u/hibiscusjammin

So neither my husband or I have ever had a traditional thanksgiving either together or before. Mostly now cuz he’s usually working but this year we are both off & I think it would be lovely to create a tradition for our son. He’s not 2 yet but I think he will like it. The problem is that our friends are doing their own things with their families & our families are quite tiny. How do we make it special & memorable for all of us?

We have a mixed baby (Mexican & Indian) and there are certain traditions/cultural norms/religious beliefs etc that we each want our baby to embrace. Language is important for us (our son understands Spanish Punjabi & English - speaks a few words in each too!). We also want him to have a belief in God (however he chooses). What’s important for you?

I have all of the above and have been scheduled for an ICD since May but I keep getting bumped. I’ve had multiple episodes & always send in the remote monitor to my clinic. 90% of the time they call me back & confirm yes I’ve had an episode- Afibs usually last 10 hours or more, vtach have all been less than 30s. My pacemaker kicks in, beta blockers do their thing and I eventually am ok. I am obviously quite symptomatic & Always tired, feeling off. (Not great considering I have toddler). I am also on the waitlist for an ablation a few months post-ICD implantation. I don’t know if I’m looking for advice or just venting but I seem to be getting shoved aside & I’m tired of it. I’m a huge fan of self advocacy so I constantly contact my specialist’s office (the MOAs keep changing which doesn’t help my case!!!). Ugh just tired of living like I’m always off & worrying my vtach could lead to cardiac arrest (this is a very real possibility).

I just retuned to work part time after having my baby, he’s now 20 months - in full toddler mode! For those parents who work full time & come home to parent please tell me how you do it?! I’m exhausted with my current schedule so hats off to all those working FT at both!

I’m planning on training my 20 month old son in the next few days. He’s already used to the potty, we put him on regularly (he points in the direction, before bath, after naps etc) but it’s not consistent and he’s only pooped in it once which I think was an “accident” on his part. Should I get the training undies or let him just be free Willy?

Not generic like brown eyes or 2 legs but something uniquely you & your partner?
I’ll go first: my child was destined to have a unibrow (my husband and I both have one - mine has been lasered off!)

Mine is “he’s having a hard time, not trying to give me a hard time”

I am supposed to return back to work full-time very soon and I really don’t want to even though I have a good job. I would rather be at home with my son raising him, but that is genuinely not possible in the city we live in. I really want to start a side hustle and have thinking about writing a book or starting with a blog, but I’ve also heard that copywriting can be a good thing but honestly, I have no idea. I know I’m gonna have to work or hustle to get things going, but what are some gigs that you have found to be successful?

OK, so I finally have my 18 month old son sleep trained and it took a real long time and it’s not perfect, but I am able to get him into his crib with a minimal tears. I normally sit beside him and rub his head or his hand until he falls asleep and then sneak out. All the books and guides say that you should put them in their bed 100% awake and then let them do the work. Be honest how many of your babies do that and how did you get there?

OK, so I can’t be the only one who feels like this. Five out of seven nights I am the one who puts our 18 month old to sleep because hubby works late shift. He has never been a good sleeper and I have recently sleep trained him so at least he’s not getting up multiple times a night, but you wake up at 5 o’clock some days. I have worked on getting him to sleep independently and it’s crib, but I am right beside him providing and comfort just not picking him up. I just spent an hour trying to get him to sleep as he had a mini nap in the car which made sleep so difficult. Anyway I find myself getting extremely irritated and angry when he won’t go to sleep. I try deep breathing but I usually have to leave the room for a min and let him cry in his room. Point being… this constant bed time responsibility & frustration is getting to me. I’m not alone in this right?!

OK, so I can’t be the only one who feels like this. Five out of seven nights I am the one who puts our 18 month old to sleep because hubby works late shift. He has never been a good sleeper and I have recently sleep trained him so at least he’s not getting up multiple times a night, but you wake up at 5 o’clock some days. I have worked on getting him to sleep independently and it’s crib, but I am right beside him providing and comfort just not picking him up. I just spent an hour trying to get him to sleep as he had a mini nap in the car which made sleep so difficult. Anyway I find myself getting extremely irritated and angry when he won’t go to sleep. I try deep breathing but I usually have to leave the room for a min and let him cry in his room. Point being… this constant bed time responsibility & frustration is getting to me. I’m not alone in this right?!

Finally yesterday I sucked it up and got a Rx for anxiety meds and took the pill. I was prescribed Sertraline 25mg. A bit of back story - I’m not 41 and at 21 years old I had a heart attack which led to the discovery of a ASD, bracchicardia & atrial fibrillation. I had open heart surgery which caused a stroke (air embolism) & shortly after a pacemaker was inserted. I lost ability to speak & walk. My life was in shambles & I couldn’t find out a way out but I had my family support. Eventually I came into some money but that was lost quite quickly. Needless to say I was mentally emotionally physically messed up. I saw therapists, none seemed to help. I did get on antidepressants for a bit but those messed me up too much. Fast forward years later I met a wonderful man we had a baby 18 months ago. I’m still not ok, I feel anxious/stressed/worried about everything (money & family) all the time but when I PMS it’s so much worse & there’s rage. For years I told myself I can exercise or mediate or find other ways out but nothing really gave me a permanent fix. I workout which helps a lot & meds can make you gain weight which is another thing that made me nervous. Anyway so day one was yesterday. Wish me luck folks!

Finally yesterday I sucked it up and got a Rx for anxiety meds and took the pill. I was prescribed Sertraline 25mg. A bit of back story - I’m not 41 and at 21 years old I had a heart attack which led to the discovery of a ASD, bracchicardia & atrial fibrillation. I had open heart surgery which caused a stroke (air embolism) & shortly after a pacemaker was inserted. I lost ability to speak & walk. My life was in shambles & I couldn’t find out a way out but I had my family support. Eventually I came into some money but that was lost quite quickly. Needless to say I was mentally emotionally physically messed up. I saw therapists, none seemed to help. I did get on antidepressants for a bit but those messed me up too much. Fast forward years later I met a wonderful man we had a baby 18 months ago. I’m still not ok, I feel anxious/stressed/worried about everything (money & family) all the time but when I PMS it’s so much worse & there’s rage. For years I told myself I can exercise or mediate or find other ways out but nothing really gave me a permanent fix. I workout which helps a lot & meds can make you gain weight which is another thing that made me nervous. Anyway so day one was yesterday. Wish me luck folks!

I am currently 18 months ppm & I feel every months when my period comes around I feel so much more anxious & stressed about everything than I ever did. I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced this? I’ve experienced depression before but this feels different. Thanks in advance

I’m at a loss. I’m certain we have hindered our son’s ability to soothe himself to sleep. Since birth we have been room sharing, in his own bassinet then crib and sometimes in our bed. He had very bad reflux for the first few months so he slept on my chest. He’s never really slept through the night. We got 6-8 stretches occasionally but never consistently. About 6 weeks ago we moved him into his own room bigger crib. He is very familiar with this room he plays in there often. This move came after going cold turkey with the milk bottle so that made it difficult to put him to sleep but eventually I would rock him and he would sleep for a few hours. Then he was dealing with separation anxiety for a week because my husband was away. Barely slept at night & even skipped naps on 2 days. I was doing the chair method and it was working but then it stopped. So then I tried Ferber this past week , night 1 sucked, night 2 he slept from 8-430, night 3 terrible & night 4 (last) sucked so we decided just to let him CIO at 430am. It didn’t work. He cried continuously for an hour screaming losing his voice. We live in an apartment so this is even harder. My husband works late so only gets to bed around midnight. I tried bringing him into our bed but he won’t sleep there either. Tell me what to do. Please. We cannot function like this.