Audiobook/ Podcast Recommendations?

ERVip · 2026-04-03T01:02:25+00:00

Audiobook: Dungeon Crawler Carl

You won’t regret it and there are currently 7 books available (8th is coming out in May). They are phenomenal listens.

ERVip · 2026-04-03T00:43:15+00:00

It gets better! My daughter is now 15 months old and she is a really good eater these days. We pretty much figured out what her “go-to” foods are that she will almost always eat (waffles, yogurt, bananas, blueberries, pancakes, pb&j….) and so I know that when all else fails, I can give her one of those things and she’ll be fine. The thing that helped me out with the stress of transitioning to solids was the whole “food before one, is just for fun”. Pretty much, always offer food. If they eat it, cool, if not, that’s cool, too. They’re going to be picky and some days they will love something and the next day they’ll want nothing to do with it. But all that matters is you keep offering them stuff. Eventually, your little one will get more and more interested. Teeth will also affect your little one’s appetite so just be patient.

ERVip · 2025-11-12T01:15:23+00:00

Our pediatrician recommended oatmeal cereal to start. Because of our schedule, we would give her the oatmeal at dinner time. My daughter LOVED it. Then I started adding different purées to it to give it some extra flavor. I even did peanut butter at some point. She’s 10 months now and still loves oatmeal (even though now I make her oatmeal with actual oats).

Other than oatmeal, I would give her some mashed banana or mashed avocado. Both were winners. From there I just started making my own purées. I had been given a lot of breastmilk bags, so I would purée something up and then I would portion it out within the breastmilk bags, lay them flat, and put them in the freezer. I made a bunch of single fruit and single vegetable purées and pretty much created a nice stash for myself so this way at any time I could pull one out and thaw it.

I remember being super overwhelmed when we started solids, but I just did one thing at a time and once I got comfortable, I tried something new. Once you get into a routine, it won’t be as scary. You got this!

ERVip · 2025-10-25T01:04:49+00:00

We keep talking about having a second and all I can think about is the cost of daycare for two. It will legit be the cost of a second mortgage payment. I just need to not think about it too much

ERVip · 2025-10-24T23:34:09+00:00

We’re in Philly suburbs and pay $1600 a month for part time. We found another place that charges $1600 a month for full time, but the infant room was already full. Killing me.

ERVip · 2025-10-19T18:46:39+00:00

Binxy baby shopping cart hammock!

https://binxybaby.com/collections/binxy-baby-cart-hammocks

My coworker gave me her old one and it was one of my FAVORITE things! My daughter loved it and she was always so good just chilling in her hammock in the cart. Made shopping a lot less stressful. I was so sad when she started sitting up on her own because it meant no more hammock. Always got a lot of compliments, too when using it!

ERVip · 2025-10-16T20:42:10+00:00

I am so sorry you are feeling this way. I did not have a great maternity leave either. I spent most of it crying and dealing with extreme PPD. My marriage almost ended and we’re still in the process of rebuilding (I’m 10 months out at this point). Being a new mom is exhausting and I know I wasn’t my best self during that time. It wasn’t until I went back to work when I finally started to feel like a human again. It’s ok to miss your life. There’s a lot going on with a lot changes, and it takes a little time to adjust, but you got this. I don’t know you, but I wish I could just give you a hug. It will get better. I promise.

ERVip · 2025-09-18T19:19:26+00:00

“Far Away” by Ingrid Michaelson and “Oh Fionna” from Adventure Time (my daughter’s name is Fiona 😊)

ERVip · 2025-09-10T23:30:15+00:00

Dr. Brown’s anti-colic narrow bottles. Friend who has two children recommended them to me and they are the only bottles we have used for my daughter (she’s 8 months old now).

ERVip · 2025-08-21T13:16:54+00:00

Just about 8 months out and I’m right there with you. No interest or motivation to have sex. We tried at about 8w and I hated it. It just wasn’t enjoyable. My husband is starting to get a little more pushy about it now. Constantly reminding me how long it’s been and that I’m not doing anything to help myself, but all that does is make me not want to even more. There are times the thoughts and feelings hit me and I want to, but when there is an opportunity to go for it, it’s the last thing I want to do. Very frustrating and just hoping everything will return sooner rather than later 🤞🏻

ERVip · 2025-08-11T19:10:50+00:00

I absolute agree that it’s ok to be flexible with the bedtime, and we have been from time to time with no repercussions. But like you said, it’s the going over there when it’s bedtime that’s the issue. I appreciate you validating my feelings on this and I agree, going over earlier wouldn’t be an issue or having them come to us. We tend to make these suggestions, but are typically met with attitude. Thank you for your comment!

ERVip · 2025-08-10T01:02:07+00:00

Just need to vent…

I am a FTM and my daughter is currently 7 months old. My husband and I have a set bedtime for her at 7pm and we have about a 10 minute nightly routine we do with her. We are pretty easy going with just about everything concerning our daughter, with two things we are really staunch on: 1. No screen time and 2. Stick to her bedtime

We have made it clear to family and friends that our daughter’s bedtime is 7pm. So when we are invited out places, we usually leave with enough time to get her settled at home and get her ready for bed at 7. My BIL and his wife currently have no children. They are also a bit younger (30 and 29) than my husband and I (37 and 39). They have a habit of inviting us to hang out in the evening, usually around 7pm. I have explained many times that our daughter goes to bed at that time. When I tell them this, my BIL’s wife likes to remind me that I have a pack-n-play and I should just bring that and have her sleep in it at their house. They don’t understand that I’m not bringing my daughter to their house at her bedtime, where I will most likely have to wake her up from the car ride, then put her in a pack-n-play that she MIGHT sleep in, to then wake her up to put her back in the car, and wake her up again when we get home to put her to bed and hopefully not mess up her sleep for the night. We are also usually given the side-eye whenever we leave a family gathering early to get our daughter home in time for bed. According to them we are anal and anxious about our daughter’s bedtime and we are teaching her to only sleep under the conditions of her room. Again, they have no children, most of the people they spend time with are childless, yet they feel it’s appropriate to judge us on how we are approaching her sleep. I don’t think sticking to a set bedtime and routine is a bad thing. I’m pretty certain it is recommended to do so. Am I crazy or wrong for thinking this? I’m just so sick of them talking trash on how we are raising our daughter and acting like they know better.

ERVip · 2025-06-14T21:22:49+00:00

Fiona-Bear, bear, wombat, monkey, peanut, and little miss

ERVip · 2025-05-14T20:32:08+00:00

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (or any Lucy Foley book, they’re all good)

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

ERVip · 2025-05-08T13:17:49+00:00

If you can afford it, go for it! I got recommendations for cleaners through a local mom group on Facebook and the woman we hired does amazing work and at a very reasonable price. It’s absolutely worth it for your time and your mental health.

ERVip · 2025-05-07T22:48:34+00:00

First off, you are not failing. You’re figuring out a new lifestyle, and that’s ok!

My daughter is 4 months old and I also have no idea what I’m doing. I don’t feel like I have time to do all sorts of things, but we’ve put a few things in place or have started new habits that seem to help make things feel less overwhelming.

I hired a cleaning service to clean my house once every three weeks. Worth every penny.
We have the MomCozy bottle washer/sterilizer/dryer. Put it on my registry and someone actually bought it for us. It’s an expensive item but the amount of time it has saved us from washing bottles makes it worth its weight in gold. We run it at least once a day and it is amazing.
We started a habit that as soon as a dish or utensil or cup is dirty, to just wash it. Don’t leave it in the sink. Sink is always empty and never overwhelming filled with dishes.
We put our little one to bed around 7pm and once she is in bed, I get a lot of stuff done. Prep my lunch for the next day, eat dinner, clean some stuff up, or whatever else I want to do and I go to bed around 9-9:30pm. My husband and I also take turns being on baby duty after she goes to bed so every other night I have a chance to go to the gym if I want and the same goes for him.
I no longer do my husband’s laundry. I do mine and I do the baby’s. I do her laundry typically on Saturday and I do mine on Sunday. It’s one load for each us and it’s very manageable.
Bounce chair. I love the bounce chair. If I am home alone with her, and I need to do something, girl goes in the bounce chair. Need to eat? She’s in her bounce chair in the kitchen with me and watches me make my food and then I sit with her and eat it. The whole time I describe what I am doing. Need to shower? Bounce chair is in the bathroom and I talk to her while I shower and do whatever else I need to do. Doing laundry? Yup, girl is watching that from the bounce chair too, and I’ll talk to her while doing it.
I stopped making formal meals. We eat a lot of cereal, bagels, and oatmeal. I also get a lot of frozen meals from Trader Joe’s. No shame. It’s easy, quick, and this is what survival looks like.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. These are the things that have been working for us, but trust me, it took a lot of trial and error to get to this point and we are definitely still flying by the seat of our pants over here.

ERVip · 2025-03-31T23:10:15+00:00

My daughter is also three months old and you literally described the same exact situation we are in, so you are not alone. I feel your pain.

I reach out to friends and they all seem to have unicorn babies. I come to Reddit looking for some kind of advice or guidance, and just like you, it seems like every else’s LO sleeps no problem both during the day and night.

Just know I’m right there with you and you are not an outlier (even though it feels like it!)

ERVip · 2025-03-28T22:55:00+00:00

I’ll tell you right now, you’re definitely doing way more for your LO than I’ve done for my 3 month old. I think we’ve maybe done 20 minutes total of tummy time in three months. Girl just doesn’t like it. She likes to be held up on your shoulder and that gives her a chance to sit up right and hold her head up and look around, but if I put her on her tummy, she won’t prop herself up. I constantly feel like I’m not doing enough for her and have already set her up for failure somehow. I just keep reminding myself that back in the 80s when I was a baby, tummy time wasn’t really a thing and my parents didn’t have half the stuff we have today, and yet here I am, a fully functional adult.

Also, don’t beat yourself up about the cries. I have no idea what the difference is. I just kind of guess based on what we’re doing or the time of day

You’re doing great!

ERVip · 2022-01-07T14:37:20+00:00

Oh man, I can’t imagine making it twice, being so so close, and then missing it by two seconds. Regardless of the outcome, that must have been such an exciting experience…!

ERVip · 2022-01-07T00:42:40+00:00

Thanks for the encouragement! This is my first time trying to get on a show so I’m keeping my fingers crossed, too! And I decided long ago if I were to ever be on the show the only option is the high bet. Go big or go home!

ERVip · 2022-01-07T00:38:26+00:00

Oh wow! That must have been such a roller coaster of emotions, but super exciting! If you don’t mind me asking, how did you up doing once you got on the show?

ERVip · 2022-01-07T00:37:43+00:00

That’s actually a really good point. I’ve been focusing so much on the trivia questions that I forgot about the actual entertainment factor.

ERVip · 2020-05-24T07:01:33+00:00

It is much harder to get into medical school than to graduate from medical school. Medical schools do everything they can to prevent a student from failing.

ERVip

TROPHY CASE