesmerized. Not even Ms Rachel can compete. I will probably be very sad when the dancing fruit won’t be of interest either. I’m guessing in about 2-3 months? Heh! I’m sorry, I was just ranting.