u/AnnieBananie2323

I'm looking for some places in the area I can take a 3 month old. He tends to nap better after he's been out and about during the day but it's too hot for midday walks, so I'm looking for large indoor spaces where I can take a stroller. A mall would be perfect, but there aren't any close by.

I can babywear as well, but only for short periods of time since he's a VERY large/heavy baby for his age, so stroller is best. Thanks!

Possibly a dumb question, but I'm curious. I grew up in an American expat family living in Eastern Europe. We pretty much never went to the doctor and never took antibiotics (mid 90s, post-communist...hospitals/clinics were rough to say the least). When i was a teenager we moved back to the US. Since then I've probably taken a half dozen different antibiotics over the years and am allergic to almost every single one (no other allergies though).

Fast forward to the present. My 3 month old just came down with an ear infection and was prescribed amoxicillin, one of the antibiotics I'm allergic to. It made me start wondering if I'd been exposed to more antibiotics as a kid, would i not be allergic to them now? I know early exposure is recommended for kids for food allergens, but does it work with drugs?

I should probably add, I'm not planning on pumping my kid with medicine just to avoid drug allergies! I'm just curious how this works.

This is less of a sleep training and more of a sleep scheduling question. I have an almost 3 month old who sleeps pretty well through the night, usually only waking once or twice. He gets around 9.5 to 10 hours at night between 8pm and 7am typically, taking his nighttime feeds into account.

He doesn't sleep great during the day. Because he's so little still, he can't connect sleep cycles (but somehow can do it great at night?) Because of that, his naps are usually only about 40 minutes, give or take. Supposedly his age should sleep 14-17 hrs a day. I'm trying so hard to get him the minimum 14 hours but even if he takes 5 40-minute naps a day, assuming 90 minute wake windows (anything less and he's not drowsy enough to sleep) it only gets him to 13ish hours total. Am I overthinking this?? How important are these sleep requirements?

I got some of the best advice from an IBCLC when I was struggling with low milk supply and I thought I'd share it for anyone who could use it!

So it does require a pump. I have a lansinoh double electric. She told me to turn it on, let it run for the preliminary 2 minute letdown stimulation phase, and then let it run for at least 15-20 minutes of the expression phase. Once that's done, do the whole process a second time, making sure to allow the 2 minute stimulation phase again. It signals to the body that an additional letdown is needed and over time starts producing more milk automatically. Try to do this every 3 hours for several days straight. I went from 3-4 oz at a time to eventually getting up to 10-11 oz at once. It definitely takes a lot of time and effort but it was so worth it for me.

If this is common knowledge, please disregard. I just had no idea this could work and was pleasantly surprised! I hope this helps someone! 🤍

I posted on reddit once, about 3 weeks ago, and haven't done so since, until now. I'm a brand new mom to a sweet 9 week old boy. The last time I posted I got absolutely torn into for asking for advice. I had asked for help on getting my then 1.5 month old to take a nap by himself during the day because up until then I had been wearing him in a baby carrier wrap for 4-6 hours a day and was absolutely wrecking my back (he was sleeping terribly during the day, carrier or no). For context, I am a very small mama who gave birth to a very big baby, so the back pain was on top of other postpartum health issues I was dealing with (many of which have since cleared up, thankfully).

There were some really sweet and helpful comments that I got, but also some nasty and hurtful ones from moms who couldn't believe I would dare to try to put my baby down. I realized just how nasty and judgmental moms can be, not to mention there's an element of competitiveness that I didn't expect either. For instance, some moms are proud of neglecting their health and even injuring their own bodies for the sake of motherhood. Sometimes our own health needs to take a back seat for the sake of our child, but to be proud of that and use it against other moms who are struggling is such a strange way of making oneself feel better.

Anyway, I've learned my lesson. Don't post questions when I'm already dealing with a lot emotionally. I deleted the post at the time because it put me in a bad headspace on top of everything else when I just wanted advice. I'm back now and I've decided for the time being I won't be looking for advice but only sharing encouragement and things that have helped me thus far as a new mom. Not that I'm an expert by any means, I've only been at this 2 months. But kindness and encouragement starts with me, and that's the kind of mom I want to be, not only to my child but also to other moms who can use it because it is HARD sometimes and we need to support each other.

I did find a solution (at least for now) to the sleep issue I had previously. In fact he's been sleeping better and waking up happier than ever. He just woke up from a nearly 1.5 hour nap as I write. I may post separately about that in the hopes that it might help someone else struggling.