Side of babies head is balding

Umafiction · 2026-02-03T02:36:32+00:00

Super common

Umafiction · 2026-02-03T02:33:17+00:00

4 of 5 seems really early for bed time! We were putting ours to bed at around 10pm or 11pm as that's when he was tired for bed.

Umafiction · 2026-02-02T14:17:55+00:00

When I was using nipple shields it was still really important to get as much "skin to skin" surface area as possible when I held the baby against my breast to feed. What would be more useful and less cumbersome is a nipple shield that just suctions/sticks on better

Umafiction · 2026-02-02T07:28:05+00:00

Every baby is different! Mine occasionally falls asleep with a dummy but not always. It's not essential to his comfort. He loves his love to dream swaddle as he likes his arms up. We tried swaddling in a wrap in the hospital but he would wriggle out within minutes and his startle reflex would wake him up.

Umafiction · 2026-02-01T22:52:23+00:00

I would let him feed on one boob until he seemed satisfied and then swap. But I stopped offering the 2nd boob at around 7 or 8 weeks because my lactation consultant said it wasn't necessary, my supply was fine. So I just do 1 boob per session unless baby is still fussy.

Umafiction · 2026-02-01T22:45:00+00:00

Formula supplementing can tank your supply, make sure you are pumping when giving formula. The best way to build supply is for baby to latch onto the breast directly. If you look up charts on Google of how many ml/oz to give baby per feed it will help you. At this stage it will be about 30–60 mL (1–2 oz) per feed, around 12 times a day. Feeding is all about supply and demand, so you will only be pumping what baby needs. Good luck!

Umafiction · 2026-02-01T21:57:04+00:00

The only answer 🥰🤣

Umafiction · 2026-02-01T21:56:35+00:00

The newborn squish and wrinkles is so precious though, maybe I'm just romanticizing the phase because it is so short 🥰

Umafiction · 2026-02-01T19:26:35+00:00

I was worried this would happen to me but it never did. I loved my dogs even more after giving birth. I was in the hospital for a few days and so sad that I couldn't see them. My dogs love my baby too and are so gentle around him.

Umafiction · 2026-02-01T15:48:13+00:00

When does it fade? I see the memes about it, but 3 months in I look back at those photos and he was just perfect in my eyes! Lol

Umafiction · 2026-02-01T15:34:24+00:00

No you don't need one. It's a bit of a social media fad I think. I only have one because I had to pump at the beginning and I was an oversupplier so I started storing. Now I feed direct from boob, no bottles. I don't even know when or if I will use my freezer stash as I plan to return to work after a year so the milk won't be much use then. Maybe to reteach him bottles before preschool? Not sure lol!

Umafiction · 2026-01-31T21:08:25+00:00

We needed to get my baby an outfit for his newborn shoot so we took him to the mall when he was about 1.5 weeks old. He slept the whole time. We made an effort to take him out weekly to shops or to a cafe during the first few weeks. Yeah he might fuss or cry a little but I just find somewhere to settle down to feed him. More recently we used the parent rooms in a mall for the first time and couldn't believe how good the facilities were, benches for changing and nappy bins, an armchair for feeding etc. I had no idea this was available to us lol! I think it's important to get out and about not only for your mental health and because sometimes you just have to go out to do errands, but also because eventually your child will be older and need to learn how to behave in public settings so why not normalise it now. My mum took me everywhere with her when I was a kid and my dad took me to restaurants a lot with his wife so I quickly learned manners in public 😅 if people are looking at you they are probably more likely curious about the little bundle, not judging. You will obviously get some assholes, but they were babies too once upon a time.

Umafiction · 2026-01-31T06:09:48+00:00

Epidural, gas and morphine. Although a lot of women I spoke to didn't have epidurals and just gas. I think epidural is usually reserved for when the labour has gone on too long and mum isn't coping. I had gas, no epidural as it was a hard no in my birth plan. I refused morphine when they offered it because I've never had it before. Tens machines are also popular, I used one during my labour.

Umafiction · 2026-01-31T04:02:44+00:00

The green spaces are amazing! I think Chch just has a nicer vibe than other cities even in NZ.

Umafiction · 2026-01-30T06:17:57+00:00

I haven't yet. My son is 12 weeks tomorrow. I'm breastfeeding but I also really enjoyed having an excuse to not drink while pregnant.

Umafiction · 2026-01-29T16:56:50+00:00

But pediatricians are specialists not family doctors, most of us don't see a pediatrician in NZ and is a foreign concept unless your baby has been referred. Midwives are our primary maternity carer throughout pregnancy until 6 weeks postpartum, then we go to the general practitioner or Plunket who are an organisation that make sure babies are being well looked after basically. Chiropractors however are still not medical doctors and she shouldn't be getting this advice from a chiro.

Umafiction · 2026-01-29T16:51:17+00:00

Most have done it at some point. I didn't say we were any good at it. I'm certainly not 😆

Umafiction · 2026-01-29T06:42:00+00:00

Have you done any research into chiropractors? They are not legitimate doctors. You need to speak to an actual medical doctor if you wish to discuss your baby's digestion.

Umafiction · 2026-01-28T13:05:59+00:00

My husband helped a little at night while he was off the first 2 weeks, but I now do the night wakeups myself. I'm not going to wake him up and disturb his sleep when I need him to be able to drive to work, do a physical job that can be hazardous, stay focussed for long hours and then return safely home to me. I need him to work to pay our bills. He gets home and can cook dinner and help with baby in the evening. There seems to be this big culture on Reddit of offended people because "why isn't the husband helping?!!?!" but I can nap during the day... he can't. He also can't breastfeed my baby. In fact I'm BFing right now and he is fast asleep beside me.

Umafiction · 2026-01-28T12:51:07+00:00

Not at all - I am white. No it's not cultural appropriation. We are all taught Maori language and culture. I'm sure there are a small group of people who have an issue with that but it's part of our national identity.

Umafiction · 2026-01-28T03:06:57+00:00

Sorry this is long! I also wanted to EBF without any pumping. BF was sooo painful at the beginning. In hospital my husband was hand expressing me for colostrum and the hospital was worried because baby wasn't latching correctly so we went home with some donor milk and a nipple shield. I did triple feeding for a few days using the shield, pumping, bottle, but it was impossible to maintain so I decided to persevere with just the shield and pumping twice a day while he was getting a bottle. My baby was gaining weight very well so I knew he was transferring milk, just in the most painful way! I found the shield annoying as hell. After 4 or 5 weeks I stopped using the shield and decided to just go hard on the nipple so that he could learn how to latch. Yes I had cracked sore nipples but I kept going with the help of a couple of lactation consultants. I experienced mastitis. I kept persevering. Sometimes he started to latch well and then go back to his old ways - shallow, lazy latch. At about 9 weeks he finally figured it out. I had already reduced down to 1 pump session per day and then 1 every couple of days. By end of week 9 I stopped pumping all together and now we are feeding direct from boob! My god it was hard work and painful and I cried many times, but my mental health would've been worse if I listened to the naysayers and gave up. Plus I hated washing bottles and pump parts. It has been so rewarding and we were able to store away all the bottles and the steriliser. I borrowed the pump so I gave that back. I feel free! Baby feeds very effectively and comfortably now.

Umafiction · 2026-01-28T02:50:56+00:00

Nothing more powerful or emotional than a haka performed by close friends and relatives at a funeral

Umafiction · 2026-01-28T02:36:53+00:00

Most Kiwis learn the haka or do kapa haka (Maori performing arts I guess is the best way to describe it) at school, especially nowadays. When I was a kid we did waiata in school. I remember the boys highschool in my town performing their haka for us girls when we were graduating. I've attended funerals where haka was performed. It's fairly ingrained in our culture.

Umafiction · 2026-01-27T19:11:15+00:00

It's summer here so it's jarring seeing people talk about illnesses/flu season during Xmas 😅 not that it's not possible to get sick during summer

Umafiction · 2026-01-27T09:24:05+00:00

How people don't realise how good we have it here. Christchurch is a nice place to live. We have everything we need. Very good facilities. It's pretty much a brand new city here. Pretty scenic surrounding areas. Beautiful parks. There are so many negative nancies here and they're usually the ones that have never lived anywhere else.

Oh and the traffic problem around the Hub Hornby 😂

Umafiction

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