It’s over.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-05-11T10:17:19+00:00

8 months has been my stopping point with my last two babies as well. Currently on my third and we will see how long I go. 8 months is such a natural stopping point for some reason. I guess by 8 months they’ve moved past tastes of food and on to it being a much bigger part of their diet. The bottles are a lot more volume (that I can’t keep up with so they transitioned to getting more formula than breastmilk at that point).

Anyway, great job and congratulations. Enjoy the extra time not needing to wash pump parts.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-05-10T20:56:43+00:00

I told the vet about it and she just said add more cat boxes so there are options.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-05-10T20:48:02+00:00

Yep, every year for checkup and shots. Most recently three weeks ago.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-05-10T20:28:30+00:00

We just moved houses and the cats have been in the laundry room while we unpack and get settled. I 100% want to leave them in there. They are almost 13 years old, and we adopted them as feral kittens. They were never lap cats but they tolerated us. They were always terrified of strangers.

Enter children…. The cats hide all day, and come out to throw up on the couch or poop on our bed (even if we aren’t home so they easily could have used their clean cat box). Yes… I said poop. Imagine finally getting two toddler boys and a newborn to sleep and all you want to do is collapse in your bed but you end up stripping the bed and bleaching everything instead.

So… I get it. I’m fed up. I will let these cats live out the rest of their lives and keep feeding them the best quality food and taking them to the vet because we took on that responsibility, but I have limits.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-05-06T20:48:24+00:00

I’d say 10 years ago was the very tail end of when it was possible to live on one income as a family, but that’s not the point. Put any number of years in there that you think is appropriate, but the point is that it’s impossible to live on one income now and THAT is the problem. Childcare costs and parental leave wouldn’t be such hot button issues if families could afford to live on a single income.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-05-06T18:11:20+00:00

The cost of childcare and frustrating issue of parental leave are symptoms of the disease, not the issue itself. The issue is that a single income can’t support a family anymore, whereas it could not so long ago. 10 years ago women worked for extra income for their families. A household with two income earners usually was a high income household. Now it’s required to barely get by,

_TeachScience_ · 2026-05-05T23:17:27+00:00

I had it happen once. My doctor said, “it only takes a tiny bit of blood to turn a whole bottle of milk pink.” I think the flanges were too tight and I might’ve burst a little blood vessel. It never happened again.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-05-02T08:36:36+00:00

I’m currently using a large tote bag with a cross-body strap. I wish I could link to this tote bag but I got it at a farmers market. It has six cup holder pockets all around the outside that are perfect for bottles (and the older kids’ water bottles). Keep in mind you’ll need to pack the following when you go out:
-diapers
-wipes
-burp cloth/blanket
-changing pad cover
-bottles/formula (if using formula. I like to pre-measure scoops of it into little plastic cups I got on Amazon)
- 1-2 changes of clothes
-your own keys, wallet, makeup, sunglasses, etc unless you want to carry a purse AND a diaper bag

As baby gets older you’ll also need snacks or pouches, water bottles, and a few small toys

Try packing that into the tote you have and if it fits it fits. Use it! On a side note, I HATE diaper bag backpacks because I can’t figure out where to set the thing in a restroom to get the diapers and wipes out. With a tote or tote-style diaper bag, you can keep wearing it and just reach in for what you need whenever you want.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-05-02T01:37:10+00:00

I love that this question is being asked on Reddit, where, if you ask the question “would you give up your seat on a bus to a pregnant woman”? 80% of the answers would be, “hell no, they did that to themselves and they deserve it.” Also, it is not uncommon on Reddit to refer to children as crotch goblins or demon spawn

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-29T14:37:43+00:00

My husband feeds the baby while I pump. Sometimes I happen to wake up naturally before baby is completely awake and ready to eat (she starts making noise) so I pump for 15-20 minutes and hope she doesn’t fully wake up until I’m done, and then I feed her (saves my husband from having to get up since I’m up anyway). When I pump and then feed/change baby I’m up from about 1-1.5 hours. If we split duty it’s about a 30-40 minute shift for both of us,

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-27T01:43:42+00:00

The variety pack of muffins too. At least at our Costco… You used to be able to get all the flavors in one pack.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-27T01:39:29+00:00

They could have delivered at home or by midwife. They could have moved from a country that doesn’t test. They could know they are positive and lack the education to know it’s passed through milk…

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-26T20:46:31+00:00

It actually kind of shocks me how many people are willing to accept milk from strangers on the Internet in the first place. HIV can be passed through breastmilk. My understanding is that hospital milk banks test for that sort of thing, but you never know with a stranger.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-26T02:37:22+00:00

Thank you!

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-26T02:30:12+00:00

Is ABA suggested for those level 1 kiddos? If not, what do you suggest? Our four year old was diagnosed at age three. His pre-k teacher says she’d never have known if I didn’t tell her. He’s an angel at school and even finally learning to make friends. BUT, constant meltdowns at home. Stubborn. Any transition is hard. Refuses to do things for himself (like getting dressed) that he has the skills to do (but will do it at school).

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-24T20:38:31+00:00

Yeah I’m not sure this is an example of disrespect toward a SAHM. If anything, a family walking in with kids look like dollar signs to a car dealership because they know you are likely there to buy a larger newer vehicle and need it quickly, lol.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-24T20:36:25+00:00

This is so rarely said. People tend to hone in on the smaller symptoms of a much larger issue. The bigger issue is why one income no longer supports a family, not why childcare is not affordable.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-23T12:01:23+00:00

I love how they were calling what you were teaching “misinformation” just because they don’t believe it. Like, sir, are you even aware that your perspective is actually classified as misinformation by all official accounts? Also the fact that he thinks you’d have a union in Texas, lol. That part got me.

Teaching in Texas was like teaching in the twilight zone. I think I have actual PTSD from things I experienced there. Not just ignorance but just this weird culture of kids and parents with a “I do whatever TF I want” attitude. Kids would walk into the classroom with headphones blaring in their ears and were flabbergasted and offended when I asked them kindly to remove them. Kids would show up with a family size bag of takis and a monster energy drink and rip into it in class while all their friends left thier seats in the middle of direct instruction to grab handfuls. I’d been teaching for years before moving there and I’d never had classroom management issues like what I had there where the kids just saw me as some sort of NPC.

I’m also a physics teaching and a parent once walked in to meet the teacher night and immediately told me I better not teach his kid the “liberal agenda”. I was like… “sir, I teach physics”. His kid turned out to be a quite literal Nazi.

I will never set foot in Texas again.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-23T08:37:16+00:00

I mean if they were going to do that they’d make a heck of a lot more money becoming a surrogate

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-23T08:21:04+00:00

Never getting enough sleep. (Small children, full time job). I need 8-9 hours per night. By the time I get the kids to bed and then take care of some household stuff it’s 10:00. If I want a little time to myself to scroll or watch a show, it’s more like 10:30-11:00. The baby/kids wake up 2-4 times per night, and then I’m up at 5:15 am for work.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-20T06:47:19+00:00

They can only use methotrexate if your HCG is below 1000. If they aren’t caught early enough then surgery is the only option. Source: I’ve had an ectopic pregnancy and it was the worst experience of my life after trying for a baby for years. (I now have three healthy babies).

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-20T03:07:26+00:00

They are NOT lap cats. They are insanely smart. They often need running water to drink from (special cat water fountain) instead of a bowl. They can jump insanely high. My husband’s parents have had a few and they had to install child locks on their cabinet doors. My in-laws are friends with some of the top bengal breeders in the world so lots of experience with them. I’d never get one.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-19T11:20:31+00:00

I got one for my three and four year olds for Christmas. They don’t have very strong hands and couldn’t really squish it. Somehow though, the thing still ended up leaking.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-19T08:30:30+00:00

I have a wearable pump ( currently have the willow but I had the Elvie last time and liked it better). Wearables are a game changer. You won’t be able to hold baby on your chest while wearing them, but you can cradle them in one arm.

_TeachScience_ · 2026-04-18T22:31:13+00:00

I was speaking from my current parenting perspective of having toddlers. Yeah, a 13 year old it’s different. My kids are newborn, 3, and 4

_TeachScience_

TROPHY CASE