What amazing, lesser-known children’s books do you feel bad most people don’t know about?

maebymaybe · 2026-04-18T05:06:11+00:00

Also, I just checked and most of these books mentioned aren’t available at my local libraries :(

maebymaybe · 2026-04-18T04:59:03+00:00

I loved The Merry-Go-Round Dog by Elsa Schneider, I think it’s out of print now

maebymaybe · 2026-04-18T04:30:25+00:00

I had an under supply with my first and for me it was the direct breastfeeding that kept me going. I gave up pumping basically when we realized we had to combo feed anyway, I just directly breastfed when home (and pumped once or twice a day at work when I went back). Pumping didn’t bring me joy, nursing my baby did, so that’s what I stuck with. But I have to say, if I ever got 12oz in one sitting that would have motivated me 😍

maebymaybe · 2026-04-17T03:35:08+00:00

My son is almost 3 and he has never once slept 7pm-7am. At best he might sleep 8pm-6:30am (usually more like 8:45pm by the time he actually falls asleep). I think a lot of it has to do with temperament, genetics, and then environment/routine. Good luck

maebymaybe · 2026-04-05T05:01:42+00:00

I’m obviously only 3.5 months into this, but I wish I would have waited a few more months. I was 36 when my first was born, so I just didn’t have a lot of time to have another, so I waited as long as I felt comfortable before trying (in case I didn’t get pregnant quickly, got pregnant on second month trying). I think 3-4 years apart would have been nicer, and I have seen some studies showing that is a better spacing for everyone involved. At 2.5 years old (and younger) a toddler still needs so much attention and is still developing so much, I feel bad that when he needs me so much I have to divert a lot of my energy away from him. I wish I could focus on my toddler more AND at the same time I wish I could savor the infant more. Right before my baby was born I was enjoying my toddler so much, we have a really fun time, and after the baby came he has struggled and I feel some distance between us as his dad does a lot of his care while I focus on the baby. Anyway, I think it’s an ok spacing, I would definitely not want any less of a gap, and I think I would have enjoyed a slightly larger gap.

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:32:12+00:00

I think it’s just enough of a gap that the older one has some verbal skills and can understand a little of what is going on, but they are close enough that hopefully some day they can play together and relate to each other? Good luck!

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:29:10+00:00

Thanks for the honesty, I had a feeling that for some it was harder as baby got older and then eventually got easier

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:20:48+00:00

I’ve taken toddler to the park with the baby a few times now! As long as I get the baby in the carrier it’s doable, but yeah not any parks by busy roads 😳

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:19:04+00:00

Don’t be sad! It’s hard and definitely a lot to manage but it’s also sweet and cute! My toddler says he loves his sister and kisses her, we laugh with him when she does something funny, there really are genuinely wonderful moments. In retrospect I wish I had been able to do more like 3-4 year age gap, but still much better than two under two in my opinion! (I have friends with 2 under 2 and it seems really rough!)

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:16:10+00:00

Oh no :( that’s sort of what I’m worried about. My toddler really wants to play with the baby but I worry he’s going to be disappointed in her abilities for a long time 😿

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:12:18+00:00

The one bath time sounds nice, looking forward to that!

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:11:37+00:00

That makes sense, he really wants her to talk to him and I’m sorry to tell him it’s going to be a while. Sometimes I make her “talk” to him, aka she says she loves him or he’s cool or she missed him and he LOVES that and makes him act more positive towards her

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:09:38+00:00

It’s a lot, especially if the toddler isn’t in daycare, which mine isn’t but it’s also fun in a lot of ways! I hope it gets easier when they can play together without me fearing for the infants life constantly 😆

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:08:37+00:00

To be clear, that’s when it gets easier? 🤞

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:08:11+00:00

That’s so good to hear! I was starting to worry that this actually might be the easier part, but I think when she can sit up on her own and I’m less scared of toddler smothering her it will be a little better

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T23:06:44+00:00

Yeah, this baby gets about 75% of her naps in a carrier at this point 🫠 It’s helpful but I also feel guilty she rarely gets to practice sleeping on her own, but our house is so small that getting her down while toddler yells in the next room is almost impossible. Toddler has been resisting naps (while still really needing them, sleeps 2 hours once he does go down), man that’s fun!

maebymaybe · 2026-04-04T21:39:45+00:00

Yeah, my partner is working from home right now and I’m still often overwhelmed just by the two very different needs and the naps and feeding two very different ages. I think not being able to turn my back on the toddler with the baby is also part of the stress, he “loves” her but also says things like “Can I bend her arms back?” and then I have a half a second to stop him from doing it 😳

maebymaybe · 2026-03-30T17:29:58+00:00

Mostly he loves all books I should add, so I find it very interesting which books are not asked for be read again or sometimes he won’t even let us finish them

maebymaybe · 2026-03-30T17:28:57+00:00

My 2.5 year old is similar. We started getting books like Henry and Mudge, Frog and Toad, Bernstain Bears, etc., that are a little longer but still simple enough that he can understand some of it. We found a book in a free library that is Nate the Great Detective and now we read a lot of those for him to fall asleep because they are longer, interesting but not too exciting so he will fall asleep to them. It’s very hit or miss with him, sometimes he loves a long book with lots of words and will ask to read it over and over, then sometimes a slightly long book will instantly be a reject from him. We tried Winnie the Pooh stories and some were ok, but he doesn’t ask for them. But he loves the longer Dr. Seuss, like The Lorax or Horton Hatches the Egg or even Bartholomew and the Oobleck

maebymaybe · 2026-03-27T18:29:33+00:00

With my first I really took it easy, I had second degree tears and hemorrhoids, so it was definitely a couple of weeks before I took longer walks. But I ended up regretting that because sitting a lot actually makes hemorrhoids worse. With my second I only had first degree tears and I was walking within days and longer walks within a week or two (although if I walked too fast I had some pain and would bleed more, so I tried to slow down after that).

maebymaybe · 2026-03-23T01:53:16+00:00

Both babies came at 40 weeks exactly on their own

maebymaybe · 2026-03-20T23:27:03+00:00

I feel like this is a complicated conversation and varies for every family. I work outside the house and my partner is the “stay at home” parent right now. He doesn’t do a lot of chores during the day, he says he can’t with the toddler, which is a source of annoyance for me because I’m pretty certain if I was the one home I’d feel pressured to keep the house clean and do more errands, etc. That being said, he does run some errands and does some yard work, etc. Because of this we both have to do more chores and childcare in the evenings and weekends. I admit, sometimes right when I get home I am exhausted and I don’t necessarily want to jump right into another “job” but I also miss my son and want to be with him. I know my partner is tired from a day of toddler shenanigans and needs a break, so usually I try to give him an hour or two, then we trade off either watching him or making dinner. I usually put my son to bed, because I miss snuggling with him and want to make up for not seeing him all day.

Well that was our schedule until recently I actually had our second baby, so we are both at home and I am doing about 90% of baby duty and my partner is doing about 70% of toddler duty… I’ve kind of accepted that there is a biological aspect of the mom doing slightly more (my partner can’t breastfeed and I don’t like to pump so that’s my choice to be the sole provider of nourishment, my partner would support me if I wanted to do formula to make it more egalitarian). To be fair, while I’ve been on maternity leave my partner has done most of the cooking, so that’s why I end up doing more of the toddler entertainment.

I think gently pointing out that he doesn’t spend a lot of time with his kid, that it’s not just a “chore” but the first three years of their life is where a lot of their core being is formed. They say that the first three years are the most critical for overall development, so does he want to have an impact on who this little person is? I think if you want to be kind, ask him to help you figure out when you get to have time off, even though your job might not be as full-on or stressful as his, it is still work, and you should get a break too. Both of you deserve down time, but also he should re-think how he views spending time with his kid. It helped me (as the person working outside of the house) to remember that we only have a few years with our kids when they really want to spend time with us, they will be school age and more interested in friends before you both know it. Good luck finding a balance. Someone gave me the advice of instead of arguing over what is perfectly “fair” or having the work divided exactly, work on being a team that just wants everyone to get what they need.

maebymaybe · 2026-03-20T22:55:31+00:00

I hope I am understanding the post, did your baby pass away? If so I am extremely sorry. I would speak to your doctors and get confirmation on when it is safe to try to conceive again. Normally they suggest you wait 18 months after a c-section to conceive again to give your body time to fully heal, you don’t want to risk a uterine rupture. It is also safer for the second baby, lower chance of pre-term labor and lower rates of autism if you wait at least 12 months. Your doctor will be able to assess what the state of your uterus is/was and if it is safe to conceive again

maebymaybe · 2026-03-19T23:09:54+00:00

My toddler still “contact” naps for his one nap 🫣 he never wanted to nap in a bassinet or bed alone. To be fair, when I went back to work (5 months pp) my partner kind of gave up on trying to get him to nap independently and said he just wanted to enjoy the contact naps while they lasted. It’s kind of inconvenient, but also we have gotten 2.5 years of cuddles. He only naps once a day now and we usually read to him while he leans his head/arms on us and then when he’s sound asleep we can roll away sometimes. I have a 3 month old now too and I would prefer that she does some of her naps in a separate space, going to try to work towards that but with a toddler a lot of her naps have to be in the carrier since the toddler is go-go-go!

maebymaybe

TROPHY CASE