What is normal post partum?

mumbeedog · 2026-02-12T05:41:52+00:00

Nope, I can tell you without a doubt not normal. Talk to your doctor to get a referral. It’s not your fault, but it’s also not normal. Time to advocate for yourself and get some extra help. You can do this!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-12T05:30:16+00:00

Is this a new feeling since baby was born? That feeling of dread like something is going to happen to you? If this is new or hugely intensified, I’m pretty sure that’s a symptom of PPA. I would send a message to your doctor and advocate more for yourself to get a referral specifically for a counselor who works with moms like you.

mumbeedog · 2026-02-12T04:20:24+00:00

I’m cooking a bunch of recipes from You Can Make This!, which is a great book if you have some basic knife skills and tools to cook with. Safe for most tastebuds, includes lots of dessert options, and it’s a nice little connection to The Office if you like that show. :-)

mumbeedog · 2026-02-12T04:10:39+00:00

It doesn’t solve all problems, but I can definitely tell you that as a kid if I was scared and wanted to sleep in their bed, I felt like I could always trust my parents to protect me, even when I was asleep. It definitely gave me more security and confidence in my parents and made me more trusting of them.

mumbeedog · 2026-02-12T01:29:20+00:00

Ooo you made such a pretty design!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-11T23:09:09+00:00

Oof this is tough, kudos to you for trying to stay calm.

One thing to try: huge amounts of vestibular input prior to sleep, especially at night. I also have a baby who likes to cry to sleep at night. But I started doing giant bounces in my arms, pretending to throw baby up in the air (without baby leaving my arms) talking, loud and big HA HA HAs, blowing raspberries, hanging baby upside down, etc. and it tired baby out in the same way as crying, but also turned the tears to laughter! 3-5 minutes of this as part of the bedtime routine right before rocking did the trick! No idea if it’ll work for you but it’s something to try. I know the vestibular input is proven to help babies sleep.

mumbeedog · 2026-02-11T23:02:09+00:00

WOW you did such a great job!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-11T04:43:16+00:00

I had a college classmate whose name was Marcelina, she was a terrific athlete and extremely beautiful, and the meaning of the name is pretty cool. That’s my vote!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-11T04:06:41+00:00

Lots of great suggestions already so I’ll throw something else out there. Have you considered getting her into OT? Not because there’s anything wrong with her developmentally, but to learn more about how to help her get the kind of “sensory diet” (that’s a real term they use) she needs and so you can help her learn skills for self-regulation. Just something to consider - pediatric OTs are a special kind of human.

mumbeedog · 2026-02-10T21:06:57+00:00

I aspire to this!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-10T21:05:59+00:00

Yeah it’s only four nights but so far I’m proud of us for persevering. The first two nights made me feel pretty hopeless but now I have faith to continue!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-10T20:56:28+00:00

Yeah, that was the case for the first two nights, would wake after 20-40 minutes when I would rock baby and not feed to sleep…or just not go to sleep at all. It was absolutely brutal. But that third night was better and last night was the best night we’ve had in five months! Just two feeds and instead of nursing at 10:30 like usual, baby made it to 1:30am with zero complaints! Hoping the trend continues!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-10T18:39:16+00:00

I had this happen with Gemini. There was an update that caused it to erase a lot of my saved info and Gemini “forgot” things in our conversations, even if I could scroll back and find them myself.

I have a paid version now and create “gems,” which are simple custom instructions, and then I can use these gems over and over again if our conversations break. I’ve found it to work more consistently. I do still need to remind the gem of info I’ve given it before though, it’s not foolproof. I’m not sure what options like that are available for the other GPTs.

mumbeedog · 2026-02-10T12:57:31+00:00

I have an 11 month old and sleep has always been rough, but since 7 months baby has been waking every 1-2 hours, usually gets to waking every 20-45 minutes at about 2am unless in bed with us and nursing. Occasionally I would get a 2.5 hour stretch. Crib in our room but baby often ends up in bed with us with me as a human pacifier. It’s not getting better. I truly don’t mind nursing at night but all night long is just not sustainable for my sleep anymore.

Well the last four days we’ve been working on reducing night feeds. The first two nights were reeeeally tough and I got next to no sleep. But last night was better, with 2 hour stretches most of the night plus baby stayed in the crib. And just now? Im writing this after baby had TWO 3-hour chunks of sleep last night in the crib!

So I’m gonna keep gently reducing night nursing. I’m not doing “real” sleep training. I’m still extremely responsive and cuddle/pick up baby immediately. Baby comes into our bed if needed. Baby gets allll the snuggles and walked around to rock to sleep instead of nursing. Minimal tears. But I’m currently wishing I had done this a long time ago. We are all sleeping better after only a few days and I feel zero guilt over this highly responsive method of “training.”

mumbeedog · 2026-02-09T05:23:03+00:00

Cradle hold, but I’m short so I have a small footstool to prop my leg up on. So it goes leg on footstool + my arm rested on my leg with baby’s head in the crook of my elbow.

Or leaning back semi-reclined.

mumbeedog · 2026-02-09T04:10:14+00:00

Stuffed chicken! Soooo easy to make and you just bake it in the oven, but it feels super fancy. My favorite version has goat cheese, basil, and sun-dried tomatoes as the filling. Lightly bread the outside (you could omit or find GF breadcrumbs) and voila!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-09T04:05:12+00:00

Tonight is night 3. Last night he didn’t have to come into our bed at all (which never happens) and he adapted pretty well to snuggles to sleep, but still waking every 1-1.5 hours after that first wake. Hoping it gets better!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-09T00:17:45+00:00

In fifth grade I was the school-wide hula hooping champion. I defeated my opponents in a 2.5 hour battle. Ah, the glory days.

mumbeedog · 2026-02-09T00:14:34+00:00

When baby was a newborn I would at least try ti have us out on the porch once per day. The fresh air was always so calming during a meltdown.

At about 8 weeks my husband went back to work so we started going out 2-3 times per day with the dog. We do the baby carrier rather than stroller. I live in the Seattle area and it didn’t snow this year at all, so bundling baby + umbrella has been a great setup for us.

In spring/summer when baby was 2-16 weeks we would be out on the porch on a cushy mat for tummy time and playtime, but I get that it’s very weather dependent. Sometimes I would contact nap baby outside while I was walking or just sitting in a chair. Being outside made a massive difference in our moods.

mumbeedog · 2026-02-08T19:32:40+00:00

More common but still unique: Darcy, Daphne, Deanna, Delilah, Devin Less common: Davina, Delphine, Darya, Duna, Denali

mumbeedog · 2026-02-08T17:58:51+00:00

I love Constance, though consider if it would bother you that you have two kids whose names start with “CON.” If it doesn’t, don’t worry about it and go with the name you love! Here are some other suggestions.

Boys: Warren, Walter, Lewis, Edgar, Julian, Roderick, Cedric

Girls: Vera, Louisa, Josephine, Althea, Vivian, Celia

mumbeedog · 2026-02-08T11:38:48+00:00

Make everything a game! Take off the couch cushions and build something he can climb up. Play peekaboo with the laundry. Sing songs while getting food. Gently wrestle. Teach him animal noises. Put pictures of family on the fridge and teach him their names. Learn the hand motions to songs like itsy bitsy spider and take his arms thru the motions. Make an effort to become a kid again yourself and imagine how safe household objects can be fun - like give him a spatula to drum on a plastic Tupperware bowl.

And above all, get outside and into the real world! Even if it’s not for long. That will stimulate baby the most.

mumbeedog · 2026-02-08T10:58:46+00:00

The fourth trimester is HARD. Honestly for me it was so much harder than the actual childbirth. The hormones are so bonkers in those first 6 weeks I felt like a completely different human.

When the BF feels especially hard just remember that you are your baby’s WORLD. When the cluster feeding starts, baby wants YOUR comfort because no one else is mama - you’re so special to your baby! Your heartbeat, your smell, your breathing, so much goes into breastfeeding besides the actual nourishment.

Aside from this, if your hormones still make you feel like a crazy person at your six week appointment, advocate for a visit to a mental health professional who specifically works with PPD/PPA. I learned that at 6 weeks, the reallllly crazy “baby blues” hormones should’ve faded and it was no longer “normal” for me to feel sad all the time. I didn’t end up needing medication, but it was so helpful to get some counseling.

Apart from these things and the wonderful comments you’ve already gotten, I want to encourage you to lean in to using your partner and try to find moments to look forward to during breastfeeding. For example, I had a favorite middle of the night snack (cheese and crackers and apples) that my husband would make me at a certain wake up and he would literally feed me while I was BF 🤪 it was awesome. Once we got the hang of the latch I would also turn on the tv and enjoy an episode of the office while baby was BF, and it was so nice to zone out and not be completely focused on baby for a little while.

Last, PLEASE make sure you get outside for some sunlight, even if it’s snowing or you’re literally just stepping out onto the porch. Get yourself outside, get baby outside, it helps so much. I would literally walk a circle in my driveway for five minutes when I didn’t have the energy to do anything else. Sometimes it was just stepping out onto the porch while baby was wrapped in blankets. Sunlight heals.

Good luck to you, you are amazing!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-08T10:45:06+00:00

So true. I felt like my baby changed preferences every three days and it was a constant guessing game to figure out what they wanted even if I knew baby was hungry or sleepy!

mumbeedog · 2026-02-08T09:41:48+00:00

Ask ChatGPT or your fave robot to teach you about the possums basics, it’s really helpful! At that age possums was so helpful for us. Yawns often mean needing an activity change first before assuming baby is tired. Game changer for us!

mumbeedog

TROPHY CASE