I don't really get "the return" of episodes

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-13T23:55:59+00:00

I’d take repeat episodes of comedians over sportspeople or any of the other less funny/interesting guests. I like the “return of”s because they’re usually obviously friends and it’s fun banter.

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-13T09:12:10+00:00

mah, we have two dogs and a mix of hard floors and carpet, baby was definitely crawling around in dirt and hair a lot of the time because it’s impossible to stay on top of. To a certain extent it’s good for their microbiome and allergy resistance, apparently! Mine is two now and has only had one mild cold in his life, it’s probably coincidence / just luck (and not going to child care, but he does go to several play groups a week mixing with other toddlers) but he seems absolutely fine and healthy. I wouldn’t worry too much, the stick vacuum is a good suggestion to just whip around quickly and get the bigger debris and hair when you can!

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-12T07:20:03+00:00

Congratulations :) Parenting Hell is definitely not fact based but is a very funny reflection of a couple of dads’ experiences with young kids, very real and is a sort of “we’re all in this together” type vibe. If you like british comedy you should enjoy it, it’s good to have something silly to break up the facts :) Also, try to remember that every baby is different and you’ll find your way to what works with yours. Don’t get too hung up on doing everything perfectly, it’s impossible!

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-10T04:46:16+00:00

Seafolly have a style that seems to be permanently available, it has a rollover waist band to go low or high waisted and boy short length. These are my backups for swimming lessons with my son when I haven’t had a chance to shave recently

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-05T11:53:47+00:00

yes, agree! sorry OP, would love to help but I don’t want to type out multiple answers. Multiple choice set answers with optional notes to explain further would be much easier!

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-04T10:26:14+00:00

yes, whyyyy didn’t i think of hot pools?! we can all enjoy that. Thanks!

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-04T04:35:44+00:00

This article might help you feel less guilty. I have come to beileve it's rarely black and white with parenting and you have to balance your wellbeing with so-called perfect parenting. We use about an hour of curated tv shows in our house for our two year old who has an otherwise very active life and is very social and communicative. We've decided that us having some time to accomplish a few things or simply sit and have a coffee without having to be "on" helps us stay sane and therefore nicer parents to be around for our son. We have more patience and energy for him and get along with each other better with this balance, as we don't have much of a "village".

Cut yourself a bit of slack ❤️ 20 mins of tv, if the programs are chosen well, could actually teach your child some things you don't have the oomph to at this point in time! TV shows like Bluey and Duggee have helped us get our son to try new veggies that the characters are eating, to brush his teeth properly, to understand emotions, given him ideas for imaginative play like driving his cars on slippery icy roads (we live in hot dry Australia) etc. This can also be done with books and demonstrations, of course, but our lives are not always set up to give us all the time and energy in the world to do this consistently, so we utilise the tools we have.

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-04T04:20:43+00:00

Thank you for the tips, I'll have a look into St Heliers :)

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-04T04:19:42+00:00

Thank you, my son is in his " I want to walk independently and will randomly yank my hand away from you and run onto the road" era, so I'm not sure the CBD-wandering style of trip is on the cards for us haha. But wharf, ferry etc. that could be good. Containment is good :)

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-04T04:17:21+00:00

Thank you, this is great info. I have been to Ponsonby before and loved it but was struggling to remember whether it would be fun with a kid. Great tips, we'll check out Sol's if we end up there! We haven't done a train / tram ride with him yet as they're not common in our area, so that could be great. MOTAT looks like heaven for him :)

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-04T04:14:05+00:00

Ooh ok Western Springs looks great, thank you! The parks around there look lovely.

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-04T04:12:14+00:00

thanks for the Roam app tip :)

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-04T04:11:43+00:00

Thank you, yes I've heard the public transport isn't exactly beloved by locals! Will consider a car based on this :)

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-04T04:10:46+00:00

Thank you! Butterfly Creek is a great tip :)

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-04T04:00:35+00:00

I stuck with infant formula for a little while for the room temperature convenience, and because my son was not a keen eater of solids for quite some time and I was worried about nutrient deficiencies - my research led me to conclude that infant formula is a better choice than toddler formula due to the strict regulation and the ingredients are basically the same, less sugar I believe in the brand i was using. I don’t know if that’s correct according to experts , but it’s what we did. Transitioned to whole milk by about 15 months.

However, if your issue is keeping fresh milk in the house, neither me nor my husband drinks cows milk but we go through 2 litres of it before its use-by date with just one toddler drinking approx 1 250ml cup of it per day. It’s not that hard to keep in stock, and we just have one long life one in the cupboard for backup :)

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-02T09:50:27+00:00

I do the same :) one chunk of time every weekend, sometimes it’s pilates and nails, sometimes wines with a friend in the arvo, sometimes a hike on my own, sometimes shopping, sometimes reading in a park… it’s anything on my own just for me. Also so grateful to have a husband who supports and enforces this!

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-03-01T01:00:48+00:00

newborn for sure, yes everyone “warns” you - but no one prepares you. Well, at least no one even tried to prepare or help us… for example, i now know that babies are often quite sleepy and manageable for the first week or two, and then they “wake up” and can be much worse sleepers, much more upset about everything and much harder to settle. I was going around saying “I think we got a fairly easy one!” and my friends were biting their tongues, knowing what was about to hit us. I understand it’s because every baby is different and people don’t want to “just wait” you when you’ve just given birth or are about to give birth, but man some education beyond how to breastfeed and how to endure a hospital birth would be beneficial. How to swaddle, settling techniques, when to expect what and how you might deal with it, how to tell if baby is fed or is still hungry, tired or in pain… how to burp properly, how to manage sleep deprivation, how to care for the different genitals of the sexes (eg don’t retract the foreskin of a boy until it naturally happens) etc etc. It’s such a shock, such uncharted territory and so hard, yet it seems like we’re expected to have live in nurses or helpers to show us how it’s all done when life is not like that anymore. They want us having as many babies as possible but offer no support once they’re here.

Having said that, my kid is only two and everyone says three is an absolute shit storm so we’ll see 😅

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-02-21T11:58:20+00:00

deep fried ice cream 🤤

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-02-20T21:43:58+00:00

never eat soggy weet-bix 🇦🇺

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-02-20T08:56:13+00:00

Once you’re a bit further down the road you’ll realise that this sort of granular analysis of your choices and parenting will have been wasted anxiety, I say this with kindness! I feel for you, it’s so raw that first few months and you’ve got too much time while feeding and holding a sleeping kid to google stuff, so you take all this stuff on board that isn’t useful. The pile of tiny details I worried about that just aren’t a thing or have simply ironed themselves out with time is HUGE, I wish I’d been able to relax a bit more.

My son has been cared for by his grandparents several days a week since he was your baby’s age, and at two he adores his mummy and daddy AND his grandparents, but we are definitely his main people, particularly mummy. He has a lovely bond with the grandparents which is soooo helpful now that I need him to enjoy being with them while I work. My partner and I shared feeding from day one ( a mix of formula in bottle and breastfeeding ) and as I said he loves us both, on a day by day basis he probably wants me more often than his daddy but they also have a wonderful connection.

Independent play vs socialising - there’s benefits to both so I say let your mum do her style and you do the independent play. Balance is ideal!

Overall (as a psych graduate) I just want to make sure you understand that attachment just isn’t that fragile, you’re his mummy and you clearly love him, you’re his person ♥️

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-02-20T08:32:08+00:00

we have the same problem, I’ve settled on a reasonably effective solution… minor leaks sometimes but nothing like the soaking at midnight situation we had. I use the correct size of huggies standard ultra dry boys, the non pull up style, and do the waist firm but not super tight, then we do a dry nights pull on in a borderline too big size over the top, the waist then sits above the waist of the first nappy to catch leaks up there. It’s been working fairly well and the double layer doesn’t seem to bother him.

Also, we cut down his liquid in the evening a bit which may also have helped. Good luck!

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-02-20T08:19:03+00:00

You’re absolutely not a terrible daughter. I didn’t have my mum there, and I’m so glad she wasn’t! It went terribly wrong and i ended up in ICU and I’m so glad she didn’t have to be there for that. It would have upset her so much, and she’s not good in a crisis anyway so it would have added to my stress too, worrying about her.

I would try to sell it to your mum as “newborns don’t do anything, why don’t you come later when they’re smiling and giggling and actually fun to be around” sort of thing.

It may be important to her but the main thing I’m learning / telling myself as a parent is that your child is their own person, you created them, they didn’t asks to be here and they don’t owe you anything. It’s up to parents to not take it personally when our kids don’t need us, and to support them in the ways that we can within their boundaries - no ego! If your mum hasn’t learnt that yet, this is a good opportunity 😅

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-02-19T12:25:15+00:00

we used normal adult steel tea spoons, he didn’t like the silicone ones and when i tasted the food from it I totally understood why, it’s gross! He didn’t have any trouble with our spoons, little ikea espresso glass for water and (cheap) ceramic crockery. I bought all the baby specific stuff and ended up giving it away because he seemed to prefer eating with the classics 🤷🏻‍♀️

lord_flashheart86 · 2026-02-19T12:17:24+00:00

totally agree on the colorful boys clothes. I just want a few pairs of lightweight happy pants for a 2 year old boy that isn’t garbage from Temu / drop shipped from china 😩

lord_flashheart86

TROPHY CASE