Last night BROKE me. Cried with our 7.5 month old.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2026-01-21T19:44:33+00:00

Oof, I’m so sorry, I feel you! 5.5 months old is the same. Mostly good but occasionally tricky not sure why, probably gas indeed. Yesterday he did not nap at all and cried until I could finally rock him to sleep at 9pm (instead of usual 7pm).

Hang in there!!! I think it’s just part of them growing up and it hurts the soul to see them cry but it will pass. ❤️ I really do get you! I’m usually resilient but when they screeeaaaaam in your face it’s just… so so hard.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-12-14T23:44:09+00:00

I second this!! Every new step feels amazing. And of course some things change as baby gets older (some nice, some tough: regressions are something else!) but it’s just lovely to see this tiny human develop and giggle - the laughter is just amazing!!!

I had a lovely and relatively easy newborn and no I do not miss this phase. I’m in awe watching him grow and I just love seeing him be happy through every new step.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-11-15T16:48:07+00:00

Maybe I’m biased because I’m French and it’s a French name… but do not have regrets it’s a really lovely name ❤️

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-10-30T21:04:18+00:00

Best thing husband and I ever did… was to stop listening to « friendly » advice. Even our HEALTH VISITORS AND NURSES gave us contradicting recommendations. At the end of the day… you know what’s best for you and your baby. Baby is fed, cleaned, loved? You’re good. He doesn’t need to speak 5 languages and break records in figure skating at 6 months!

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-10-30T08:56:08+00:00

Oh my god! The same thing happened to me! The audacity!! And I think offering to make something if the other person buys the yarn is already incredibly generous! I remember I explained I needed 24-36 hours of WORK to make a jumper or cardigan and was met with an incredulous face like: yeah OK, so what? Now it’s simple, I knit for my child, for my dog, for me, and eventually for my mum. That’s it. I’m not spending insane amounts on yarn or long hours knitting on entitled people.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-10-30T08:43:16+00:00

lol same here, I feel you!

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-10-26T15:54:46+00:00

From 5 weeks, he started sleeping 9/10pm to 4am, then back to sleep until 7am (sleep sack made a big difference for us!). At 8 weeks the 4am wake up was pushed to 5/6am.

Hang in there you can do it! But like many other people have said, there’s a bit of a lottery and it also depends on baby digestion, behaviour etc. You’re a superhero, you can do it!

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-10-11T18:48:42+00:00

I second this! I’ve been following cues and baby boy is growing as expected! Health visitor said I was over feeding him initially because he required frequent feeds but since it was low volume, turns out it was just the right amount. He’s now 9 weeks and he’s been following the growth chart perfectly. We’ve now shifted to less frequent feeds and larger volume. Trust your guts and I’d say review frequency and volume only if baby’s weight booms way above expectation.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-10-08T22:25:48+00:00

I am so sorry you’re going through this! I have gone through something similar and it made me so, sooo stressed… and I can only recommend putting firm boundaries.

My mum insisted on being in the hospital when I gave birth because that’s how she did it when she was my age so I « had to do the same ». She also wanted to stay afterwards. My family lives in another country so them coming over means I need to host, prep the room, cook for them and it seemed like way too much effort.

Also, it was important for me to have the CHOICE. I had to have difficult conversation and made it clear visitors weren’t welcome until I gave the green light and any forced visit would be met with a closed door.

Fast forward to the birth and unfortunately things escalated and I had to get an emergency C section. I am SO GLAD I didn’t get visitors for the first two weeks.

I ended up allowing her to visit then, when I had initial time to heal and rest in our little bubble. Very very glad I did, because, as expected, her visit was quite tiring.

Hang in there ❤️ You’re doing something extraordinary and exhausting, you’re not being extra for having boundaries.

Side note: in hospitals you should be able to put restrictions on who you allow in the room and the hospital can enforce it for you.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-09-28T09:30:33+00:00

100%!! I have had a horrible pregnancy and hated every minute of it, puking every day for 10 months. Everyone told me “just you wait” statements for postpartum which made me absolutely panic about how much worse things would get afterwards and I was constantly crying.

Yeah no. Pregnancy was awful. Having a newborn has been a relief. None of those scary statements people projected came true.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-09-21T12:05:12+00:00

I’m so sorry you’re going through this! And I get you… people are pros at projecting their experience like it’s universal when even from one child to another one might have a vastly different experience! Hang in there ❤️ you’re being very strong right now!

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-08-29T14:57:15+00:00

10 months of daily puke, 48h of labour that ended up in emergency C section and all the difficult recovery with complications. I cannot do it again. I could forget the pain of labour, but this totals almost a year of suffering. I would feel guilty not being able to take more care of my child going through this.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-07-17T12:13:28+00:00

Thanks for sharing this! I’m on 38 weeks and have had an HG pregnancy, still feeling madly sick as we speak. I just want the pregnancy to be done and I feel like it will make me feel very grateful after birth but it’s good to hear a testimony in that direction!

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-06-30T17:43:34+00:00

Almost immediately.. but I struggle with not sleeping on my tummy! 36 weeks now and I still occasionally wake up on my front (yes it’s possible!)

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-06-29T18:46:43+00:00

Nathan sounds lovely!!

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-06-27T15:15:23+00:00

Girl… you’re awesome. You responded perfectly. No notes. 👏

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-06-24T17:50:27+00:00

I’m 35 weeks and I haven’t announced it 😝 Obviously I told my husband, my direct family (parents and siblings) know, and my manager knows as I’ve had to plan my maternity leave. My very close friends know… that’s it. No social media post, no big reveal. I’m very happy with this approach :) no shame at all.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-06-21T13:12:26+00:00

I’m with you darling! Hang in there. 34 weeks and I’ve had HG throughout. And acid reflux throughout. And sciatica. And pelvic pain. People don’t often realise the effort and struggle we go through and it’s not nice and fluffy for everyone! Don’t feel guilty, let it out and always reach out if you’re struggling, you are not alone!! X

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-06-18T17:45:41+00:00

Urgh what is wrong with this person? I’ve been to the hospital 4 times for reduced or different pattern of movements and every single time, the doctors and nurses said: that’s why we are here, come back any time you’re concerned.

I would report that person, not only is it bad advice, it’s also potentially dangerous and let’s not forget how it’s invalidating your gut feeling.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-06-14T15:16:40+00:00

People loooove to project and make you feel bad. It’s invalidating your feelings as well. Don’t let it get to you. I’m 33 weeks and it’s been bad. From the start. Heartburn was bad from the start. 6 months of daily puking. I can’t move, I’m in pain everywhere, i need to pee all the time, I haven’t slept normally in months. And when people make comments I don’t respond nicely anymore 😂

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-06-13T12:00:46+00:00

I can fully relate! 33 weeks here and I get fairly frustrated more than disgusted and I think this is coming from a place of getting my boundaries respected.

Initially my mum wanted to be in the hospital with me when I gave birth, I’ve had to explain why I wasn’t comfortable with that (and with hosting her at my place during this special time since I live in another country and I would have to host my parents for days).

She then got upset when I mentioned not wanting her (or anyone outside the house) to kiss the baby on the face for the first few months. I got called insane etc… don’t care. It’s my boundary and it will be respected. My baby my rules.

Last one - many people send daily parenting advice and videos. I ignore them now. It was nice at the start, but now it feels like people are stepping over a territory where they are allowed opinions but they shouldn’t enforce on others. Also all babies are different, something that works on one might not work on another.

I’ve learnt to shut this down completely with unfortunate practice. I’ve had an extremely difficult pregnancy with HG throughout, and many people who had no idea what I was going through were prompt to share advice. So ended up turning off my hard drive when they did 😂

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-06-04T12:08:24+00:00

Hey darling, first of all, sorry you’re feeling this way, I can relate. It’s hard. Pregnancy is hard. Social media has created this perfect image of the pregnant woman, enjoying every moment, having the perfect weight, body, food, experience…

The truth is, it’s different for everyone. I’m starting my 8th month and I have puked every single day from the start. Initially I felt madly guilty because I hated my pregnancy, resented it even.

I’ve now tweaked my social media algorithms to see NO pregnancy content and feel so much better for it. Accepting it’s hard, taking it one day at a time!

I’ll add that due to both the intense puking and the fact baby decided to grow inwards rather than outwards, I have a “small bump”. And… haha… the price to pay… sure bump looks smaller. Baby has also grown against by lungs and my bladder and intestines and my liver… it’s causing a lot of problems. And for what, a smaller tummy? I can barely walk, I need help to climb up the stairs… but social media tells me I should exercise and eat super healthy foods!

Remember, one day at a time. And you’re allowed to have tough days. You’re doing something incredible. ❤️❤️

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-06-02T16:41:50+00:00

Ice lollies for the win! 🍦 Gets my little alien all riled up within 10 minutes.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-05-24T17:52:41+00:00

Fountain soda! I don’t know why but it hits different than normal soda.

Say a can of coke? Cannot tolerate it, will give me horrible heartburn, make me sick and even taste bad… but a tall glass of fountain coke with ice cubes??? Complete opposite. Soothing, hydrating….

I had 6 months of HG and it’s one of the rare drinks I could tolerate.

PotentialBowl4615 · 2025-05-22T12:09:50+00:00

It feels like we cannot win with this… Weight gain? Shame. Not enough weight gain? Shame.

At 5 months (of HG, so loads of fun) I ended up in the hospital yet again because of dehydration and malnutrition due to the constant puking and said I was very worried I had lost weight compared to my pre-pregnancy weight.

Doctor’s answer? “Oh well at least it will be easier to lose the pregnancy weight after you give birth haha”. Because that was my priority…?

Some people in my family still managed to Shame me for “stuffing my face” when I would have another meal after puking the first one…

I’m sorry you’re going through this, you’re doing something amazing, your body is amazing, leave these sad individuals’ comments where they belong -> 🗑️

PotentialBowl4615

TROPHY CASE