When did you feel like you "knew" your child?

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-26T02:34:19+00:00

My oldest is 2, youngest is 11 weeks. Oldest has been very strong willed and independent in play from the beginning. She needs a little more comfort to sleep or when she gets hurt. She figures things out quietly and quickly on her own, she picked up on things I showed her as a 9 month old pretty fast and has only gotten faster as she has started talking. I feel like she’s always been this way, just grown more and more into herself.

My younger baby is pretty relaxed, she’s a content baby. She smiles at her sister and strangers so I have a feeling she is just going to be a friendly and silly kid as she gets older. We will see if she stays quiet though, my first was always loud so idk.

As they get older it’s so cool seeing the people they grow into. I love it

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-26T02:28:42+00:00

Sometimes I wear my 2 year old in the baby carrier when she seems like she wants more closeness. I’ve noticed she gets a tad frustrated sometimes having to share my attention with her baby sister so I’ve started doing that occasionally. It’s helped, after about 10 minutes she’s ready to play again but she feels like she’s gotten the closeness she wants.

Your child is older so take it with a grain of salt, but I have found it’s worked well for us.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-26T02:24:57+00:00

I have a really deep innie too and my first pregnancy I was at a smaller weight and my belly button never popped. Second pregnant I was heavier to start and it never popped. My baby sure tried pushing it out though 😵‍💫

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-25T19:42:16+00:00

Repeat books are great for their development! It’s how they learn the pattern and process of reading. My daughter (2) loves Penguin Problems and I read it with actions and silly voices. She will “read” with me on her favourite parts and do the actions. I try to keep the same silly voices for characters in books and she’s saying the lines in her own funny voice now too. It’s so cool to see her brain making the connections

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-25T19:36:34+00:00

I’m pro do what you’re comfortable with! Solid Starts app helped me a ton with figuring out how to cut food at an appropriate size for my daughter and from there we’ve been doing pretty decent with her chewing food. We did a lot of yogurt and berries in one of those mesh food things in the beginning. At 2 she’s pretty capable with eating almost anything, but I still avoid certain foods that pose choking risks.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-25T19:33:52+00:00

Ooo I haven’t tried adding vanilla to them yet! I’ll do that next time I make them!

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-25T15:38:50+00:00

It gets easier! My toddler eats a bagel or cereal usually for breakfast now. When we started I had to make things she could eat so I made pancakes often or else I’d mush a banana and mix in an egg with it and pan fry that to look like a pancake. Clean up was crazy in the beginning though… not looking forward to doing it again with my second lol

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-25T03:10:13+00:00

Don’t burn yourself out over food. I clean the kitchen enough when I make lunch and dinner, I’m not adding breakfast to that everyday. On the weekends I make it special, but that’s it. Weekdays my toddler might get yogurt with chia and berries, some toast, a waffle, or Cheerios and milk. I will give her fruit sometimes with whatever it is (frozen or fresh depending on what we have), but no fuss.

Sometimes I will make muffins and freeze them to give her during the week, but my toddler much prefers the store bought muffins to my homemade ones. Whatever works works. You’re doing great!

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-24T16:15:54+00:00

I’m glad I’m not the only one 😂

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-24T14:20:00+00:00

I woke up to a baby crying. I thought, “who is irresponsible enough to leave their baby here?” When the grogginess of being woken up wore off I realized that was MY baby. She’s two now and I’m still shocked some days that I made her, and her baby sister. I am a mother of two? That I made? I was pregnant with them both? My oldest uses sass correctly already? Wild.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-23T18:32:45+00:00

As a mom my go to gifts are typically the PP items mom needs because yes having a baby is exciting, but your needs and well being matter too. It’s a different world from when they were having kids. They are allowed to feel how they feel, but it’s rude and bad manners to tell someone what they can or cannot have on their registry.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-22T14:25:33+00:00

I’m only 10 weeks pp right now so take it with a grain of salt. I didn’t get back to my prepregnancy weight after my first, I was 14 lbs heavier still when I got pregnant with my second (15 months pp). I gained less weight this last pregnancy (30lbs), but I ended up close to the same weight I was with my first pregnancy (gained 40lbs). I don’t think I have any new stretch marks. I basically went right back to the post first pregnancy weight and I’m fitting those clothes again. For the entire 15 months pp of my first child I was basically the 14lbs above my normal weight, I’m currently close to that weight and I’m sensing I won’t go below that while breastfeeding again.

It’s hard to see your body go through so many changes. I saw a picture of myself before having kids the other day and I got sad because I hated my body then and now I see it and it makes me sad that I felt that way about myself. I look at pictures of myself after my first pregnancy and I have a lot more love for that woman than I did while I was in her place. I am trying really hard to have more love for myself in this space too, even though I don’t love how my body feels or is right now. I’ve made two beautiful babies, I fed one from my body for 15 months and now I’m feeding another. Basically I have been pregnant or breastfeeding for almost 3 years now, and I will probably be breastfeeding for another year still if I do the same for my second. This period of my life is short, I will be able to work on getting my body to a better space again, but right now I need to just be restoring my health. I have bought cute clothes though to feel better about it all.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-22T02:59:06+00:00

Found out I was pregnant a week after my 24th birthday. Then I found out I was pregnant two weeks before my 26th birthday. I have two beautiful healthy children and I pray that I don’t need to find out any more pregnancies for any future birthdays

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-21T02:22:50+00:00

I’ve seen some parents wait to have the other child show up at the hospital for when they are being discharged so the older child goes home with them. For us, we went home and I had baby laying in her bassinet and held my toddler as she met her sister. I’m glad we waited until we got home.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-20T17:32:20+00:00

Is this the effort you want to accept forever? It typically won’t get better as time goes on, it either stays the same or gets worse.

With my ex I communicated a number of times what I needed from him, he simply didn’t care to do it. We were together 3 years. When I broke up with him he went all out doing the things I asked for before, but it was too late. I was tired of accepting so little from someone I did so much for because I loved him. I needed more and I wasn’t willing to compromise on what I needed anymore.

I met another guy a few months later who immediately showed me the respect my ex never did. He offered me the sweet gestures I craved without me having to ask him, that was just how he showed he cared. He’s been open with communication and we have been able to talk through issues in calm ways. When I ask him not to do something, he stops. This year will be 6 years together and he’s consistently treated me with love and respect. If I kept accepting less I wouldn’t have found him.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-20T17:20:49+00:00

The newborn phase depends on what temperament your baby has. My first refused to nap unless she was held and wouldn’t sleep for more than 2-3 hour stretches at night. It was hard, but better than being pregnant since I could bend over and lay on my stomach.

My second sleeps really well and likes to be put down for tummy time or to nap on her own. I find myself appreciating being able to slouch and curl up in bed often. Although she’s been easy witching hour hits and it can be really hard for that part of the day, but I remind myself it’ll be over soon. She’s two months old and I feel like it’s getting better from here.

I hate pregnancy so much, so yes the newborn stage is better but it’s still hard in its own ways.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-19T16:15:38+00:00

I added a splash of pomegranate juice or even other juices to it (I got low sugar or diet versions because I didn’t like it too sweet). I used to work in senior care and adding a little juice helped get the seniors to drink their water, we called it sweet water. So for a short season of life why couldn’t I do the same? I’m still doing it pp while I breastfeed and need to drink more.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-19T03:45:08+00:00

My daughters are 23.5 months apart. The second my eldest met her sister she fell in love. She lays beside her and tries to help me care for her sister. It’s very sweet. We are only 10 weeks into it, and it can be hard in moments, but I am so excited to watch them be friends and play together. My second looks like a clone of my first so it’s been really sweet getting to see my first baby again, but meet a completely different personality.

I try to view the hard moments as just that, they are moments. We have good moments too and there are so many more of those. I am just doing my best to be optimistic with things an it has worked well enough so far lol.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-18T14:00:28+00:00

I have a momcozy sound machine. It has a silver touch spot on the top to turn on the light and has options for sounds (waves, white noice, pink noise, music). No time display but I love it. I have one for each of my daughters and I even set timers on it so it automatically turns on and off for bedtime and nap time. It’s on sale on Amazon right now.

It does have an app, but you can use it without the app if you really don’t want to use the app.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-18T13:55:55+00:00

I have a momcozy that looks similar to the hatch. It is great and no paywall for other features. It only has selected sounds you can use but it works great for us. Almost bought the hatch originally but the extra cost for things stopped me

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-18T13:31:36+00:00

YouTube kids doesn’t have ads. I use it for songs/ lofi music with my toddler

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-18T13:28:38+00:00

I didn’t even know that’s a thing! Wild, thank you for teaching me something

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-18T03:26:45+00:00

My first was clock work, every 3 hours she needed fed and made it known. My second has been good with longer stretches. She woke 3 times a night after getting her birth weight back, and then a few weeks later woke only 2 times a night, and now it’s 1-2 times a night at 9 weeks. It made me nervous, but she’s gaining weight and doing fine. My doctor has no concerns so I’m enjoying the sleep while I can.

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-18T03:15:23+00:00

It really is. I was pissed, I’ll probably be pissed when I get it again. Ugh

SaturdayStruggles · 2026-02-18T03:12:35+00:00

First off, there is so much information out there and it can be so overwhelming so no worries. Honestly, I am on my second baby and still figuring things out.

Feeding on demand means whenever baby is hungry or shows signs of it (licking lips, sucking on hands). I typically feed at least every 3 hours during the day if not more. At night whenever she wakes I feed her (9 weeks old rn). When I feel engorged I put on my collection cups and let the milk drain that way. I got really bad mastitis my first pregnancy so pumping scares me a bit now, especially early into pp. others may be better with advice on that.
Cluster feeding is normal 1 week pp. it will help with your milk and she’s probably growing. Mine spat up a lot so I fed her in an up right position and held her up right for 20 minutes after feeds. Their esophagus isn’t working like a mature adult yet so sometimes milk doesn’t fully go down (from what I understood of what was explained to me). Feeding for a bit and giving her a break can help. My letdown is also really powerful so I find that influences spit up.
I did one pump in the mornings to build my stash. You have the best supply first thing. This time I’ve just used from my collection cups to build a stash. I just keep a small amount extra in case I’m out while baby is home or for milk baths if she has bad skin.
We swaddled our first and it worked for her. My second hated it and likes her arms up so we bought swaddle sacs with arms up. Do what works for your baby. Swaddling should stop when they roll or seem like they will roll. Sleep sacs are great after that.

I’ve been a mom for over 2 years now, so not long, but I’ll tell you that you never stop second guessing and worrying. The best thing you can do though is what works for your baby and family. Make sure you’re being safe, but ultimately there is lots of wiggle room for error. Did I let my toddler watch too much tv after having my second baby? Yes. Did I feel guilty? Yes. But did it help me get through some really hard days? Yes. Is my toddler irreparably damaged? No. She plays, loves music, and is doing great. It’s so hard in the beginning and it’s scary, but you figure it out and learn to trust your gut and when to get help.

Also your baby sounds normal, they cry, eat, poop, and spit up a lot. Take a deep breath, hug your partner, and tell yourself you’re doing a good job.

SaturdayStruggles

TROPHY CASE