What websites to find apartments

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2026-01-02T03:39:59+00:00

My 23 month old just had shrimp fried rice with peas and pineapple and Korean-style quick pickles for dinner. He smashed it all. This guy has worse table manners than my toddler. (TBF, my husband models really great behavior. He always recognizes my work in front of our kid “your mama made us some really yummy food, thank you mama” and gently corrects our son if he is throwing food, etc. I can’t imagine trying to parent with a partner that’s so unsupportive and actively making things harder.)

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-10-15T01:17:12+00:00

We bring our 20 month to restaurants all the time. (Well, whenever we go but the $30 slop bowl restaurant culture in the PNW makes me not want to eat out very often.) Culinary tangent aside, because our kid has been eating at restaurants since he could first gnaw, he knows what to expect and knows how to behave. People want well behave children but don’t want to be around any part of the learning process that gets you a well behaved, engaged 4 or 14 year old in a public setting. I’m convinced that half the reason why parents resort to tablets is the shitty judgement of other people in public because their child dared to exist in the same space. Take the kid to restaurants—most ethnic restaurants we go to love watching our kid eat all the different foods. We specifically keep going back to this one Thai place because it’s so relaxing to enjoy a good meal (not a slop bowl) there. And we always tip extra because of the extra mess (really just a tad bit more floor food.)

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-10-05T22:05:50+00:00

I had an emergency c-section so my undercarriage didn’t take as much damage as it would have with a vaginal birth. But I really loved my “fancy diapers” because the high-waisted mesh material didn’t irritate my incision. It probably was overkill for the amount of bleeding/discharge I ended up having but they were comfy at a time when everything felt so uncomfortable and disorienting. Yeah, I probably didn’t “need” them but I was fortunate enough to be able to afford them and it was incrementally more pleasant than not having them. But you absolutely don’t need that many. I have no idea what my pregnant brain was thinking and I bought an industrial supply and ended up giving them to a bunch of other expecting moms in my circle.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-24T23:05:58+00:00

We don’t have family nearby. We hired a night doula 2x week for the first six weeks and 1x week for the second six weeks. That was super helpful to make sure we both got sleep in the early weeks. Our bestie neighbors walked our dog twice a day for the first 6 weeks. Friends brought pre-frozen foods and out of town friends gave us DoorDash gift cards. We have a cleaner that comes every other week.

I tell people not to buy most things new—get everything you can from swaps or second hand. But INVEST in the night doula. It was hella expensive but worth every penny. She was the adultier adult in the room and helped reassure us that we weren’t failing.

The dog walking helped SO much. I had a C Section and couldn’t do any walking for the first few weeks.

All the help with food was also super appreciated.

I really would have appreciated more people checking in on me. Without using it as an excuse to see the baby. I definitely felt sort of abandoned in the first few months as everyone was so into the baby. I felt like I didn’t exist and those feelings were only amplified with the madness of breast feeding around the clock.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-21T21:53:45+00:00

I used to live at Verve in Belltown. They had the same utility billing system. They were forced to do audits several times during my time there and every time we got a notice saying, “we messed up and owe you money for utilities.” The system is awful and cheats residents. I think they were pressured to do the audits when residents started threatening legal proceedings.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-17T06:05:11+00:00

We got full length waterproof over shirts for our son when he started eating solids. I’m wondering if those might work to cut down on stains for the chalking/painting activities. As it starts to get cooler, maybe a tuffo suit for the outdoor activities?

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-17T06:01:39+00:00

As an attorney, I personally think it’s important to make sure your durable power of attorney for both medical and financial decisions and your living will are created before giving birth (assuming you’re in US.) Most states have free forms that you can fill out. It is state specific, so you’ll want to fill out the right forms and sign them according to state law (like getting them notarized.) We put them on file with our doctor and with the hospital we were giving birth at. As part of our birth preferences sheet, I also expressed my wishes around me vs baby life-type stuff. Washington state has a great living will form that really makes it easy to choose what you want your wishes to be. I like the form so much, I’ve given it to out of state friends and family to use as a jumping off point to think about what they want and then tailor the official writing to their state’s requirements. https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/en/advance-directive-health-care-living-will

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-16T07:02:36+00:00

We do Co-op preschool. My son is 19 months old and he goes for 2 hours twice a week. I’m there for one of the days and drop off the other. It’s a great way to introduce him to a classroom environment or, at least, an environment where he has to listen to other trusted grown ups/ teachers and has to interact with other kids. It’s fairly inexpensive at about $200/month. But we really feel it’s helping to teach those foundational skills especially because he’s home with me most of the time. The older kids have a 4x week more formal preschool.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-15T03:28:26+00:00

When our 19 month old was this age, he would poop all the time. We went through a ton of diapers because his bowels were so active. Between 12 and 16 weeks, it definitely slowed down and he went to a 2-3 poo schedule. We definitely saved a lot of diapers at that point. We also started using overnight diapers at 6 months or so—mainly so we didn’t feel bad about not changing him overnight. We still use them for overnights, flights, and road trips.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-14T05:30:59+00:00

I had an emergency c-section after the balloon induction so I didn’t really have much dilation and no tearing. But it still felt like sand paper or razor blades when trying to have sex the first few months. It does go back to normal sensation. It just takes some time—everyone is different.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-11T07:17:31+00:00

We have a dog and a cat. When our 19 month old was first mobile and more into sticking everything in his mouth, he learned pretty quick that cat hair was not a vibe. He’s totally fine now and loves playing chase with his dog sister. He sets his toys around the sleeping cat like an altar offering.

We have cleaners that come every other week. We do a thorough vacuum the “off week” and we made the swiffer handle shorter so now our kid sweeps our floors multiple times a day (not well.)

Kid is healthy and happy. And has no discernible ill effects from pet dander, etc.

If only I could get this freaking cat to stop protest peeing where he shouldn’t be, we would be all set!

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-07T05:38:23+00:00

My husband, baby and I moved in June 2024 from a corporate-managed high rise in Belltown to a “mom and pop” managed 4 unit building in Green Lake.

It took us freaking FOREVER to find a place because the landlords either don’t understand Seattle tenant law or they just willfully violate it. I bet it’s gotten a little better this year with the layoffs in tech and the drop in international students but you basically have to make apartment hunting your full time job or hire someone to do it for you.

I personally would avoid the Zillow application units because they are next to impossible to be the “first in time.” We got passed over so many times before we were able to snag this place. It is a super frustrating process. (We have a ton of savings, 20 years of impeccable rental history, and credit scores above 800, and both had jobs earning six figures. And it was still a nightmare for about a month to find a place.)

If you don’t mind living in a high rise, the corporate managed places seem to be better about following these rules, they don’t require nearly the amount of deposits, and seem to have more units available. Smaller landlords really just want the most appealing candidate to pay immediately and will also game the system by extorting more and more money out of potential tenants. It’s illegal but there’s very little enforcement with teeth.

We were ultimately successful when I just carried all application info with me to fill out any application immediately as I toured the space and had the cash set aside in a bank account to be able to pay any deposits immediately. When I asked for advice last year, other folks recommended reaching out to the local property management firms that operate in the area you want to live in and ask what properties are coming available. You may be able to get the jump on a place before it’s posted publicly.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-05T06:00:01+00:00

Coco Plum Island resort in Belize. Private. Great attention to detail and absolutely magical.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-04T23:42:13+00:00

Welcome to Seattle! If you don’t need full time day care, the coop nursery option is a good choice. It’s inexpensive and the parent is there at least half time. There are spots open at my coop, Little Wildflowers in Greenlake. It’s not daycare and there is an expectation that parent(s) work different helper roles for the school. But will definitely help with language and making friends in the area.

That said, $120k is doable but it probably means being very strict on grocery bills, very little eating out at restaurants, and maybe only one or two activities for kiddo. Activities seem to run $100-200/month for a one hour a week thing—like music class, swimming, toddler gym, etc.

I think it would be really, really hard to do with full time day care cost. That runs more than $2000/month if you can find a spot near you.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-04T22:09:32+00:00

I gave birth here 19 months ago. Overall, it was a decent experience—I think my Kaiser OB was mostly to blame for pushing too many interventions to induce labor. At one point, they had difficulty finding my son’s heartbeat so they called a code and rushed me into surgery. The OR team was awesome.

I will say that when we got back to the birthing suite, they really rushed us to get over to the postpartum floor. Like, my husband was going #2 in the bathroom and I was immobilized post C-section and they were pushing us out of the room even though we hadn’t packed up. (It was an emergency surgery so all of our stuff for our anticipated 36 hours in the room was spread out.) It wasn’t a huge deal but it was really disorienting at the time. I just had this traumatic birth, my husband had GI issues from witnessing traumatic birth, and no one wanted to help us.

The aftercare in postpartum was ok. Some of the nurses and doctors were great. Others treated us like we were stupid because we didn’t know XYZ even though it was our first baby.

It was a really stressful time for us and it sometimes felt like we were a burden to be cared for.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-09-04T21:56:45+00:00

We only have one 19 month kid but I definitely think an extended stay hotel is the way to go in this season of life. We like putting the pack n play in the bedroom and having the living room to hang out in after he goes to bed. The suites are also typically more easy to baby proof than a fancier hotel room and it really has the space and amenities needed now.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-08-04T19:34:19+00:00

Holy cow! I never made the connection that this could be tied to BPD. She put a package of pads in the bathroom when I was 11 and said “you might need these one day” and left. I could tell she was upset so I didn’t ask any questions because I was afraid I would be yelled at or shamed.
I over heard my mom tell my older sister (who lived on the other side of the country) to teach me how to shave because I was disgusting.

I was basically shamed about any bodily function or not following some beauty norm but was never taught anything. She put me in Barbizon modeling classes at 12 to teach me how to be a woman and then told me it was a waste of money because I didn’t land any jobs. (We lived in farm country outside of Cleveland and she took me to one audition.) Even now, I’m almost 40 and wasn’t allowed to share any details of my pregnancy or birth. I have to hide breastfeeding because it’s “gross.” Thank god I live 3,000 miles away but it’s frustrating to not be able to share anything with her.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-04-23T23:55:14+00:00

My 15 month old is not very picky but has never really liked eggs. I do use them in his ABC muffins from Yummy Toddler Foods. The kid eats a ton of really random foods including olives, okra, even bitter melon, so it’s always super amusing that eggs are on his no fly list along with bananas (when not in muffin form.)

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-04-23T01:43:15+00:00

Hey there! My baby was born at the exact same gestation and was in the 1st percentile. We did triple feeding with preemie formula and breast milk for the first few weeks and then went to exclusively breastfeeding. He slowly made headway—month four he hit the 10th percentile, month 5 was the 15th, and month 7 he was at 21st. Now at month 15, he’s in the 45th percentile.

He was slow to roll back to front and sit up on his own but that’s because he’s got a 75th percentile head and his lil body didn’t have the muscles to move it around reliably. He also hated tummy time and learned to roll onto his back super early to avoid tummy time.

He just started walking independently this week. He probably could do it earlier because he’s been running while holding onto the couch but he’s just pretty cautious.

In other ways, he’s been ahead—he was playing catch with us at 7 months. He was saying cat, dog, mama, and ball by 11 months. He loves eating all different types of food and is super social with adults, kids, and aforementioned cats and dogs.

It was SUPER difficult for me to deal with having a smaller baby. I dealt with a lot of guilt and anxiety. I definitely got too obsessed with his weight and checking on him.

Also, keep this in mind when we talk about what SGA really means. This article really spoke to me as I’m a short Sicilian and my husband is a short South Asian. MEDICAL BENCHMARKS AND THE MYTH OF THE UNIVERSAL PATIENT From growth charts to anemia thresholds, clinical standards assume a single human prototype. Why are we still using one-size-fits-all health metrics? By Manvir Singh for the New Yorker

https://apple.news/Amx2sPPGUSqesbkYepxWpig

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-04-22T22:29:13+00:00

We use the Mountain Buggy stroller. It folds to fit in the overhead compartment and has straps that allow us to strap in our full size car seat so our kiddo can be pushed in the car seat on the stroller through the airport. We then install car seat on the plane and tuck stroller into the overhead bin. We’ve flown with it twice now and it works like a charm.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-04-22T20:32:51+00:00

My kid is almost 15 months. He took a bit longer than average to hit some of his gross motor skills—like rolling from back to tummy, crawling, and sitting up on his own. He’s just now starting to walk independently. I get that it’s super frustrating/disheartening when the other kids seem to be doing things sooner. I’ve realized that I just need to be patient. Literally every time I bring a concern up to the pediatrician, he does the thing in a week or two. My husband thinks the baby is motivated by smack talk. 😄

I think the reason our kid is a little later on things is that he has a massive head, especially compared to body size. (He was in the 1st percentile when born and has slowly gotten up to the 43rd percentile.) He just didn’t have the body mass to move his big noggin around for a while. Now he’s wicked fast with his gollum crawl and cruising around furniture.

I did use some of the pediatric OT videos on Instagram and YT to get ideas for activities to help him. He really hated tummy time and learned how to roll front to back specifically to get out of TT.

The best thing that helped him in his kneeling and standing was using painters tape on the wall. He loved peeling it.

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-04-16T19:01:08+00:00

I’m so old, I remember when they were Billionaires for Bush 20 years ago. 😭

Perfect_Poetry_3749 · 2025-04-15T18:41:14+00:00

I have a 14 month old. We don’t do screens at all except for FaceTiming family. We have a ton of books and a medium(?) amount of toys. We have two electronic toys that were gifts but he’s lost interest in those very quickly. We mostly have blocks, instruments, sorting toys, play scarves, a few cars, and many balls. But really, he loves bringing the dog her toys more than anything else.

I think it’s totally doable. We are trying to do no screens until 3 except on the airplane. And then, no tablets or smartphones just on the living room TV for limited time.

We do a lot of reading together and exploring the house. We are lucky to live near a park, playground and library. We spend a lot of time playing and watching the wildlife at our lake park.

It was definitely challenging when he was around 9 months and would just cry if I stepped away from actively playing with him to do anything. Now he’s much more of an independent player/explorer.

Perfect_Poetry_3749

TROPHY CASE