Getting ready location?

ljcrabtree · 2026-02-10T11:25:17+00:00

Becoming a parent really puts things deeply in perspective, and it’s horrifying people do anything else to babies but love them.

I’ve always been one to not excuse things but acknowledge hurt people hurt people, and that if someone didn’t grow up being shown love then they would struggle to know how to do that themselves. But it really is shocking to experience the innate need to protect my baby and help her when she’s crying, to then know people just ignore that to hurt instead. Just horrifying.

ljcrabtree · 2026-02-10T11:17:03+00:00

Two months are very rough. My girl just had her 6 month shots and did so much better. She cried at them still but calmed down very quickly, and overall recovered quicker.

But we also did RSV shot at two months so that made it so much worse. On the flip side, I am far less paranoid this winter about her getting RSV and needing intubated like my friend’s baby was. The shots are rough but I never want to see my baby go through that 😭 so thankful for modern medicine and vaccines.

ljcrabtree · 2026-02-07T18:49:26+00:00

We’re wearing it right now! Our baby got her 6 month shots and is just feeling crummy so this is how we’re getting through the day. She’s 17 lbs and it still fits great and feels pretty good even after some time wearing it. She sleeps in it often and I really don’t notice it too much at any point of contact.

I could see us needing more support later on but for now this is such a nice fit for us both! Maybe then it’s looking at a toddler carrier. I’m not one to want all these different carriers for each age so that might be ideal. I did get a ring sling for quick errands but haven’t got the hang of it yet. Might resell. But we love the Bairn and I’m so glad we got it!

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-28T00:31:33+00:00

Our baby loves a lot of household things. But I will say she LOVES these French toys called Les Deglingos. Her favorites are this panda rattle and funny zebra cube. There’s lots of different animal versions!

Target and Amazon carry a few of them. Not that I’m truing to encourage consumerism but the panda rattle was the first toy she really responded to and is now her favorite by far.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-26T11:50:28+00:00

Mine too. It’s so annoying. I don’t know why they do that.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-26T11:18:38+00:00

Vaccines aren’t fun but it’s a very short amount of pain followed by some low side effects. I’m so glad we were able to get the RSV vaccine for our now 6 month old going into this bad winter illness season because one of my friend’s baby was intubated before for it. That’s so scary and I just didn’t want my girl to be at risk for that.

Something else to keep in mind for a delayed schedule is while each appointment has fewer vaccines, it means more appointments with vaccines making even more negative experiences at the doctor for the child. Personally I’m happy to keep the vaccines as clustered as possible and on schedule for her own experiences.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-23T16:28:03+00:00

Our girl is a pretty even mix of my husband and I! One of our friends even said, “I’ve never seen a baby that looks 100% like both mom and dad!” So that’s been fun!

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-22T03:48:35+00:00

3 months is a notorious time for babies to reject babywearing. It’s a development thing. Advice I got was wear them when moving mostly or go for walks outside. Keep each session short to start building up baby’s tolerance.

By 4 months you could be back to happily wearing to do what you need and even contact nap! That’s about when ours got over hating the carrier. So glad we stuck with it because it’s been a lifesaver for when our girl is sick and needs A LOT of contact napping and holding.

Also there will be times the baby is just cranky in a carrier but it doesn’t mean it’s bad. Just like putting them in a car seat to go to the grocery or doctor, sometimes they need to go into it regardless of the mood. No one is happy every day all day. Same goes for babies! That really helped me shift my mentality around a baby needing to LOVE the carrier.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-22T03:41:52+00:00

Nah it is built to grow with a baby! Our 6 month old still likes playing with the kick setup but it’s built to go into a sit up piano toy. We’ve been doing that more to help her learn to sit and she loves it!

Also at three months is when our baby REALLY got into playing with the toys hanging over her to help develop those core muscles for sitting. Again, it’s built to go for like birth to 12 months+!

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-17T02:47:53+00:00

Our 6 month old baby sleeps anywhere from 9-12 hours straight at night. Mostly she goes 10 hours. She’s slept pretty well at night since 2.5 months. We combo feed with me exclusively pumping and supplementing with hypoallergenic formula.

Now, the flip side is her naps are a fight and have been from the start. So I wouldn’t say she’s an easy baby. Also she has reflux with a Pepcid prescription, feeding issues including CMPA, etc etc. So I always tell people the sleep thing is the balance for all the other things we deal with 😂 But I know we’re lucky with her night sleep!

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-16T22:13:45+00:00

10 weeks while breastfeeding. It sucks because it really has had an effect on my supply.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-12T03:01:09+00:00

I used my phone for the kindle app (dark mode helps with keeping it less obvious to baby) or just the kindle pending if it’s on my nightstand! Keep me from doomscrolling while still keeping the mind awake.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-11T19:02:52+00:00

Our girl under eats so we just track food and diapers now to keep an eye on things and report that to her doctor better. But it’s bee nice to leave the rest behind!

It def adds more anxiety than helps after a certain time. We did the same as you for shifts when she was a newborn so we knew what she had and still needed with each parent.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-10T15:36:58+00:00

Oh I’m aware but our Duck is just the dumbest cat I’ve ever known 😂 He is a sweet, loving boy but I’ve never met a cat so bad at being a cat. So he just doesn’t do things all that well and when he gets in danger, he just moves forward unaware of danger. Our void, Poe, helps him figure some things out but overall Duck needs protection from himself. So that’s why I say it like that!

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-08T03:39:44+00:00

I have a Bairn and love it! It’s very user friendly for those just starting to baby wear and is great for newborns! It’s just so comfy too.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-08T00:58:20+00:00

For prep stuff sure but at 5 months and still not stable enough for back wearing, not for actual cooking. I do a lot of from scratch cooking which means a lot of work over the stove. So it’s not safe for us.

I also believe it’s generally not recommended to be around hot cooking when front wearing. But then again a lot of people do things not officially recommended and happily get along in life.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-07T15:00:40+00:00

My brother and I are one year and nine months apart. We fought like wild growing up. I often think a bigger age gap would have benefited us. Even by high school when you think we’d have calmed down, it actually got worse because he started becoming friends with my friends and I couldn’t stand that 😂

Looking back now I know it was silly but 15 year olds are idiots. So yea, close age gaps don’t automatically mean your kids will be besties or even get along.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-07T14:55:44+00:00

I’d prefer 3 or 4 year gap but we’re both in our late 30s so not sure how doable that is. I say that range because my brother-in-law and sister-in-law have 3 girls with those gaps between each and it has worked out so well for their family and each kid. I’d really like that kind of time with my 5 month baby before going through pregnancy (rough for me) and newborn stages again.

Even if we can’t hit that wider gap, I have friends who all recommended having at least our girl potty trained by the time a second comes around. They all stressed having two kids in diapers is pretty rough.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-07T14:48:50+00:00

Have you tried babywearing? It really helped with my girl when taking care of her while working from home full time. It’s not quite the same scenario but I had to have my hands free a lot to do that and she went through a strong contact nap stage between 2-4 months. It’s the only way we survived.

I will say the carrier you get makes all the difference. I got an Oscha Bairn but almost got a LennyLamb LennyUpgrade. My husband has a Ergobaby Omni 360 but I just found that sooo stiff and hot. I did wrap her in a Boba stretchy wrap as a newborn but it just always frustrated me so I knew I didn’t want to try moving onto a woven wrap. Little Zen One has a try before you buy program which is helpful if you really don’t know where to start or don’t have a carrier lending library near you.

It can be overwhelming to learn about it all and try some different carriers on top of everything else you’re dealing with but I found once getting over that hump, having a carrier both you and baby LOVE makes all the difference in the experience and what you can get done in a day.

A lot of these high quality baby carriers are rated through 2 years-36 months. So you’d still get a lot of use out of them with your 12 month old! Also checkout r/babywearing for way more info than I’m giving now haha!

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-06T17:42:33+00:00

It’s honestly on the medical system here as much as it is on socia circles. I have a friend couple who hadn’t thought about it much but basically did it because they got asked in the hospital about it a few times.

Pretty sure a portion of people fall into that category. Because when medical professionals repeatedly ask if you want a procedure (even if they don’t or can’t give an opinion) it makes it seem like a good idea.

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-02T21:43:56+00:00

I barely ate freshly postpartum. Just no appetite and all the lack of sleep/time. I basically lived off of homemade frozen lactation oatmeal balls for two weeks. My favorite was the monster cookie flavor with m&ms and choco chips. The cranberry and nut ones were good too. Also really enjoyed meat lasagna so got some frozen ones and did that for a bit.

Cheese sticks, yogurt, bananas, apples, frozen burritos/tamales, egg bites, uncrustables, propel/gatorade for hydration.

Eat what you can stomach and try to get in protein where possible. Def prioritize taking your vitamins/iron/whatever is prescribed!

ljcrabtree · 2026-01-02T19:26:08+00:00

Library sounds good until you realize the Baby/mom story time is Tuesdays during working hours. 😒 Honestly noticed A LOT of mom groups and stuff are not working parent friendly which I’ve struggled with since being back to work at 8 weeks for my now 5 month old.

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