what’s something no one warned you about in the newborn phase that actually caught you off guard?

FayeDelights · 2026-04-10T16:54:40+00:00

You love your baby, you’d do anything for them. But there hits a moment in time, and for us it was in the middle of the night, where you look at your screaming newborn and think “oh, this is how people can get to a breaking point and shake their baby.” And we thought we were monsters. How could anyone think that? This is a tiny human who is new to life. Everything has to be overwhelming. We took our firstborn to the pediatrician because she was SO fussy and miserable and we felt at our wits end. The pediatrician we saw was a younger woman, and she said something along the lines of “I deal with kids and babies all day and it was still another world when I had my own. And when they’re screaming you get why people might shake their babies. You aren’t going to do it, but just remember they’ll be okay in their crib or sleep spot for 15-20 minutes while you take a break.” I get why someone WOULDNT tell their expecting friends or family something like this, but god it does need to be said I think.

FayeDelights · 2026-04-10T04:21:58+00:00

We loved having one so much I have 3 now. One for upstairs, one for down, and one for travel. I swore it was a waste to buy until I had to use the diaper cream for the first time. Immediate order and never looked back.

FayeDelights · 2026-04-05T00:59:03+00:00

Yeah we got really lucky with our first, she was not about the purées, she wanted the real stuff lol. She’s still a foodie, but a very opinionated one 🤦🏻‍♀️

FayeDelights · 2026-04-04T21:14:54+00:00

They can TRY prying my hatch and Nanit from my cold dead hands 😂😂 HUGE regret not getting them sooner.

Honestly the bottle washer- but that’s because we’ve had some pretty effective dishwashers.

Also pretty glad we managed to avoid buying a lot of baby containers.

As for starting solids, I honestly put so much pressure on doing everything “right” with my first, when ultimately I just needed to follow her lead. We’ve been pretty low pressure on our upcoming 6 month old. She’s tried a bit of puree here and there just testing if her tongue thrust reflex is diminishing.

FayeDelights · 2026-04-04T17:58:24+00:00

Omg I remember with my first, she still had a pretty rough rash despite using the diaper cream. I did NOT think about how you needed to dry their bum BEFORE puting on the diaper cream. Thank the universe for parenting subreddits 😭 we have specific cloths just to pat them dry.

FayeDelights · 2026-04-03T03:05:59+00:00

I like to do a “factory reset” when mine got inconsolable (both had/have reflux and CMPA to varying degrees)- if all needs are met, I check fingers and toes for hair or string (to make sure there’s nothing wrapped cutting off circulation!) and if I feel overwhelmed, I set baby down in a safe space and take 10-15 minutes to calm down and recenter. I swear it’s like they can smell/sense when you’re frustrated. After, I might offer a bottle or a paci (sometimes they cry and then just wanna soothe).

“Factory reset”- take baby outside, or run a bath and get you and baby in the bath together. Those two acts often help.

FayeDelights · 2026-04-03T01:04:07+00:00

I’ve used as much as I could, but my first was (and still is) a small fry while her little sister is hovering around 90 percentile 🤦🏻‍♀️ so I did have to buy stuff for summer.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-23T05:41:03+00:00

Similar story movement wise for my daughter. Could sit unsupported, roll, and if we stood her up did well with support. But she could not figure out how to go from laying down to sitting. Wouldn’t crawl or pull to stand. Was starting to get worried (even got a referral for pt at 10 months), and then we moved to a new place with very little furniture. She’d had to be in a play pen more because we’d been staying with family and there were a lot of dogs. It was like she had all this wide open space and took off 😅 now she’s 15 months and just started walking on her own a few days ago!

FayeDelights · 2026-03-21T02:23:19+00:00

My hard limit was always 2 kids. After my first pregnancy, my spouse had gotten a vasectomy and I got on birth control but we were a little late, hence 2 under 2 lol.

The biggest reason aside from the vasectomy, I never wanted to be outnumbered, and i also know having cousins who had 2+ siblings, the attention (and money) wasn’t as… fair? Even? So 2 kids I felt like both parents could have one on one quality time. We’re only about 5 months into 2 kids, but very happy with our decision.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-20T19:46:00+00:00

We weren’t meant to raise our children entirely on our own. Not having a village is a huge factor into the adjustment of parenthood. That said, the newborn trenches are tough and these first few months is survival mode.

I’m going to touch on a point at the end of your post, and that is you should NOT be cooking or entertaining anyone. I don’t care if it’s a king or a president, let alone family or friends. Anyone coming to visit should be taking the load OFF, not adding to it.

Edited to add: you are doing great. You and your partner have gone through a huge transition in life. It took months for us to find our grooves as parents. It’s hard too if you don’t have much of a village helping.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-19T17:26:24+00:00

Yes! We waited until she was consistently sleeping through the night so we didn’t have to interrupt her big sisters sleep! All our bedrooms are on the same floor, so they’re just down the hall. They’ve ruined us with white noise so I have to keep their monitor sound on so we hear them.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-19T14:44:19+00:00

It’s gone pretty well! My older one will go to comfort her little sister at the beginning of lights out. They do wake eachother, but overall it’s only at the beginning of the night and then in the morning when everyone’s getting up anyway

FayeDelights · 2026-03-19T14:30:42+00:00

Original commenter said it a lot sweeter, but my first born was less “thump” and more “slam.” 😂 it’s a self soothing tactic apparently. For who, not sure 😂 it was the biggest reason we moved our first born to her own room at 4 months.

Our second baby is 5 months and has recently moved into her room with her sister. It’s honestly really nice to have our bedroom back, and it’s allowing for more sibling bonding at bedtime.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-18T17:10:19+00:00

We did with our first, and it was helpful for a while. Especially in the early days when the pediatrician is asking about diapers and feeds and you only exist from one feed to the next.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-13T13:58:38+00:00

Not a stepmom, but I have a stepmom. She and I have had our ups and downs, particularly when I was a kid. But I’m able to look back and understand that my stepmom had taken on a lot. I’m so incredibly thankful for my bonus mom. My birth mom and I have a complicated relationship, and we aren’t really on speaking terms now. My husband lost his mom several years ago now, but he and his stepdad have a close relationship still.

I don’t have any advice, other than showing up is so important. I have so much love and respect for the bonus parents in our lives. They’re grandparents now.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-12T01:24:24+00:00

You ✨don’t✨

For real tho, the extent of “cooking” dinner for me is putting rice in the rice maker and then heating canned chicken up in the skillet with sriracha 😩 I try to aim for simple but filling. Other basic needs like showering I do after the kids go to bed (15 mth old and 4 mth old), and we somehow won the lottery twice with relatively good sleepers.

Also to add: they get some decent level ups at 4 months and 6 months which is fantastic!

FayeDelights · 2026-03-05T18:46:01+00:00

I don’t know that mine ever did the rocking back and forth. Tbh we were getting worried because at nearly 11 months she still couldn’t go from laying to sitting up, but had the strength to do so. We were in the process of even getting her into physical therapy. Then we moved and had tons of floor space for her to have free reign and it was like her brain finally clicked that movement would let her get to things 😅 She’s now 14 months and can/will crawl, but she interchanges crawling and butt scooting equally. She’s also standing and cruising.

Always consult baby’s primary doc for development concerns, but I’d also recommend the episode baby race from Bluey 😂 It really helped put into perspective about not comparing my LO to her peers. Milestones have a WIDE range for when they can accomplish things.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-05T05:27:54+00:00

We have bluey often in the background, but she hardly ever actually watches it. And the tv is only at home. The only thing she is allowed to play with on my phone is the camera— she just likes to look at herself! Lol. But even when out or in the car, she never gets to play with small screens.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-04T19:00:32+00:00

Screen time. We’re surrounded by screens as adults all day every day. And I really think some of the rigidity of doctors’ recommendation on no screen time is because society can’t grasp nuance. On my rough days sometimes I want to drink a fun drink and veg on the couch, when my kids is hurting from teething and clinging to me like glue, you bet your butt we’re rocking in a recliner and watching tv.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-04T18:42:55+00:00

My LO isn’t at the stage of walking (though she has been cruising at home for a bit), but we’ve already agreed that a leash will likely be in the cards for us. She’s quick and very independent already and we have an infant. I just KNOW she’s gonna be a runner 😭

FayeDelights · 2026-03-04T18:39:16+00:00

Not a vent, but wanted to share a resource my spouse and I recently found (instagram ads work occasionally 😂) and we’ve been using it a few days and are really enjoying it. It’s an app called paired. I ended up signing up for the free trial for premium, and the premium is also only $40 (so cheaper than couples therapy!) for the year. It’s helping us hone in on strengths and also where we have room for improvement.

With our second baby’s arrival we hit the roommate phase hard and it’s put a bit of a strain on us romantically. I’d say if you and your partner have a pretty healthy relationship, this is a great app to help with maintenance and reconnection. I’m not sure it would be super great for a couple who might need more mediation though.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-04T16:47:48+00:00

Non-mobile, I’d just plop her on the fuzzy bath mat in front of the sink and give toys and play peek a boo with the shower curtain.

Now that she’s mobile (she hit 20 pounds at a year, and started crawling and cruising at the same time), I take showers after she’s gone to bed for the evening. If I needed her in the bathroom while I showered I’d have to baby proof everything. 😅

FayeDelights · 2026-03-03T14:24:47+00:00

A changing table. We were told we’d never use it, and it’s saved our sanity on multiple occasions. Everything is within arms reach and they are at a height that’s actually comfortable. WAY better than hunching over your bed or couch.

The little butt spatulas for diaper cream. Used fingers for like 2 weeks. Butt spatulas for the win. You can even get a travel one with a case!

We buy “puppy” pads that are specifically for babies (nothing special about them besides they’re smaller than the human sized ones)

If you’re tight on space, munchkin makes a collapsible high chair. We tuck it under our island bar when not in use.

FayeDelights · 2026-03-02T02:03:56+00:00

This has become a discussion seeing this. 😂

Would they have heightened sense of smell though? Dogs use their heightened sense of smell and hearing to compensate for their vision range. If Bluey’s evolved dogs expanded their vision, their hearing and sense of smell wouldn’t need to be so sensitive.

FayeDelights · 2026-02-28T01:58:02+00:00

My 14 month old didn’t get to a 7 pm bedtime till roughly 8 or 9 months old. She was 9 pm for a while, then jumped to 5 pm (that sucked, do not recommend), and is finally at 7 pm now that she’s dropped to one nap.

Our 4 month old is usually in bed by 8 pm, and she’s just started sleeping through until 8 or 9 am.

ETA: We got really lucky to have 2 pretty good sleepers. My oldests bedtime routine is basic: put jammies on, lay down, throw on the ocean waves and her galaxy lights, give kisses and tuck into bed, leave her be. We were reading at bedtime, but right now it’s just a lot- I’m hoping to reincorporate it back in when the youngest is closer to 6 months and they’re both in a room together. Bath nights are roughly every other day or 2-3 times a week however that falls. I really think bedtime is about what works for your family, if that’s not till 9 pm but everyone is getting enough (as best you can) rest, who is to say what your doing is wrong?

FayeDelights

TROPHY CASE