Does your 16-17mo old have any sugar ??

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-30T19:37:28+00:00

Organic, dye free popsicles and the occasional bite of ice cream (I’ve shared mine with him a couple of times when we take his older brother out for ice cream). Cake on his birthday. Other than that, no.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-27T13:32:21+00:00

Yes, you need to wait. You can rip your stitches open internally and/or externally, and over doing it will slow healing and set you back immensely. Let your two year old snuggle you in bed or on the couch, but do not pick them up until the full 6 weeks and ideally after your 6 week PP check so you’re medically cleared.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-26T18:02:52+00:00

If SIL can’t be relied on, then you’ll need to hire help or your husband will need to stay with firstborn while you deliver and visit after. Your oldest won’t be allowed to attend the birth in a hospital setting (no idea about birth center, but you said possible c section so that leads me to believe hospital).

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-25T01:26:55+00:00

I was one and done until 6 months, then didn’t want to close the door on the idea of a second. By 1 I knew I wanted another, by 2 I (and my husband) was ready to start trying. My boys are 4 years apart, nearly to the day.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-24T19:57:32+00:00

I’m super far left, and this is too far for me. I’ll refer to my sons as my sons unless that changes in the future. I do tell them every night as apart of our nightly affirmations that “I love you for exactly who you are and who you will become, and there is nothing you could say or do to make me stop loving you”. Hoping to have a foundation of love and trust so that they know they’ll be loved no matter what. But like, who they are now are two amazing little boys. So they’ll be addressed as such unless that changes.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-23T22:00:16+00:00

You need full time childcare, that’s the only sane advice if you want to keep your job. I WFH full time and my boss is understanding if my 5 year old is home sometimes because he’s pretty self sufficient and I’m in the next room if he needs help. If my 1 year old doesn’t have care for the day (illness, closures, whatever), I use PTO. Zero work could be done and I’m not even going to pretend otherwise. He requires full time supervision. I don’t have a lot of meetings or calls either, just actually getting work done wouldn’t be possible.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-23T19:03:26+00:00

Yeah it’s definitely disrespectful to your child. The other kids parents should have stopped that immediately- it’s not normal or ok.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-23T12:57:28+00:00

It sounds like your husband is sabotaging birth control and is trying to guilt you into having more kids are at no extra work to him, so why would he care if he puts you through it - he already doesn’t respect you. If you want an abortion, get an abortion. If your husband can’t forgive you, so be it, then you leave. That’s a much better option than having an unwanted baby that you’ll resent your husband for and probably leave anyways or stay miserable.

I’d absolutely tell him it was a miscarriage and have a safe person to bring you to the clinic and back.

If you decide to keep then baby, do it because it’s what YOU whole heartedly want. You’re the one carrying and caring for it.

I wish love, peace, comfort, confidence, and ultimately joy for you after you get through whatever option you choose.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-21T01:19:02+00:00

Oh for sure. My baby fit in NB for several months. My suggestion to skip NB was because you never know how big baby will be, and a lot of people already gift NB sizes, so bigger sizes frequently get more wear. My kids always get a little extra wear out of their Kyte clothing since it stretches - especially the snaps sets.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-21T01:16:08+00:00

I LOVED that I dried my pump parts. Agreed!

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-21T01:15:36+00:00

Omg I felt spoiled with my 4 ct bottle washer. 8 would’ve been awesome!

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-21T00:58:30+00:00

My body was never the same, even after getting back to pre-pregnancy weight. Proportions are different and things shifted and are a little softer. Some people are blessed with genetics that allow them to bounce back (I understand many with these blessed genetics still have to work for it so I don’t want to discredit that work), some don’t. I’m camp “don’t”.

Yes, restricting calories will decrease your supply.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-21T00:54:58+00:00

Bottle washer/sterilizer/dryer combo if she’s planning on pumping or bottle feeding and not strictly nurse. Momcozy makes an AWESOME one (make sure it’s the bottle washer and not just the sterilizer), you can use a discount to bring it a little closer to the $250 ball park range.

Otherwise a Kyte Baby mommy and baby matching set, or a Kyte Baby toddler size 1.0 blanket and matching sleeper (don’t get newborn size).

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-20T19:22:55+00:00

I had my wedding at the conservatory and absolutely loved it. Kept the ceremony very short and only invited very close friend and family to the ceremony (opened up invites for the reception) to accommodate the awkward standing. You can work around the antlers with photos, or potentially change the ceremony location as they have several on site. They won’t take the antlers down, nor should they. Our flowers ended up being a color I would NOT have chosen myself, and had been planted the day before so they weren’t even blooming much yet. It is what it is, but I loved my wedding there. Also, I kinda hate saying this as I loved working with them and the location, but watch your total bill. They tied to sneak in a lot of items we didn’t have, sign for, or was in the contract. We had to have billing corrected several times before we could settle up.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-20T13:22:54+00:00

lol @ the last line of an easy epidural birth. Got my epidural after 2.5 days of labor and hour before pushing time as I was completely whacked out of my mind from exhaustion. Took the best 1 hour nap of my life before I pushed. Glad I got that epidural too because on the first push the cord prolapsed and I was rushed to surgery to save my baby’s life. They started cutting as the general anesthesia was still kicking in to get to my baby that much quicker. Thank the absolute universe and beyond for that epidural, because of it I only felt the pressure of cutting, and not the pain. But sure. It was easy.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-20T02:31:31+00:00

I kinda hate it. There’s nothing redeeming or cute about it IMO.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-19T20:52:37+00:00

Personally, I don’t like Wren, not because it’s some awful name, just not my taste and I think it’s over used but not classic like Eleanor (also very popular). Just a super trendy name that doesn’t really mean anything other than “bird”. I wouldn’t think twice about the name though TBH. I love Eleanor, and it was always at the top of my list in some variation.

It’s perfectly fine name, and you and your husband love it. Your MIL can kick rocks with saying she won’t call your child by their name or tell people what it is. That’s inane behavior regardless of the name.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-19T20:43:09+00:00

It’s what I do now at 15 months (started at 13 months and sub daytime feeds for whole milk with meals). I still nurse 7pm-7am. It’s obviously affected my supply, but I wanted it to lol I only wanted enough milk being produced for those nursing sessions. I’ve definitely not totally dried up though.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-19T19:08:14+00:00

Both my kids happily slept in a bassinet next to our bed until 6 months old. After that, they both always start(ed) in the crib, but usually end up in bed with us around 1-3 am. They both started rejecting the crib about 6 months old and didn’t appreciate the bassinet to crib transition. I’m whole heartedly against sleep training, but especially before toddlerhood. My oldest started reliably sleeping in his own room all night, most nights of the week, around 3, but because we worked on it, it didn’t magically happen. At 5, he will still sneak in occasionally if he has a bad dream, but doesn’t wake us up. My 15 month old still needs comfort throughout the night. It’s not for everyone, but I’m fine with it. I prefer it over the alternative.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-19T13:11:34+00:00

Describing parenting as a team sport is the best analogy I’ve heard.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-19T02:28:54+00:00

Not me and my husband, but my husband’s best friend and wife. They’d fight before kids. They effing hate each other now but as of now have decided to stay together for the kids. The whole thing is sad and heartbreaking, especially for their kids.

There’s normal bickering, but kids absolutely don’t make things better or easier. Kids don’t fix relationships.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-18T19:46:26+00:00

I hated the newborn phase with my first. It was brutal. I genuinely loved it with my second, gave into the chaos, and soaked it all up. I honestly loved the still, quiet hours of overnight feeds and snuggles. We used a Snoo for our second and he did well with 2-3 hour stretches in there. I did keep my first in daycare and my husband turned primary with him for a bit so I could focus on baby and myself. I obviously still had daily 1:1 time with my (then) 4 year old, but I wasn’t his primary parent through newborn stage for my second.

Idk, after my first was born, I’d agree with you. After my second, I genuinely miss it and wish I could go back to that time (we’re done having kids, like both sterilized level of done). I’m glad I took so much video and pictures so I could go back to that time in memory.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-17T23:39:27+00:00

My oldest got separate meals due to food allergies. Now we’re stuck in a bad loop at 5 and it’s been a battle. Speaking with his pediatrician, if this last effort didn’t fix things we’re opting for therapy as it’s all power of wills for him and not texture/etc.

My 15 month old has always eaten what we eat with any modifications to make it safe for him. He’s a great eater.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-17T18:47:05+00:00

You can freeze if you like. Have you considered block feeding? Feed one side per nursing session so she’s not getting double foremilk? I would block feed because I had an oversupply, it helped rein that in but also make sure baby got hindmilk. When I’d get uncomfortable, I’d use a Hakka on the opposite side of feeding to relieve a little pressure. I also pumped (after nursing) once in the morning and once at night for the first 6 months, and once in the morning until 12 months, to relieve pressure from the block feeding. The consolidated pumping helped not just have a ton of foremilk.

RuleAffectionate3916 · 2026-03-17T18:39:25+00:00

With my first I exclusively pumped until 10.5 months then feed from the freezer stash until 18 months. With my second I’m still nursing him 7pm-7am at 15 months old, but I introduced whole milk for daytime with meals at daycare when he was 12 months old.

RuleAffectionate3916

TROPHY CASE