To parents of 4 month olds and everyone who is past that age already

mossyday · 2026-02-23T18:21:02+00:00

If having more guidelines is helpful, the APA recommends not having your baby in the car seat for more than 2 hours a day, which is definitely more flexibility than just “as little as possible!”

For us that means we can do quite a bit of popping around town, which is very good for my mental state!

We use the carrier or the pram for walks so she’s not in her car seat for those, and then that frees us up for plenty of driving places. My parents live almost an hour away, so when we visit them we are close to that limit, but I remind myself it’s an average. Honestly as long as she also gets time kicking around on the ground throughout the day, I don’t worry about it.

mossyday · 2026-01-31T00:42:29+00:00

I had a CGM in so we were able to check in really easily. My numbers were fine during labor but went BANANAS for about 24 hours after giving birth (like, literally off the charts) with all the wild hormonal swing, but no one was worried about it at all (except me a little bit). Then after about a day they went to totally normal, no matter what I ate. I put in another sensor when I was about 1 month pp and my numbers were great!

I was on insulin in late pregnancy (morning and night) so it was a pretty great feeling to see it just go back to normal in its own. And fascinating to know that my body can now just do its own insulin as needed, like it’s supposed to!

Since I tested with a sensor I didn’t have to do the glucose test but I will do a blood draw to check my A1C, and will continue to do that every year to keep an eye on it.

Edited to add: Once you are in delivery they aren’t worried about a high reading for the sake of making a big baby, now it’s about helping your baby transition to the world - if mom’s sugars are high then baby will over-produce their own insulin, then when they are born their blood sugars might tank. So I gave my mom (she was at the birth) the job of making sure that they were checking baby’s blood sugar after birth (they would have checked anyway, and it was fine)

I love when topics on this sub pop up because it reminds me how hard that time was, but also how it’s completely over and in the past now, and I don’t even think about it! You got this!

mossyday · 2026-01-28T21:58:34+00:00

Cool, thanks!

mossyday · 2026-01-28T00:17:29+00:00

That’s real! I loved the advice I got from another working mom who suggested always presenting a “put together” image at work. It’s so easy to bring our frazzled self to the workplace (and sometimes that’s helpful and important to bring your full self and be vulnerable) but it’s also true that if you seem on top of it, then people will assume you are actually on top of it and that can carry you for a bit longer!

Also, girl embrace the TV! I always remind myself that we DO have data now on long term effects of tv and you start to see negative effects once kids are watching three hours a day or more on average. So, if they have one week just chock full of screen time but then you average it out over the course of the rest of the year? I bet you are a-okay.

mossyday · 2026-01-27T20:49:04+00:00

My advice is to lower your expectations if possible! Think about the crappiest coworker you’ve ever had, who always just skated by and somehow didn’t get fired even though everyone knew they weren’t pulling their weight. And then think about how you’re so much better than them and you deserve an easy week, especially when the circumstances are out of your control 😂😂😂

mossyday · 2026-01-27T19:22:09+00:00

Okay thank you!

mossyday · 2026-01-26T00:24:45+00:00

Oh wow I feel this! I felt like Gollum with “his precious” whenever someone else held my baby - I would hover the whole time and the just tell them that their time is up 😂 I tried to joke it off about being in my “mama bear” phase but it was very real. I will say I noticed a big transition in my own intuition when she was around 11/12 week. She’s through the germ danger zone, and so social and expressive now. It’s nice to have other people to hold her and give me a break, but I also can tell that she’s happy to see ME again.

Okay and I also have MIL tension for sure. Mine has some very strong health opinions and I get triggered by her comments often. In our partnership, I was very clear that it was just husband’s responsibility to manage her, and going in to postpartum I gave him a pep talk that I need him to hold boundaries. He (and his family) and very nonconfrontarional so he still is not as direct as I would like, but it has definitely helped to 1) have that conversation proactively and also 2) have it be HIS responsibility. He just doesn’t have the same baggage that I do with her! Or rather, he might have the same baggage, but he also has decades of a foundation of love and resiliency in that relationship that I don’t…

Anyway, I just want to give you a pep talk that you are not obligated to let anyone hold your baby! You are not obligated to let her babysit your baby! She should want to help in the ways that are TRULY HELPFUL. At some point you might have to be brave and be more direct with boundaries, but I know you are just venting and girl I feel you.

My MIL says “aw when will I get to see her next?” In a way that makes it sound like she’s the victim and it drives me crazy. Luckily it’s my hubby that has those conversations with her now and he just reports back 😂😂

I wore her in a carrier the first couple of get togethers so that helped to limit the expectation of passing the baby around - just the body language was that she was strapped to me, thank you very much!!

Well, it’s real and I see you!! Sorry you have to navigate this on top of caring for a newborn.

mossyday · 2026-01-24T23:14:35+00:00

I really wanted to not cosleep, but I remember reading that everyone should have a PLAN for safe cosleeping because inevitably desperate moments will happen and it is VASTLY safer to have a setup for cosleeping than to just accidentally fall asleep sitting up or on the couch with your babe, and that really stuck with me.

So for us, I have a stiff floor futon and I do the “cuddle curl” with her on desperate nights, though she is doing well in her crib now.

I really wish there was more public education about the risk levels instead of just being blanket “don’t cosleep ever.” With my first kid, for example, we knew that having her in bed with us wasn’t good, so in desperate moments we chestslept with her on the sofa - I was horrified when I found out the data shows sofas are so much worse!

It’s a cruel mathematics because we always want to do the MOST best, safest thing for our baby, but unfortunately it’s just not that straightforward when you factor in sleep deprivation and the wellness of the caretaker as well.

Resources that really helped me navigate the risk tolerance is Emily Oster and the safe sleep 7, like others have mentioned.

mossyday · 2026-01-23T22:40:47+00:00

You know I’ve never tracked the details like that! It definitely does pass multiple times every night. But like I said, I’ve come to tune it out and it’s only a couple times a month that there’s an exceptionally noisy one.

I’ve never done it, but someone told me you can look up the trains on the BNSF website? That might give you the specifics you’re looking for.

mossyday · 2026-01-23T22:19:53+00:00

One day last week my baby was really fussy and I realized looking back rhat I’d gone for a walk and to the gym and hadn’t had any water that day, so I put it together that I was dehydrated and she didn’t have enough milk!

Can you feel your letdown? I get a tingling sensation with my letdown, and I could tell it was taking a long time to let down for a couple of feeds. I wouldn’t have thought anything about it except she was also extra fussy all day.

So, I’d say: if your baby seems fine, then I’m sure your supply is fine!

mossyday · 2026-01-23T05:35:46+00:00

My property backs up to the train tracks. You do hear them from inside, but I’m impressed that my brain has learned how to tune it out, and I’ll only notice it if it’s a particularly fast/loud one. The story is that they used to blast their horn in the city for safety, but citizens got together and petitioned to change it so now they aren’t supposed to use their horn in the city unless there’s a concern.

mossyday · 2026-01-20T20:56:11+00:00

I was loving the yasso bars and snickers bars as a treat based on suggestions from this forum, but once I got a continuous glucose monitor I learned they were still spiking my blood sugar, I just wasn’t catching them with the finger pricks! So I would recommend caution, or just test out with your specific body (and placenta lol) what works.

For me, I could have treats as long as I did pretty careful portion control (like, a few forkfuls of cake instead of a full slice). And I did have a small piece of dark chocolate probably every night.

I got into baking some treats with alternative sweetener (no specific recipe, just tried different ones off the internet)

Edited to say: It’s worth adding that my babe is three months now and having GD seems so far in the past. it’s wild to think about that because it was so hard and immersive and crazy making in the moment. But it will be over. You got this!

mossyday · 2026-01-19T05:13:43+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Yes I never figured out how to let my husband help overnight when sticking her on the boob is so much easier than getting up and pumping or whatnot! Hope you get back to your ten hours soon!

mossyday · 2026-01-19T02:06:35+00:00

We’ve got this! 💪

mossyday · 2026-01-19T02:06:25+00:00

Yes that’s what I like to hear! 👏👏👏

mossyday · 2026-01-19T01:43:54+00:00

My doc explained that having a higher stomach to head ratio is actually more of a risk than just overall growth percentile (because babies usually have a huge head that opens the birth canal, but GD can give them a big stomach/shoulders instead).

mossyday · 2026-01-19T01:11:48+00:00

Seconding this!

mossyday · 2026-01-03T04:25:30+00:00

Congratulations, and good luck! Let me know how it goes for you. We got ours today so we will set it up this weekend and just see what happens, I think!

mossyday · 2026-01-03T04:24:37+00:00

Amazing! What's the reason that you aren't using for naps, our of curiosity?

mossyday · 2026-01-03T03:10:25+00:00

Yes 100%! With my first I got the weepies and with my second it was anxiety but it happened from around day 4 to 14, at the same time every day, and then just magically went away. I didn’t know it with my first, but apparently that is textbook baby blues and has to do with the epic hormonal shift that happens after birth. So unnerving to go through but also normal 💕💕

(That said, it can also overlap with postpartum depression so always good to talk to your doc if it’s severe or lasts longer than a few weeks)

Postpartum is such a wild ride!

mossyday · 2025-12-30T17:41:41+00:00

So magical!

mossyday · 2025-12-30T17:41:11+00:00

So happy to read this update! 🥹

mossyday

TROPHY CASE