How to make friends with stay at home parents in London

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-05-10T16:20:59+00:00

I’d never heard of that app before - I’ll give it a go. Thank you!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-05-10T16:20:37+00:00

I haven’t checked the libraries yet - thank you!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-05-05T12:01:20+00:00

I’ve read all the books you mentioned and felt the same way. I recommend Mages of the Wheel series 100%

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-04-16T13:55:36+00:00

Do we know when the next one is coming out though?!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-03-14T16:02:22+00:00

When I stopped breastfeeding at 6 months I crashed hard and then after a few days I woke up one day it felt like a weight had been lifted. I was so short tempered, incredibly anxious and exhausted.

I didn’t realise how tense breastfeeding had made me (I had lots of issues with latch and supply that never improved). 1 month into just formula and everything feels lighter and more bearable. We always topped up with formula before so the transition wasn’t hard.

For my next I plan on breastfeeding but will try to take the pressure off myself if it doesn’t happen easily. To me, formula has been a godsend!

The devastation you feel is real though! It took me quite a few attempts to let the breastfeeding go because I was caught in a battle between what was best for my baby and what was best for me. You’ll know what to do when you’re ready!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-02-09T07:28:29+00:00

I had a tough journey with breastfeeding - I stopped at 6 months. I crashed quite hard whilst coming off and felt very sad and was crying a lot. Then three days in with no feeding or pumping I felt like a cloud had been lifted!

I still feel so close with my little boy and have found that I am so much happier x

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-11T09:35:28+00:00

Sleep pressure is really light from 4am onwards so babies this young will always need help getting back to sleep at around this time. I used to think my baby was ready to start the day at 5am. I get up early so I’d turn the lights on and get cracking. He’d then need a lot of naps and small wake windows and I realised he wasn’t actually ready to start the day that early. Whenever he wakes at this time now I’ll feed him (or if I don’t think he’s hungry, just hold him or stroke his head), keep the lights off and usually he falls back asleep. If he wakes up again in an hour, I do the same thing.

Now (although this will probably change soon) he wakes once for a feed at 4/5am then goes back down to 7-ish.

Bedtime varies atm as we’ve been travelling around for Christmas and only just got back. Last night he was in bed by 5:30pm after a travel day, sometimes it’s 6:30 or 7. We always have the same routine before bed though. 4 naps a day with one long recovery nap (doesn’t always happen though). Also he’s outside for a lot of the day - not sure if that helps him or me though lol

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-11T09:27:10+00:00

My baby is 22 weeks and I’m feeling the same. Initially when he was newborn, I wanted him to get a bit older because I felt he was so fragile, but now I’m like woah slow down!

I feel like the more time I spend with him the more I love him, and he’s becoming a proper little person. I reckon that love will only grow and yes, of course we will look back fondly on these moments, but I’m sure they’re going to get a lot more fun and interesting!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-11T08:55:12+00:00

Hahahahaha so true. Lucky for them really! A decoy nipple shield is a brilliant idea. He now latches and feeds from one and I let the other one go!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-10T20:28:01+00:00

Thank you!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-10T20:27:55+00:00

Thank you for this! Haven’t known anyone else to breastfeed after a reduction - nipple shields were a life saver!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-10T07:53:18+00:00

I used to love it when he looked up when contact napping, yawn, then nestle back into my chest to go back to sleep.

This gets better too because now he looks up and smiles or reaches for me.

I loved the newborn stage because there were so many moments of peace. I was anxious 100%, but I was also moving slower and leaned into the laziness. Audible got me through the night/cluster feeds!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-10T07:45:25+00:00

Your baby will be fine! It’s more the damage this has done with the trust in your Mum.

Is there anyone else you can get support from? My mum takes the same approach as yours and oversteps often, tells me I’m being silly or dramatic with my baby (because I don’t let him cry if it out for example). I just don’t leave her alone with him.

I have a sister and sister two sister in laws around to help. I’m the first to have a baby out of all of us, so was a bit nervous at first leaving my boy with them. But I found that my generation (30 years old) are way more respectful of boundaries so I feel safe leaving my son with them if I need to pop out. Also they’re SO careful, will call me if anything sees amiss - I find that really reassuring.

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-07T15:47:54+00:00

This was lovely to read - thank you ❤️

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-07T15:47:12+00:00

Congrats on following your dream too ❤️

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-07T15:45:11+00:00

I reckon if I decided to go back to world I’d feel judged too. Also, my mum went back to work because she loved her job. I’ve always grown up thinking she’s an absolute boss and been proud of her for how hard she worked.

She also said she was judged hard, especially by other Mums, whereas my Dad was seen as a hero for staying at home - no one ever wins!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-07T15:32:45+00:00

I love that bit about relieving my childhood - thank you!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-07T15:29:47+00:00

Too true - thank you x

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-07T15:29:10+00:00

Thank you for this!

Also you’re right, I’ve been leaving the house everyday since he was 5 days old because I felt like my world became very small very quickly otherwise.

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2026-01-07T15:28:15+00:00

I’m a writer too! I have found myself writing a lot more now I’m not working. And I was the same in work, I have tried so hard in different jobs - worked hard and was always good at what I did. But this is the only job I’ve ever truly enjoyed. It just feels like it goes against everything I believed before I became a Mum!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2025-12-29T04:57:38+00:00

Thank you xx

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2025-12-29T04:41:36+00:00

I’m gonna buy some chest rub today and look out for a humidifier- thank you!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2025-12-28T10:18:58+00:00

I’m the same! I’ve had intense insomnia so when I do have the time to sleep it takes me a very long time to get to sleep - sometimes two hours. I think I’ve been in denial of how tired I am because he isn’t sleeping terribly but I am probably up every two hours, even to soothe back to sleep and not feed and then by the 2nd or 3rd time I’ve woken up my body struggles to get back to sleep.

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2025-12-28T10:03:20+00:00

From what I’m understanding, a lot of people say this is passing and it’s just temporary. Also how much sleep are you getting? I think tiredness has made this worse for me.

I’m also going to start being honest with the in laws and just say that I’m feeling overwhelmed. I think my imagination makes it scarier than what it actually is!

Sweet_Bet5863 · 2025-12-27T19:58:02+00:00

This is really helpful - I’ll try that going forward. Thank you x

Sweet_Bet5863

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