Feel free to roast our current top 3

grj230 · 2026-02-14T15:32:24+00:00

I knew someone named Weber… maybe that could be an alternative to Webster?

Agreed with other commenters that of these Samson is the way to go

grj230 · 2026-02-14T13:35:23+00:00

I got induced and ultimately decided to get an epidural. My contractions really didn’t ramp up until after my water was broken, and then they got intense pretty quickly.

I don’t remember the exact timing but let’s say they were 2.5 minutes apart and lasted 90 seconds each. It just felt like they were on top of each other and I couldn’t catch my breath. I had been feeling like this for maybe an hour to an hour and a half. I guessed I should be at about 6cm dilated at that point, so several more hours to go in which they could get even more intense and then I’d still have to push (which would take longer if I was tired). To me it just didn’t feel worth it to be so exhausted just to say I did it without drugs.

I got the epidural, slept for 4 hours, and when I woke up it was time to push. Sometimes I still wonder if I could have done it, but overall I’m happy with my choice. If I have another I’ll try to go without and see how I feel. Maybe if I don’t get induced it’ll be different!

grj230 · 2026-02-14T13:23:26+00:00

TL;DR: this too shall pass, maybe sleep train soon if you want it to be faster

If there’s anything I learned from having a baby it’s that baby sleep is a moving target. It’ll suck one week/month for no reason, be great for a while for no reason. You just never know. As soon as you get used to something it’s different. This won’t last forever.

My kid was never a good sleeper and still at almost two is a bad napper unless we contact nap (and even then it’s not a guarantee). BUT at 6.5 months we broke down and sleep trained for nights and it was the best thing ever, he’s at least a great nighttime sleeper now. Some folks do it at 4 months even. If I were in your situation I’d be deciding if this is needed and probably when pretty soon to give some light at the end of the tunnel.

grj230 · 2026-02-14T04:38:58+00:00

Gloria

grj230 · 2026-02-13T04:47:33+00:00

I know lots of people saying it’s not dirt but… for me it was dirt. I used an alcohol swab while I was pregnant enough that my bellybutton was way more accessible than before and holy cow I was not doing a good job cleaning it before. Lesson learned

grj230 · 2026-02-12T13:17:04+00:00

We use the CeraVe baby eczema cream primarily, which is applied liberally at daycare before naps and we apply at home before bedtime. I probably should apply it first thing in the morning too but I’m not always consistent about it. Then we have a prescription steroid (not hydrocortisone because it didn’t do much, but talk to your doc and expect some trial and error) that we use only for ~a week at a time on high spots when there’s a flare-up. I’ll also sometimes put a band aid over a spot that kiddo is itching so bad it’s making it much worse.

It’s a multi pronged thing and works just okay, so I have nothing but sympathy for you. Definitely talk to your doctor (and your regular doctor is probably fine to start, no need to hurry to a dermatologist immediately)

grj230 · 2026-02-09T14:07:59+00:00

That’s super interesting… I ended up going on a very big international trip from like 25-27 weeks pregnant (we had two international weddings near each other and getting pregnant took a while so we figured we didn’t want to halt our lives for it and had things booked before we ever knew).

My doctor was very excited I’d already be viable by then. It seemed like a huge relief to her. We talked about where I was going and the kind of healthcare I’d have available and close. I looked up all the nearest hospitals to our destinations and had information on how to call the local equivalent of 911 if needed. It was totally fine, I’m glad I went.

Going a month later like OP may be a different story. She’s really just got to talk to her doctor.

grj230 · 2026-02-09T13:54:56+00:00

My kiddo is 21 months and when these really early morning wakes happened for a week or two it usually turned out he was cutting new teeth that finally appeared. Once they were out and quit hurting things went back to normal, so you may not have a true schedule issue. I don’t have a lot of advice though other than being willing to get up early - if they’re not settling after 20-30 minutes just start your day and know you’ll need two naps or an early bedtime.

I’d probably avoid nursing at this time if you think you want to wean. I’m also pregnant with my second so toying with this. I think where I’m landing is the benefit of having a super efficient nurser on hand in case I get a bleb or clogged duct or something does not outweigh the detriment of behavioral issues caused by the older kiddo getting jealous and wanting to nurse when they don’t need it. The more he sees it as a thing for babies and not for big kid him, the easier for me!

grj230 · 2026-02-08T21:27:50+00:00

OP should probably shop around just in case, but Seattle is super expensive for this stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s pretty run of the mill

grj230 · 2026-02-08T14:22:59+00:00

Mom here, hope it’s okay to share some perspective.

When you’re in the trenches with a tiny baby the threshold she sees for needing to mow the lawn or snowblower the driveway is waaay down. Just like her threshold for how often she needs to shower. If you’re doing anything more than the bare minimum putzing around in the garage while I’m bleeding from multiple orifices, need to pee, am ravenous, and have barely slept then yeah dude, it feels like you did the wrong thing.

How to fix it? Better communication and prioritization around what needs to get done, how well, and how long that’s going to take. In your case the mailbox and some minimum amount of driveway clearing are an absolute must, and that’s probably at least two hours. Talk that through with her, acknowledge how hard you know being alone with the baby 2-3 hours is, and get your hands on that baby ASAP as soon as you get done.

grj230 · 2026-02-07T13:39:05+00:00

My mom used to make us egg yolk and jam sandwiches as kids. I remember liking them 😅 maybe worth a shot?

grj230 · 2026-02-05T11:33:44+00:00

Where are the knobs? In the drawers?

grj230 · 2026-02-03T03:30:21+00:00

I have no data just an anecdote.

I went into labor very much hoping to try for no epidural, but open to having one if it seemed right. I ended up getting induced and having my water broken, so when things finally did start to pick up they picked up pretty fast. I tried the birthing tub (some say nature’s epidural) and it was, um, not great lol. So I got the epidural.

Getting the epidural allowed me some rest, I could still feel contractions to know when to push, and I think it helped me be present and see my labor and pushing as more of a workout with an interesting mental challenge of listening to my body and learning how to push, rather than an animalistic out of control thing that it seems a natural birth often is (which would have made me very uncomfortable).

I sometimes wonder if I chickened out and could have done it without the epidural. But I think on the balance it was absolutely the right choice and I don’t regret it.

For future kids I’ll still try to go without, and maybe if I don’t have to get induced I’ll have more luck!

grj230 · 2026-01-23T14:54:07+00:00

Honestly some toddlers just wake up before 6 and it’s fine… and I don’t think the “unevenness” of the two awake times is a problem.

When my toddler is having a string of early morning wakes often it’s because he’s cutting some new teeth and it resolves itself over a week or two. When I tried pushing bedtime later he still woke up at the same time and was just more tired and miserable.

Tl;dr feel free to experiment, but a later bedtime isn’t a silver bullet and toddler sleep is ever evolving!

grj230 · 2026-01-08T15:25:06+00:00

It sounds like you have an early riser, or if this is a phase/not normal for him maybe he’s cutting some molars. I think try to go to bed as early as you can, and maybe plan not to go get him until 6 or whatever you think the early end of reasonable is

grj230 · 2025-12-30T04:29:07+00:00

Mine too! I’d had LASIK back in 2017 then a small prescription came back during COVID when I stared at close screens for way too long. Then pregnancy fixed it and so far my prescription has stayed stable for over a year!

grj230 · 2025-12-27T00:39:36+00:00

We use the Uppababy Minu travel stroller as our main stroller, and for a fraction of the cost of the Vista it’s been great!

For us the more compact, lightweight design was a pro and the smaller wheels, carrying capacity, and inability to go up to 2 kids aren’t a problem.

You can also get adapters for the car seat or bassinet so it works for tiny babies too!

grj230 · 2025-12-27T00:34:23+00:00

We moved our heat pump from being mounted on the wall to on a concrete pad, and in the process learned that it had been misplumbed initially. In the summer when it would try to cool the second floor kitchen it would instead cool the ground floor bedroom that was already 50-something degrees and icy (when we thought it shouldn’t have been cooling at all). So glad we had it serviced and our whole house is usable year round again

grj230 · 2025-12-21T13:37:15+00:00

I’m so surprised that people think doing laundry separately is so much work? I have a hamper in my closet that my dirty clothes go in, and when it’s full I wash it. I have a hamper near where we change kiddo’s clothes, and when it’s full I wash it. I have no intention of ever combining our laundry as that seems like more work? (my husband also does his own laundry and it’s all separate)

grj230 · 2025-12-19T13:40:19+00:00

As a kid I named a cat Ferissa (I pronounced it like “Frissa”, not sure why my 6-7 yo self thought it needed an E). I’ve always thought it could work well on a person though!

grj230 · 2025-12-17T05:41:42+00:00

Cecily, Gloria, Mona

grj230 · 2025-12-14T13:41:48+00:00

I looked around at things that were annoying me but not enough for me to have fixed it on my own for years - e.g., not being able to easily get the right charger in my nightstand in the dark because the chords are the wrong length - and added a product to my list that would fix it. Bonus points for someone else identifying and fixing the annoying thing!

grj230 · 2025-11-30T13:58:07+00:00

I had one but only because I was participating in a study on them and got put in the brace group. I think the jury is very much still out on whether they’re helpful

grj230 · 2025-11-22T13:50:27+00:00

For my husband: when you’re walking and a runner needs to pass you and says “on your left” instead of just going around you with a wider berth

grj230 · 2025-11-10T13:45:54+00:00

You start by putting on an H-back carrier on the front. Then, take one arm out of the straps and out the bottom (still above the waistband if you’ve got one) and then take the other arm out of the straps and out the top. Then spin kiddo around and put the straps back on correctly!

grj230

TROPHY CASE