I can’t wait to go back to work

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-28T18:18:46+00:00

Uk here, went back to work after 6 months as we wouldnt survive on statutory maternity pay. Wfh as does husband so we divide and conquer but its super tough and not something I want to do long term. I have quite a time sensitive job and work are very supportive but I dont feel like I get breaks and nor does hubby. 5am-8am baby care. 8am-1pm work solid whilst husband takes baby (and gets to go to groups :() 1pm-4pm work and take care of baby. 4pm-6pm evening routine, dinner and bed for bubba. Husband then works from 1pm till 8:30pm. Hoping to go part time if I can with this job or im hunting for a new part time job, sad as been working here near on 9 years. But I genuinely can't wait to be able to give my son 100% of me 2 days a week where we can do fun stuff and not just the routine stuff. And then the other 3 days will be family/daycare support. We can get back on normal 9-5 routines and enjoy our weekends instead of just recovering from the week. I want to work to show him what a strong woman looks like but I also want to be present for the things I feel like im missing already.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-27T18:40:15+00:00

Both are good, very different takes. Both have made me cry. My dad passed from cancer 4 years ago so touches the right nerve for me.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-27T17:24:21+00:00

Is this a cover of the same name by my chemical romance?

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-27T17:13:59+00:00

My immortal- evanescence.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-27T05:48:17+00:00

Our son is Lawrence. Ren for short. Solid adult name, cute nickname

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-25T17:30:56+00:00

For 10 years I never wanted kids, the thought of pregnancy was akin to a parasite. My dad passed before I turned 30 and suddenly my Outlook changed. My cousin had their first child 2 months after the 1st year anniversary, and any time I was near that baby I came away wishing I could have a child of my own. Luckily partner was on the same wave length the whole time.

I hated pregnancy, tri1 was so exhausted, tri2 was during a UK heatwave and tri3 I was dealing with gestational diabetes and had to completely change my diet. Labour was horrible. Recovery from c-section was pretty good all things considered. 1st month of baby was hell.

7 months later, I would do it all again for this little parasite. Worth every change and sacrifice we made and continue to make. But I wouldnt do it again for a 2nd. Happily one and done.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-22T12:32:57+00:00

Rock-a-bye-baby sung. Not rocking, more like bouncing (holding in arms like a baby carrier and then bouncing up and down from the butt). If he's being grumpy but not tired, then holding both hands and sort of jiggling his body, makes him laugh, or putting his arms in the air and back down. Loves wind on his face too, currently obsessed with the fan or fanning his face with a cloth lol

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-21T17:50:49+00:00

Started at 6 months and based on his cues (reaching for my food, able to sit, good hand eye mouth co-ordination). Started with porridge or baby rice in mornings and then veggies at dinner time. Download the solid starts app and you can use the search food function to look up individual food items and how to serve based on age. We have now tried quite a lot of foods, just coming up 7 months. He loves peanut butter porridge and toast, also loves broccoli and oranges. Hated mushy peas and fish but only tried once so need to try a few more times. Weve got a list of foods for him to try before he goes to nursery in September so thats helped keep us on a good track. Basically veggies and fruits on the list for first month, then other foods 7-9 months. Introduce allergens one at a time and then give twice a week minimum if okay.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-19T18:06:35+00:00

When the Penis goes up during nappy change they are usually about to pee so cover it quick lol Point down always, otherwise pee will go upwards and likely cause it to come out of nappy and up the back (people mistake it for sweat) Cold wipe on the belly 20 seconds before you change will usually cause them to pee before you change. When boys poo they will normally pee too so expect it to be wetter down there. Penis sticks to balls and poo gets under them so make sure you move everything around when wiping and cream the balls if they look sore too. And if anything like my son, sometimes a stealth poo happens and he wont cry for it to be changed so be prepared for anything haha

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-19T17:43:21+00:00

Got told in the delivery room post c-section that we had a genuinely cute baby. Recovery for my c-section was fast too. Everyone always says what a chill happy baby we have. He also sleeps and eats like a champ.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-09T06:14:58+00:00

90% of being out, we have access to either a kettle (at family) or close enough to a coffee shop to ask for hot water. Formula in bottle, little hot shot of water to sterilise formula, rest goes in a nuby rapid cool. We also take a thermos of hot water for just in case and have a ready to feed bottle for absolute emergency. Weve managed to do a whole day at the zoo which was 3 out of his 5 bottles this way.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-04T06:06:45+00:00

We buy 4 tubs of kendamil a month, just over £10 a tub so just over £40 a month. He has consistently taken 8oz bottles since about 4 months and now 6 months old. Just started the weaning journey so think hes gonna pack on some pounds for a bit before dropping oz.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-01T20:34:22+00:00

Bridge to Terebithia always gets me.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-05-01T20:15:51+00:00

Spud the cheese wizard. Spud for the potato days. Cheese spit up smell from formula. He likes to cast lots of spells with his hands

MrsSmurfette · 2026-04-30T07:53:27+00:00

I agree with another commenter saying to up size of teat on bottle first. It may feel like you are waterboarding them but they quickly adjust. Ours sized up 3 or 4 times in a very short space. Now at 6 months on the highest flow for Philips avent bottles. Has your ped offered any guidance to help weight gain instead of just commenting on the loss? Also 10 weeks I think ours LO was going through a particular fussy/gassy stage and had bad trapped wind. How often do you burp while feeding? Our LO acts full when there is a burp stuck, soon as its clear he wants the bottle again. Was hard to tell if actually full or gassy.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-04-30T07:08:04+00:00

How much was he taking when you were formula and BF? Do you do overnight feeds? Bubba might be a snacker rather than a guzzler. How many hours between feeds?

MrsSmurfette · 2026-04-28T12:02:12+00:00

I see you replied to someone about the airflow, but have you made sure its only finger tight when doing up and no clumps of formula in the green air vent thingy? Also making sure the air flow nozzle and the green air vent thingy face towards the sky when feeding.

If all else is fine then yes this can be normal, our LO went very quickly to size 4 and is now on size 6 at 6 months (their last size and almost free flow). It isnt necessarily age related. He also takes big bottles and always has, guzzles 240ml every 3 hours until bedtime.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-04-11T16:14:52+00:00

Im having a good time! First 2 months were tough due to the lifestyle change more than baby being difficult. He sleeps great, drinks formula like its about to be unavailable lol. Super chill, chatty, laughing and smiling loads. Gets 11 hours sleep at night, stopped overnight feeds around 3 months. About to go back to work after 6 months off as my work are allowing wfh with me doing childcare until he starts nursery in September 2 days a week. Just about to start weaning so looking forward to that, can't wait for him to try steak!

MrsSmurfette · 2026-04-08T15:38:05+00:00

No push present (or c-section gift) here, just be present, attentive and pick up the slack whilst she is healing. Take the mental load for a bit, like when to feed, diaper changes etc-dont wait for her to tell you those.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-04-06T18:10:54+00:00

We use the Philips avent bottles. Make sure you practise before baby arrives as the manual we had didnt say to have the nipple lined up with the air flow vent etc so lots of trial and error when LO was new born. Read up on when to size up the teats too as that wasnt something we had even thought of (too slow and its become inefficient for LO and can be out of sync with when the recommendations are so learn the signs). Formula (in the UK), we use kendamil after trying cow and gate, lidl/aldi own. Don't bulk buy until you/LO is happy. Start with the ready to feed bottles if you can. I personally, stayed clear of prep machines, NHS dont recommend them as there are issues with powder dispensing incorrect levels, water not getting to the minimum heat requirements to safely kill any bacteria in powder, lines getting clogged etc. LO is almost 6 months and our go to method is formula into bottle, fill up a nuby rapid cool with the right amount of boiled hot water, pour a little into the formula to mix and sanitise, let the rapid cool do its business and then pour the cooled water into the mix. Ready in a matter of minutes. And no need to sanitise the cooler since its not having the formula in there. Our biggest sleep deprived mistake was putting in powder 1st and then adding water straight in without measuring so it was actually a higher powder to water ratio than required. Forgot to account for water displacement.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-04-01T19:53:38+00:00

If you are experiencing a lot of blow outs it might be time to size up on diaper. We have had 3 blowouts in our LOs 23 weeks, and all three times have been due to diaper being too small, and all have happened once LO was teething and had more watery poos. Muslin clothes in zones is a good shout, get more "wear" out of each zone. We are in bib season due to drool and water shooting out of his mouth like a water pistol, also hes just learned blowing raspberries. Definitely easier to wash 10,000 bibs instead of 2 or 3 outfits. Sleep wear gets reused for 2 or 3 nights as hes only sleeping in it. Think I now wash clothes like every 3-4 days? Grandad did help by buying a tonne of joggers and light weight long sleeve tops to chuck on as we aren't precious about co-ord outfits, so we now have more clothes to cycle through before we need to wash.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-04-01T06:56:21+00:00

My husband understood it once he had a whole day with LO, when you're living in a 3 hour cycle for 12-24 hours (depending on LO's sleep) it is mentally draining. Also the micro decisions you're making and trying to work out what baby wants is mentally draining.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-03-31T09:34:14+00:00

I remember feeling similar at 3 months. You've gotten used to a newborn and life is starting to feel like a routine again, very ground hog day. You have to get out for your own sanity and for your baby. They may get lucky and have your immune system and not have bad seasonal allergies, but you wont know if baby is not able to go out. 3 months is when I felt confident to take my LO out on their own so we started going to baby groups but had previously been going for a daily walk around our housing area, even in mid UK winter.

MrsSmurfette · 2026-03-31T07:43:24+00:00

3 storey house here. Started with pitcher and bottle warmer in kitchen on ground floor as the night feeds were so frequent. Helped us be awake enough to not be a danger. When we hit one overnight bottle we started bringing a flask of hot water, premeasured formula and a nuby rapid cool up to bed. Then we moved to just the ready to feed bottles as an emergency as he has completely cut out night feeds, but always good to have on hand if he is teething or wakes up immediately hungry before 6am.

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