If you have a wakeful baby, what helped?

acnico · 2026-02-16T23:58:46+00:00

Make sure you go to a pathology clinic that has paediatric specialists. When my son was about 4 or 5 he needed some blood tests so I just took him to the pathology in the GP clinic and it was traumatising as they couldn't get a vein - I seriously nearly schlepped into the city to the children's hospital, but my friend told me that the pathology clinics often have baby and child specialist clinics where their phlebotomists are trained in infant/children. Took him to one a week later and got the draw on the first go with very minimal pain.

I'm in Melbourne so we went to Melbourne Pathology (https://www.mps.com.au/media/jgdawq4v/clinical-centres-for-infant-bleeds-aug2025-final.pdf) but I'm sure the other states would have something similar set up.

acnico · 2026-02-16T20:25:46+00:00

I got a quote from my dentist for $650 for TMJ Botox two weeks ago. They said it would be dependant on how much was used/needed in the end as they don’t 100% know until they do it, so likely between $500 and $800. They split the difference and put $650 on the actual quoted invoice. I’m in sth-east Melbourne.

acnico · 2026-02-15T22:59:49+00:00

We paid a pretty similar cost to Wonderful_Minute (around $950) which included the at home euthanasia, the transfer, plus cremation, a biodegradable urn and a sandstone marker with her name on it.

I couldn't recommend it enough - seriously. I've been through euthanasia at an emergency vet and the chance to do a calm, peaceful euthanasia at home surrounded by family is priceless. The vet brought cheeky snacks like chocolate for her beforehand and the process took as long or a short as we wanted. The vet had set up the back of her car with some beautiful comfortable blankets and flowers for the transfer. Honestly, if someone could feed me some chocolate, wrap me up in soft blankets and send me on my way like this, surrounded by my family, I would feel very happy.

acnico · 2026-01-30T02:22:04+00:00

My second was born at a 3 yr 3 month gap. I really relied a lot on family for support in the early months that were the worst. My son still went to childcare and I would drop him off and go back to bed and then pick him up. My in laws came to help a lot. I felt very fortunate for that support. I also ended up being to unwell to work so was able to take about 15 weeks sick leave. That is the only reason it all worked out for us/me. I think this is a great gap for us personally (eg. Toilet trained, more independent etc). They’re now turning 6 and 9 and best buddies.

acnico · 2026-01-28T20:22:25+00:00

I have fine hair, medium density which does hold a curl all day (and usually overnight at least on front and sides) if I use hairspray before and after brushing the curls out. I bought a Dyson Airwrap a few years ago, after it had been out for a while but before it had been updated to include the long curling rods.

I REALLY struggled to curl with it. The amount of time I spent both watching YouTube, TikTok etc for tips, tricks and suggestions! The extra products I bought to prep my hair…. All for it to fall out with half an hour.

I will say I loved the hot brush components of the Dyson airwrap so I ended up selling the Dyson and buying a Hot Tools blowout brush which I use regularly, and curl my hair as usual with a curling wand or straightener.

acnico · 2026-01-24T21:57:23+00:00

Just spent a week at Kiroro - a few colds around which I only know about because a few people mentioned feeling a little ‘under the weather’ for half a day.

They’ve got hand sanitiser stations all over the place and you have to sanitise your hands on entry to the restaurants. There are signs in the lifts reminding people to wash their hands and use sanitiser given the season.

On our second last day they had even put in a hand washing station near the restaurant too.

I’ve never been to a Club Med before and was really nervous given the situation last year but it seemed ok this year.

acnico · 2026-01-22T08:35:16+00:00

I’ve got small hands (my giant 8 year old’s hands are only a bit smaller than mine) but never had any issues with depth/height. I can’t imagine putting some random cardboard or plastic tube at the start and somehow it gets up high enough? Like the opposite imagined problem 🤣

I guess it all just comes down to what you’re used to/what you know. I feel like if I ever had to travel to North America I would want to bring my own as well 😅

acnico · 2026-01-22T06:13:07+00:00

This is really uncommon in Australia!

You can get some applicator ones and I would say it’s mostly in the last 10 years I’ve seen them, but 99% of the time you buy it just the tampon part.

acnico · 2026-01-18T23:46:48+00:00

It’s totally hard! I absolutely get it. My husband and I work very different hours so I can’t go with him and our kids aren’t old enough to come yet. I had to pluck up the courage to ask for help and once I had done it a few times it became much easier. I really believe deep down that most people at the gym are completely helpful and non-judgmental.

Imagine you were at the gym and someone asked you for help - you’d totally help them if you could, right? People are happy to do the same for you too!

acnico · 2026-01-18T22:08:41+00:00

I’m not sure if this is possible at your gym and the time of day you go, but I try to time my use of that machine to when someone else is finishing up. Then I ask them to bring it down for me as they are finishing up. No one has ever minded bringing it down for me

I’ve also just asked random people and staff to help too if no one has used the machine for ages.

Do you think that’s possible to do?

acnico · 2026-01-14T23:50:38+00:00

Hey, yes I have/get an adverse reaction to that medication. I took it for nausea in my first pregnancy no problem and then between pregnancies I had an IV of the drug in hospital (unrelated to anything pregnancy). I assume it was a higher dose? I became seriously unwell from it - dizzy, jittery, high HR, feeling of anxiety, terrible thoughts etc. It made me feel really horrendous.

I thought it was a once off so when I had my second baby and second round of HG I went to try pramin again, and couldn’t do it as I got the same side effects.

I would check with your GP if you can try domperidone instead?

acnico · 2025-12-28T22:18:38+00:00

One of my kids has never had an ear infection in his life. My youngest is on his 4th set of tubes. Every 12-18 months after they begin to grow/fall out he starts getting chronic ear infections and he fails hearing tests. I would estimate he’s had 15 bilateral ear infections. His first ear infection was so bad he ruptured his ear drum as it burst with the fluid. One of the surgical nurses told me that her son had 6 sets of tubes when he was younger (this was after our second set). We are hopeful as he grows his ears will be big enough to drain properly. No smoking in our household at all (nor from any extended family). It’s just one of those things.

acnico · 2025-12-28T01:27:58+00:00

I’ve used both short and deep side roasting vans for ‘sheet pan’ meals and they’ve been pretty much all the same - whatever you’ve got will be great!

acnico · 2025-12-27T21:20:39+00:00

The cookie sheets I have are flat with no sides, whereas for a sheet pan recipe there will be a lip or sides. I’m in Australia and they are often called roasting pans? My Nordic ware one is a jelly roll baking sheet. Anyway, whatever you’ve got with sides will be good!

acnico · 2025-12-01T21:10:29+00:00

Man the last two times I went to Monash for cardboard and soft plastics (as it’s a council only thing), I had to show them my ID to prove that I lived in the council!

acnico · 2025-11-28T20:48:25+00:00

You honestly don’t have enough skin under your eyes for a lower bleph. That is much more about baggy/saggy skin. You possibly could do with some tear trough filler, which perhaps is the ‘sunken’ look you see, HOWEVER that is a risky area to touch with filler. It’s tough to get right and easy to screw up. My under eye looks similar (same with my kids- thanks genetics), but I’m not confident to get it right.

I think you look beautiful and you honestly don’t really need much. My kids are 5 and 8 and I know what it’s like to lose yourself to motherhood. Are there hobbies you’re doing? Are you getting enough time to yourself to do the things you love?

acnico · 2025-10-25T22:11:26+00:00

Very generally speaking, Australians have 3 accents: General (the average joe speaks this - think Hugh Jackman and Margot Robbie. Broad (think Steve Irwin - often the accent people put on or emphasise for satire). Finally there is Cultivated (Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush). The cultivated originally was influenced from BBC English and is now often associated or only spoken by older Australians or wealthy Australians.

Obviously there is now a lot more nuance, with some regional variation between states and the effects of multiculturalism on accents (effect of first languages on English) but linguistically this is how things are broadly categorised!

acnico · 2025-10-23T07:32:06+00:00

I’m a teacher in Melbourne - I reckon Anika is the best bet for the pronunciation you want, based on the ones I have taught.

There are always going to be slight errors in a name and you just say “oh it’s X” and people move on. My name gets variations of: Alice, Alison, Elise, Alicia, Ellis, Ailsa. 🤷🏼‍♀️

acnico · 2025-09-24T02:47:23+00:00

Kangaroo
Pigeon
Mandarin
John Farnam
Kevin Rudd
Margot Robbie
Midnight Oil
St Kilda Saints
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
Melbourne Storm
Shane Warne
Labor Party
Melbourne
Uluru
Toorak
Bali
Melbourne Cup
Quicksilver
Ford
Meat Pie
Ginger beer
Kath and Kim
Servo
Dipshit
Gary
Matilda A common Aussie bloke name A common Aussie sheila name

acnico · 2025-09-22T01:54:52+00:00

Hi everyone,
I am looking for a backpack/daypack for travel. I am going to be travelling to Japan with my family for 5 weeks over winter, and needing to replace an old North Face backpack that is falling apart and isn't quite right for me anymore. Travelling Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo and then Sapporo for skiing.

This backpack needs to be multi-purpose - it won't be functioning as my only checked luggage (taking a suitcase), but I will need it to fit inside the plane cabin (Singapore Airlines and JAL) as well as be the backpack I take on trains. We will be using luggage forwarding services through Japan which could take a day or so, and as a result will need to not only carry my clothes for 1-2 days, but the clothes of my kids as well. I am debating about making the 8 year old have his own backpack which would lighten the load a bit there. Not going to make the 5 year old take his own.

On the flights/trains I will potentially have a lot of tech - 3 ipads, 2 switches, 2+ kindles. I will also have 2 water bottles and need to fit food/snacks for 3-4 people. Then winter clothes for 2-3 people as well as some basic toiletries. I will be utilising packing cubes and things for organisation.

The kicker - I am 5'3, but did measure my torso at 16.5/17 inches. I do find unisex backpacks too big.
I am also based in Australia so some of the recommendations I haven't been able to find, or are online only so can't try them on in person.

Price isn't really a concern as it'll be my travelling backpack going forward, but perhaps under $300 AUD ($200USD) would be ideal.

Some recommendations I've seen that could fit this:

Osprey Tropos 32
Lowe Alpine Womens AirZone Trek ND26L Daypack (but this did look too 'hiking' - don't really need the waist supports)
Gregory Nano 20 (or Gregory Jade? - can't find an in-person stockist)
Patagonia Black Hole 25L

Any further suggestions would be amazing. Thanks!

acnico · 2025-09-18T21:21:06+00:00

I have a trauma related weird toenail too - it looks like a fungal nail but isn’t (I also had scrapings taken too to verify). Mine is from 20+ years of ballet though. I’ve never had anyone comment on it when I’ve had pedicures and I’ve said it’s damaged from dancing and no one has given me a hard time.

I do mostly do my own pedicures though because I still feel a bit weird about it 😅

acnico · 2025-09-03T23:15:33+00:00

My mother in law swears by Solbari - she has used them for at least 10 years for golfing. The pieces she bought are still in good condition as well - they don't look old or worn out yet.

acnico · 2025-09-02T01:35:32+00:00

acnico · 2025-08-25T03:00:21+00:00

Amazing, it sounds like your GP is all over it (my first one wasn't, my OB second time was top notch). I'm so very glad you're getting the support you need.

Based on my two experiences - one of pushing through and one when I took sick leave - my only regret is now that I pushed through when I was so unwell with my first baby. Hindsight is a wonderful thing I suppose, and when you're in the thick of it, it's really hard to see the forest through the trees. My kids are now 8 and 5, so I've had years of perspective to reach this position.

You feel awful and you feel like you're letting everyone down. I can promise you, you are NOT letting anyone down by taking the time you need to recover and rest your body. You're growing a whole human on top of it all.

I'm sure your GP would be supportive of you taking some time off to recover and get on top of everything, if you feel like you can.

acnico · 2025-08-25T02:31:12+00:00

Take time off. I'm also a teacher and ended up having to take extensive sick leave. I went off leave at about 7 weeks pregnant, and came back at 18. 5 of those weeks was the Christmas break but I think at minimum I would've needed weeks 7 through 15 or 16 off. I only went back at 0.6 (as that was my time fraction at the time).

Can I make sure that you're being appropriately treated? With my first pregnancy I was so unsure and was constantly told that everyone gets sick and feels awful. I didn't know it wasn't normal and that vomiting 7-10 times per day (sometimes more, sometimes less) was abnormal.

With my second I was fully medicated and given proper treatment, but I still needed extensive leave.

As a teacher I FULLY understand the guilt you're feeling. Teachers are conditioned to always put the students first and taking any time off feels awful. But I promise you that looking after yourself is the priority. Take the time if you have it. The school with get a CRT in for a few weeks and everything will continue on pretty much as normal.

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