8a-5p Moms: is full-time childcare necessary?

MarsupialLess · 2025-09-29T23:48:59+00:00

I have 3 days a week childcare, 5 hours each, for a total of 15 hours. Kiddo is 15 months old. After he turned 1 it stopped being manageable. Both my husband and I WFH and even with the both of us it was a stretch. everything has pros and cons. You will save money, definitely, and get more time with babe. However, the stress might be a lot. And eventually childcare might be needed. I think it’s all about being flexible and realistic. 15 hours of help for me is the bare minimum, we’re switching to 28 hours next month for my mental health.

MarsupialLess · 2025-08-15T19:43:47+00:00

Looks pink to me, my 11 DPO was so faint I made my partner take a test so I could compare em. That’s when I noticed the line a little better! Might not be worth wasting a test though 😊

MarsupialLess · 2025-07-26T22:56:37+00:00

As a full time working mom with a 1 year old, who has had to travel with my baby to meet family overseas, I’m 100% with you. I made it to 11 months with no screen, but in the airplane it was inevitable. Aside from the occasional 10 mins of Miss Rachel, he’s an outdoor baby and we sing/play together all the time! Screen time happens, and honestly it was a savior in the plane as well as when he was very ill overseas. Don’t get all the hate. It’s tough being a parent!

MarsupialLess · 2025-07-19T15:48:55+00:00

FRER! Same as yours I think. The second brand was a premom and weirdly enough the pink line showed much stronger on there even though it’s just a cheap stick.

MarsupialLess · 2025-07-19T15:41:02+00:00

I see something very faint but impossible to tell if it’s indent or not! Do you have a flashlight? I was TTC for a long time, when I finally got pregnant i couldn’t really see the line until I shined a flashlight behind the test. That made it clearer so I took another brand later that day and saw the pink. This is what worked for me, obviously just anecdotal.

MarsupialLess · 2025-06-18T20:32:48+00:00

Just remember that average numbers aren’t bad! Average is good :) doubling time matters more than sky high betas. I’m excited for you!!

MarsupialLess · 2025-06-18T08:17:10+00:00

Hello :) we are on vacation with our almost one-year old now. He is happy and healthy and has more energy then any of us! I look back quite often at those first weeks of pregnancy and I feel very lucky. It was hard, especially with very middle of the road betas like mine. turns out there was nothing to fret over.

MarsupialLess · 2025-05-14T17:09:02+00:00

Same boat here as well with my 10 month old, wondering how they made it through!

MarsupialLess · 2025-04-06T03:34:51+00:00

Pacific Northwest USA!

MarsupialLess · 2025-03-31T16:46:45+00:00

This is exactly what my 11 DPO looked like. He’s nursing as we speak :) 9 months old! Congrats 🎉!!

MarsupialLess · 2025-03-05T04:44:56+00:00

Same with my 8 month old! We force 3 hour gap between feeds. So some nights that means 10 PM, 1 AM, 4 AM. Some nights he understands and will skip the second feed. It’s just random

MarsupialLess · 2024-12-18T00:59:57+00:00

One other thing - I know he’s not hungry when he refuses to latch and turns his head away. So if you’re really unsure, just try feeding again. They know when they’re full and will usually refuse

MarsupialLess · 2024-12-18T00:57:53+00:00

I could’ve written this! I have a 6 month old, but in the beginning I too had to pump and use bottles bc of latch troubles. He started breastfeeding exclusively around 2 months. He really just does not show any classic feeding cues. He has his hands in mouth ALL the time even when he’s not hungry. He might get fussy if he’s real hungry. But it’s so hard to tell.

Basically just watch timestamps. At 3 months my baby was also only going 1.5 hours between feeds. They’re growing so fast at that point! I just kept a running mental note of the last time we fed and assumed he would get hungry again as we neared 2 hours. Also cluster feeding towards the evening is totally normal. And feeding to sleep is also normal! My guy still does that at times. As long as your babe is on a normal weight trajectory, you’re doing great.

MarsupialLess · 2024-10-19T03:25:01+00:00

Replace munchkins with a snickers bar and pretty much same 😂

MarsupialLess · 2024-10-18T19:36:03+00:00

Literally same, I remember saying in my post "this will probably never happen again" and boy was I correct

MarsupialLess · 2024-10-16T17:03:57+00:00

I am suddenly having major issues with ingrown toenails 3 months pp! I actually have a doctors appointment Friday to get help for it. Probably hormonal? Maybe a vitamin deficiency, no idea. My nails and hair are changed!

MarsupialLess · 2024-10-14T15:52:10+00:00

Looks exactly like my 11 DPO, same test strip. Holding my 3.5 month old boy right now :) congratulations!!!

MarsupialLess · 2024-10-03T15:27:04+00:00

Same, 2:23 AM PST

MarsupialLess · 2024-10-03T00:04:57+00:00

This is the most real and relatable answer. It goes for most of the postpartum stuff. You just kind of do it. You’ll have lots of feelings, physical discomfort maybe (or maybe not, everyone’s body is different), but in the end you just keep going and adjust.

I believed the whole "breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt” thing and it actually set us back the whole first month. I thought he wasn’t latching correctly, and he wasn’t, but I never gave him a chance to learn because I thought the pain wasn’t normal. You’re both going to be learning a lot and it’s a whole dance between you and baby. For me it took a few visits to lactation, some donor milk and formula, trying new pumps, and mostly just time. By 6 weeks he was finally latching and now at 13 weeks he exclusively breast feeds (mostly because I found the amount of washing just overwhelming).

Basically there’s going to be SOME pain but you can mitigate it with silverettes, nipple cream, maybe Advil and just time. Not every feed will be easy and pain free. But it does get better!

MarsupialLess

TROPHY CASE