u/Altruistic-Drag7133

1. Do not keep concrete expectations on how your life is going to look like for the next 2-4 years. Depending on your support system, most other aspects of your life may take a backseat - time, sleep, career, health, relationships, etc.

2. The best thing you can do for yourself and the baby is make informed decisions. In my humble opinion, do not limit the source of your education to just your doctor.

3. You and your baby are a product of multiple subjective factors like physical and mental health, pregnancy, labor and delivery, postpartum, support system, financial stability, career privileges, and what not. Hence no two parents are going to have the exact same experience. Remind yourself this when you get the tendency to compare.

4. Every baby deserves a safe and happy parent(s) and a safe and happy environment. In many cases, pregnancy and childcare permanently shift relationship dynamics. Keep this in mind when you're required to make a difficult decision.

Feel free to add more :)

Sleep training is very unheard of where I come from. While the common practices aren't necessarily safe (cloth swings for at least the first two years or cosleeping without the knowledge of safe sleep 7) - everyone acknowledges that infants need assistance to fall asleep and they'll eventually learn how to do it on their own.

So I was quite surprised (read horrified) to learn that my sister made her daughter CIO. And I cannot say with conviction if CIO is the reason, but some things have started to make sense to me.

My niece is not too attached to either of her parents. She did not experience separation anxiety at all in her life and she's two years old.

The thing is, my niece slept through the night starting 6 weeks. Thats when her paediatrician okayed to not having to wake her up to feed. My sister definitely hadn't sleep trained then. Hers has been one of the calmest happiest babies otherwise as well. Unlike mine who was colicky for at least the first three months and still wakes up to feed 2-3 times at 12 months now.

And if a baby who generally sleeps through the night, but then had her phases of night wakings - must have had a reason, right? Teething, sickness, or some discomfort? Did my sister sleep train then?

I'm just so sad.

While my daughter is the absolute love of my life, she is a velcro baby and there have been times when I'd look at my niece and think how easy my sister has it. Now I don't.

Because my daughter may be a fussy high-needs baby but she knows her mama will always respond to her cries. If she's anxious, hungry, teething, sick, she can let her mama know and stay close to her for as long as she wants.

Hi, I'm looking for a good Opthalmologist in and around Indiranagar, for my one year old baby. Would love some recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

I need honest opinions please.

I have a function coming up in my home next month. Other NRI family members will be flying in as well.

Usually when the whole family gets together, I stay there for a few weeks (I work from home). I love it and it's something I eagerly wait for.

However, now that I have an almost one year old, I'm hesitating. Thing is, my family is extremely messy. There is a maid that comes twice a week, but the rest of the time it's quite messy. Think food and lizard droppings, ants, potentially other insects, etc.

Whenever I am there, I try to clean to the maximum of my ability but it's very difficult because

1. It is not a small apartment, it is a two-storey house.

2. I am the only one who cares about it, it's mentally draining to make other family members cooperate with me, let alone help me clean.

3. My baby is a high-needs velcro baby. And this gets amplified when we go back home, because there's too many strangers and unfamiliar environments. I'm not kidding you when I say, it takes her weeks to adjust to other people.

And I have tried. I've gone home thrice, when she was 5 months, 7 months, and 9 months. It is very very difficult. But back then, she wasn't crawling, she'd stay at one place if I put here there. Now she is crawling, starting to walk and loves putting anything she finds on the floor to her mouth. Here in my 1BHK, I clean the floors multiple times a day.

My parents refuse to hire a daily maid. It is not that they cannot afford it, they enjoy their privacy with just the family and are perfectly happy with a twice a week cleaning. I cannot force them of course, it's their call.

So I'm thinking of shortening my visit. I told them (not the reason obv) and they're not happy. I do want my baby to bond with her grandparents and other family members, it is their right as well as hers. However, this particular thing (and other minor issues) are stressing me out.

Please tell me honestly, am I being unreasonable?

Mine cried because I disposed of a dirty diaper before letting her play with it😱😱😱

So I'm in this group created by a lactation consultant for related queries. But she also answers questions on other topics sometimes.

Today, someone asked when can she sleep train her 6 week old and the consultant answered, "You can start now as well." And I was like😭😭😭

Why why why, oh that poor baby. At the very least, I hope she doesn't do CIO😭😭😭