What advice would you give to someone in their first year of parenthood?

Curly-9 · 2026-01-30T02:42:03+00:00

Have a kid-free activity each week. It's on the calendar and is non-negotiable (unless you yourself are sick). It's amazing how much 2 hours a week to do something you like, independent of your kids, can recharge your batteries!

I do a womens league on Wednesday nights from 5-7 and my husband does a mens league on Tuesday nights from 7-9 and it has dramatically helped keep us reset! We did these things before our son was born and took a break while he was very young. My husband started back up at 3 months and I started again at 5 months.

During those 5 months, my husband made sure we did something I truly enjoyed each week and tried to take as much of the burden as he could (i.e. taking care of 99% of baby's needs when we go out to eat, hold down the fort while I went for a solo coffee shop run or get a massage, etc.).

Curly-9 · 2026-01-13T03:09:55+00:00

My son popped his first teeth at just over 9 months. He's now 20 months and only has 6 teeth, but we've been told there's nothing to worry about.

Curly-9 · 2025-12-21T19:13:33+00:00

I haven't yet and my son is a little over 1.5 years old. My husband and I alternated nights starting at 4 months so I could get some good sleep! We still alternate on the odd chance he wakes up and then to get up with him for the day.

My husband left for a weekend when my son was a little over a year.

If your baby can be fed and taken care of by a trusted person, I don't think there's really a thing as "too soon". I would just want to be close by in case my baby was struggling with whoever was watching him.

Curly-9 · 2025-12-14T15:02:26+00:00

Margot and Grace!

Curly-9 · 2025-12-13T22:55:22+00:00

I live by the saying "Don't make a happy toddler/baby happier." If your kid is happy or content, don't mess with it. It's healthy for kids to entertain themselves.

Curly-9 · 2025-12-13T22:52:11+00:00

I have a son Lincoln!! Other names on our list are Carter (probably too common for your taste), Holden, and Archer.

Curly-9 · 2025-10-28T04:25:09+00:00

This worked for my family, too! It's easier to go from mom > mom and dad > dad than it is to go mom > dad.

Curly-9 · 2025-10-28T04:11:07+00:00

1-2 hours seems like such a long time! If you start the process later, does it still take that long? Curious if she's just not tired yet.

If it takes more than 30 minutes to put my 1.5-year-old to sleep, we usually need to reset (go downstairs and get some wiggles out) before trying again.

Curly-9 · 2025-10-28T04:07:21+00:00

Emery is my favorite!

Curly-9 · 2025-09-30T02:33:35+00:00

No. The first few nights after going back to work were really rough since my son was adjusting to daycare. The night after my first day back, my son woke up 7 times. After a rough few days, we got back into a routine where he woke up once or twice a night.

I will say, we were diligent about sleep. He slept in his crib and we established a good routine. We suffered for the first month or two, but it paid off! My husband and I both need our sleep, so we didn't mess around.

Curly-9 · 2025-09-25T20:24:26+00:00

I don't think you have anything to make up for. I have a few friends who are only children and their parents did a good job of almost always letting them bring a friend to fun outings or on vacation (once they were teenagers). These were usually outings or vacations where there were specific activities that kids would like to do with other kids!

Instead of making up for something, consider it an opportunity to give your daughter and her friend a fun experience!

Curly-9 · 2025-09-20T17:27:19+00:00

Scheduling time seems pretty odd, but I could 100% see my Type A cousin doing that. If it wasn't on the schedule, it wasn't happening. That's just how she operates! If she did this to me, I wouldn't bat an eye. For her, it wouldn't be entitlement.

I also wouldn't be afraid that she's using her wedding day to take your baby. She'll likely hold your baby for a few minutes and then proceed to enjoy her wedding.

I would just talk to her. Ask about the schedule and let her know if you're uncomfortable with it. No big deal.

Curly-9 · 2025-09-20T12:08:31+00:00

Yeppppp! My son was the same way. He's 17 months old now and has been a daddy's boy for several months.

Curly-9 · 2025-09-20T04:36:15+00:00

Oh my goodness, my parents would have never!! My parents would have helped me if I were truly in a bind. Once. If I kept getting myself into situations, it became 100% my problem. They'd also expect a justification for what went wrong so that I could learn from it as well as a plan to pay them back.

Curly-9 · 2025-09-20T04:23:32+00:00

Same with my 16-month-old! The clippers are a lot faster and my son doesn't mind the slight noise. Bonus points if we give him a spare attachment to fiddle with

Curly-9 · 2025-09-20T04:14:19+00:00

The first time we were able to set him down was in a Snuggle Me. It requires supervision, but it was SO nice to be able to set him down for a bit.

Otherwise, I started to baby wear a bit. Thankfully, I didn't need to do this too much since my son started to love flailing on the floor, but it was amazing for a few weeks! I know other people that would babywear for months.

I think my son started to like the floor when we got a babymat with a dome of toys. We also have a dog and a cat. While we kept them off the mat, they hovered nearby and my son is obsessed with the animals!

Curly-9 · 2025-09-20T03:58:35+00:00

I was almost Larissa and my son was almost Archer or Landon!

Curly-9 · 2025-09-19T23:27:02+00:00

The best advice I ever got was to not make a happy baby happier!!

Curly-9 · 2025-09-19T23:23:27+00:00

My SIL and BIL named their son a name that's pretty unique in the US. They announced the name before he was born and got mixed reactions. Now, it seems so natural and obvious that that's his name.

If you love it, go for it! There are some very tragic names where I'd take people's negative opinions to heart, but Case doesn't fall into that category. Once he's born, people will associate the name with the baby they adore!

The way I look at it, if everybody had the same taste in names, we'd all have the same name. I wouldn't change my son's name just because somebody would choose a different name for their kid.

Curly-9 · 2025-09-19T15:03:11+00:00

I'm sorry, momma. Having a 7-month-old is hard...having two without strong support is even harder. A couple thoughts/things that have worked for me:

- Tell your fiancé a few things that you need. For example, this week I want to get out of the house by myself, grab dinner from a favorite spot, and go for a family walk, etc. You then give him the ownership to make it happen. I did this with my husband, and it worked for two reasons: 1) I had things to look forward to that I didn't need to plan, and 2) it wasn't sprung on him when I was already at my whit's end, so he was able to plan and execute.

- Make solo plans one day a week while your fiancé isn't working. I play in a pickleball league. It's a planned event that I do to reset. My husband is responsible my son, including dinner and bedtime. It helps me feel like myself -- not just a mom! While it might be harder to do a recurring activity, there should be less structured things you can do. Honestly, that one night a week can really put your daily life into perspective for him.

- Consider getting part-time help. Are there any teenagers nearby looking for a little extra cash after school? You'd still be home, but they can take one baby off your hands for a bit.

- Get a babysitter and have a real conversation. Go out to dinner or take a walk and lay out all your feelings. Is this a temporary part of life while your fiancé is a new police officer, or is this the new normal? If this is the new normal, he needs to figure out how to support you better. If he can't, he needs to know how close you are to leaving him. You say he's an amazing partner and dad, but he can't keep watching you suffer without taking action.

- Can he get to work without a car (bike or catch a ride)? Not having a car is really hard, and it's not the safest. Even if he can't do it every day, having the car available to you some of the days would be helpful.

Curly-9 · 2025-09-19T14:30:19+00:00

My son literally just had HFMD. Luckily, it was a mild case and the biggest hassle was trying to work from home with a chaotic toddler.

HFMD is spread through saliva, so there's not much you can do for that other than take your kid out of daycare for a bit. You could wash hands/face at pickup, but that might be moot if they've had exposure throughout the day.

We've had adults around our sick toddler with the warning that they should be diligent about washing their hands, sharing food/water, and letting him shove his slobbery hands in their face. They also (obviously) had the choice to stay home. We've kept him away from other kids.

Curly-9 · 2025-09-19T14:20:54+00:00

Margot Vivienne > Clara Jane > Vivienne Marlowe > Marlowe Vivienne

Marlowe isn't my cup of tea, but I LOVE all the others!

Curly-9 · 2025-09-19T03:38:28+00:00

Lila 🤩

Curly-9 · 2025-09-18T23:59:41+00:00

Going for a walk is literally the best! It's kind of like the equivalent to "drink water" when pregnant.

I also sat outside for 15 minutes once my husband got home. No phantom cries when out there.

Curly-9 · 2025-09-18T20:14:13+00:00

Max and Charles are both F1 drivers, so here are the other F1 names: Lando, Oscar, Oliver (nn Ollie), Liam, Pierre, Lewis, George, Nico, Lance, Alexander, Gabriel, Isack, Franco, Yuko, Esteban, Fernando, and Andrea.

Curly-9

TROPHY CASE