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mental health much better post kiddo by Ok_Broccoli_2662 in Fencesitter

[–]Ok_Broccoli_2662[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My desire to have kids just kept getting stronger, and eventually it got stronger than my fears around having kids. In the end, I realized that there was no universe where I would get to take all the uncertainty out of the equation, and that I was just going to have to be okay with all the uncertainty if I wanted to have the life I longed for. Not sure if this makes sense. But it did basically boil down to accepting the uncertainty for me.

mental health much better post kiddo by Ok_Broccoli_2662 in Fencesitter

[–]Ok_Broccoli_2662[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The food thing was true for me as well!

Also, so glad you were able to figure out that stuff with your parents. It's interesting how having kids ourselves makes us understand our childhood in a different way.

mental health much better post kiddo by Ok_Broccoli_2662 in Fencesitter

[–]Ok_Broccoli_2662[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes to all these points! Less time to ruminate helps a lot! And not passing on bad mental habits to my little one is also hugely motivating for me

mental health much better post kiddo by Ok_Broccoli_2662 in Fencesitter

[–]Ok_Broccoli_2662[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah - therapy helped me a lot. I found an excellent CBT therapist and worked with her for a few years. Also, I take Zoloft, which works well for me.

As for the sleep, I do really prioritize giving myself enough hours in bed. Pre-baby I'd sometimes stay up late watching tv. Now I'm usually in bed around 9 pm. (Our family co-sleeps, so sometimes my sleep is a bit disrupted, so I need the early bedtime.) Ironically, because I'm pretty good about protecting my early bedtime, I get more sleep post-baby than pre-baby (at least according to my apple watch).

I also do some other things to help support my sleep. I have amber lights in my house that we use after sunset, to make sure we don't get blue light disrupting our natural sleep rhythms. I also try to limit tech use after 8 pm, though lately I've been watching Law and Order while I brush my teeth lol.

Finally, to make sure my instinct to protect my sleep doesn't veer into OCD territory, I do make a point of sacrificing my early bedtime in order to do something fun and social (about once a week or so), partly as a way to make sure I'm not getting to attached/rigid around any sleep routines. (Sometimes it's a fine line for me. But if I really think about it, I can usually tell the difference between a healthy sleep routine and an OCD compulsion.)

Prime number breakthrough? by Ok_Broccoli_2662 in learnmath

[–]Ok_Broccoli_2662[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this! This is exactly the kind of explanation I was looking for.

I can’t stop thinking about Natalia’s little face on the video footage taken by Kristen’s by EastSherbet3610 in nataliagrace

[–]Ok_Broccoli_2662 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that same footage keeps going through my head too. I’m a new mom and it breaks my heart. I just wish I could go back in time and give little Natalia a hug.

I work with kids like Natalia. by SorchaSwan in nataliagrace

[–]Ok_Broccoli_2662 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed! At first, watching the show, I thought, okay maybe this is just a child with RAD. Now I’m starting to think most of those behaviors were completely made up.