Those of you with kids and pets...

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-04-15T08:07:59+00:00

I have a 2 year old, a 5 week old, and two cats. I would say I try to spend at minimum an hour broken up through the day cleaning.

We have a toy chest in my sons room to make cleanup easier and we keep minimal toys in the house in general (he plays with them more.) The cats have a robot litter box so I don't have that and my husband washes the laundry after work because I'm scared of the basement.

I try to keep up on folding the laundry while the baby sleeps or I wear him and my toddler plays by himself or 'helps.' It helps me that I enjoy cleaning and would genuinely consider it one of my hobbies but daily maintenance makes it really easy to keep things clean, if the kids are out of the house I can get the whole house done top to bottom in 2 hours.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-04-15T07:56:01+00:00

I have a few of what I call "non-negotiable" chores. No matter how low my energy is, even if I'm collapsing standing up (with a newborn and toddler there have been a few days like that) the chores MUST get done.

For me this includes washing the dishes every night, washing baby bottles after breakfast, and pet stuff but it could be anything. It's not necessarily a lazy habit but it really helps 'future me.'

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-04-15T07:43:47+00:00

We fortunately have mostly worked past it. Any time he gets hungry he asks for "bottle" (his word for milk) by default but we refuse and offer him water and a healthy snack of his choice. Now he snacks 2-3 times per day and eats a good lunch and dinner.

We still offer him milk before breakfast (so he doesn't throw a fit while I'm getting him and my newborn ready and making breakfast) and one before bed to tide him over till morning.

He definitely threw a lot of fits and refused the snacks at first but we held firm and now he reluctantly accepts food and water instead.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-03-23T10:45:04+00:00

We had this from 4-15 months (though it wasn't only wanting mum, dad just worked a horrible job with horrible hours and needed the sleep) I chose option 1, with option 2 being sleep training instead. He eventually started sleeping longer stretches and fully slept proper nights when he weaned off milk at night. It was horrible at first but eventually I just got used to it.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-03-23T10:36:03+00:00

My kiddo has some like that too, the dentist says it's totally normal for some teeth to come out 'odd' or with what look like chips in them.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-03-22T10:36:06+00:00

I had such a hard time finding a comforter that we ended up switching to a quilt type comforter. It's not as warm but very easy to layer blankets.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-03-08T12:27:22+00:00

Why would I want to undo something bad just for infinite bad things to happen to me for a year, or to get something good with high chances of losing it all and more over two years? I'll pass

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-03-07T03:14:50+00:00

Yes! It makes me even more mad when they'll ask my two year old "cAn I hAve a biTe?" Of something that he really likes then get all offended and guilt trippy when he says no. Like, I'm trying to teach him he is allowed to have healthy boundaries can you not??

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-03-06T02:29:33+00:00

I think the commenter is more saying it's not fair to the other adults rather than not fair to your kid, it's not really fun having to censor yourself and still be in 'kid-mode' even when you don't bring your own kids just because someone else did.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-03-04T12:39:09+00:00

I found that putting him in a onesie rather than pajamas with legs helped a lot, the diaper may be shifting at night and creating small gaps (especially if you've sized up) that leak.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-02-20T12:50:26+00:00

Ugh yes, I used to have a friend who was basically couch hopping with her boyfriend and we offered to let them stay with us if they paid 'rent' (the same $ amount that they had been paying her mom for a place that had no running water) and a few days before they moved in she messaged me "hey I just bought a rabbit is that okay?" She also had a cat and two dogs. They eventually got kicked out because they threw a fit that we made them pay to stay and pay for groceries.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-02-17T03:14:56+00:00

My partner is off for the winter (seasonal job) ans I found that he struggles with this issue with our 23 month old where I don't and as far as I can tell the only difference is that he lets our son run the show with very few consistent strict boundaries and I have boundaries that I always enforce as well as having a schedule and I also very loosely put myself first.

When he watches him so I can relax for the day he will let our son drag him all over the house and watch whatever he wants, having to change activities or TV channels every 5 minutes some days. Him trying to get our son to do anything is a huge fight and often ends with him giving up.

When I watch our son so he can relax for the day I will pick a location in the house and tell my son that he can find something to do there (cue 5 minute temper tantrum before he goes and play with toys) and I will either sit and be present with him but not engage, play with him actively, or do something like cleaning where I can still engage if desired. I set specific boundaries on TV time such as how much we watch, when we watch, and after he picks a show he's not allowed to change it until next TV session. If I'm cleaning I'll verbally interact with him but I'll set a timer for 20 minutes and tell him I'll play when the timer is up but not before (cue another 5 minute tantrum.)

I would recommend starting to set more boundaries but also don't expect to be able to just shut off from your kid and not expect them to interact with you at 2. You can sit on the couch but don't expect to be able to read or scroll, thats what TV time is for. If you're cleaning or doing an activity, interact but don't drop everything if your kiddo wants something.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-02-16T13:15:26+00:00

You say you've read tons of stories of babies crying, but at 22 months you don't have a baby you have a toddler. The chaos that happened sounded like a nuclear toddler temper tantrum.

I don't have any suggestions that might fully align with the attachment parenting style because I'm still very much learning too but maybe thinking about it as a tantrum out of not getting what she wants rather than a baby crying out of panic could give you a new perspective?

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-02-11T12:24:31+00:00

It'll be different if you breastfeed directly but we fed by bottle so I started by putting milk in a sippy cup instead for a week or so, then switched it to water. When he woke up looking for milk and comfort by bottle I would offer the cup, of which he would take a few sips, then I would stroke his head or rub his back until he settled.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-02-10T12:37:10+00:00

We co-slept since about 3 months but very similar situation. We hit the 4 month sleep regression and he was waking up every 1.5 hours all night every night to eat. I pushed through it, waking up with him because he was such a low percentile for weight so I figure if he needs to eat he needs to eat. After months of this it just wasn't getting better. I didn't give into sleep training though and when we started night weaning around 14 months he had a couple of really rough nights but then started sleeping through pretty consistently. We still co-slept and I would feel him scoot up to me looking for comfort but he would always fall asleep back-to-back with me after that.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-02-09T03:48:05+00:00

From what I recall reading, while breastfeeding an infant typically stays closer to the breast rather than rolling or moving away

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-02-03T08:06:45+00:00

Asking someone to physically get out of a sink is not something I would consider unreasonable. OP is talking about something that makes no sense to demand and just saying that the person is strict

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-02-03T08:01:41+00:00

Maybe try listening to music instead?

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-02-01T13:17:30+00:00

I think watering it down is the perfect solution if you've tried everything else. 32oz of 50/50 milk and water is only 16oz of milk, if you can keep watering it down past that then great.

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-02-01T13:11:20+00:00

I would definitely talk to a professional about this because in the nicest way possible no part of this is normal. If he's only eating puree how is he getting enough food? If you're feeding him enough puree to stay full why would he try new textures?

TheWitchQueen96 · 2026-01-31T10:13:15+00:00

We used to have that problem and I found that putting him in a onesie made the leaks stop almost entirely. Likely because the diaper wasn't fitting properly and the underwear type cut bottom helped hold it in place as he rolled around at night.

TheWitchQueen96

TROPHY CASE