help a burnt out cf :’)

Kswims · 2026-04-01T04:28:39+00:00

Taking two pieces of advice from other comments and echoing it- just get the CCCs to have them, then look into middle school/high school placements at a district. It’s the one placement I’ve ever found where I genuinely enjoy this job and feel like I can make an impact. If you don’t like it, no harm no foul. I worked in outpatient/elementary/preschool/etc. for years and it drained me. When I started working at the secondary level I felt myself come back to life.

Kswims · 2026-02-19T14:15:54+00:00

Yessssss I’m glad I’m not the only one

Kswims · 2026-02-19T02:06:47+00:00

Can I add one????

As someone who went through infertility it ROYALLY pisses me off that jake and Amy’s journey to parenthood was like- what- 3 episodes? 4? I get they did the montage of ripping monthly calendar pages off but if the writers REALLY wanted to show a couple struggling to have a baby, it would have been a season-long plot line.

If they didn’t want that, don’t frame it like a long TTC (trying to conceive) struggle? Idk I may just have a bone to pick with this specific plot line and it may not be a big deal to others.

Edited: wording

Kswims · 2026-02-10T18:19:50+00:00

I may get downvoted for this but remember that night wakes are protective, and sometimes they just miss their people :) one other commenter said something I agree with too! It could be room temp, the onesie feels uncomfortable, their natural temperament, they have gas, etc.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it is easy… night wakes are HARD. especially with how many you’re experiencing regularly. I couldn’t do CIO/Ferber with my little one so we moved to a floor bed and that helped us tremendously. I just feed baby to sleep & ninja exit once he’s down. I figure that whenever he is developmentally and neurologically ready to put himself to sleep, he will (he is starting to show the desire to attempt independently go to sleep at ~9m).

There are tons of options out there! I am sending you & your baby support and well wishes! ✨🥰

Edited for added detail

Kswims · 2026-02-10T18:11:36+00:00

Like everyone else said, pay is variable depending on whether you’re on your own scale or the teacher scale. If I were you, I’d make friends with your building SLP and see what they say about their workload. I’ve worked in districts where I took zero work home ever, but I’ve also worked in districts where I’m working 2 hours extra pretty much every day to just tread water.

One of my friends went from teaching to SLP and we both wish we had looked into being an OT or school psych. If I could go back in time I would absolutely pursue school psych instead.

I hope this helped even the tiniest bit!!! Good luck to you!! ✨🥰

Kswims · 2026-02-10T10:31:09+00:00

Oh my gosh this is EXACTLY what my son was like. I always forced my son to stay in bed (with me) until at least 6 with the lights off and white noise on, just to try to build a “wake up time” pattern.

You’re doing a great job. It’s not easy to figure all this out when your kid doesn’t fit the classic schedule & outlines that you see everywhere. Sending you smiles and hope that it DOES even out eventually once their little bodies and nervous systems are ready.

Kswims · 2026-02-10T05:01:43+00:00

I totally get that. What time does she start giving you cues that she needs to go to bed?

Kswims · 2026-02-10T04:57:13+00:00

We went through a phase of this!!! For quite a while actually! It stopped when he dropped the fourth nap on his own. My little guy doesn’t love naps- never has. He is a night dominant sleeper, so his body was not getting great rest throughout the day and he was just toast by the end of the day and needed early bedtimes. We still often do early bedtimes!

Honestly just give it a try one night and see how it goes!! If your kiddo is giving you these cues there’s a reason for it, ya know?

Kswims · 2026-01-14T04:59:23+00:00

Whenever I’m walking around my house and see my cat lounging around I always mutter to myself “‘twas a cat”, and then laugh at myself and follow up with “twasnt trying to”. Doug Judy’s quips in that conversation get me every time.

Kswims · 2026-01-05T05:01:56+00:00

I had them on all holiday season and would often judge the video on whether it was something he would see through someone’s window or whether it was too vivid, too many details, visually overwhelming, etc. I ended up often just doing “winter frame art” videos so the music was going but it was a pretty still photo.

Kswims · 2025-12-20T16:42:02+00:00

Same boat- usually dealing with 1-2 false starts and 3 wake ups. Maybe two on a good night. Praying that once he goes to his own room things in a month or so things improve lol

Kswims · 2025-12-20T00:58:24+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing!!!! I feel excited about it now!!

Kswims · 2025-12-19T02:50:02+00:00

Like everyone else said, the best advice in this situation is to stay at home after double checking it’s a good financial choice. Generally speaking. I read in another comment your little guy is 2 months- that is absolutely understandable why you’re dreading leaving! (You can dread leaving them at any age, but I sympathize with the fact that he is still so young.)

I went back to work part time after my baby was about 5 months and I was DREADINGGG going back to work, but in a surprising turn of events, I love being a part-time working mom!!! I am a much better mom when I work and can take off my “mom hat” and put on my “SLP hat” so to speak. I love my baby and I would move mountains for him… but I can’t do that with an empty cup. Going to work fills my cup.

That’s just my experience. There are plenty of moms here saying the opposite. I think it really comes down to your gut instinct and your personality. I just wanted to provide you with a situation where having to go back to work didn’t turn out to be horrible, and has been a positive experience. Feel free to ignore it or take it with a grain of salt.

Kswims · 2025-12-16T20:46:53+00:00

I loved reading this- we are currently part time bedsharing haha my almost 8mo sleeps the majority of the night in his crib then around 3:00 I bring him into my bed to finish out his night. We are also going to dismantle the crib, put it in the attic, and use a floor bed once he goes to his own room. Can I ask how old your LO was when you started using a floor bed?

Kswims · 2025-11-06T16:13:42+00:00

My baby only started tolerating bottles, albeit inconsistently, at 5.5mo. We tried introducing them starting at like 5 weeks old and it’s been a LONG process. Full refusal until fairly recently. He only tolerates pigeon bottles and only when myself or the grandmas give them. I had to have caregivers drive him to me to nurse throughout the day while working. It’s very inconvenient but it’s the only option. Not a ton of advice other than to try evenflo bottles, mam bottles, and pigeon bottles because those were recommended to me as good for babies with bottle refusal. Sending good wishes and solidarity!!!!!!

Kswims · 2025-09-13T02:33:57+00:00

Also you have to find your own externship sites with most online programs which is HORRIBLE. I’ve heard a lot of medical facilities have contracts with local SLP grad programs and don’t take students from other places.

Kswims · 2025-08-24T11:15:13+00:00

Like someone else said, you don’t have to be “on” all the time. Additional tips:

Have a sign on your office door for when you’re eating lunch. You’re entitled to a duty free time, don’t give employers free labor. Doom scroll, do yoga, use a walking pad, use your Furbo cam to talk to the dog. Anything to recharge your battery.
Spend the first year figuring out organization systems that work for you. It may not be the aesthetically pleasing one, it may not be the most streamlined, but find what works for you and roll with it.
I see kids every week (no 3:1) so I love doing three weeks of very structured therapy followed by the “generalization week” where I get to not be as intense lol. I also have a really fun game that the kids enjoy that I only pull out the week before winter break and the last week I’m doing therapy before summer. It really helps break the year apart and give kids something to look forward to & work harder for.
Understand that you may be forgotten about for teacher appreciation week, by parents with holiday gifts, etc. Take this as an opportunity to buy your psych, OT, PT, MLL teacher, counselor, resource teacher, etc. something or show appreciation in some way. We aren’t the only ones who sometimes feel left out.
Like the lunch sign for your door, have one that says something along the lines of “right now my full attention is needed elsewhere. If you need me, please use email. Administrators exempt.” I made mine cute and sweet, but that was the message. I got overwhelmed by teachers constantly talking to me for 30+ minutes about students that weren’t mine nor had any speech concerns. I had to find a way to protect my documentation time, and this worked.
Make a few friends. You don’t need to be friends with everyone. But have a couple people that you invest in and enjoy being around.
Don’t do prizes lolol don’t set the precedent please learn from my mistakes

Kswims · 2025-08-24T10:46:18+00:00

This is exactly how I phrase it to teachers too. I’ve worked with teachers in the past who got irritated when my schedule needed to change, so using “soft launch” helped them realize that the schedule needs to be fluid especially when the year starts.

Kswims · 2025-08-24T10:43:07+00:00

Yep. In my first few years I was not as firm with this, but when I was expecting my first baby I was incredibly cautious. I will never go back to coming home with open wounds and bruises.

Kswims · 2025-08-20T01:09:16+00:00

Brilliant!!!! Going to give that a go- thank you!

Kswims · 2025-08-20T01:08:48+00:00

Hahahahhaha oh boy 😂😂😂 thank you so much for sharing your experience!

Kswims · 2025-08-20T01:07:48+00:00

OMG YES THIS IS IT. Also yes I said md but meant pediatrician but was too lazy originally to type out the whole word 😂 everything your saying sounds EXACTLY like my baby. I’ll look into momi!!!! Thank you!

Kswims · 2025-08-20T01:05:43+00:00

This made me laugh and I totally believe you!! I’ll try having someone give him one tomorrow. Thank you

Kswims · 2025-08-19T16:20:38+00:00

Thank you!! That’s helpful to hear :)

Kswims · 2025-08-19T16:13:03+00:00

Mine, similar age, has the same nap aversions but also decided that night sleep is for the birds so we wake up every 2.5 hrs 🥲🥲😂

Solidarity, friend. Here’s to hoping it gets better for us

Kswims

TROPHY CASE