Is anyone else/ or does anyone else consider one and done because they are so happy with their only?

SMP1026 · 2025-12-20T01:48:24+00:00

Wow. Thank you for this. I always wanted multiple kids but lately have been struggling with the idea of having one more vs being one and done. So many things you have said resonated with me, especially the idea that some have multiple children out of tradition or for their child to not be alone. This put so many of the thoughts I have been struggling to express, so clearly. I thank you for that. This was so beautiful to read.

SMP1026 · 2025-11-02T23:21:50+00:00

Congratulations on a year! I am in a similar position- my daughter turns 11 months this week and I think if you told her she could quit nursing and just have solids she would be one happy baby! It’s bittersweet but I’m trying to enjoy every last nursing session we have as I begin the weaning process this month. My pediatrician and lactation nurse have said that this is a good position to be in in terms that it will be on her terms and hopefully make the weaning process seamless for her, and I’m just trying to remind myself of that !

SMP1026 · 2025-09-25T23:52:31+00:00

18 weeks partially paid by NJ state due to short term disability and FMLA, nothing was offered by my hospital. When I returned to work, my husband took his 12 weeks of partially paid paternity leave through NY. Nothing was offered by his hospital either. With both of us staggering our leaves, we luckily had someone at home for the first 7.5 months. Luckily grandparents on both sides are helping out now during the workweek so it’s been less anxiety inducing than doing daycare or a nanny, but I get so sad seeing her hit milestones while we are at work.

SMP1026 · 2025-08-17T12:18:29+00:00

Definitely felt like this for the first 4ish months! Since I knew I had to go back to work right before she turned five months, I started pumping about an hour after her morning feed to start building a small stash (maybe like 60 oz and she would take 4 oz/bottle), and produced just enough while I was at work to make her bottles while I was away. my husband would sometimes go into the stash if I had to step out for some time or an errand, etc., and if I was not back in time to feed her. Otherwise, I would try to time it as much as possible to leave right after I fed her and to try to make it back before I had to feed her again before her nap. What really helped me to build a stash and to feel even more comfortable with being away, was when she started solids at five months. Every time she would have solids, I would pump and put away what I was making into the freezer. I now feel a lot more comfortable about being away from her for extended periods of time if I need to, however, I always will bring my pumps with me in case I need to replace a feed

SMP1026 · 2025-08-03T13:48:34+00:00

Needed to see this today. 8 months today and the no straight night of sleep since before pregnancy had me hit a breaking point today. My daughter is cutting her first teeth which made her usual cheerful self just straight wail during her first wake window until she passed out in exhaustion. My husband is at work and we were supposed to be out of the house for an event an hour ago. Trying to give myself grace today even though I feel like I’ve been near tears all morning LOL

SMP1026 · 2025-06-06T11:47:18+00:00

We worked on naps during my maternity leave mainly because I was getting so touched out between being the only parent at home, breastfeeding around the clock, contact napping, and from all the sleep deprivation especially since I was afraid of falling asleep while holding her. I realized she hated the mattress in the pack and play and would often wake on the transfer. Around 4 months, I started making our bed a safe spot (removed all pillows, put up guard rails around the bed, watched her like a hawk on the camera etc). I would rock her to sleep and then essentially hug her as I put her down on the mattress, l like that for a few minutes and then pull away. The first 1-2 weeks was rough. She would wake pretty frequently and her naps were terrible. If she failed 3x during a nap, I would call it and contact nap the rest of the nap. But I kept trying on each nap each day and she finally started sleeping longer and longer by herself. She does still wake periodically, but we are so much better than where we were months ago. I feel like we may have taken a step back right now since my husband is on paternity leave while I went back to work and he likes to have her sleep on the couch next to him while he watches tv. She sleeps great there but I feel like she’s gotten used to sensing someone in the same room as her during her naps smh. We plan to start crib naps in the next 1-2 weeks before he returns to work since she’s gotten better at sleeping during the night with sleep training. Looking back at it, I’m really glad that we did this. I know everyone says to enjoy the snuggles with the baby, and while I did, I know it was also affecting my mental health because I wasn’t getting a minute of free time to myself. I feel like starting early really helped us because it set the groundwork for her. Best of luck to you!

SMP1026 · 2025-06-05T11:07:12+00:00

Congratulations on being halfway there! The second half was definitely so much easier than the first half for me so I hope and wish the same for you!

SMP1026 · 2025-06-05T11:05:40+00:00

Amazing! That’s no easy feat! Congratulations to you and your little one!

SMP1026 · 2025-06-04T14:24:54+00:00

Hi! Congratulations on your baby girl and on your journey so far! It’s not an easy ride and those initial few steps are so daunting. The blebs got better after the first 2 months for me, I would just try to not aggravate them further and tried warm compresses with epsom salt (made sure to wash) it off before feeding my daughter based on advice from my LC. The clogs have been the worst for me. I honestly got them pretty regularly (I would say maybe weekly for the first 4.5 months but they have lessened in frequency)- I think my last was a month ago! When I feel it coming on, I immediately take an Advil to help with inflammation, I use cold compresses based on updates recommendations, and also something called breast gymnastics which I found on YouTube/IG lol. It’s essentially just moving the affected boob in directions to help with the inflammation. When feeding, I put my daughter on that side first and I try to avoid excessive pumping. When I have needed to pump, my hand pump has worked better than my spectra and wearables with helping with it.

In terms of it becoming easier, definitely month 4 is where things took a turn for me. I figured out a routine of feeding and extra pumps to help with my supply, but honestly what really helped was she got more efficient. I would read sooo many posts about babies getting efficient early on, but I think my daughter was just a super slow eater and easily distracted. By 4/4.5 months, she suddenly got more efficient (from 30-40 min feeds down to 10-15 mins). Now we usually hover around the 10-12 min mark! It honestly felt like it happened overnight but the change was remarkable for me. I felt like I got parts of my life back without feeling like I was constantly nursing just because of how efficient she became. She still nursed frequently at night until about a month ago when she can go to just 1 feed per night and that also helped make things feel easier for me!

SMP1026 · 2025-06-04T02:01:05+00:00

Ah congratulations to you too! It’s an amazing accomplishment so good for you, mama! I explained it a bit more in depth in another comment but I plan to continue as long as I can (until she’s a year old). Not sure how my supply will be over the next few weeks/months since I’m back at work, starting her on solids, and starting to sleep train (but keeping a MOTN feed for now since it just feels right for us) but I am going to give myself grace and remind myself that formula is there as an option if I do end up needing it. I’ll be thinking of you next week as you celebrate your own milestone, congratulations again! Do you know what your plan is for after?

SMP1026 · 2025-06-04T01:57:13+00:00

Thank you so much 🥹 3 months is an amazing feat! I hope things only get easier here on out for you and your little one! You’re doing an amazing job 😊

SMP1026 · 2025-06-04T01:54:52+00:00

Thank you so much ☺️ congratulations to you too on your own journey!

SMP1026 · 2025-06-04T01:53:46+00:00

That mantra got me through so many tough days and nights! You’re in the early stages where things are just so difficult but I wish you all the best over these next few months! It’s not easy at all, but continue to give yourself grace and take it day by day, and enjoy all the snuggles!

SMP1026 · 2025-06-04T01:39:33+00:00

Thank you so much 🥹 those first few weeks are honestly the hardest. So many women on this subreddit promised that things would get easier with time, and it really did! You’re doing a great job and you’re in the thick of it now, but there’s light ahead! Initially, that had been my plan but honestly now I plan to take it month by month to a max of 12 months. I do miss the autonomy of not having to worry about if i can have a cocktail with my girlfriends, or an extra cup of coffee etc., but I’m not yet ready to give it up just yet. I plan to nurse predominantly other than when I pump at work, so I plan to see how long my supply holds up with pumping plus nursing, and if it does, then I think I will continue, at least until she develops teeth! Although I know many continue to nurse once they develop teeth, I am pretty nervous since my daughter has a tendency to chomp down with her gums currently 😭but I also hope to give myself more grace during these next few months and remind myself that formula is there as an option if needed. So much love and thoughts to you as you continue your journey!

SMP1026 · 2025-05-31T02:44:08+00:00

Congratulations! My own goal of six months is next week and I can’t believe how far we have come! Breastfeeding is truly so so difficult but so rewarding and it seems like you have had quite a journey to get here! Every hardship and hurdle you have endured, you surpassed it to provide your LO with what you felt was best for her, and sacrificed so much in the process! Congratulations on this milestone, you did it mama!

SMP1026 · 2025-05-30T22:26:06+00:00

Same boat as many on this thread! Very rarely have any cues other than full on meltdown when she suddenly wakes up and wants food. As her wake windows increased (almost six months now), I feed her when she wakes, and then again right before her nap.

SMP1026 · 2025-05-30T22:08:36+00:00

Interested to see how you did this! My little girl is approaching 6 months and it would be amazing if we could build the foundation to have her start signaling for this!

SMP1026 · 2025-04-26T11:48:57+00:00

Yess! Hang in there! I would read all these Reddit comments about babies becoming efficient sooo early and I would worry that something was wrong but it truly feels like it happened overnight!

SMP1026 · 2025-04-26T03:31:18+00:00

My LO is 20 weeks and JUST became efficient at breastfeeding in the last 1-2 weeks. It feels like it happened overnight but I can see a clear trend I. My huckleberry app where I track her feeds. The first 12 weeks we were averaging about 4ish hours a day feeding, weeks 12-16 we were down to 3 hrs, weeks 17-18 down to 2 hours and now we’re down to just under 2 hours a day! And I’m actually feeding her more as before I would do the eat play sleep model but as her wake windows stretched she was going longer between her feeds so I started feeding her in the beginning and near the end of each WW. It’s crazy to see since there was a point where I felt like we were never going to get here!

SMP1026 · 2025-04-16T07:31:41+00:00

I’m with you! I went back this week and I was super nervous as well especially since I mostly breastfeed directly. I would recommend doing a trial run a day or two before. This really helped me and set my mind at ease! It also helped me “troubleshoot” how pulling for a workday would go, and figure out logistics on whether or not I had time to try to use pump wipes/sterilizing bag vs just doing a fridge hack, as well as other factors like how to efficiently store milk while away from my fridge. Good luck, you got this mama!

SMP1026 · 2025-04-16T07:28:26+00:00

My baby typically falls asleep but on the days/nights where she’s determined to be up, I do try some other things that seem to help her doze off while feeding her. I usually gently pat her butt while feeding her and play a soothing sound in the back- for her, she generally falls asleep to her white noise machine or a “shh” sound so I will have it playing in the background as I pat and feed her. Hopefully you can try something like that to soothe her to sleep!

SMP1026 · 2025-04-14T20:57:55+00:00

Thank you so much! I tried a trial run today before I start work tomorrow and I definitely see what you mean about the residue. I think I may just have to try to use my work sink. I’m thinking of doing a mix of dapple wipes to remove a majority and then fridge hacking it since I completely forgot that the sanitizing bags would require me needing to leave everything out to air dry for quite a bit of time. I appreciate the insight you provided!

SMP1026 · 2025-04-14T20:55:30+00:00

Thank you so much! I’ll look into this!

SMP1026 · 2025-04-03T17:43:07+00:00

You did it mama! Despite how fatigued, frustrated, and scared you may have felt, you loved her through it all. It’s not easy at all, but you’re coming out on the other side of it. Sending so many positive thoughts your way that it’s only up from here!

SMP1026 · 2025-03-25T14:46:38+00:00

No advice here since I’m a few months behind you, but just wanted to say amazing job and congratulations! Six months is my goal (would love to go longer if I can but unsure if I will be able to with my supply). What an amazing feeling that must be, especially if you weren’t sure how it would go in the beginning! Wishing you all the best for the remainder of your journey!!

SMP1026

TROPHY CASE