u/RedHeadRedeemed

My youngest daughter is almost 5 weeks old and right from the time she was born she seemed to have a lot more skin issues than my eldest ever did.

To start with she was peeling from day 1...not a huge deal and the nurses at the hospital told me it was normal. BUT they also said it would stop after a week or so...and it hasn't. She is STILL peeling.

On top of that she apparently has really bad baby acne, to the point where I wasn't sure if it WAS acne and have asked her doc about it at every visit and they always assure me that it is and will fade with time. But her head and face always look TERRIBLE; red, bumpy, whiteheads and thick skin that is rough to the touch.

I have had other people, family and friends who even have kids themselves, comment on it and ask about it. It's gotten to the point where I don't like taking pictures of her or with her, not because I don't love her but because her skin just looks so awful it looks like I don't bathe her or she is sick or something; it looks painful though she doesn't seem to be in any pain or bothered by it.

I try desperately before we are due to see anyone to clean her skin with a damp cloth or lotion her peeling skin but none of it seems to help and I just end up feeling kind of embarrassed, especially when someone comments on or asks about it. I feel like they must be thinking I don't take very good care of her but I swear I do! I keep her clean and moisturized but her skin just...looks awful. I feel like I'm a terrible mom for feeling embarrassed by my baby but...I am a bit.

Someone please tell me they experienced something similar!

My 4 YO is starting preschool next week and I am just realizing that we are supposed to provide a lunch for her. BUT she attends a school that has serious nut-free policies; she cannot bring anything with nuts in it, made with nuts OR produced in a factory that also processes nuts.

This kid has liked to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch for over a year...I am somewhat stumped what to send for lunch that meets these requirements, especially the "not produced in a factory that processes nuts" part.

What do you guys suggest? What are you sending your kid to school with for lunch??

So my daughter is not even 2 weeks old but something one of the nurses in the hospital said to me stuck with me and I want to see if anyone else has heard of/done this.

The nurse said you can use expired breast milk in your baby's bath to help soften their skin and hair, or even your own bath. That sounded nuts to me but now I'm wondering...

Has anyone done this or heard of doing this before?

Okay fellow parents, I need some advice on how long to allow my 4YO to leave out her constructive toys. I'm talking her Magnatiles or blocks or play tent; Toys that allow her to use her creativity and independent play. I love that she has fun with these and they keep her entertained for so long and make her use her imagination but...they are in the way! They take up space on the table or floor and she begs to leave them up for DAYS.

How long do you allow your kids to leave this stuff up? Do you just...work around it practically indefinitely? Do you have a set time limit for how long things like this can be up?

For context, my first daughter born in 2022 I had all the meds for because once I hit 3 CM dilated I couldn't take the pain anymore. I had the epidural and fentanyl drip and the birth took forever, I kept passing out during pushes, felt super out of it and ended up having a 1st degree tear and a dislocated tailbone.

So, when I got pregnant with my 2nd daughter I was determined to *try* and go natural as possible, but I was scared shitless. I watched so many videos of women giving birth and the sounds they made made me feel terrified and despite all my prep I really doubted my ability to go through with no meds because I have a REALLY low pain tolerance.

When I went into labor on Monday night I started handling my contractions with breathing and low sounds and it was working. I got to 5 CM before the contractions started ramping up. But I still was managing. Then I got to 7 CM and they got really bad and almost constant and I started losing control. I wasn't handling the contractions well; the low sounds weren't helping and I screamed several times.

But then, I progressed so quickly (went from 7CM to 10CM in less than 15 minutes) that my body just...started pushing. I thought I was going to die. I felt so sick to my stomach and the involuntary pushing was so forceful I was sure I was going to vomit but I didn't. And then I felt my daughter coming down and everything narrowed to just me and my pushing and she was out in 3 pushes. She came so fast I actually cried aloud as she was coming "She's going to make me tear!" because I always read that during crowning you want to push small and slow to avoid tearing.

But I didn't have a single tear and she was out and everything after was uncomplicated. It felt slightly traumatic but I can't stop thinking about the fact that I DID IT. I got through it with 0 pain meds. I had a natural childbirth; ME, who was so scared of it I would sob at night and who has a low pain tolerance. I fucking did it and I am just really fucking proud of myself and needed to brag about it.

It doesn't matter how you birth your baby of course, each mother can do it how she sees fit. But this was a challenge I set myself that I wasn't sure I could overcome but I fucking DID and I can easily say it is the hardest thing I have ever done.

I am almost 39 wks pregnant with my 2nd daughter and the last week or so my first daughter (4YO) has been acting differently and I am not sure how we should handle it.

For one, she is a LOT more rowdy and misbehaving. It seems like she cannot STAND when we aren't giving her attention to the point where she will deliberately misbehave just to get it. She has always been a pretty good kid and a good listener prior to this. I am so tired of us having to scold her over and over when we are just trying to have 20 minutes to chill on the couch without interacting directly with her!

And the last few nights she has been waking up in the middle of the night with no explanation as to why. Bedtime routine is the same, and when we ask if she had a nightmare she says no, but then she whines and cries about coming into our bed with us. That's hard for me at this point because it's already tough for me to get comfortable and sleep this late in pregnancy and you add another body and thus less room and I end up with hardly any sleep at all.

I am not sure what to do with this new behavior. I know this might be because she knows things are about to change with the baby coming; both my husband and I have talked to her many times about how that won't change how much we love her and how she will always be our baby. We have talked about all the positives of baby sister and all the awesome ways she can help with the baby.

Idk what else to do but I'm worried she is feeling insecure or something with the baby coming. How else can I as a parent help her and stop her new behavior?

We have a baby girl due in July and we have decided to call her Carrie. However, I prefer her to have a longer first name and Carrie would be her nickname. The longer name I have decided on is essentially Carrie Anne, but I want to make it a single first name. I'm not sure what the best spelling would be for this (I refuse to do a hyphen, I hate hyphenated names) What do you guys think? If someone told you this was their name, how would you assume it to be spelled? The options IMO are:

Carrieanne

Carieanne

Carrianne

Carianne

I have always had a hard time with crowds but it has gotten especially bad as an adult, to the point where if me and my husband are going to a store and there are too many cars in the parking lot I instantly start feeling anxious knowing the store will have crowds.

But I can't even really put my finger on WHY they make me anxious. Has anyone else had insights into this? Is it because we feel unsafe? If so, why? Why would crowds automatically mean we aren't safe? Or is it something else? Do we just not know how to act around people or what?

Our 4YO will be having her first overnight stay at her best friend's house next weekend, to practice for when I go into labor with our second child in July. She ADORES this friend and being at her house so I'm sure she will have a good time but I am stuck on how to handle our leaving.

I want to make sure she knows that if she gets too scared or homesick, even in the middle of the night, that we will come get her (we only live like 15 mins away). But I worry if we tell her that it will plant the idea in her head that she SHOULD be scared and then she will end up wanting to come home regardless. But at the same time I don't want to NOT tell her and risk her waking up at their house in the middle of the night upset and thinking she has no choice but to stay there.

How would you guys handle it? Should I say something to her about it or not?

Edit: For those of you saying no sleepovers altogether...you're way too protective IMO. She is going to go out into the world; I can't protect her forever. No sleepovers is completely unrealistic; I'm not raising a bubble kid 😆 I feel confident in my and my husband's teaching of appropriate/inappropriate behavior to her and trust the people we are leaving her with.