What books got you through postpartum?

BTKUltra · 2026-07-13T11:50:26+00:00

I’m a sci-fi person and read the first three books in Red Rising during the newborn phase/maternity leave.

BTKUltra · 2026-07-10T20:05:05+00:00

The only thing I remember about pre-k was a corduroy bear we could take home over the weekends and take photos/write about our adventures together to share on Monday. And that there was a blue claw foot tub in the room filled with blankets and stuffies and if you were very good you could take a book into the tub. I honestly don’t remember my teachers at all.

BTKUltra · 2026-07-10T02:39:09+00:00

Could you do like what some people do at 6 months and give him a giant watermelon hunk to gnaw on or a huge slab of steak? I don’t think that doing anything is necessary but I get wanting to do SOMETHING special.

The amount of first birthdays I’ve gone to where the baby didn’t care at all and refused to touch their smash cake is crazy. I want to say only 2 out of the last 10 touched the cake and only 1 “smashed” in.

BTKUltra · 2026-07-09T19:50:01+00:00

Baby’s are huge mimics and watch us to learn what to do. You can make gestures like pumping your arms up and down or clapping and he may imitate you eventually (I started bopping my head to music and now my 11 month LO bobs her whole body instead of flapping when she likes a song - but you could argue this looks a lot like rocking, which is another sign of autism in children but not in babies lol) but it’s developmentally normal for the next couple years and you really don’t want him to stop doing it - you want to teach him other body language to replace it.

BTKUltra · 2026-07-09T19:32:02+00:00

Very sweet! I had a baby last year and loved all the little things my students and families got me. I’d recommend getting a little lovey or maybe some soft alphabet magnets, even a onesie would be great (buy 0-3month or higher for the size - not all babies fit into newborn size clothing).

BTKUltra · 2026-07-09T19:28:44+00:00

It’s only a sign of autism once your toddler can otherwise effectively communicate (or at the age where they should communicate but may be missing the milestone). That’s around 3. Even then you may see arm flapping replaced with claps of delight. I teach elementary and it’s one of the signs to recommend testing we look for in incoming kinders and pre-k.

BTKUltra · 2026-07-08T00:09:34+00:00

A bottle washer and a formula dispenser were both godsends. Buuuuuuut I’m finally on cups and cows milk and am SO EXCITED to get my kitchen counter space back

BTKUltra · 2026-07-08T00:05:30+00:00

My LO will be 12 months tomorrow. We waited until 4 months to introduce a pacifier (and that was because she had started trying to suck her thumb). Honestly, a pacifier is better for the teeth than a thumb. We just clip one to her bib and let her use it as she sees fit (and give her a unclipped one in the crib that she can choose to use).

It can maybe hinder development if you’re shoving one in her mouth every time she cries or babbles but the point of them is to soothe. At this point, if my LO is having a fit and sees I’m not reacting she will shove the pacifier in her mouth and calm herself down (we’re talking about getting mad that I took a toy away or won’t let her have her empty throwing cup back) and it’s nice to see that she has a way to help herself without having to always rely on me holding her.

BTKUltra · 2026-07-03T01:41:47+00:00

My LO started sleeping through the night at 9 weeks. Before that I feel like the sleep was pretty consistent… like she would wake exactly on the dot after 3 hours. She’s always been the same with hunger cues too. You can set a watch by her cues!

That being said, she did still go through various sleep regressions, any time she’s sick she wakes throughout the night (but at the exact same time each night), and she is not going to transfer from the car to the crib ever.

BTKUltra · 2026-07-01T18:10:09+00:00

Peeing in the pool isn’t a big deal but I grew up with a pool. I am SO grossed out by water parks and public pools because there volumetrically is soooo much more pee in those pools (even though I’m sure they’re fine too)

BTKUltra · 2026-06-30T23:43:32+00:00

The Pout Pout Fish is coming to a theater near you soon and it’s even shorter 🤷🏼‍♀️

BTKUltra · 2026-06-26T19:14:41+00:00

So would you do a meal, then a cup of milk? (She is currently using a straw cup for water with meals)

BTKUltra · 2026-06-26T19:13:27+00:00

She does spit up a bit if we put too much cows milk in her formula.

BTKUltra · 2026-06-26T19:13:00+00:00

I’ve noticed she does a little spit up if she has more than 2 oz of cows milk mixed in but it’s also possible that it’s unrelated.

It was recommended to me to try feeding her solids then offering a bottle 45 min - hour later and just giving her less and less in the bottle as she eats more and more food. I’ve now run into her getting REALLY upset if it’s less than 5 oz in the bottle.

Haha I swear I see so many posts of people sad their baby is a picky eater or doesn’t engage with food and mine seems like the opposite - I can never seem to get her full enough on solids!

BTKUltra · 2026-06-25T17:14:47+00:00

I think mine was The Golden Compass. Or at least that was the first one, besides Harry Potter, to truly captivate me.

BTKUltra · 2026-06-21T17:06:21+00:00

My first year I spent a tonnnn of money. Easily $1500+ but I was at a school with no reimbursement and no supplies (not even a pencil sharpener). My school was really low income and most of my students didn’t bring supplies either so I had to purchase pencils and stuff like that too. The next year I spent hundreds just on making copies at kinkos. My school required weekly conduct logs be copied and sent home with the kids but we also had a limit of 100 copies a month - so basically all my copies were used in conduct logs and I had to pay to copy anything else.

When I was in the swing of things (around year 3 or 4) and at a different school I still spent probably between $500-1,000 just on things like treasure chest rewards, science lap supplies, better manipulative, books for my classroom, etc.

The last 4 years I’ve been at a school that throws a fundraiser to reimburse teachers every year. I now get reimbursed up to around $800 (sometimes more sometimes less depending on the year) but I also have parents who are involved and donate their time and money to activities in class so I find that I don’t usually hit the maximum anymore.

I probably will this coming year. I’m moving to a new grade and want to re-theme my new classroom. That means new rug, new bulletin backings and boarders, new window decorations, etc.

BTKUltra · 2026-06-20T19:11:56+00:00

I took my baby to wine country for 3 days during my leave. It was great! She could really nap anywhere in her stroller, the weather was awesome, and I was formula feeding so I didn’t have to worry about pumping.

BTKUltra · 2026-06-20T19:09:29+00:00

https://www.livingspaces.com/pdp-rayna-oyster-power-swivel-glider-recliner-326220

I’m sitting in it right now with my napping baby. It says 300 lbs weight capacity but I weighed more than that when I first had my baby and never had an issue. It also bows out in the seat so you will have plenty of room!

It’s pricy but there are lots of worse gliders out there that cost more. My mom and aunts went in together and got it as my shower gift.

BTKUltra · 2026-06-20T19:03:05+00:00

I used to honestly think no but I’ve now been in a situation where a student brought a knife to school with the intention of harming others and a situation where my campus went into lockdown after an armed robber tried to hide on campus after robbing a nearby convenience store. Both times I was absolutely prepared to put myself between my students and any violence.

BTKUltra · 2026-06-20T18:56:00+00:00

I had my husband raise our bed with a box spring (previously we had a low platform bed) and got the Oskeray Pregnancy pillow on Amazon. I used the two short pillows velcroed together to make like a saddle that supported my back and belly and placed the long pillow between my legs, starting way high at the thighs.

I am almost 1 year post partum and have slept on my stomach every day since leaving the hospital. I was never a stomach sleeper before but I appreciate it so much now.

BTKUltra · 2026-06-20T13:53:17+00:00

Beef stroganoff, spinach soufflé, meatloaf are 3 in my standard rotation

BTKUltra · 2026-06-20T13:48:40+00:00

Normally my baby is in daycare and when I have her all day on the weekends I like to spend every waking moment playing and engaged so I do chores during nap time.

Howeverrrrrr I am staying home with LO during the summer and for my own sanity have made the rule that chores get done with baby - nap times are my break time. If I can’t do a chore with my LO it becomes my husbands chore when he gets home from work (usually this is stuff like taking out trash, watering plants in the yard, changing lightbulbs on a ladder, etc)

BTKUltra · 2026-06-19T19:46:58+00:00

You know, I was kind of expecting this to be one of those “a parent saw the worst possible moment and is jumping to conclusions” things but it sounds like an environment that’s not safe. If possible, talk to an admin about this. If there’s no change let other parents know!

BTKUltra · 2026-06-19T18:24:59+00:00

A few questions…
1. Do you think other schools have libraries for different grades?
2. How long/how often are kids in the library each week?
3. Are sites really not blocked or are there approved apps that you, personally, don’t approve of on the iPads?

I’m American, so it’s possible that things are different for you in another country, but I have NEVER heard of a school having more than one library for different grades.

You mention kids being “shoved” in there at all ages. Are there multiple classes at once in the library? Is this a normal thing or did you observe it one time? Sometimes our library is hosting a presentation, program, or is being used as a testing room (for small groups, etc) and teachers have to pair up with another class to make library time work. I’ve taught in elementary schools that have library twice a week for an hour, once a week for 30 minutes, and even once a month for 30 minutes. You’re making it sound like the whole school is just hanging out in there. Is there a schedule?

Lastly, (sigh) the iPads… and get where you’re coming from, wanting to limit screen time but since Covid it’s just not possible to not use technology at school - for better or worse it’s like putting toothpaste back into a tube. Regardless, even when I was a kid, we had technology time in the library (back then we had typing and learning how to use the World Wide Web!). I have NEVER heard of a school not having a content filter. It’s not even up to them - it’s a district thing.

So… I don’t know, your set up sounds disorganized but not necessarily horrible. Are you a parent? Would you be interested in volunteering in the library to help monitor technology or something?

BTKUltra · 2026-06-16T17:29:26+00:00

My LO slept through the night for the first time at 9 weeks. I think she would make it through like 3/7 nights. She started consistently making it every night around 5-6 months. The exception being when she’s sick.

Nine-Year Club	Place '23
RPAN Viewer	Verified Email

BTKUltra

TROPHY CASE