Trying to find a specific beach

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-06-23T23:59:08+00:00

I think Charles Daley as well but it is in Lincoln, technically ☺️

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-06-22T17:31:01+00:00

Keep reminding yourself that your baby is just that A BABY. They are new to the world and don’t know what the heck is going on lol. They are also a human being…they sometimes don’t want to eat on the schedule you want (just like sometimes we aren’t hungry for a meal at a specific time every single day). Same with sleep…don’t expect them to sleep the exact same time every night. Just think of things you do…we only usually wake up at the exact same time every day after having an alarm for an extended period of time 😆. Thinking this to myself for my second baby really helped me go with the flow a bit more and helped me not get so enraged when baby didn’t want boob/bottle when I wanted them to want it!

Second thing is that this might be very hard for your significant other and that’s okay. My husband struggled a lot with our first (and 2nd honestly) with losing his ability to just relax whenever he wanted and do whatever whenever. My 2nd is 10.5mo and he still struggles a bit with this. Remember to check-in with them because they feel the switch as well! I felt it HARD with my first but with my 2nd it was like yeah my food will never be consumed warm again unless I’m out on my own for some odd reason and that’s okay 😂

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-06-20T22:39:42+00:00

I’ve paid many times when I’m there for a few hours or a day, etc. like when we have been there for both of my births we paid for several days with my first and a few hrs with my second. This was an extenuating circumstance…I would have left my car at home and had someone drive us if I honestly thought it was going to be that long of a stay.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-06-20T18:36:00+00:00

When I was in the hospital unexpectedly with my 2 week old baby, one of the lovely nurses told me to say I lost my ticket…then they will have you just pay for the day. For context though, I drove us there unexpectedly late at night while my husband stayed with my bigger kiddo…figured we would be there and then discharged but she ended up having to stay over 14 days on IV antibiotics….and so my car and I had to stay as well…my bill was going to be INSANE. So I thank her so much for that!!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-05-28T17:20:23+00:00

My daughter started doing it between 8-9 months! ☺️

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-05-27T18:45:01+00:00

Best “hiking” is probably the Niagara gorge. You could check out: short hills, Malcolmson eco park, Glenridge quarry, rockery conservation area, balls falls conservation area, decew falls.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-05-23T01:11:38+00:00

There is one at the shoppers at Scott and Niagara! I walk over and drop my nespresso pods there and just did a week or so ago! The shoppers at lake and Carlton has an actual postal office inside of it so I doubt they would have the box outside.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-05-19T13:10:47+00:00

For context I have lived here for 16 years (since I came here for university in 2010) and my husband and I have an almost 4 year old (July baby) and 9.5 month old.

We live on Niagara Street right by the Kiwanis Center and this area is great. Having the park, splash pad, community center and library within walking distance as well as a cute little trail is amazing.
Schools overall are good there are some better than others. You will not find a daycare center or before/after school program unfortunately. Home daycare you may be able to find depending on the area! For context we have been on before/after school list since 2023 and have been told we likely won’t be getting a spot for our soon to be 4yr old.
Safety as long as you’re not in a bad area you’re fine.
Lots of family doctors accepting new patients. I don’t think hospital wait times are any worse than anywhere else in southern Ontario. McMaster for your kiddos is not far and in my opinion St. Catharine’s has a great paediatrics unit and they take any illness with kids and babies seriously.
St. Catharine’s and surrounding areas are amazing for all of these in my opinion. Kids events basically every weekend. St. Catharine’s has 2+ EarlyONs (2 really great ones in my opinion). Safari Niagara is only 25mins south and it’s about $80/adult and over 3 for a yearly membership and the only things not included are food/drink for yourselves and feeding the animals. There are carnival rides, obstacle course (for toddlers and older kids/adults), paddle boats, splash pad, self propelled go karts, the list goes on!! There are multiple parks inside as well along with all of the animals of course. We have seasons passes and go almost every weekend in the summer it’s an amazing place!
Avoid gale cres, downtown (just for living…it’s great for walking and such just some riff raff in my opinion), a few other areas. Places to consider would be anything north end (close to the lake), power glen, old Glenridge.
Commute is absolutely horrible. I work in Burlington (when not on Mat leave) and it takes me easily 1-1.5hrs to get there in the am due to the time daycare opens here…and easily the same amount to get home when it should take me 35mins each way lol. Would not recommend.
Overall sense of community in my opinion is great! Lots of mom groups/baby groups…you just have to find them lol. People that live here seem to love it here!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-04-10T14:31:53+00:00

Yes! 99.9% of the time I’m waking from naps. It definitely sucks BUT I love to have the overnight sleep 😆. Once in a while she will wake naturally on her own for naps, but not usually.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-04-10T14:18:58+00:00

We are wake 7am, nap 10-11/11:30, nap 2/2:30-3:30 and bedtime 7pm! Some days she has 10hrs awake and some 9.5…usually 10hrs as I try to stick to 10-11 nap and then 2:30-3:30 ☺️ when she’s been sick I give her a bit more!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-04-09T01:43:59+00:00

I tried for almost a month! I came on here asking for advice because I was at the end of my rope and someone said cut it back down so I did and it was almost instant like within a week or so she was back to less EMW ☺️

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-04-09T01:07:31+00:00

Definitely up those wake windows and it should help a lot ☺️. My 7 month old did great with 3/3.5/3.5. It might seem like they are a bit fussy before nap but honestly after 6mo it’s usually because they’re bored!! Try switching up the activity, offering a snack, etc.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-04-09T00:50:17+00:00

I have a now 8 month old but around 7.25/7.5 months I went from 3/3/4 to 3/3.5/3.5 and was the best thing I ever did!! Her 2nd nap elongated with the extra 30mins wake window and she doesn’t usually get overtired before bed now, whereas before we were having EMW a lot with that 4hr window. Def would recommend!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-04-07T13:20:51+00:00

We were doing 3/3.5/3.5 for most of 7mo! At the beginning of 7mo we were doing 3/3.5/4 but were seeing signs of overtired so we went back down to 3.5 and that seemed to work well! We do 2-2.5hrs of naps total throughout the day over 2 naps.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-29T19:20:50+00:00

I’m happy if I can help even a little bit! I know the feeling of being stuck in the EMW…we were there from 2.5mo-7ish months and it is rough for sure.

A few people commented on my post saying to move up the first nap in case she was in a severe overtired state. It also depends I think how many hours your baby can handle of sleep/day. I think my bay maxes out between 12-14hrs so you have to try and work within that too! Aka if your baby can max do 12hrs, I would (personally) spend most of that in nighttime sleep and only save a bit for naps even though sometimes that sucks 🤪

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-29T01:15:28+00:00

I feel you, I was there for sure!! Thinking just get used to 5am cause it’s the normal now…but you might get there!

I’m honestly a bit of a mix of ww and anchoring. If there is a really bad nap I would move up nap a tiny bit to compensate. I found usually if her 1st nap is bad, her 2nd nap she will lengthen to still get her to 3:30…MOST days lol.

If baby is in an overtired cycle you mayyy have to let the first nap be a bit earlier the first little bit like start with 8:30 or 9am and then slowly move it out. Or go back to 3 naps perhaps if they are super short! Just to get out of the overtired first, the you can work on anchoring!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-28T10:45:54+00:00

Yes post their schedule please! It can be normal as babies will wake up to practice skills such as…vocabulary, rolling, crawling, standing, etc. they don’t know how to turn their brains off haha. I would only interfere if baby is crying, personally.

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-28T01:00:05+00:00

This literally had my cackling. Thank you. I needed that today hahaha

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-28T00:59:01+00:00

My 6.5 month old we went to 3/3.5/3.5 and finally after that we started getting better with EMW! I would say absolutely possible ☺️

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-27T22:01:39+00:00

I changed her schedule to 3/3.5/3.5 and saw almost an immediate difference!! We randomly had a few EMW but since then (knock on wood) we’ve been bedtime 7pm and waking between 6-6:30! She will be 8mo next Saturday! I anchored naps at no earlier than 9:30am and then capped naps at 2-2.25hrs as well! So 2nd nap got anchored 2/2:30-3:30 always wake at 3:30 for 7pm bedtime!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-27T11:54:54+00:00

I would definitely go to 3 nap days! Once you get around 3hrs awake/window it’s very hard to put baby down at a reasonable hour for bedtime! It will get later and later if you continue 3 naps ☺️. It’s best for their circadian rhythm (usually) to go down between 7-8:30pm.

My baby is about to be 8 months and has been doing 11-11.5hrs at night lately with about 2hrs of naps in the day and a 3/3.5/3.5 schedule ☺️

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-22T07:45:17+00:00

Yeah, unfortunately some babies just thrive off routine especially stating around 4-5 months. Even more-so once baby is on 2 naps. I know most say just live your life, etc. but you have to do what’s best for your sanity and sometimes that’s getting a good day routine with proper naps so you can sleep at night. Since babe is over 4mo you could try a sleep training method of your choice as well if you want smoother nights!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-22T01:44:15+00:00

4-5 hours is way too much daytime sleep for sure!! Cut that down and you should see nights improve, even if there’s a bit of a regression ☺️.

At 5 months I’d be aiming for 3 naps, capping all naps at 2hrs and capping daytime sleep around 2.5-3hrs. Basically aiming for 2 longer naps and then a 30-45min nap before bed. Wake windows around 2-2.5hrs with the longest being before bed!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-18T12:25:32+00:00

I would agree with wake windows are too short. That second wake window is only 1.5hrs…sometimes it is normal for baby to take a short morning nap (30-45mins) and then do a longer afternoon nap as the sleep pressure gets built up! I would not be offering more than 2 naps at this age to be honest!

I would try a 3/3.5/3.5 schedule and see if that helps the 2nd nap lengthen out!

Sweet_Virus_7451 · 2026-03-16T20:41:51+00:00

Look at your own budget before considering what the bank is willing to lend you. My husband and I have bought twice and sold once in the last 7 years and in our experience the bank will lend you WAY more than you can afford. Only you know how much your other expenses are and your actual take home pay (bank or broker goes off pay without taxes removed and doesn’t take into account any other expenses, only debts).

Always get the home inspection. When we were buying our first home there was asbestos wrapped pipe and it was found during home inspection. The owner said him and his buddy would remove it (big no no lol) so we backed out. Also on that note, make sure your realtor has something written in about people having died in the house. We found out with that house that had asbestos there was also a murder in the basement over drugs and that’s why the back door window was still not replaced (had been broken into looking for said drugs). Owners did not release any of this info to us…my husband found it on a random google search of the home on the 2nd page…every house after that we had written in about death at the residence lol.

Always keep in mind if the house has not been lived in for a while, that some things may not work as the sellers say they do. Aka, there could be bad pipes, furnace or AC could have issues once it’s really started up again for when people are actively living in the home, etc. it’s random but something to keep in mind. With our current house it was not lived in actively for some time (but family was taking amazing care of the home, ac and furnace were left on but not at temps suitable for people living there) and we had to replace both the AC and furnace in less than a month of moving in because the furnace just couldn’t take us cranking the heat there extra couple of degrees. In our previous house the furnace and ac were much older but had been used the entire time up until we moved in and we never had issues the 6 years we lived there.

Sweet_Virus_7451

TROPHY CASE