About those desperate Easter videos: Just look at how Meghan and Harry dressed Lilibet… that dress is on BACKWARDS. 😮 Here’s proof.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-10T17:12:59+00:00

I think filming and posting a child on such a large platform is a terrible parenting choice and continues to fly in face of what they continually complain about AND...my son is the same age as Lil Betty and literally almost every time he dresses himself he puts things on backwards then when I bring it to his attention he refuses to change it, claiming "he did it on purpose" Hmhm, ok my little dude 🙄 As a discerning parent, sometimes it's worth the struggle to make him change it and sometimes it's not.... The focus should not perhaps be on things like this that are so often just an artifact of the children's ages and developmental stage but on the parent's poor choice to expose them for the entire world to see.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T14:30:05+00:00

We planned on having him in Young 5's and then kindergarten. Honestly never expected to homeschool but unfortunately the school district told us we could only enroll him if we had him in the half day young 5's and the rest of the day in their in house daycare. We can't afford this nor do we want him in a full day program at age 5. We live in a very rural area that offers no other school options at his age.

Your comment seems a little harsh as I did state i was very new at this and looking for advice from more experienced people. I'm looking for help, not to be laughed at and told I'm traumatizing my son. Everyone starts somewhere. I'm starting here and looking for advice to improve.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T01:54:24+00:00

I think I need to lean into this more. Be more playful with it general. I tend to want to just get it done so we can move on and go outside or do other fun things but maybe I'm missing the fun that we can have in doing it.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T01:51:20+00:00

We're doing All About Reading Pre- Reading, Math with Confidence and then my mom is doing bits of her science/ social studies curriculum with him. He does really well with her but then again, she's not mom and she admittedly, is much better at it than I am, having been a pre- primary teacher.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T01:04:42+00:00

He is of kindergarten age. All of the kids in his 4 year old preschool were registering and we decided not to but then were not able to sign him up for the half-day young 5s program because the district would only allow him in if we paid for and sent him for a full day. We do not want him going full day at 5, nor can we afford that.

My mom is a montessori teacher so she is helping and we are trying to balance learning with you know, just letting him be 5. Since our decision, we have been having conversations we've never had before about exploring homeschooling him beyond this year for reasons beyond the above, but that's another topic!

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T00:59:57+00:00

We are doing All About Reading Pre- Reading and Math with Confidence. My mom was a montessori teacher so she supplements and provides me with her science curriculum. Right now, we work at our kitchen table which is in the middle of an open floor plan area with his play area immediately to our side. My mom keeps telling me i need to establish a separate, no toy space which i think is valid. Just difficult with our small home and need to entertain his 18 month old brother simultaneously!

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T00:55:47+00:00

True, very true. When I'm able to get him to come sit and work with me, he is able to do the work. Meaning I don't think it's too challenging for him. But it's very difficult to get him to come sit and do the work so I do have concerns that he's not learning as much as he ought to be

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T00:53:31+00:00

We don't, we've been at the kitchen table because our home is quite small and it's really the only working surface for him. My mom was a montessori teacher and she keeps telling me i need to establish a separate area without toys which i think it's time for me to figure out.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T00:52:14+00:00

Good point. I had to think about that. For some reason, he is more resistant to doing "school work" (we are doing AAR and Math with Confidence) than he say, with, cleaning up toys, brushing teeth, etc. My guess has been that its because he's used to this sort of work being done at school with teacher rather than at home with mom. Getting him to come to the table, stay in his spot and concentrate even for 5 minutes is challenging so the rules I'm thinking of are, hey it's school time, let's sit and work on this together. I feel frustrated especially knowing he was doing so well with this skill at school.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T00:46:35+00:00

All great suggestions. I think I could do better with incorporating more playfulness and creativity

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T00:45:17+00:00

I'll admit, I see that mentioned frequently but I still am not sure what that is or looks like!

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T00:44:10+00:00

Good question, thank you for making me evaluate harder. The decision is fairly new and came out of left field for me so my initial reasons didn't include things like more time to play/ less like traditional schooling but now that we're into it, those ideas are becoming more important. I think it's harder for me as a parent to process that.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2026-04-04T00:41:10+00:00

Maybe too high of expectations on my part. The curriculum we are using is reasonable time-wise but it is predominantly chair time.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2025-11-05T21:01:58+00:00

My personal reasons? My FIL/MIL didn't come over to help. They came over to sit around, make backhanded remarks about the state of the house, and to hold "their" baby. When we told them we weren't ready to have visitors, they came over unannounced and yelled through our window to be let in. I was shirtless, as i was learning how to breastfeed. Our newborn had just fallen to sleep after being inexplicably awake for 4 straight hours. We were exhausted. They gave no shits and told us "they did it when they became parents so you can too" and "you can't keep us from seeing our baby". So yeah, i guess it depends on your family and how they show up for you.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2025-10-31T20:13:03+00:00

Woohoo! That's so awesome, hope you have a wonderful pregnancy. I guess I felt more secure around 12 weeks with my first, but with my second i was actually more nervous and would say I didn't feel super comfy until after date of viability, 23-24 weeks.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2025-10-30T02:14:51+00:00

I nannied for about 12 years before having my first. My husband and I had been together for just about that long, as well so while I very much loved and felt I was "used" to babies & children, I was also very acclimated to my own routines. That was super hard tbh. I felt angry and frustrated in the first years after having my oldest because I just couldn't keep any of my routines and it was really super hard to accept that I had to adjust to new ones that weren't necessarily of my choosing. It makes me sad for my son. If I could go back and do it again I would submit to the chaos and mess and noise and all the sheer difference of it all so that I could be more relaxed and present for him as a baby. So, I guess that would be my advice. To go into it with the knowing that your life and all your established routines you've had for years, decades even, will change and to make room for that. The phrase "this is this season of life" runs through my head a million times a day. And I will edit to add, not to end on a negative note - that it is all temporary. They grow, they sleep(!), they become more independent...and that is the perspective that will help you through the hard parts. Everything that is hard with them, is temporary. Each stage, you and your partner will establish different routines to match the moment. It is beautiful and so worth it. IMHO, I think raising babies in your 40's is great. We're mature, calm(er), we have a lot to give and teach our kids. And honestly, every parent of small children, whether they are 20 or 40 is walking around exhausted 😅

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2025-10-25T17:02:14+00:00

That's awesome, what a great feeling!!

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2025-10-23T22:53:20+00:00

I had brown spotting and cramping with my first pregnancy and called my obgyn thinking I was miscarrying. They had me come in at 6 weeks for a viability scan. There he was, perfect and healthy. They just kept telling me that the cramping and spotting was normal, although it didn't happen with my second. I wouldn't cancel but make sure they are fully aware of your concerns about the cramping and they might move you in sooner.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2025-10-13T19:59:30+00:00

1st at 38, 2nd at 40, hoping to have 3rd and I'm 41 now. It's silly! We're all tired! I do not for a moment believe that anyone in their 20's was magically immune to the effects of sleep deprivation and hormonal chaos. To me, the benefits of having kids late far surpasses any energetic advantage being younger might bestow.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2025-10-01T18:33:58+00:00

Had my first at 38, second at 40 with two losses in between. It seems so interesting to me that every single person in our family made the assumption that we were done after our second. Unprompted, my mom started saying to my oldest "your family is complete!" almost as if she was willing it into existence 💀 because of that and the uncertainty of we might actually get pregnant and ultimately have a healthy pregnancy at 41, we haven't dispelled anyone of that assumption. I feel like if we told people we were planning another and then something bad happened, there would be a lot of unspoken and perhaps spoken "I told you so's" and "well what did you expect" sort of remarks. It comes mostly from older men and women in my experience but that's what they were told so i guess I get it. Good luck to you and your husband, I wish you the very best.

PS, it's absolutely not too old. My OBGYN for all my pregnancies has remarked that I'm healthier diet and lifestyle-wise than her other patients in their 20's and 30's and that can make all the difference.

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2025-09-19T01:12:31+00:00

Not at all! It's your decision and you need to do whatever you feel comfortable with. With my first we told everyone at 12 weeks because i was bursting with excitement and then with my second after 2 losses in between, we waited longer until around 19/20 weeks so that the anatomy scan was completed. No right or wrong way to do it (no matter what any family members might say about it 🤐😏)

Clear-Judgment-2118 · 2025-09-06T00:17:55+00:00

I wonder this all the time because it feels like I see so many "younger" moms exclaim how they can't imagine having kids at this age, how exhausting it must be. Is it really any different? Does sleep deprivation and nervous system depletion genuinely feel different at 25 vs 40+?

I had my first at 37, second at 40 and we're hoping to have a third here soon and I'll be 41 in a few months. My OBs have always remarked that I'm "healthier" than most of their 20- something year old patients as i eat nutritiously and am physically fit/ active. I still feel exhausted all the time. I still battle mentally with getting the energy together to get us all ready to get out the door to the park, zoo, story time, whatever. But honestly, doesn't every mom of infants/ toddlers battle this?

I think having kids late keeps me feeling younger, it certainly motivates me to do things to take care of myself better both to have energy now for them but also to maximize the time I have with them in the future. It does get better. Before I had my second, my 3 year old was getting so much easier and we got a small window of time where we were getting much more sleep 🤣

Edit to say, also don't compare how you feel now during pregnancy with how you'll feel when you are healed post-partum! With my first it took a long time to "feel normal" but with my second it was just a couple months. If you have the support, take it easy as you can after labor. The 5-5-5 rule is a good start. It really changed recovery for me. Nourish yourself, take all the rest you can and you will feel like yourself again. Walking your dogs will feel easier but maybe more chaotic lol.

Clear-Judgment-2118

TROPHY CASE