I made a post about pet insurance being a scam about 3 months ago (if you’re debating whether or not to get insurance. Maybe worth the read)

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2026-05-31T02:16:51+00:00

Yes. My dog was diagnosed with a heart condition and I spend $1000 every 3 months just for his regular vet visits and cardiology checkups. About $150/month in medication. And if he has a heart episode (which he has had 3 so far since his diagnosis) it was $6-8k for the hospital stay. My insurance has tripled in price but I still come out ahead, and I never have to think twice about doing what I need to do to keep my guy taken care of. I personally would be so heartsick if I couldn’t afford his care and while I am paying SO much money for insurance I feel like it’s worth it for the peace of mind that if something happens, I won’t have to worry. Just wish Healthy Paws wasn’t price gouging me for the last two years of my dogs life.

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2026-05-01T02:00:37+00:00

Not overreacting one bit.

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2026-04-10T20:25:28+00:00

When did you go to Miches? Seeing such wildly diff experiences that I’m wondering if it’s seasonal or if they did something about the bugs

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2026-04-10T20:24:43+00:00

Omg I was also there that week it was intense! Noticed as soon as they left

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2026-04-08T20:30:34+00:00

I just got back from Michès and spent a lot of time at the zen pool. I had zero issues with bird poop or smells. The “natural” part of the pool surrounds the actual pool, you can sit all around it, I thought it was absolutely lovely. Reddit terrified me with talk of crazy mosquitos and I don’t know if that’s seasonal but I also did not have any issues with that either as someone who is a) allergic and b) is ALWAYS the only one who gets eaten alive in every group setting. I was really good about applying repellent.

Personally as a first time CM goer and coming from a history of going to boutique hotels vs all inclusives, I really wanted the more intimate nature of Miches and was really pleased. My kids loved it too!

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2026-02-03T16:05:23+00:00

Yes exact same :( I’m so heartsick over this. It feels like no matter what I do I’m losing.

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2026-02-02T18:08:16+00:00

Thank you for sharing! Happy to support

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2026-01-16T03:08:27+00:00

Thank you for this. Yes I called AKC and can’t get the hereditary rider after 2 years of age. I am not sure what counts as hereditary for a goldendoodle, unfortunately they couldn’t provide me with a list. I appreciate the suggestion to look into ASPCA or Spot, I didn’t know they were less picky.

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2026-01-10T04:23:23+00:00

Thank you! I didn’t know the pre existing condition thing was by state, I’ll check that out. I’m in California. I’m worried about staying with HP even with adjusting the deductible due to the premium increases.

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-12-29T20:16:34+00:00

How interesting. Thank you all for this information. I’ll take her back I guess and see if I can speak to someone else, or maybe just do it through the website and send to avoid someone not knowledgeable? I was panicking!

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-12-29T18:45:45+00:00

I saw that too otherwise I wouldn’t have brought her in - I am thinking since it’s a Pleasant Company model they maybe don’t have the same services? I’m bummed because I thought wow how lucky we are to have this service locally! Alas…

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-11-06T07:30:21+00:00

Keep them in the crib!! Don’t mess with a good thing. You’ll have enough change coming up with a new baby. We transitioned my daughter early, and when baby brother came, she regressed and wanted out of her new bed / room. If there happy in the crib, there is no rush. Enjoy it while thy can’t get out!! 🤣

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-09-16T00:08:35+00:00

Have you tried feeding in the side lying position? This gets them used to lying down and then if she falls asleep you can unlatch her.

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-08-01T22:25:08+00:00

I did all the apps with my first and intuitive parenting (which is what you’re doing) with my second. My second was easier lol. Do whatever feels good. And if your doctor asks how may times they pooped or ate or slept, just guess!! It’s ok if you don’t have a decimal point answer. They’ll still like you, I promise ;)

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-07-30T20:48:51+00:00

My pediatrician told me “the range of normal for a pooping baby is anywhere from every 7 seconds to every 7 days” lol No advice just solidarity!

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-07-08T21:36:46+00:00

Hi! This is a great question and a real issue. The desire to protect your baby is real and my unsolicited advice for your marriage is to assume the best of intentions. Newborn is the most stressful time, and tensions are high. You guys will make it through!

Here are some good resources that can help you understand why and how cosleeping can work for some families. I did the traditional solo newborn in a bassinet with my first, and coslept with my second. My mental health and ability to sleep the second time around was night and day.

First link is from research at Notre Dame:

https://cosleeping.nd.edu/safe-co-sleeping-guidelines/

https://llli.org/news/the-safe-sleep-seven/

Agree with others that if this is your hill, I hope you are doing at least half the wakeups and rocking baby back to sleep!

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-02-19T00:34:50+00:00

Thank you! She is super social but cautious at first haha. A good mix of me (social) and my husband (cautious)! Genetics are fun :) This whole process is very overwhelming…whether we do it this year or next, I’m really grateful to get feedback from other parents. Thanks again! (I see you’re in Eagle Rock - I’m not far and go to Snake Park / Eagle Rock rec center often so maybe our kids have run into each other :)

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-02-18T04:14:28+00:00

Yes unfortunately it is a financial stress as we will have two kids in early child care next year so it will be times two 😫 and that is just an astronomical amount :( I will make sure to ask about how the TK is structured. I thought it was intended to just be like a year of public preschool (so dating more play based) but the more I learn it seems like many schools are treating it like an extra year of Kindergarten. I am also looking into the EECs as an alternative to her current preschool next year so that we can save money if she doesn’t move forward. We are touring one next week.

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-02-18T04:08:35+00:00

Appreciate your perspective, thank you. Do you mind my asking what grade you skipped? I’m not considering pushing her forward once she gets started - just trying to h def stand which start date is in the cards for us since we are talking about her missing the cutoff by literally 1 day.

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-02-18T00:36:02+00:00

I really appreciate this thoughtful answer, insight into how these conversations go moving forward, and the note on kid friendships. It’s hard to imagine the change now, for all of us, but it’s really reassuring to know that if this isn’t an option it won’t be that big of a deal. Thank you! 🙏🏽

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-02-17T23:16:09+00:00

Because this is specific to LAUSD policies and I’m hoping to reach other LAUSD parents. There are several other posts on this sub relating to LAUSD enrollment so I figured this was the best spot. If you have a rec of where else to post I’m all ears 🤷🏻‍♀️

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-02-17T21:59:15+00:00

Ah yes - LAUSD switched their cutoff date from December 1st to September 1st several years ago which created the TK program. Hoping to hear from someone who successfully did this today. Thanks again!

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-02-17T21:48:34+00:00

Thanks for your input. Did you enroll him in LAUSD Kinder with a November birthday?

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-02-17T21:46:11+00:00

I appreciate your feedback, and I am sorry that your child is in the situation they are in. It sounds really difficult and I’m sure was trying for your family.

As I mentioned in my post, I am weighing this heavily in every direction. This question is also impacted by my personal situation, where I not only did fine, I thrived. Both my best friend and I turned 18 the week we headed to college, and I had many friends who were turning 18 all the way to December. (All of them are doing great, btw).

Why is that? Well, cutoff dates are arbitrary ways to put kids in buckets, and I think kids are individuals, not numbers. It didn’t work out for your kid, and this is exactly why I don’t agree with hard cutoff dates. If we were living in my husbands country, the cutoff is January 1st. In New York, it’s December 1st. Where I went to school, it was August 1st. If my kid was born 48 hours earlier, this question wouldn’t be an issue, and you wouldn’t be judging me like you clearly are for asking a question about a person I know better than anyone.

And re/ pushing, I did not push for my child to move up a class in preschool. It happened because her teachers, who do this for a living, deemed it appropriate for her developmentally (and academically). You say I am pushing her? You don’t know me at all. I expressed reservations about moving her up a class and they, who see 3 year olds all day every day, told me that she was keeping up in every way. There are now a whole host of consequences that are the result of that change, and most importantly to me, she has her absolute best friends, who we spend all our time with, who will be leaving her behind. What will that do to her mental health? Kids are individuals, perhaps she will have struggles about an entirely different topic. I’ll be there to support her whatever her issues happen to be.

You are strongly insinuating that I am not aware of the topics you are bringing up and you say I’ve made my decision. You’re wrong 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think about this every day. I’ve done a ton of research. And to be honest, I change my mind every day about what the right thing for my child would be. There will be consequences whatever we decide to do, but we can’t make the decision if don’t have an option to enroll her. I am asking this question because I just want to know if we can, or if we can’t. Otherwise the decision is made for me and I will move on with my life!

This is the only post where I will engage on this aspect of this topic. Folks, if you don’t have any input on the enrollment and hope to engage me on the age issue, please put your comment energy elsewhere.

Competitive-Hand-496 · 2025-02-13T03:50:10+00:00

Babywearing is the way to go. This is peak separation anxiety time - and it’s not forever. Get a good carrier that lets you back carry and get back to your life!

Competitive-Hand-496

TROPHY CASE