u/1470science

We have a 10 mo old who doesn’t quite crawl yet but still rolls around everywhere and I feel like anytime I tell people she hangs out in her large playpen most of the day when we aren’t holding her, we get concerned looks. Baby jail is the best thing ever. She plays with her toys and we get in there and play with her too. We have a 3 yo English bulldog who is so hyper and scratches us unintentionally all of time so I can’t even imagine any other safe set up with LO and the dog. I guess I just need some reassurance that we aren’t harming our baby by using the baby jail a lot of the day.

It’s hard to always find other parents to relate to because I swear nobody shares the same struggles. Here’s my quick list of reasons being a new mom has been so hard starting with the hardest:

1. Severe sleep deprivation (finally sleeping through the night at 10 mo)
2. Hyper aware of LO’s emotional wellbeing (are they bored, feel safe, overwhelmed, etc?)
3. Loss of autonomy (I used to go on long hikes, nap whenever I wanted)
4. Breastfeeding/pumping and feeling guilty if I stop before a year because I already have a routine down and I have no legitimate reason to stop other than I’m to lazy to pump

Those are what I have so far but there’s plenty more….