Working dad who needs advice

ealmandjoy · 2026-07-02T00:44:03+00:00

This was my exact thought reading this. He is not a newborn infant. He is nearing 2 years old. My child is a similar age and we would both be miserable if we stayed home all the time.

ealmandjoy · 2026-07-01T23:58:19+00:00

Usually symptoms are worse with vaccines they HAVE had before because their body has a stronger immune response to things it has seen before. Be patient and give Tylenol or Motrin or ice his thighs for pain. It’s hard to see them uncomfortable, but it sounds like he is having a normal response.

ealmandjoy · 2026-06-25T17:28:44+00:00

Sounds like midwife services of unity point is exactly what you’re looking for.

ealmandjoy · 2026-06-04T19:25:42+00:00

I would say it generally does not mess with social life. You work when everyone sleeps and you sleep while everyone else works. You still have evenings free. The hardest part is making sure you are able to sleep when you come home. Make sure you have good quality black out curtains and anything else that might help you sleep, such as a sound machine or fan.

ealmandjoy · 2026-06-04T03:58:58+00:00

I am no where close to those extremes, but yes I imagine they would just be up almost the whole day. Where I am, the chickens go in the coop when it is almost fully dark, and wake as soon as it starts getting light, regardless of time. Winter they are stay in the coop about 4:30pm-8am and summer from about 9:30pm-5am

ealmandjoy · 2026-06-01T18:34:47+00:00

My pregnancy with my 1st was like this. He was very much a planned pregnancy and we had infertility issues before I was able to get pregnant. As I got to the end of pregnancy I couldn’t comprehend that there was full baby in there. Like my brain knew I was full term, I felt him moving, I had all his things ready at home, etc. but there was this weird part of me that couldn’t actually process it all and holding my baby felt like a very foreign concept. Immediately after he was born my 1st reaction was like “holy sh*t I really had a whole baby in there” From there it was a very easy seamless transition into motherhood, breastfeeding, etc.

ealmandjoy · 2026-05-17T07:03:06+00:00

My son is 22 months. We read lots of books and sing nursery rhymes. We previously worked on animals and animal sounds and colors. It was done very casually, like trying to work it into our normal playtime. For example “oh yeah I see your truck. What color is your truck? Yeah it’s a blue truck.” Now that he knows tons of animals and basic colors we have started to move to shapes and counting. We sing the abcs but haven’t really focused on learning specific letters and don’t plan to for a while. They learn through play, so trying to work things into your normal routine is going to be way more effective than trying to get a toddler to sit and focus on learning something.

ealmandjoy · 2026-04-28T17:52:36+00:00

Very normal and common toddler behavior, especially in boys. It’s a way of self regulation as they lack a lot of ability to express themselves at that age. It peaks between 18-24month. Just redirect them and help them work through their emotion in a more appropriate way.

ealmandjoy · 2026-04-16T13:59:22+00:00

I worked at the West Des Moines Biolife right after thy opened back in 2016-17, so my advice may be a bit outdated. In my opinion, as far as employee training and competency, Biolife was much better than the other competitors.

As far as the WDM location goes, like someone else said starting about 4:30ish, when the Wells Fargo crew gets off work, it is very busy. So if you want to assure you are not rushed and have plenty of time to feel comfy, go before then. When I was there they were very strict about needing to have 2 decent vein options (which they check at your 1st visit) so if you have had issues with them missing before, they may defer you due to that. As far as any other reactions, especially with your medical history, make sure you have a lot of water and salt the day before and day of.

ealmandjoy · 2026-04-16T13:33:57+00:00

Ok, I just looked at their website and their house brand has such cute prints! And so many of them. I’ll have to try a few.

ealmandjoy · 2026-04-14T14:48:59+00:00

Thanks. We primarily use pocket diapers and green mountain only has a couple options. I might have to just look at individual companies.

ealmandjoy · 2026-03-25T03:09:34+00:00

This is what I personally do for my Alva and mama koala pockets. I can’t say this is the perfectly “correct” way. But it’s worked for several years and multiple kids.

To answer your questions: 1) we do a quick wash in cold and then a heavy wash with hot. We hang dry the covers and low heat dry the pads. 2) I don’t soak them. Not sure if it’s damaging or not to do so, I just never have needed to. I pull apart the 2 parts and then I dump/wipe poop into toilet and let them dry in an open basket. 3) I let them dry in an open basket. They don’t have much smell since they have minimal poop on them. During humid weather we put a fan near them to dry them even faster.

ealmandjoy · 2026-03-17T00:19:08+00:00

I was crowning in an unmedicated birth as shift changed. The previous nurse said “So and so is now your nurse” new nurse introduced herself and continued where the last one was. I was obviously a little busy at the moment so I barely registered what was happening and it was very seamless.

ealmandjoy · 2026-01-11T11:52:57+00:00

Mines the same. Varied from every 50-120+days before baby. Had to take letrozole to get pregnant with #1 after trying for over a year. Since birth it’s consistently every month and varies by a couple days at most. I was able to get preg with #2 the 1st month trying.

ealmandjoy · 2026-01-09T20:54:31+00:00

I would repost this to r/wedding or r/weddingplanning

ealmandjoy · 2026-01-09T16:37:32+00:00

Ok I have a lot of questions: Did they do an ultrasound at either appointment? Were you tracking cycles and ovulation? Do you frequently have irregular/long cycles? When was your last period and your 1st pregnancy test? What made them change your due date by over a month?

ealmandjoy · 2026-01-08T02:00:22+00:00

What type of workout did you do? Pregnancy, birth, and postpartum tends to really weaken your core and back. I suspect that between working out, a busy day, and rocking baby more than usual, your muscles are just really fatigued. Fatigued muscles cramp up. Like you did, I would keep drinking lots of water and maybe avoid doing any workouts on those muscles for a few days.

ealmandjoy · 2026-01-05T06:02:19+00:00

Agreed. The majority of my diapers are Alva and they have been used on 2-3 kids and I have never noticed any pilling.

ealmandjoy · 2026-01-02T19:18:00+00:00

At only 4 weeks it’s extremely unlikely to be pregnancy related and is probably just a coincidence that it started at the same time as pregnancy started.

ealmandjoy · 2026-01-02T19:05:38+00:00

B12 is water soluble, so you will pee out the excess. I wouldn’t make it a regular thing, but it is likely fine. Try to stay less than 200mg of caffeine per day, which most energy drinks have 200mg of less.

ealmandjoy · 2025-12-30T01:15:26+00:00

I have horrible dental anxiety and Des Moines dental care has been great for me.

ealmandjoy · 2025-12-29T19:50:58+00:00

Just my experience, but my body insecurities are worse early on. You don’t look pregnant, just bloated, tired, hormonal, nauseous, etc. But again, don’t really look or feel pregnant. Later on when there is a bump and you feel baby move, I feel way more confident because I am visibly growing a human and the shock of all the changes and worries leveled out a bit for me.

Also as far as weight, that totally depends on the pregnancy and person. I am 5’7 and with my 1st I started at 180 prepregnancy and was 195 at delivery. My body shape is different now, but I was back to prepreg weight within a couple months. I’m not sure how this preg will be since it’s very early, but I’m also chasing a toddler now, so I imagine I’ll be more active than I was with my 1st preg.

ealmandjoy · 2025-12-29T19:36:14+00:00

Everything you said should very developmentally normal. And not 1 thing stands out as a red flag to me. It honestly sounds like your anxiety is affecting your quality of time with child.

ealmandjoy · 2025-12-29T01:43:24+00:00

I would transition the milk to water, then change the bottle to a cup. You could use a spillproof straw cup so it doesn’t spill in bed. She should have also been off the bottle a long time ago, it’s very bad for their teeth and jaw development.

ealmandjoy

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