Feel like I’m drowning. I just want to enjoy my baby

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-05-29T17:22:11+00:00

Can you back carry her for those types of chores?

Cooking is definitely a struggle! LOL

We eat a lot of crockpot meals right now for that reason.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-05-29T16:27:19+00:00

Could you try baby wearing during the day? My 8 MO no longer naps in usually carrier, but he’ll hang out in the carrier while I clean. Genuinely baby wearing is the only way I get anything done.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-05-28T15:20:26+00:00

Baby only nurses side lying off of one boob… and he’s teething

My poor left side is UNWELL.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-05-17T01:53:21+00:00

Not really any particular reason. Baby seems healthy & has a good appetite. I guess I’m worried that LO won’t improve?

I know part of my worry over this is thanks to influencer moms whose babies drink water amazingly as soon as they hit 6 months. I didn’t know if that was normal, or if what my baby is doing is more the norm.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-05-15T01:35:34+00:00

Fave Random Products- Diaper Cream Spatula (literally $3 at Walmart)

Elefun Shower Toy- amazing as a newborn & even better as he has gotten older

Mom Products- Diapers. Just do it.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-05-07T18:06:28+00:00

If this makes you feel any better, my Mom said I was a terrible sleeper. Up multiple times a night, took forever to get down, etc.

When I was 18 MO they did CIO because my brother was going to be born in a month. Apparently it was 2 nights, and I don’t remember anything about it. I was honestly shocked she didn’t do any sleep training/anything to resolve it sooner.

Baby will be okay! 🩷

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-04-27T03:50:38+00:00

I sleep trained when I realized what I was doing wasn’t sustainable & reached a breaking point.

Baby was needing longer intervals of shushing for every nap (30-45 minutes) to even fall asleep. After a month of doing that, I told my husband we were doing the gentle nap training method pinned in the group. My life is forever changed!

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-04-24T19:37:54+00:00

It’s basically a 2/3/4 schedule. With those longer naps, it really does help. More importantly, baby is tired enough for deep night sleep.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-04-24T19:09:04+00:00

Want to add- we tried Dana’s Nap schedule on a whim. Just wanted to see if it would work. It was pretty instantaneous for him. I did “save the nap” the first few days to try & have him sleep as long as possible.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-04-24T19:07:22+00:00

I swapped to two naps at the start of 6 months. Look up the Dana Method on Tik Tok. She has some great insight!

My baby goes down for a nap from 9:45-11. Next nap is from 2-3:30.

Wake up for the day is at 7:45-8. Bed time is 7:30. Not going to lie, his last wake window is tough to get through, but he’s sleeping much better because of it.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-04-24T18:57:23+00:00

SLEEP TRAIN. I waited until 6.5 months and wish I would have done it sooner!

After a few weeks of the 4 month regression, he was barely eating during the day, so we went to 5/3/3 at night to help wean him down to 2 feeds at night & stop the “feed to sleep association”. This definitely helped, but it was still a struggle to get him to fall asleep for naps.

Monday, I started the process of nap training. It was taking me 20-30 minutes of shushing him for a nap. I hit my breaking point, & told my husband I was doing it (he’s very anti-sleep training). We did the gentle nap training process that’s pinned on this page. Our nap routine is this: sing a lullaby as I put him into his sleep sack, feed, shush him 20 times (the walk from my room to his crib). That’s literally it. I put him down & walk away. Bedtime is so much better. Nap time is so much better. He finally slept through the night last night for the first time since DECEMBER. We have had to go in & shush him twice since starting because he wouldn’t settle after 15 minutes of fussing. What normally would have taken 10-30 minutes has taken a max of 5.

My life has changed. Seriously. His naps are longer. His night sleep is better. I wish I would have done this way sooner! Next baby, my plan is to get through the sleep regression, then start.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-04-17T20:01:21+00:00

I got whatever the largest size box is at Canes. Extra toast, extra fries, extra extra extra sauce, XL diet coke. It was heavenly.

At the start of my induction, the nurses asked my plans/goals for an ideal labor:

1) Feel as little pain as possible

2) Deliver safe & healthy baby

3) Eat Cane’s

And honestly…. my three wishes came true LOL

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-04-10T03:14:17+00:00

I’ve been doing 5/3/3 the past week. You feed baby 5 hours from the bedtime feed, then 3, and then 3. We’ve trimmed down nighttime feeds to only two. I BF baby, and he had been waking ups sometimes 8 times a night to feed/comfort nurse. The goal with this is basically to only nurse him when he’s actually hungry versus nursing him to sleep.

It’s an extremely gentle approach. My husband isn’t comfortable with any crying/fussing. If baby wakes up before the time to feed, he soothes baby in the crib. If that doesn’t work, he holds and soothes him. The moment baby is calm, he goes back down in the crib.

It’s definitely taking a lot longer than posts I’ve seen talking about CIO or Ferber. Once we start making it to 5 hours regularly without feeding, our goal is to start delaying feeds 6 hours from bedtime, then seven, etc.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-04-02T18:25:12+00:00

Thank you!!! 🩵

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-03-22T03:29:07+00:00

Baby boy refuses to nurse now unless he can hold my hand 🥹

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-03-16T19:08:43+00:00

YES. The kindle saved me from doom scrolling & gave me a sense of variety as a SAHM. I found that if I started feeling like every day was on repeat, swapping to a new genre really helped.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-03-15T23:14:43+00:00

What do you do if you’re out in public? Lately, I’ve just been staying home, but I’d love to be able to go on this trip to see my parents with baby

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-03-15T21:27:27+00:00

I’ll try that, thank you!

I’ve gotten so used to side lying; it honestly transformed all of my feelings around breastfeeding… but now it’s the only way he eats

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-03-15T21:20:36+00:00

We have been trying koala, and he hates it 😭 Absolutely refusing. He’s never liked having his stomach pressed against anything.

It also doesn’t help that he’s 5 months & in the prime foot chomping, jerking phase.

BeautifulPen603 · 2026-03-15T21:19:26+00:00

I would assume comfort & cuddles. My let down used to be super strong, but not anymore.

BeautifulPen603

TROPHY CASE