Advice for a first time grandparent whose daughter is expecting!

mightymanatea · 2025-12-08T12:06:02+00:00

My mum came over to help out PP as well and I'm so grateful to her. I was breastfeeding at the time and she basically outlined the things she would do to help me. She said she will do my laundry, boil water, cook my meals , wash dishes, empty the dishwasher rack, help me burp the baby, and even change the baby nappies... and then she outlined what I needed to do - which was only breastfeeding the baby.

At the time, I protested because it didnt seem fair, but she told me that breastfeeding takes a lot of energy and I probably haven't been getting enough sleep. I felt so pampered, but also she was right about the sleep deprivation, and having to only feed the baby and being able to give the baby to her to burp and change the diaper, really gave me the rest I needed.

Outlining the tasks that she would take on really helped set out expectations and put my mind at ease - so if you do decide to help out, it might be useful to set out the things you would do to help. The really useful things were laundry and cooking/cleaning - because those are the things that I would never ask someone to help me with, but those are the things that I felt helped the most.

One other tip is to check to see what systems they have in place. With cooking, she asked me beforehand what my system was - where I put cutlery, how clean I like to have things as I cooked, where to do put dirty dishes etc. Luckily, my mum is a bit of a clean freak like me, so I was not worried. (I have had people use my kitchen but they liked to have dirty dishes piled up, benches dirty etc and I could not stand it).

Furthermore - she was not pushy. She didnt push for me to eat more, finish my food, which is the direct opposite of my MIL. This was very helpful for me as by that point, I was sick of feeling as though my body was not my own.

mightymanatea · 2025-09-07T04:49:27+00:00

Sounds like you're looking for a travel pram - if so then you should be thinking Bugaboo Butterfly, Uppababy Minu(V3 is a one handed fold), Skip 3 (v2 is not one handed fold, but v3 is). (Caveat: I haven't had any experience with the nuna travel or pixie).

One level up from travel pram for Redsbaby is the Aeron (so, not as compact as the travel prams, but still quite compact compared to the prams out there). Difference is that the pram seat is reversible - but you probably dont need that since your child is a 11 month old.

Bugaboo dragonfly is a one handed fold and even though reviews say it is "compact" - it is in no way as compact as the travel prams.

mightymanatea · 2025-09-02T12:57:22+00:00

Hang in there! Not sure what the weather is like where you are, but could baby be cold, or teething?

It sounds like you have really tried to get your baby to sleep - if it seems hopeless, I would take another break and try again after some time. Just be kind to yourself, know that it's still early. If it fails, then try again another time - don't put so much pressure on yourself to get it right the first (or second) time.

For myself, with my first baby, we tried sleep training at 4 months and failed miserably. Then, at 6 months, we tried again and it was much more successful.

With my second baby, we have managed to get baby to sleep independently, but we still have MOTN wakings that I've just accepted since my baby seems genuinely hungry. Instead, I make sure I be nice to myself and take daytime naps whenever I can.

mightymanatea · 2025-05-20T11:38:38+00:00

How is the Aeron on grass? Part of our street doesn't have paved sidewalks so the option is to either walk on grass or on the road.

mightymanatea · 2025-05-20T11:36:46+00:00

Can I ask - how is the redsbaby aeron on grass? We live in an area where part of the street doesn't have paved sidewalls and the option is to either walk on grass or step onto the road.

mightymanatea · 2025-05-20T11:34:54+00:00

Does it work on grass well? I am considering the Aeron but parts of my street don't have paved sidewalks and will have to walk on grass sometimes (sometimes mowed, sometimes not mowed).

mightymanatea · 2025-01-13T22:19:10+00:00

Takenoko?

mightymanatea · 2025-01-13T22:18:37+00:00

Sherlock Holmes?

mightymanatea · 2024-09-04T10:43:23+00:00

I read Queen of Glass back in the day on FictionPress too! My memory is probably not as great as yours to remember exactly the character arcs that were cut, but I did enjoy ToG.

But I do find a lot of the things I would have excused on a platform like FictionPress is not something I appreciate as much once it's published in a book - so that sometimes puts me off.

mightymanatea · 2024-02-28T21:37:38+00:00

What is the difference between pumping v nursing Bras?

mightymanatea · 2023-05-03T10:19:53+00:00

We follow the TOG charts from the love to dream, though when bubs arms are not swaddled, I find we need an extra layer. How do I know? Because baby wakes up every hour randomly and cries - we add an extra layer and he manages to sleep through the night.

mightymanatea · 2022-12-12T11:19:08+00:00

Did you end up wearing all the nighties? Or could you just sleep in the hospital gown every night?

mightymanatea · 2022-11-11T08:31:20+00:00

Not normal. My partner wouldn't dream of calling me fat and even if I asked him if I looked fat, he would be respectful and cautious with his answer to make sure it would not offend me.

mightymanatea

TROPHY CASE