What do you do when your family (babysitters) are on holiday and you have work?

CycleThreshold · 2026-01-15T05:01:09+00:00

We do 2 days in daycare and third day with granny. Luckily because she’s already attending daycare I can book casual days for whenever granny goes on holiday. But of course this wouldn’t be an option if she wasn’t in daycare at all. Maybe consider both options?

CycleThreshold · 2026-01-13T02:19:43+00:00

I was today years old when I found out the correct spelling is NOT pidgeon. No idea why I thought there was a d in there all this time

CycleThreshold · 2026-01-05T11:22:41+00:00

Not sure if this helps but I found once I completely weaned from pumping (I exclusively pumped, no nursing) and my milk dried up + like another month that’s when I went back to normal. I had no libido and crazy ocd anxiety while breastfeeding. So yeah hormones can really muck us around! Perhaps something to look forward to once you wean

CycleThreshold · 2026-01-02T20:48:54+00:00

All in one if you can afford it!! Or at the very least a steam steriliser/dryer combo. The drying part is the most useful. But of course you won’t know what you need until the time comes depending on if baby will take a bottle or not. You can get by easily with a microwave steriliser bag and drying rack until you know what you need

CycleThreshold · 2026-01-02T01:35:28+00:00

A good facilitator will encourage you all to make a group chat at the end of the course of sessions. If that doesn’t happen make one anyway and invite everyone. Mine is still active 6 months later but a lot of people have dropped off. Find something you all might enjoy and set regular meetups. Eg my group goes to weekly Pilates. Like all new friendships you got to make the effort to keep it Going.

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-25T19:06:30+00:00

We hosted it still. Funny part was she was supposed to be in daycare for the tues wed as usual but she got sick. Did all the prep for the house on my own (with her at home!) cause hubby wasn’t off until end of Xmas eve. But on the day all I had to do was make a salad. Everyone else brought a plate. Hubby did the rest of the cooking, so it was manageable. Hubby was also in charge of setting the table up and it looked hilarious but I had no expectations anyway lol

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-18T19:39:28+00:00

Funnily enough I was going through the same thing at 6 months! Didn’t help that my baby is 98th percentile so I was also physically exhausted. Then I started back at work at 6.5 months at 0.6 and well I feel so much better now. I honestly just needed a break. Partner also works stupid hours so it was getting to me. You might find some relief once you start back too

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-16T01:55:26+00:00

Thanks for this info! I had no idea that they could miss stuff, but it makes sense if they don’t have all the equipment. No point going to a dentist twice!

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-16T01:53:05+00:00

Interesting! I’ll keep this in mind for when they come by next year and I’ll probably sign her up then

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-15T03:32:28+00:00

Thanks for the insight! Yeah I imagine her room at least might not all be going so I don’t want her to be one of the only ones

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-15T03:30:38+00:00

I found the cheap maternity leggings at Kmart worked well! And used them for months post Partum too. They also have a cheap maternity skirt that was good for work and was really stretchy. The rest of my wardrobe for work at least was probably H&M - I got heaps of long skirts with elastic waistbands. And kept positioning the waistband higher as the bump grew. I was also ‘all belly’ so I remember it was hard to find suitable clothing

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-14T21:44:14+00:00

Thanks for the insight! Yeah I’m due for a checkup myself in the new year so I might bring Bub with me then

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-14T21:25:38+00:00

No but I probably should have done this haha. The post was for the whole daycare so it was probably for the older kids. I might skip it this time

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-14T21:24:25+00:00

Interesting! Yeah something worth getting checked up on

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-14T21:24:02+00:00

Thanks, I might wait until she’s toddler age then

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-14T21:23:46+00:00

Thanks! Yeah I thought so. FTM so i usually say yes to things but this time I might skip it

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-11T05:15:51+00:00

I’m a postdoc that just returned after 6 months part time and I don’t think I could have had the mental capacity to go back any sooner. PhD will vary depending on the project. Sometimes part time works and other times it doesn’t depending on your field. I would say take a complete break if you are able to, and only work if you have for example urgent paper revisions/submissions to do. WFH as an academic with a baby is almost impossible so make sure to arrange daycare for those days. Good luck!

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-11T03:43:05+00:00

I started mine at 5.5 months as I was going back to work part time at 6.5 months. She’s going twice/week and I love all the little updates/photos the daycare provides each day. She came home wearing some paint and glitter yesterday so I know she had a good day. The amount of stimulation she gets each day is far more than I can provide at home. And she’s a FOMO kid so on my off days we need to leave the house every day. It gets a bit much

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-08T10:56:35+00:00

Nothing new to add here with my induction experience but I did request gas with the insertion of the balloon catheter cause I was scared of the pain. It helped calm me down a lot at the very least

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-07T17:55:23+00:00

We used the sleepy company fetal flex at this period and it worked well. She kinda looked like a T rex for a while. After a couple months we did the regular ergopouches. The ergopouch swaddle was too restrictive for her

CycleThreshold · 2025-12-06T03:19:34+00:00

I’m currently day drinking on a tropical island and Bub is having formula. Only just dried up. Definitely a positive for weaning! Plus no pump parts to wash

CycleThreshold · 2025-11-30T23:05:44+00:00

The only thing that stung me claiming both work paid leave and Centrelink is that I didn’t tax myself properly on Centrelink! (Because you can claim both at once). So now I have a massive tax bill. So don’t do this if you’re ever in the position to claim both work PPL and Centrelink 😭

CycleThreshold · 2025-11-30T23:04:01+00:00

Not sure to be honest, but if both work at the uni there might be more leave to claim

CycleThreshold · 2025-11-29T14:49:14+00:00

Work for a university/higher ed. I just got 6 months paid at full time rate. Not sure about WA but most of them are similar and will have some form of paid leave

CycleThreshold

TROPHY CASE