u/Disastrous_Cookie121

I’m trying to diy my baby’s Halloween costume. Need to paint cardboard to create it and need to do it around baby.

What paint can I use that won’t release VOCs?

When my baby was 5-6 months, he was obsessed with eating. He would copy our chewing and reach for our food. We started blw at 6 months and he was taking to it well. But, I noticed he was just sucking and wasn’t ingesting much so I added some mushy food so he could ingest a little more iron. I would load his spoon and give it to him to handle. He did that successfully for one week. But, now he screams if I even get near his spoon to reload after the first bite. He just plays with it and sucks and chews on it for forever. So, he’s basically only getting one bite. I don’t want to force the reload of the spoon because I don’t want any negative associations with feeding time. I tried no spoon with mushier options and he doesn’t reach to eat it with his hands. He needs me to hand him the spoon. So right now we’re stuck to him sucking on the solids and taking one bite of the mashed food.

My mindset currently is that it will get better when he develops his pincer grasp because then he can take in smaller bites on his own and ingest them. Is this consistent with other people’s experience?

Thanks!

I don’t understand. I’m 7 months postpartum. I know babies routine now, I know exactly what to do and how to do it. But I am the most depressed I’ve ever been in my life. This is quite literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m a 32 year old woman, been to grad school, built a successful career, been through very hard times. But, THIS. This is so hard.

I don’t recognize my body. I have brain fog. I left my career behind ( by choice, I dreamed of being a SAHM). I don’t have time to even sit with my own thoughts. Breatfeeding didn’t work out for me and that was heartbreaking. I feel like a horrible mom everyday because my husband wakes up with baby in the morning for two hours while I sleep ( baby is still doing night feeds).

Maybe it’s because I don’t have a village? I moved to live in my husband’s home state two years before baby came. It was a little lonely but I’m an independent girl so I was doing pretty good. But, having a baby made me feel incredibly alone. No one to call up to come sit with me and chat when im stuck at home, no bestie or sister to call to go on a night drive while husband watches baby sleep. Just me (and my husband). Not to mention, my husband and I argue constantly now.

I feel like I’ve lost any anchor I’ve used to cope in the past. Hey, gained a couple pounds? Well at least you have your career and that shows your intrinsic worth. Hey, hate your job? Well at least you have your sister to always lean on and go on vent sessions with. Hey, no time to do hobbies? Well, at least you can wake up and take pride in your appearance. I always had some minaret to lean on when one thing in my life wasn’t going great. But, right now all my anchors are crumbling beneath me.

I see other women in my life thriving and I’m so jealous. I don’t want to look back on this time and hate it.

Please save the PPD diagnoses comments. I’m aware I have it. Im being treated. I’m just venting.

I feel like all I do with my 6 month old is make silly voices, tickle him, sing silly songs and play. He has very high energy so slow moments tend to make him bored unless he’s being walked around. But it makes me feel kind of phony ? Like I feel like I’m just performing all the time.

When he was a newborn I could place him on my lap and talk with him and cuddle. But not his thing anymore. We read together at bedtime but that’s the only thing we do to bond other than playing. We also live in Texas where it’s been unbearable weather for the last few months so walks don’t exist rn.

Are moms doing anything else to bond with their little ones who are around this age?

I had a happy pregnancy, fine birth experience (c-section), and I was on cloud 9 the first 3 days in the hospital.

As soon as we got home, all hell broke loose. My baby wasn’t crying to be woken for feeds and he would latch and fall asleep on the breast and would wake up 5 minutes later crying again. I hired a LC consultant on day 5 and she told me I need to take little one to the doctor right away because he had lost 18 percent of his body weight. He was jaundiced.

Long story short, he had a pretty major tongue tie and couldn’t transfer milk. We switched to bottle feeding and he still could barely drink effectively (took him over an hour to drink half of what most babies were drinking). My husband and I were extremely stressed trying to force feed baby for the first 6 weeks. We weren’t getting any sleep because feeds took so long, i ended up with extreme PPA due to the worry about my baby’s weight…it was a horrible time.

Baby is 6 months now and is healthy and fine.

I hear my friends reminisce about the newborn bubble and I get so jealous. I wish I had that. I’m grieving the experience I could have had. I’m One and Done and knowing I won’t get a redo hurts my heart.

Just a rant.

I have such a sweet MIL, truly nothing to complain about except maybe she’s shy and so she doesn’t converse too much.

However, since I’ve had my baby she is constantly getting on my nerves. My husband complains that I’m irritable every time we get home from his parents place for a visit and he’s right, I am. She is constantly telling me what my baby needs or how he feels. For example:

“He’s hungry…” (no he’s not, we know his feeding schedule). And when we say no she’ll just repeat it again 5 mins later.

He’s constipated and grunting and I say “he’s straining to poop”. She literally said “no, he’s not straining. He’s tired”

Or when I give him to her to hold she will walk away with him to another room AWAY from me. Like why??

Ugh. these are little things but they annoy me so much. She means well, I know. But, my God, I’m his mom ffs! I know him better than anyone. Not to mention thar I feel like such a curmudgeon wife , always annoyed coming home from my husbands families house.

My 6 month old is a pretty great eater. He knows how to bite off food (often time pieces that are wayyyyy too big). He begs for food. He holds food in his hand great.

I want to provide him iron rich foods and steak seems like a great option. But, every time I try it he bites off huge chunks. Chunks that even I would have a mouth-full of. I’ve tried three times and it just seems like such a choking hazard. I thought I made the steak pretty tough? I’m confused how people are doing steak with babies without teeth.

In a ftm to a 6 month old and he is always jolly and silly. He definitely likes to be with mama and dada but I still don’t feel “love” back from him yet. He doesn’t seem to have a mom-preference either.

I’m sure he’s attached to us but when did other moms really start to feel like their baby actually loved them back?

My baby just turned 6 months and he is soooo ready to eat. He tries to grab my food, he starts phantom chewing when he sees me eat, he cries for food.

However, when I put mashed or pureed foods on his plate he doesn’t try to grab the soft foods and bring them to his mouth (yogurt, banana mash) AND he always drops foods that I try to cut into strips to make accessible (avocado strip, banana with half the peel, egg strip, etc.). He then starts crying out of frustration because he wants to eat the food and I feel so much pressure to just feed him myself.

How do I prevent this? Any other recommendations for foods that are easier for them to self-feed at this age?

I’m almost 6 months pp and a sahm. I see all these ig moms getting up and ready, going out, making intricate dinners, doing so much! Personally, I wake up and pretty much stay in my pajamas most days. I barely find time to clean or cook. I meal prep so I can heat food up. I don’t shower every day (I used to shower every morning religiously). I’m honestly exhausted and overwhelmed. I’m also not fully comfortable driving solo with the baby alone in the back because he hates the car seat.

The only time I’m getting out is when my husband is home on the weekends. Am I doing something wrong?

I’m almost 6 months pp and a sahm. I see all these ig moms getting up and ready, going out, making intricate dinners, doing so much! Personally, I wake up and pretty much stay in my pajamas most days. I barely find time to clean or cook. I meal prep so I can heat food up. I don’t shower every day (I used to shower every morning religiously). I’m honestly exhausted and overwhelmed. I’m also not fully comfortable driving solo with the baby alone in the back because he hates the car seat.

The only time I’m getting out is when my husband is home on the weekends. Am I doing something wrong?

Taking baby to beach. Need UV protection but want to do zero plastic. Can’t find any options.

Is there such thing as a zero plastic swim diaper? Any tips will help!

No luck finding a plastic-free baby swim suit for the beach. I don’t want to do just a diaper because he needs sun protection.

Any tips?

My baby was born with a tongue tie and couldn’t transfer milk. I started my pumping journey at 2 weeks pp and only could ever pump about 7 oz a day. There was always still milk left over when I hand expressed . Pumping doesn’t seem to work well for me. All to say, I did mostly formula and 1/3 BM for a while.

My baby had his tongue tie released at two months. After a month (3 months old) he started to latch. The problem is he still doesn’t seem like he’s transferring milk.

I say this because once he started latching I decided to just latch him full time instead of pumping (then give formula after). It’s been a month and I just pumped to see how my supply is doing and it’s almost gone now lol

So some babies just never learn to transfer milk?

I have a 4 month old baby and honestly everything is sooo toxic in our current marketplace and environment. I feel so anxious about it. Every day I find something else to worry about.

Today, I realized that his grandparents (whom we see often) get their house sprayed with pesticides. I don’t want to harm my baby. How do I stop worrying so much :(

So annoyed because I just found out the “natural cellulose” sponges I’ve been using have synthetic fibers in it. Of course, this isn’t advertised and is only shared in fine print.

Why is avoiding plastic so incredibly difficult?

I have a 5 month old. I’m trying to buy a high chair for him. Everyone recommends the Stokke Tripp trapp but the infant seat is all plastic.

I have found mom and pop all wood alternatives but the varnishes and lacquers are typically undisclosed. I’m at my wits end with this search.

Does anyone have any recommendations? People did say to bring the tripp trapp directly to the dining table without the infant seat, but it seems like my baby would fall?

Help.

I have a 5 month old. I’m trying to buy a high chair for him. Everyone recommends the Stokke Tripp trapp but the infant seat is all plastic.

I have found mom and pop all wood alternatives but the varnishes and lacquers are typically undisclosed. I’m at my wits end with this search.

Does anyone have any recommendations? People did say to bring the tripp trapp directly to the dining table without the infant seat, but it seems like my baby would fall?

Help.

I have the naturepedic oval organic cotton crib mattress for my stokke oval crib. It came with a cover.

I’m now realizing the cover has polyester in it?

Here are the materials: Organic cotton breathable fabric with organic cotton face and 3-dimensional polyester lattice + polyurethane waterproof barrier

I want to limit any plastics. What can I use to replace this cover? I’ve read about latex mattress toppers but can’t seem to find an oval one.