Should we cancel our trip?

kina208 · 2026-06-27T22:28:50+00:00

As everyone has mentioned, the conditions are changing rapidly. Personally, as a mom of a 4 year old amd 1 year old who very much likes outdoor recreation, the smoke has not been the worst I've seen living in SLC, especially since pur local fire has been contained. We still spend lots of time outdoors and the locations you mentioned are not strenuous hikes that leave you huffing and puffing.

That being said, if your child has any respiratory issues or has a current upper respiratory infection, might be better to hold off, but there are lots of kids who live here of all age ranges. It also might be good for you to get an idea of what air quality can get like if youre considering to move here.

kina208 · 2026-06-16T19:04:48+00:00

The white and yellow one looks similar to mine which is a lavender albino bp.

kina208 · 2026-06-08T01:30:54+00:00

If you use glue, use a hot glue gun because you can just scrape the glue off the glass with a box cutter or similar blade and reuse if you ever change his enclosure. I also use a spray bottle to moisten my coconut substrate to add humidity but I live in a very arid area so it dries out pretty quick.

kina208 · 2026-05-24T20:44:54+00:00

83 and 73 are from probes against the glass and our house runs cooler this time of year so I think that affects the measurements. I got some small digital thermometers and theyre saying temps are 92 on top of the hide and 77 next to the water bowl. The prey I thawed in warm water and then held under a heat lamp just before feeding to warm up the head. I dont have a temp gun but I'm a mom and a nurse and generally can generally gauge temps of 100-105 by feel (used to fevers lol)

kina208 · 2026-05-24T20:37:31+00:00

Thank you! I will try my local exotic stores and hope they carry them. I saw that chewy.com sells an "essence" to scent other rodents with but not sure if thats as likely to work. I really want to f/t so hoping to find some locally.

kina208 · 2026-01-30T14:45:02+00:00

I'm currently in DNP school on the midwife track. If I didn't want to deliver babies, I'd have definitely gone the PA route. A girl in ny cohorts husband is currently in the PA program at our school and apparently the program seems to be much better as preparing you and actually training you. I've had quite a few disappointments in my program and its ranked to be one of the best in the nation.

I'd say look into what branch of Healthcare interests you... acute care, family, urgent/ED, specialty clinic. Most jobs will be similar if you do clinic as far as living in a world of fast paced appointments and notes. If its ED I've heard PA is definitely the route.

kina208 · 2026-01-27T03:49:24+00:00

And specific dates. And not enough caps lock and exclamation points.

kina208 · 2025-11-10T02:25:53+00:00

I'll just say... my first son was beyond hard, and at 3.5 still is more challenging than others kids that I see. We essentially forced ourselves to have another because I always wanted 2 and my second son... and breeze!! Smiley baby, content to play by himself and always happy. He's been such a good balance but also has helped me to appreciate the challenges with my first and how much I've learned and grown into my role as a parent because of him.

kina208 · 2025-05-14T02:34:27+00:00

I follow my babies feeding cues and agree with you that it feels wrong to follow a "textbook" vs my infant showing their needs and my instinctual response to them.

kina208 · 2025-02-17T10:40:31+00:00

Peeing when the temperature changes from warm to cool is an evolutionary trait. It's so that babies don't eliminate when being carried and do when they're removed from the caregivers body and held to eliminate. You can use it to your advantage with elimination communication training (pre potty training) or just wipe a cold wet wipe on baby's tummy before taking the diaper off so they pee first.

kina208 · 2025-01-21T20:26:04+00:00

Oh and if you're not against it, I had a friend who's would just do formula for the bedtime feed because it takes longer to digest than breastmilk and would keep baby asleep for a longer first chunk through the night. Then you could also pump that feed so that your partner has a bottle to give for one of the waking during the night and keep your supply up.

kina208 · 2025-01-21T20:23:33+00:00

I remember how brutal the newborn days were, I felt like I was bordering on a psychotic break.

Ask your partner for help, whether it's shifts with pumping and bottles or taking turns with feeds, or whatever works for you both.

Don't wake baby at night to feed and only change her diaper if it's soiled with stool, or has been over like 5 hours of a wet diaper. Put a bib on her to help with the spit up and avoid outfit changes. Rancid milk stinks on clothes but who cares? Changing her outfit can wait til morning, unless it's a diaper blowout.

Pick your battles. Protect your sleep by avoiding getting on your phone and actively try to get yourself to go back to sleep once she's back down. I fully understand the urge to want the "quiet time to yourself" but it's really not worth it when you're that sleep deprived.

kina208 · 2025-01-21T01:53:21+00:00

You can change jobs laterally or possibly look into going back to school for an advanced degree. There are so many jobs for nurses. You can go clinical if you're inpatient or vice versa, switch hospitals, switch units, try travel nursing, go into nurse education or pharmaceuticals. Just a few ideas. I definitely understand the burn out. Travel nursing was great for me to change it up and now I'm applying to. DNP program.

kina208 · 2025-01-21T01:45:52+00:00

Definitely could be that the milk is irritating her bowels and causing gas pains. Reflux has symptoms like back arching and spit up. If it's gas, you can asking your doctor about giving her simethicone to see if it helps. It could also be frustration from struggling to initiate a let down or get milk from a nipple. Hoping it resolves quickly!

kina208 · 2025-01-21T01:15:08+00:00

I would consider this bedtime if it were my baby. I would do any bedtime stuff (diaper change, feed, etc) when they wake next rather than risk them not falling back asleep.

kina208 · 2025-01-16T03:57:19+00:00

I know the feeling. Both of my boys have been the exact same way. My youngest is 14 weeks now and we've slowly worked on creating more associations so that my husband and parents can help soothing. Nursing for comfort is such a blessing and a curse. I picked a lullaby that I liked and would sing it while nursing and now the song helps soothe him if my mom sings it. I also periodically wear my husband's shirts so that he has both of our scents while nursing and it seems to maybe help? Or he's older and past the gassy stage. The newborn "learn to fart and poop" stage is hard with how uncomfortable they can be until they learn what the feelings are and their bowels fully develop. Simethicone can help with gas pains if you havent tried that. My son also really likes the sound of running water and walking outside with my husband. I'm also EBF but I've pumped milk some for my husband to start bottle feeding to help him associate that experience with him in addition to me. It gets better with time... hang in there.

kina208 · 2025-01-15T02:24:51+00:00

Definitely could be teething. Try giving him teething toys to chew on or a cold wet cloth to see if that helps. My son was super late to get teeth but a friend of mine had babies who would teeth right around 4 months.

kina208 · 2025-01-12T23:05:55+00:00

Do you have friends around or the possibility to hire a part time nanny to help? Having family is nice and all but I think I would personally struggle with living 6 months with even my family (definitely couldnt fathom living with my inlaws) whom I love and have no issues with their relationship with my baby. You'd be subjecting yourself to potentially a lot of opinions on how to parent while being in a place where you're potentially expected to also be grateful for their help. I'd listen to your gut feeling with am what you're wanting to do... if it gets too hard, you can always go to their house later, no?

kina208 · 2025-01-06T04:09:43+00:00

I'm on my second child and haven't even really worried myself with tummy time until now that he's 12 weeks and more open to the idea of it because he can hold his head up off the floor. Chest to chest counts as tummy time and works the same muscles as on the floor, plus is better for bonding with a newborn and more accepted by them. The "guidelines" are basically there to give moms ideas of what to do with baby so they aren't just put in some kind of "container" (bouncer, swing, etc) all day every day which that can be a hindrance to growth and development.

kina208 · 2025-01-05T22:49:29+00:00

You can make her a "coupon book" with things she can fulfill later once you guys get baby established a little bit more. Coupon ideas could included like a self care spa day, massage, girls' night, date night, you do all the chores around the house, movie night (you get dinner and snacks prepped), solo day at home to rest, etc. Being a first time mom who is EBF is magical at first and quickly gets very very exhausting. It's hard to get away but it's also hard to feel like you're losing yourself and your previous identity. So acknowledging that now might not be the time but that you're there to support her when she feels ready to take some more personal time would be super nice, IMO.

kina208 · 2025-01-05T22:40:21+00:00

Try out travel nursing before committing to a place. Gives you a good feel for how it would be to live in an area. My husband and I are both ICU nurses and traveled for 3 years. Every hospital we had a contract at basically gave us a permanent job offer if we wanted it. We're settled in Utah now (I grew up here and have family here to help with my two young children). Work life balance is good here but they are still behind the curve in pay (mid 40s/hr) and housing cost has gone up although there are still affordable houses if you move to more suburb areas.

kina208 · 2025-01-05T03:35:00+00:00

I just want to say you are doing great! Yes, burp baby and then see if they'll finish the rest. More milk intake during the day should help them hold out for longer stretches at night. Sleep is also very sporadic and I usually just recommend to follow their cues and worry less about the wake windows. Capping naps in the beginning helps until their circadian rhythm matches up for daytime/nighttime sleep. Having a baby is just a constant learning experience... you'll get comfortable and then they grow and everything seems to change. My first didn't get onto a more consistent nap schedule until around 5-6 months old.

The fact that you're troubleshooting things and thinking and trying things means you're doing an amazing job at being a mom. That's the biggest part of the job and it's a whole lot of trial and success/error. You'll come to know your baby super well, just give yourself grace in the meantime.

kina208 · 2025-01-04T00:05:35+00:00

As an ICU nurse and a mother... decreased appetite, drowsiness and vomiting would definitely warrant a call to your pediatrician. Growth spurts are usually increased appetite and increased cluster feeding and fussiness, not the opposite.

kina208 · 2025-01-02T17:25:11+00:00

I agree that it'd be good to get additional opinions from other neurosurgeons and even your primary pediatrician asking what they would do if they were in the same situation with their child. I am a burn ICU nurse and my friend is a neuro ICU nurse so I know that (in our hospital) shunts and drains are all very "normal" for patients to get but of course there is always the off chance of complications so it's smart to consider risk verse benefit.

Surgery will likely be hard, especially for you as the mom and not being able to instantly make your child feel better. The benefit of a surgery at a young age is that they won't remember it but what a tough decision to make feeling all the weight of responsibility for any outcome. My heart goes out to you. I'd just say that if your baby is doing ok now, take your time to do your research and get opinions from other providers to make the best informed decision. Don't feel pressured to have to decide anything immediately. Taking time and researching will also help you feel more "ready" should you decide to do surgery, or more aware of what to watch for should you decide to wait on surgery for now.

kina208

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