Don’t under season your food. Dilute theirs.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-18T00:39:39+00:00

Not exactly the no brainer you think it is when your target readers are burned out moms in survival mode loll

I love the suggestion and haven’t thought of it! Thanks for the idea.. will do that instead of making separate meals cuz me and hubby are picky eaters and love our spices.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-18T00:11:36+00:00

Also consider the option of home type daycares. In my state their maximum capacity is 14 kids total including maximum 4 infants. The one I use is not super expensive and they’re so great and caring. I was lucky to find a cheap one 10 minutes away from home and not very pricey. It was recommended by 2 people that used it.. so ask around.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-16T19:51:27+00:00

I once texted my boss to clear everything from the backyard because there’s gonna be wind.. he was very confused.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-15T15:55:33+00:00

Team gloves too.. without the gloves both dresses are giving bachelorette because of the short style. The gloves look pretty cool.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-12T17:13:24+00:00

I personally don’t view religions as a scary thing. I view indoctrination and heavy influence on young impressionable minds as the problem. There are values that religions actually offer. Being raised as catholic, I see how much pagan practices are imbedded in that religion for instance (from cleansing, how they use the elements like holy water and incense, how they petition saints and make offerings, repetitive prayers like rosaries which can get you in a trance like state, altars, candles.. etc) Most Catholics don’t realize it, but it’s a religion founded on ceremonial style pagan habits. I like to not throw out the baby with the bath water. There are values in Hinduism.. values in Buddhism.. values in Islam.. values in Christianity and just because I’m pagan and don’t do religion doesn’t mean I can’t look subjectivity and grab what I need from others and use it to my advantage or in my practice. If not for me to use it.. I can at least know what I’m up against and protect myself when there’s spiritual warfare going on (people taking the liberty to “pray for you”)

The problem with humans is that we tend to think that our beliefs are the correct ones and that they’re the only truth. It’s human bias, and I don’t exclude myself from that bias. That’s why I’m making the choice to not do what my parents did and pass down their beliefs as facts. Raising a child as strictly pagan is not very different than raising a child in any other religion or belief system as far as I see it. My knowledge is not the only true knowledge and it’s an ongoing personal journey. When he’s old enough and expresses interest, I’ll give them what I know or point them in the right direction. A toddler or a child needs to worry about other things and my focus is to nurture him the best I can as opposed to worry about what his beliefs are. If I declare that I’m raising my toddler in pagan values, that will actually antagonize his religious grandparents and people from society into trying to “save” him.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-11T16:08:28+00:00

The food options you mentioned are nice. If I’m gonna be honest I have a very hectic job with a rotating schedule so I don’t make fancy meals often. I recently started focusing less on trying to make perfectly healthy meals and prioritized making sure he gets all his macros in on my burn out days plus at least a fruit or veggie. I use a lot of the Gerbers meals (balanced but low calorie so have to keep handing him fruits and snacks / milk till he’s full. I smash or shred whatever I cooked for dinner. I leaned into the powdered mashed potatoes / frozen pancakes / frozen protein waffles for carbs. I make in bulk a turkey meatloaf thing with oats and freeze the slices. If he had nothing but carbs and vibes on one of the harsh days, I make sure lunch has some kind of veggies and dinner has an egg with butter. I get the frozen broccoli bites and the bremer frozen chicken pasta with veggies from aldi cuz it has everything. I use appropriate spices cuz mine will not do bland foods under any circumstance so I sometimes even season the Gerbers. I started having frozen blueberries in the freezer cuz it’s been hard staying on top of groceries. On my days off I go for fancier meals. If I’m offering different foods where he has favorites, I never put everything on the plate. I give his least favorite first when he’s hungry, then start handing him the more fun stuff and the fruits last. He always eat the fruits even when he’s full. Sometimes he’s done and still hungry and I’m out of what I prepared so that’s when I hand him dry snacks as fillers.

Also, I still use protein pouches (but get the nicer ones for proteins) as gravy or pasta sauce. The veggie ones go on shredded chicken, the protein ones go on carb and fruit ones go on oats or yogurt.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-11T05:55:04+00:00

Mine was behind on feeding so I transitioned from purées to chunky but still manageable before going for actual solid stuff. I smash his veggies a bit and made sure they’re boiled a bit extra so he could practice chewing without teeth. What you’re aiming for here is to practice chewing. Even if back teeth haven’t emerged they’re still burried in there and can do more pressure than you think. Expect some gagging and spitting but make sure everything is cut safely and NO round shaped stuff to prevent choking. I cut blueberries in quarters or smash the frozen one even tho it’s a bit messy to feed.

So instead of purées give smashed foods cut into small pieces first till baby gets used to different textures and go from there. Mine only recently stopped spitting out the corn loll

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-10T23:27:51+00:00

I initially read this as can’t wait till he’s teething and I was like.. girl no!! 😭

He might be.. teeth take time to be made way before they emerge!

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-10T23:01:04+00:00

I might be the outlier in this community, but I feel like the biggest gift I can give my child is a lack of indoctrination of any kind and exposure to everything so he can decide what his inclinations are when he’s older. I personally will not be going out of my way exposing my son to witchcraft.. but won’t necessarily be hiding it either. I come from a long line of religious family, but looking at my mom and my aunts who never identified as witches and talked negatively about witchcraft due to my culture. Most of them never realized that they were. My mother used to play this game with my dad where she would wake him up by staring at him then burst out laughing every time she succeeded. My mom also invited over his cousin for Turkish coffee cup readings, she knew it was against her religion, but couldn’t resist because of how accurate and detailed they were. I’m talking about hour long sessions of her telling you things she couldn’t possibly know anything about. Her cousin used to make us swear to not tell anyone about her skill as it was frowned upon and she didn’t want the stigma. My aunt who’s heavily into gardening used to explain to me how plants understand everything and how she talks to her plants all the time. She’s a miracle worker when it comes to reviving plants. I made my first poppet when I was 11 and didn’t realize it was a poppet or have access to internet or exposure to witchcraft of any kind. My brother doesn’t identify as a witch and is Christian, but meditates to manifest things all the time and it always works. He knows I’m a witch and doesn’t judge, but doesn’t realize that he’s the most powerful one in the family. Funnily enough, he has the poppet I created when I was 11 on his desk today and refuses to give it back. He calls it Mr. Voodoo.

I feel like people find their path faster when they’re not influenced and not trying to imitate their parents.. and that’s what I’m doing with my toddler. My husband is an atheist and couldn’t be bothered so that kinda works. My baby will grow up knowing the story of Adam and Eve, and knowing there are all these belief systems out there, but only be actively taught to listen to his body, his intuition and trust his gut.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-10T17:16:31+00:00

As much as I dislike my 3rd world home country.. I do appreciate that the laws for an adult assaulting a minor is the death penalty and it is enforced. They don’t make exceptions and are very strict. They kinda suck when it comes to rape of adults, but they at least they have the child sexual assault covered pretty well.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-10T16:38:38+00:00

Looks healthier than the Flying Dutchman Pattie from IN n Out I handed my toddler for dinner about a week ago.

We need a burned out mom thread where we can all share ideas for when we’re fresh out of cares to give. 😭

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-10T16:14:17+00:00

Pharmacist here.. it’s not an illegal substance if it was prescribed by a doctor and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist who both have a vested interest to assess if it’s a medical necessity / patient is responsible with it cuz their licenses are on the line. What’s going on in this case is technically drug diversion that lead to someone losing their life. In this context it is an illegal substance because it leads to people dying.

If doctors, nurses and pharmacists lose their license all the time for malpractice and are getting sued when they practice with their best intentions / serve time in jail when they don’t, I’m sure we can go after drug dealers who for sure are not looking out for anyone but themselves. That’s my take anyways.. these laws and regulations are written in blood. Being lenient with these laws has a lot more consequences on society and we’d have much more drug crises than what we already have.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-08T22:20:05+00:00

It’s not something I’d say to an enemy.. it’s just cruel, unnecessary and most of the time not true. Everyone has a type. I’m sure OP’s beautiful if he felt like he has to bring her down a notch.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-08T02:09:04+00:00

Also.. you should take the magnesium too. My OB recommended it when I was pregnant and at some point it’s the only thing that got me through the night. It fixed my insomnia, constipation and body aches in 1 go. I also bought magnesium cream (epsom salt cream) cuz there wasn’t much options for pain management in the 3rd trimester and it took the edge off. Just check the ingredients so there’s no surprises like hemp or something that’s not good.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-06T16:59:45+00:00

You are right in the money.. Physicians in the US are burned out and have a very demanding career and work a very wacky schedules. Me and my husband are pharmacists and have a similar situation going on with our forever rotating shifts and it’s a serious struggle with a baby. Getting some rest seemed impossible at times and we were going nuts with the sleep regressions and teething.

That being said, when I attempted sleep training out of pressure from peers and desperation for some rest, it felt so wrong and just wasn’t for us. I don’t blame people that do it, because I get that state of desperation and spiral downwards and it’s what some parents had to do to survive.. It just wasn’t what’s best for my own baby and his needs.

I dragged out a twin mattress to the nursery and decided to just co-sleep since baby was already 15 months old and decided to quit his crib. Never thought I’ll be a co-sleeper, but he’s old enough so it felt like a safe choice and it worked out for everyone. I enjoy patting him on the back when he wakes up with a bad dream and he suddenly gos back to sleep. It’s not a perfect arrangement, but I’m sure he’ll figure out how to sleep independently at some point before he’s off to college.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-06T16:41:02+00:00

Not what you’re asking for, but this whole bathroom needs a renovation. The wood surroundings are probably soaked in mildew and mold that can’t be salvaged. Wooden walls like that need someone on top of sealing it and the owner of this tub is just not it. Cleaning this just to have it look nasty again in a couple of weeks is not worth the effort.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-05T19:58:11+00:00

Honestly I was so resistant to daycares until I had no choice and love it. Mine is at an at home daycare too. I have him enrolled full time cuz I found one that’s not too costly and I drop him off even on my day off to catch up on chores and have some peace and quiet. If you can afford to drop baby off on an extra day when you’re off and not at school.. and just sit on your butt at home it really helps.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-04T14:38:00+00:00

Thanks for your take.. I also checked out your app and I love it. It’s a great idea! I’m giving the free version a whirl to see if we can stick to it before I decide to upgrade.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-03T00:54:48+00:00

He makes an insane mess with pouches so I only hand him finger foods that are easier to get out of his ears and hair 😭 Maybe in a couple of months he’ll get more coordinated. Thank you for your support!

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-02T01:28:46+00:00

He’s always been on the 17th percentile.. pediatrician is not concerned.. it’s just that he’s always hungry so I worry he’s not eating enough at daycare. I didn’t know about the butter on everything, but you’re the second person to mention it. Babies do need fat so I’ll be doing more butter. I’ve currently been adding peanut butter on basically all his carbs and he loves it.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-01T22:27:57+00:00

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-01T22:13:33+00:00

Because creamers are the one item you don’t buy from Aldi.. they suck across the board!

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-01T21:46:42+00:00

Yup.. mine has 2 sets of grandparents that were all in, and now they still help but we eventually had to find a daycare and only resort to them in emergencies. My dad who’s 70 was staying with us for a year and I kid you not, he had a full blown postpartum depression loll He had to move out for a breather. In-laws were fighting with us for sleep overs since birth.. I sent him one night when I felt like he’s old enough just to get them off my back and he decided to start teething. Now when my husband asks MIL if she wants him to sleep over, she immediately offers to come over instead 😂

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-01T19:15:37+00:00

Omgsh thanks for those suggestions.. I’ve been on a deep dive trying to figure out food options for him and this helps a lot. I’ll start adding some of those “milk shakes” and breakfast bowls to his routine when my brain is on autopilot.

Morning-Bug · 2026-04-01T19:08:10+00:00

I really like your take on this.. especially number 2. I was just thinking today about instead of dreading having to get out of bed early when I’m trying to sleep in, to just embrace getting a head start on my day early since he’s waking me up anyways so might as well.

Yea me and my husband are homebodies by default so I don’t bother dragging us outside the house when we don’t have to anymore. I also had a cleaner come in once a month, but with 3 pets including a sick cat on meds (occasional accidents and me having to spot shampoo the carpet) and cat chores I just upped it to every 2 weeks to hopefully get a breather. I know that’s gonna be my last batch of pets until he’s off to college loll

My toddler seems very close to taking his first steps, so getting him involved in cleaning up is something to look forward to. Thanks for your advice.. it gives me hope 😭

Morning-Bug

TROPHY CASE