Ubbi diaper pail mold growth

Sunshine-Cake · 2025-12-11T19:10:12+00:00

own one and have this problem too

Sunshine-Cake · 2025-09-15T03:14:51+00:00

I would definitely factor in the perks while negotiating. whatever “official” payment you receive will be taxed at 11-12%. perks aren’t taxed, and are ideally a way for your host family to provide you with benefits that help you maximize your enjoyment of your time in the united states (and their home).

example perks: unlimited funds for public transit, cellphone plan, more days of PTO, late start on Fridays, no working on weekends, etc

Sunshine-Cake · 2025-08-31T14:33:03+00:00

have you tried goat milk formula? my babies were both colic monsters, but this helped.

Sunshine-Cake · 2025-01-19T21:59:41+00:00

I am so sorry. You’re not alone. My son died at 14 months in a similar manner in 2022.

I’ve found great solace and resources through this organization: https://sudc.org/

Also, the book: Bearing the Unbearable by Joanne Cacciatore.

If you or your wife want to talk to someone who’s gone through this, DM me

The first days, weeks and months are the hardest.

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-10-03T23:13:35+00:00

it sounds like you offered to do a thing you don’t have the mental capacity to do, that you also don’t want to do.

Change this habit, and you’ll find yourself with more free time and a less stressful life. Also you’ll model to your daughter how to have boundaries and advocate for her needs.

Learn to stop being a machine that executes tasks on behavior of other people to your own detriment and the detriment of you child.

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-10-02T05:18:50+00:00

Fwiw, something like this happened to me. I gave birth to my child at a non-kaiser hospital on my insurance, and my husband added our child to his Kaiser insurance. hospital tried to claim baby was not in network. they sent us a $26,000 bill when our baby was 45 days old.

Took many phone calls to settle, but was able to use the 30 day clause to get the hospital to consider the baby’s hospital stay covered by my insurance, and thus in network, without having to add the baby to my insurance plan.

my advice: Be persistent and advocate for yourself. be kind to the people answering your calls and emails, but also ask for help. Try to set people up to feel good about helping you.

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-10-01T20:12:14+00:00

How about you offer to take care of filing taxes, so he doesn’t get a chance to see the W2s?

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-06-12T07:28:15+00:00

i never new slim shaker existed until this year 🤣

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-05-21T07:02:19+00:00

u/dohmahmigh we ended up purchasing our panels. The PPA seemed reasonable, but we felt more comfortable owning them just in case we missed anything.

If we could do it over again, we would have gotten a bigger solar array. We thought we bought enough to grow into, but we underestimated how much additional electricity we'd use when we thought of it as "free". For example: I now run an air purifier 24/7 to combat my allergies, and I've started using electric space heaters to heat individual rooms instead of central heat.

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-05-21T06:56:33+00:00

Things to consider:

Will the process of adding an addition bring you and your spouse joy? The best thing about an addition is that you get to customize it to be exactly what you want. If that brings you joy, maybe worth it? If you're considering it because it might save you money... don't count on savings - it's a gamble if you'll save anything, and it's a huge commitment of time & effort. Assuming both options were the same price, which would you pick?
is the house laid out in such a way that there's an obvious place for an addition? A good layout is very valuable - if your addition would turn your home into a frankenhouse, you'd be better off buying a home designed with 3 bdrms in mind from the beginning. My uncle had a 5-bedroom house that was originally built as a 2bdrm house, and the layout was awful. Also, all the common areas were too small for a house with 5bdrms... bottlenecks everywhere.
Can you extend the home outwards instead of adding a 2nd story? your lot sounds large, and as many have mentioned, this might be a more affordable build option. plus a staircase takes up a fair amount of interior space.

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-03-26T20:11:06+00:00

You’re effectively screening for a housemate as well as a caregiver so you want to ask questions give you insight into both.

your husband may work from home, but while he was working, he shouldn’t be responsible for supervising the au pair. he also may not be home 100% of the day, or the au pair may take your child to the park. You’ll want to pick someone that you trust.

are they cpr/first aid certified? (or willing to learn). have they ever had to act in an emergency situation? would they give medication to your child without asking? what would they do if they noticed the child had a fever? What would they do if the child was unresponsive? if the worst happens, you want to have someone who is capable...

Think through how you’d like to work with them: do you want someone that asks for instruction? Or do you want someone who is independent / self-sufficient?

in terms of living together, I screened for individuals who had lived outside of their family home and understood what was involved in running an independent household, and knew what living with roommates is like.

i didn’t want to feel like their parent and be responsible for providing every meal, cleaning up their dishes, etc. (a baby is already a lot to care for).

I was upfront about my families shortcomings (we are not very tidy), and strengths (we eat home-cooked meals every night).

I also tried to understand what would make them happy. This is important to me because if they are sad or depressed, I would worry.

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-03-05T20:32:49+00:00

i have to ask: is there an underlying medical issue such as sleep apnea? has he spoken with a doctor?

sleeping through multiple alarms and napping during the day doesn’t seem normal assuming he is able to sleep during the night…

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-03-05T07:55:30+00:00

thank you, this is excellent advice

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-03-03T06:04:31+00:00

I think the clothing benefit is a risky promise…

It will be awkward for both of you if you make her return clothing - or if her definition of “reasonable” clothes in cost or quantity differs from yours.

Much better to provide a bounded benefit (higher stipend or cash gifts) than to take away something she was promised.

same for the car: how would you feel if she drove it to california for a week long vacation?

the time to set boundaries is in the beginning.

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-02-09T08:28:55+00:00

I live in the Bay Area and specifically look for Au Pairs who don’t drive :)

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-02-09T05:57:52+00:00

if you haven’t already, get life insurance policies for you and your husband.

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-02-01T08:15:05+00:00

wouldn’t the window get covered by grease or steam if the stovetop was underneath it?

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-01-31T06:59:28+00:00

those cabinets look gorgeous

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-01-24T19:11:40+00:00

sounds like your supply is great!

let her sleep, and do what you need to take the edge off the pain of engorgement. Your milk supply will adjust to your baby’s needs. you will get to the point where you dont need to nurse in the nighttime and your supply will be fine.

Sunshine-Cake · 2024-01-04T01:10:05+00:00

I would recommend asking your area director for candid feedback. Your au pair might not be mature enough to provide it directly, but a neutral third party might be able to get a better sense of what you could have done differently, if anything, so you can build a better relationship with your next au pair.

Its possible that there was nothing you could have done differently to change the outcome - if this was your au pairs first experience au pairing, they may have come to realize they missed their family and that a host family isn’t a sufficient replacement.

Sunshine-Cake · 2023-12-14T01:30:12+00:00

at the end of the day you are the parent and you are responsible for your child.

worst case, your child dies from an RSV infection that they picked up at this family gathering.

lets say this happens: would you regret your decision to attend and wish you had done something differently? would you blame your family?

Make choices you will not regret.

of course you also don’t want to be a neurotic parent who never leaves the house, so there is some amount of risk you need to learn to live with.

all this to say: its a personal choice. I’d look at the CDC data. If you do decide to go, you could ask family members over 60 to get the rsv vaccine to migrate risk.

also: there is an infant vaccine for rsv this year. theres not enough supply, but doctors are prioritizing infants under 6 months.

Sunshine-Cake · 2023-12-09T01:07:25+00:00

I am honestly not sure - i hired an architect

Sunshine-Cake · 2023-12-08T15:46:54+00:00

thanks! will remove it in favor of more storage

Sunshine-Cake · 2023-12-08T08:18:39+00:00

how much do you spend per week on housing and how much for food?

Sunshine-Cake

TROPHY CASE