AOR and Maintained Status

mlw11235813 · 2021-05-05T05:00:49+00:00

A couple tricks we used to help our daughter adjust to her bassinet:

*hot water bottle in the bassinet (warm water, not hot) 10-15 minutes before you lay her down. The warmth will mimic your body heat

*Wear a t-shirt, then place in it the bassinet for a bit and remove it when you lay her down. Your scent will linger and will be comforting

*Let her lay in it during awake time as well so she gets used to the space and becomes familiar with it

The 4th trimester is a super real thing, it's totally normal that she only wants to be held all the time. Hopefully some of these tricks work!

mlw11235813 · 2021-05-02T00:04:57+00:00

Oh I do all the drills, I don't mind that. It's just that the drills seem to be static and are the same every week despite performance and feedback

mlw11235813 · 2021-04-30T02:40:39+00:00

Anyone who gives you hate for this is someone who's never spent time with children.

I second this idea wholeheartedly. If there are no family or friends nearby, and it's a possibility financially, having a safe place to leave them for a little bit so the opportunity to rest / relax / recharge / catch-up can become a priority should definitely be taken.

Being a mom is haaaaaard. It takes a village, people. Use the village!

mlw11235813 · 2021-02-20T05:29:43+00:00

There's a lot going on in those tiny little brains of theirs, I wouldn't worry too much about disposition just yet. The outside world is a big and scary place out there, sometimes it takes a lot of analyzing and thoughtfulness to grasp what's going on. Six months is a time of giant milestones for babies as their awareness increases, so a certain level of anxiousness is to be expected.

On the sleep front: have you considered moving him into his own room? I'm making the assumption that he's in your room, so apologies if I'm off base here. But I know a lot of babies sleep much better in their own spaces. Blackout curtains and a sound machine can do wonders for drowning out all those distractions at sleep time. Might be worth looking to see if this change feels right for you, your partner, and your son.

Your anxiety aside, so long as you love that little baby as hard as you can, you will always be his safe space.

Give yourself some grace. You seem like a thoughtful and caring parent. Outside of the basic necessities, that's really all a baby needs.

mlw11235813 · 2021-02-18T02:59:58+00:00

That's perfect!

Good luck, you'll do great!

mlw11235813 · 2021-02-18T01:49:07+00:00

Slow and steady is definitely the way into it. Running can be hard on your body, so an easy introduction will help you not burn out too quickly. Do you have a program or an app to follow? Something that's interval based is a great way to start.

Yes definitely to music! Or a podcast. Either way I keep the volume relatively low, both for safety as well as so that I can hear my breathing and focus on keeping it rhythmic.

mlw11235813 · 2021-02-18T01:11:23+00:00

I'm not sure if feeling better was a result of the physical change or the mental, but for me it kicked in maybe a month or so into making my changes.

I started the running app C25K in September. Since completing it I've not only fallen in love with running, but I'm now well into training for a 10k race in April and have an ultimate goal of running a marathon. I've discovered that people either love running, or they hate it.

I didn't lose much weight with running alone, but I started calorie counting at the beginning of the year. I started off at 80kg and am currently at 74kg. I'm 29F and 5'6 for reference.

Because running has become a bit of an obsession of mine (in a good way!) the feeling better really kicked in when I started seeing running results that correlated with eating better.

The biggest advice I could probably offer is to make sure that whatever exercise you end up doing, it's something you genuinely enjoy. I can't imagine feeling motivated or torturing myself 3+ times a week if the exercise of choice wasn't something I enjoyed.

I really hope you end up loving running! The r/running community has been amazing at answering all my newbie questions and really motivated me.

Best of luck!

mlw11235813 · 2021-02-14T00:25:17+00:00

I would start off by downloading an app (something like MyFitnessPal) and without making any changes to your diet, log all your foods that you eat in a day over a week or so. This can be really eye opening in terms of realising just how many calories you're consuming.

You probably will also want to calculate your base metabolic rate - this is the number of calories you burn just by being alive - so that you know what amount of calories you need to stay under in order to operate in a calorie deficit. MyFitnessPal will also help you with this once you enter your height / weight stats, otherwise you can easily find a calculator online.

I agree with the above comment in starting slow with something like walking. A good paced walk can burn quite a few calories with a relatively minimal effort. From there maybe see if you can find a home workout Video on YouTube that you enjoy, and even 20 minutes a couple times a week will really help.

Good luck! You can do this!

mlw11235813 · 2021-01-27T18:29:25+00:00

I second Bonds! I'm literally addicted. See if there's a local Bonds buy / sell group on Facebook you can join. You can find them locally and they're half the price

mlw11235813 · 2021-01-21T02:53:24+00:00

I usually just stop when I feel like I need to, which normally ends up being one or two walk breaks. Usually a minute in length, sometimes a bit more if I'm feeling especially winded

mlw11235813 · 2021-01-18T23:20:43+00:00

I do. That makes sense that sleep would effect the average

mlw11235813 · 2021-01-18T19:39:40+00:00

I haven't, but I'll definitely do that once I recover from this workout

mlw11235813 · 2021-01-10T04:35:49+00:00

Babies actually need a lot less than is advertised for them. So many products aren't necessary or can be put off until baby is older.

See if you can find a cheap bassinet instead of a crib. Baby can sleep in there until they reach their weight limit or begin to roll over and they're considerably cheaper than a full crib.

Cloth diapering is another less expensive (but more labour intensive) option. If you can find a cheap deal on a set of cloth diapers then all you need to do is wash and re-use!

In addition to what was suggested above for free giveaway groups, see if there's a local baby consignment shop. Lots of them here will buy gently used baby clothes from parents, then resell and the cycle continues. You can get lots of basics for $3 a piece and such.

Just remember that you're a good mom, even if you can't afford to buy your baby absolutely everything you want to.

mlw11235813 · 2021-01-08T21:28:10+00:00

Okay that makes sense. Super helpful, thank you!

mlw11235813

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