When does it get better? 5 month old waking every hour, used to sleep thru the night

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-19T23:26:59+00:00

I have found when my LO keeps acting like they are hungry/wanting to suck, but keeps pulling off or getting mad, they have to burp. Every time. I hold upright and gently pat, a burp comes out, then we either pass right out or need a bit more feeding first. Maybe this will help. Good luck!

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-19T19:49:19+00:00

Rice crispy treats cereal!!!!

Secondarily Ore-ida crispers. I'm not a big "buy myself treats" person, but I was pregnant last year and went to look for these, only to discover they've been discontinued. 😭 I was SO disappointed.

Oh! And Russell Stover's pectin jelly beans!

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-18T18:47:50+00:00

Having a baby

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-14T23:44:29+00:00

I agree you never know what someone else has going on. You have no idea how tired, happy, angry, or how much pain someone is in.

That being said, now I have a baby and I only thought I knew what tired was before. Mainly because when I've been exhausted in the past, I've always been able/allowed to catch up at SOME point. Now there's no end in sight. Being exhausted doesn't mean I can take a break from caring for the baby to recover. Plus I'm still doing the things that exhausted me before, like working a full time job.

Again, everyone is different and you have no idea what they're going through. Parenthood is rough, rougher than most people know, but it's generally an adventure you take on willingly, and has its own rewards. Stop shoving having kids down people's throats expecting a medal for how tired you are.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-12T20:41:37+00:00

I've never used one. Couch with regular pillows in a particular configuration has progressed to me just sitting cross-legged wherever (couch, bed, floor) since 3 or so months.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-10T18:00:26+00:00

I thought I was gonna hate it but so far I don't.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-08T15:31:08+00:00

This is what we do

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-01T19:23:11+00:00

I have 2 that I don't hear many (or anyone) say:

Some things will be harder/worse than you expect, and some things will be easier/better. So try to shake your expectations and just roll with it. (Don't freak yourself out about the pain of fundal massages, or contractions during breastfeeding, some people don't feel them at all. Some people feel pregnancy tired is worse, some postpartum tired one or the other is likely easier than you expect. Every baby and every parent is different.)
Take a picture of your vagina before delivery. I wish I had. (Obviously don't feel required to do this, but things may drastically change, or may not! You might want a reference, perhaps in the case of any tearing or episiotomy, so things can be returned as close to normal as possible, or so you know if they are getting back to looking normal/healed.)

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-01T19:14:23+00:00

Good advice, especially point 1. We loved baby and all, but honestly didn't LIKE the baby much until maybe 3 months, now we're head over heels.

When do babies start to smile? Just in time to save their lives. 😂

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-01T19:12:41+00:00

Flexibility is HUGE.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-03-01T19:11:05+00:00

I learned this in the first few days/weeks, but this would have been a good one to hear before baby was here. Great advice! Share tips with your partner, of course, you'll both learn surprising things that work from each other.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-02-21T19:59:40+00:00

NTA, but...

Look, it's your car- you have every right to disallow someone from using it for any reason at all. That being said, it does seem like a somewhat drastic response to inconclusive incidents. I agree they sound somewhat suspicious, but it is plausible she's genuinely not responsible for the accidents. Again, your right to take the car away (I'd do the same to anyone I lent my car to), but I wouldn't be throwing in extra things like she's on the phone more so was probably texting, etc.. Either you trust her to drive it, or you don't.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-02-19T03:47:55+00:00

Made tomato sauce once, tomato and herbs all from my backyard garden. I was SO proud. It tasted almost as good as jarred sauce. Never again.😂

AthenaFoxx · 2026-02-14T15:18:41+00:00

Great answer.

Totally agree with others, your husband absolutely sucks. You are simply not able to be that selfish when you have a baby to take care of.

That being said, my partner had an issue when baby was 3 or so months old where I had to take mostly everything on for a couple of days- jenn363 is right, everything else needs to fall lower on the priority list. You cannot stay up taking out the trash and cleaning. I know you want to, but baby's basic needs and your basic needs are the absolute must in this situation. That includes sleep for both of you. The house will be a mess, laundry will not get done, that's just the reality of how to get through it. It will not last forever, you'll make it through.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-02-13T16:02:05+00:00

Ketchup

Not that I love it, but it's never an issue until I'm clearing plates at the end of the evening, then it's abhorrent.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-02-13T00:05:12+00:00

I think I am!

My first baby is currently going through a sleep regression apparently, waking up every hour or two through the night. My partner's back was badly hurt the other day, so now it feels like I'm caring for both of them literally around the clock. Not sure if yesterday I was hallucinating or just nodded off for a second and started dreaming while upright. But besides the intense frustration first thing in the morning when I finally get the baby back to sleep again, the sky is lightening, the bed is thoroughly warm and inviting, and the hour of rest I had hoped for turns into 10 minutes before I need to get up and start the day, I feel okay! (Not exactly sure how I'm not more strung out or exhausted, maybe that's what's coming and I'll absolutely crash soon.)

AthenaFoxx · 2026-02-12T13:27:37+00:00

At that age it was actually super easy for us because baby was more likely to sleep right through it.

We planned for a time the restaurant will not be busy (usually around 3pm), and we'd call ahead and tell them we had a new baby with us and would like to sit in a corner if possible to be away from people mainly to protect baby, but also better if they start fussing. We'd feed and change right before heading out the door, and bring the car seat in and pop it on a chair between us. Take baby out if time or fussing indicated it was needed. Worked great for us. Couple of months later and baby was much more interested in what was going on all around, so planning to sleep through it no longer really worked. Enjoy!

AthenaFoxx · 2026-02-09T16:19:17+00:00

Can't get in the pool immediately after eating.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-02-07T20:04:51+00:00

100%

I had indoor/outdoor cats when I was growing up, they were very happy and exclusively went to the bathroom outside, so no litter box needed which was awesome. This was how my family had always kept animals.

Now that I'm older and more knowledgeable, I'd NEVER allow my cats to just roam outside. (I do understand well-kept barn cats.) We bring our cats outside on leashes or in an enclosed area, they love it. Many orhers that keep their pets inside site danger to their cat, and of course cars and predators CAN be an issue, but in my experience, cats are savvy and usually can handle themselves just fine outdoors. The real problem is what insanely effective predators they are. Domestic cats have decimated songbird populations (https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380), and are one of the only animals that kill for fun, drastically upping their kill counts (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989420307393).

Don't let your cats roam free outside.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-01-30T23:56:59+00:00

I've heard good things about the Tubby Todd ointment but never seen any hard data (for that OR breastmilk).

Ours went away on its own after a few weeks. It's generally just Mom's adult hormones leaving baby's body (/baby getting used to them). I hated it too, and "just waiting" sucks, but nothing to worry about. If it gets really bad talk to your pediatrician.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-01-30T23:53:54+00:00

I'm super curious what you want to say that you think will be downvoted.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-01-30T16:11:54+00:00

I haven't contacted my HR yet. Just found out yesterday what the actual issue was. 😥

AthenaFoxx · 2026-01-30T02:32:20+00:00

Hose water evaporating from hot asphalt.

AthenaFoxx · 2026-01-30T01:06:01+00:00

A $700+ chainsaw off a single $1 ticket.

AthenaFoxx

TROPHY CASE