u/notforthisworld0101

So my brother is getting married 4 weeks after my due date and I don't know if we will end up going or not. I've told him we intend to go but we might just have to see how we go on the day. They've asked my firstborn to be a flower girl, so we intend to go to the ceremony but I'm unsure about the reception. I would like to be there as it's my brother but also need to be realistic about being freshly post partum. I'm also anxious about taking a newborn into crowded environments. My family aren't the type to "pass around" so that's good at least. If baby is content in pram or babywearing they will leave her be.

As you know babies can come early or late, so really baby could be anywhere from 3-5 weeks old. My 1st was a week late. 1st will be 18 months at that time.

Am I crazy thinking we can manage a wedding with an 18 month old and newborn?

What would you do? Ceremony only and skip reception? I've already told them we hope to make it to both but if we had to pull out last minute is that rude? It's just sometimes with babies you don't know until the day.

Before 12 months it was the unhinged things i did to get her to sleep. Now at 14 months it's the unhinged things I do to get her to eat.

I have to dip each spoonful in BBQ sauce and I have to say "pour" when I do it (her demand not mine). If I don't say it she screams and hits the food away. The other one is putting on music as she eats and basically acting like I'm on Broadway. It's a season I guess.

Does anyone know of a good baby monitor that isn't on wifi?

Getting a double floor bed was the best thing we ever did. My 14 month old sleeps with either myself or her dad and we all get the best sleep ever! Plus, lots of cuddles during the night which are so cozy and precious. One day she will sleep on her own but for now, this works for us and is keeping everyone rested and happy. I want to soak up every moment in these first years because one day, it will just be a memory.

My 14 month old got sick with a respiratory virus 3 weeks ago. She had a lingering cough, we took her to urgent care as she had this cough for weeks. They said there was no infection and just to let her get better on her own. She thankfully got better about a week ago, no cough and finally seemed herself.

However since Monday, she appeared to be getting sick again. The cough has come back and it sounds very wet and nasty. She's miserable, doesn't want to eat much and vomited earlier today due to the hacking cough. She has a low grade fever and just wants to nap a lot. We have a GP appointment booked this afternoon.

The sicknesses going around at the moment are brutal. Almost every kid I know is sick right now!!

Sorry for this, I just need to vent somewhere. My husband and I got into an argument and things got pretty heated. We were raising our voices at each other and our 14 month old was in the room. I think she could tell we were arguing and got upset.

She didn't want to eat her dinner and completely refused her bedtime milk which is not like her. She was showing symptoms of a cold earlier today so it's hard to tell if she was upset because of that or because of us fighting. Probably a combination of both. I feel so bad.

I'm suffering badly from pregnancy rage and keep losing my cool. My husband says I'm angry all the time. I feel like I have a short fuse these days. I don't want to fight but it just comes out. I don't have much tolerance or patience at the moment. I feel terrible.

We need so much help with our 14 month old. She's never had an issue with split nights until now. In fact, she was sleeping through the night for 2 months before this phase hit us. The past few weeks she's up from 2am - 5am consistently. Any wakes before 2am I can easily settle her in her crib but once it hits 2am she stands up and refuses to sleep until 5am. I won't leave her to cry so I bring her into bed and she just rolls around, plays with my hair, sits up etc for 3 hours while I poorly attempt to keep sleeping.

Im at a loss on what's causing this. I thought it was hunger initially but she gets 7oz cow milk before bed. I've tried giving her a bedtime smoothie full of fat like avocado/full fat yogurt but it made no difference. She eats a good dinner about an hour before bed.

Her daytime schedule is pretty solid. She wakes around 7am, naps around 12pm - 2pm and goes to bed around 7pm. I've tried later bedtime, earlier bedtime, again it makes no difference.

With her nap she has started waking about 30 min into nap, I go in and resettle her and then she sleeps the full 2 hours. I'm wondering if I just let her wake up at that 30 min mark and see if that helps but I'm not sure. Maybe she needs more awake time and resettle her is hurting us?

I'm running out of things to try and so desperate for better sleep. Currently pregnant and running on fumes. Send help!

My 2nd baby is due in October 2026. From 31 March 2025 to 31 March 2026 I was on maternity leave for my 1st child and still technically employed full time. I officially resigned from that role on my last day of maternity leave which was 31 March 2026. Do I meet the work test for my baby due in October?

He works full time but would like to take some time off when baby is here in October. His work only offers 2 weeks of paid leave. I'm a SAHM. Would he get anything from Centrelink since I'm not working and won't be eligible for it myself?

For context my 14 month old usually has a nap around 12pm for 2 hours. She's perfectly happy with this and usually has heaps of energy to last her all the way to 12pm.

Recently, she's been wanting to take a nap around 8:30am. She'll be playing and then randomly start crying and when I ask her what's wrong she says tired/nap. Sometimes she falls asleep other times she just wants to lay down and cuddle with me in a dark room.

She is also having an increase in night wakings the last few weeks too.

She doesn't appear to be sick or unwell. Should I be concerned? Is this normal?

Currently having an existential crisis as I've realized we will be doing 2 under 2 alone. My husband will have the first month off work but after that it's just me. My family are not really the helping types. My husband's family lives far away and are battling health issues. How are we going to manage? No one helped with my first, they would only come to visit and see her but now she's older the visits have become less frequent. No one helped with food, clean up, dishes or anything like that. They wouldn't even make themselves a coffee and would expect us to do it. I'm just thinking about how hard it's going to be managing 2 kids on our own. How are we going to survive?

Not sure what I'm looking for, I'm mostly just ranting about how I feel we have no help or village.

My 13 month old has been sick for 2 weeks now. It started with her losing her voice, then progressed into a cough that would flare up at night, and now she has some sneezing and congested breathing but it only seems to appear at night. She has coughing fits during her sleep. It sounds like shes snoring with each breath. I'm doing all the things like running a humidifier, saline spray, nose sucker etc.

She does not have a fever. During the day she plays and eats as usual which is reassuring. It's just night time that makes me worry. I feel bad that her sleep is getting disturbed so much from the congestion/cough.

Update: thanks for the replies everyone. We ended up taking her to urgent care this morning. We were in and out within the hour. Thankfully the doctor wasn't concerned that it was anything serious and it looks like she has a prolonged cold/flu. Lots of rest at home for the next week and if she doesn't improve within 2 weeks we need to take her back. I'm just glad it's not an infection and we did our due diligence.

My toddler currently sleeps in her crib in our room and im due to have my 2nd baby in October. We are trying to figure out what to do in terms of our sleep set up.

Do we keep both kids in our room with toddler on my husbands side and newborn on my side? Do we move toddler to her own room? We aren't sure if moving her will make our lives easier or harder. On the other side, if we keep her in our room I'm worried no one will sleep as newborns wake up every 2ish hours to feed/change etc and I'm worried I will disturb toddler and make more work for myself. Toddler will be 18 months when baby is born.

What worked for you? She sleeps through most nights but we are currently going through a rough patch with 2 wake ups a night for the past month.

Looking for any and all tips! Thank you!

I'm currently pregnant with my second and will have 2 under 2. I'd love to hear some real life experiences from parents who have been through it.

A few things I'm particularly curious about:

How was your second birth compared to your first?

How did you find the transition from 1 child to 2?

What was the hardest part of having 2 under 2?

What has been the best part?

How did your older child react to the new baby?

When did things start to feel easier?

Is there anything you wish you'd done differently before baby arrived?

Any tips, hacks, or pieces of advice you think every parent expecting 2 under 2 should know?

I'm interested in hearing the good, the bad, and the ugly. I know everyone's experience is different, but I'd love to get a realistic picture of what life was like for you.

Thanks in advance!

My 13 month old was sick last week with congestion, sneezing and lost her voice for a few days. She now has a cough that flares up at 10pm like clockwork every night. She coughs constantly for an hour and takes ages to settle down and go back to sleep. We have a humidifier running, give her a teaspoon of honey before bed, have tried warm honey tea, saline spray and nose sucker, steamy bathroom, vicks on the chest. Not sure what else we can do but im desperate. No one is sleeping properly around here. Is it just a matter of waiting it out? During the day she is happy as Larry, heaps of energy and plays as usual!

If I am nursing baby on my left side and using the haakaa to collect my letdown on the right side, when the baby is finished with the left side, do I latch baby on the right side and then put the haakaa on the left side? Will the baby still get milk from the right side if I used the haakaa there first? Will this cause an oversupply?

Sorry for all the questions just trying to understand!

I have a 13 month old who uses a pacifier for sleep only. I read that you should try to stop pacifier use by 18 months so there are no impacts on jaw/teeth development. I'm expecting my 2nd when my daughter will be 18 months so I'm hoping to wean her before the baby arrives. I trialed putting her to sleep without the paci to see what she would do and she just cried non stop so I gave in. How did you wean your toddler from the pacifier? All tips welcome!

Someone said they're going to buy you a gift. What are you getting?

There was once upon a time we couldn't keep our hands off each other but things have changed now and im a little concerned. He is a fantastic hands-on father, helps around the house and is supportive. I love him as the father of my child but I'm not sure I'm attracted to him anymore.

I don't know if this is a temporary thing or if this is truly how I feel. Our first born is 12 months old and we are expecting our 2nd. I would blame it on pregnancy but i have the ability to find other men attractive, just not him. We're rarely intimate. I guess he doesn't excite me? He just annoys me if I'm being completely honest.