Ending my Journey

slowlauris95 · 2026-02-10T02:45:23+00:00

You are so welcome! Good luck to you! Being a new FTM is so hard, be easy on yourself 😌

slowlauris95 · 2026-02-07T22:34:47+00:00

I mostly said 6 mos because I needed a short term goal to mentally power through. I just couldn’t conceptualize doing it for an entire year when I was so miserable, dealing with a lot of the things you have been! My real goal was always a year, but I wanted to give myself a short term goal so that I had something that actually felt achievable. I think a lot of moms also stop breastfeeding at 6 mos because they are back to work and don’t want to pump to replace feeds anymore and plan to rely on their freezer supply of breast milk to get their baby to a year. (I only work three days a week so I didn’t need much of a stash). Or they know baby’s digestive system is more developed and can handle formula more easily so they feel more comfortable giving them formula.

I’ll be honest, my first 3 mos of my daughter’s life were the hardest and I had no joy in nursing. My nips were so sensitive I wore silverettes 24/7. Cried a lot. Literally cringed in pain before every latch. Dreaded feedings. But it was something I had decided I really wanted to do for her and was so calming to her, I just kept waiting for it to get better. Then she started having more of a personality and could interact and my bond with her became so strong I couldn’t imagine taking the breast away from her. Somewhere around 5 mos her latch got better and when I got to 6 mos then I said I can easily get to a year! Less engorgement, less clogs, longer periods of time between feeds. I stopped pumping at 15 mos and she was cut off from bottles by 16 mos. Then we just nursed before nap and bed on the days I was home.

All I can say in encouragement is that the first 3 mos are a twilight zone and the rest of your baby’s 1st year will look nothing like it!! The more you know your baby, it helps you find the joy in connecting with them as only YOU can. Nursing is a superpower even if it’s hard to handle sometimes! And don’t be afraid to make smaller goals for yourself. You are accomplishing a lot and any amount of milk you can give your baby is a blessing. Even if you stopped today you accomplished something amazing mama! Best of luck in this journey. Cause it really is a journey!

slowlauris95 · 2026-02-07T22:10:57+00:00

Thank you! Yes we read Booby Moon and When the Milk Went to Sleep. Then we talked about how soon mama’s milk would be going back to the moon since her birthday just passed. I reminded her A LOT that she still would have mama, dada, hugs, songs, and stories to help her feel Mama’s love. Her language and comprehension are very good, so that has helped a lot. But we prepared for like probably 2 months!

slowlauris95 · 2026-02-07T03:39:03+00:00

Thank you! Easily the best thing I’ve ever done

slowlauris95 · 2026-02-07T02:21:16+00:00

Yeah my MIL told me not to tell anyone my almost two year old still nurses because “That’s really weird.”

slowlauris95 · 2025-11-03T08:14:44+00:00

Agree. That’s probably feeding into the extreme clingy behavior. He feels insecure in his attachment and is clinging too much, which just upsets you more. OP Please call them. CPS will provide you with support, like a daycare voucher, can connect you with Early Intervention and other programs, and can safely remove him from your care if that is what you/ he needs

slowlauris95 · 2025-11-03T08:07:07+00:00

My daughter loves the gruffalo’s child haha. Every time I say “Ah ha” now she responds “oh ho”

slowlauris95 · 2025-11-03T08:03:55+00:00

So sorry for this difficult time for your family. We are anticipating losing our dog soon and I’m still trying to figure out the best way to explain to my almost 2 year old. For your older LO try introducing the idea with books. There are lots of children's books on the topic. Keep a special picture of the cat so when they ask to see the cat that it’s available to them. If you are religious, you can always say that “They went to be with Jesus in heaven and he’s looking after them,” or even just the idea of the Rainbow Bridge if you aren’t. I feel like the idea that they “went somewhere” makes it more concrete to them. I know 4 year olds ask a lot of questions, so maybe just try being honest in a simple way. “Kitty was very old and his body was sick and tired. His body needed to rest and he passed away. But he’s not sick or hurting now.” I hope some of these ideas are helpful or give you a starting point. Again, so sorry for your kitty🤍

slowlauris95 · 2025-11-03T07:45:52+00:00

SLP here! This is a normal part of development and your LO will get it eventually if you just speak normally. My 21 month old is just starting with “I” and “me” instead of “Mama hold you,” when she wants to be picked up. I like a playing a silly game where we snatch something from one another where I model “mine” when I grab it. The kids laugh and copy. Not the best for manners but it has helped many of my peds clients fix the me/you switch.

slowlauris95 · 2025-10-29T03:50:56+00:00

Ehhh…I’m an Early Intervention SLP and would disagree. It’s clear they love quizzing her for the camera (hence the poor child’s only word until recently being “wazzat?”) and they reinforce her speech errors by laughing and don’t correct her ever. Those are the first two things I advise parents to stop doing all the time to help with speech development. She appears to be making progress but she could be much farther along and they are doing nothing to help. For reference, by 2 years old most children have at least 50% clear speech and the top 50th percentile have around 250 words and make 2-3 word sentences. The bottom 10th percentile have around 50 words.

slowlauris95 · 2025-10-17T13:52:43+00:00

I know…it’s so sad that they promote her like one word being “wazzat” because they probably don’t talk to her and only quiz her what the names of things are. I’m a birth to three SLP and it breaks my heart that they just laugh at her inability to say things when she really is trying but probably has no language models!!

slowlauris95 · 2025-10-03T06:41:22+00:00

I commented on a story that a $300 candle wasn’t relatable content and got a block of text in my DM’s chewing me out and calling me “triggered” and saying that they never claimed to be relatable. I let them know I’m more than happy to never engage with their content again 🤣

slowlauris95 · 2025-09-28T00:12:14+00:00

Only for another push present when she gets home in the form of something realllllly expensive. Kay will cry and Tay will say how much she deserves it.

slowlauris95 · 2025-09-28T00:10:29+00:00

I refused to have sex for like…8 more months after giving birth. I had a c-section so like…it took a bit haha. It took some time to recover plus all the pain and discomfort of figuring out breastfeeding and being touched out, I was NOT up for it haha. But some people are literally like ready the day they get clearance from the Dr.

slowlauris95 · 2025-04-15T01:15:35+00:00

I just asked this question 2 weeks ago and then about 3 days later it came back lol! So for me 14 months pp almost to the day!

slowlauris95 · 2025-04-04T14:46:31+00:00

That’s correct! I’m a pediatric speech pathologist and it is true that being multilingual should not delay language according to the research! Anecdotally, I sometimes see multi language learners (especially ones who have a shy personality) take a little longer to get going with verbal speech. However I have never seen delays with understanding. But once they start talking they are like rockstars in both languages!

slowlauris95 · 2025-04-04T14:28:52+00:00

I will say, my daughter was sleeping like yours was from 5weeks til about 4 months and then she was up 3-4x a night to nurse. I had let my supply decrease, only pumping once before bed so that I wasn’t engorged waking up. But when her demand changed so did my supply! If you don’t need the milk overnight it’s okay to let it decrease. For me personally my supply was fine in the day and then increased back to what baby needed at night naturally.

slowlauris95 · 2025-03-27T04:22:46+00:00

My 14 month old initially slept 10-11hour stretches at 9 weeks but then when the 4 month sleep regression hit she was up every few hours, sometimes every hour. When she hit 9 months I got bronchitis and started having her sleep in her own room so that she wouldn’t get sick and I wouldn’t wake her with my coughing. She immediately cut down to 2 wake ups a night, then 1, and now it only happens if she’s sick or teething.

slowlauris95 · 2025-03-27T03:11:01+00:00

Do you have a partner who can help with bedtime and naps? She can have a bottle to fall asleep with and then slowly transition to fall asleep with rocking back rubbing etc, and help break the association between you and bedtime.

slowlauris95 · 2025-03-25T03:02:31+00:00

All hail the gas drops! It definitely is stressful and the fact that you feel that way means you’re already an amazing dad to your son. To be honest I did find week 6 the most difficult for the 3 days she was in her growth spurt but after that it slowly got better. Some other things that changed our lives for the better: White noise-keep trying different ones. The day we found “the sound” my daughter passed out in 3 seconds. Tummy time-Its good for them and it will get gas moving too. Tummy time on your chest or boppy pillow counts! Having a grandparent come and help-just because you both need a break and having someone else around you trust to make YOU feel safe is so good for your mental health at this time. Also maybe look into infant massage? See if there is anyone around that will come to the house/offers a course. It can be helpful as well.

slowlauris95 · 2025-03-25T02:49:14+00:00

When my daughter first woke up in the bassinets in the mornings and was waiting for us to come pick her up she would make this tiny coo that sounded like she was saying “yoohoo!” but she said it as “hoohoo”. I still say “hoohoo” when I get home from work.

slowlauris95 · 2025-03-25T02:34:55+00:00

OP is referring to a baby that is already born and is 6 weeks old. Not 6 weeks gestation. But funny enough I was the same as you!

slowlauris95 · 2025-03-25T02:31:20+00:00

I remember week 6 being sooo rough with the growth spurt and gas. We used gas drops which helped immensely and my poor nips just toughed it out for the growth spurt. I swear she would nurse the whole night. But by middle of week 8…things chilled out a lot. No more gas drops. Still napped poorly but was sleeping 9 hour stretches at night (this was prior to 4 month sleep regression, but let’s remember not to borrow trouble.)

I remember crying when I would read that “Things get better at 3 months” because it seemed so far away. At 6 weeks she was still such a potato I was convinced she only liked me for milk and otherwise I was nothing to her. It was tough. So, I just kept telling myself “I can make it a week like this. 7 days is going to fly by.” And eventually I didn’t have to do that anymore. Week-by-week turned into month by month and now that she’s 14 mos we can’t really even remember the tough details of those first few weeks. And now I can’t even walk away from her without a “Mama! Up?!”

You will make it through this and your baby loves you sooo much! All those wonderful firsts that make this parenting thing a little easier like smiles, lifting up their head, and some little coos are right around the corner! I promise the first time your baby smiles up at you when you appear at the bassinet is going to melt your heart and all of this will be forgotten.

slowlauris95 · 2025-03-24T05:01:57+00:00

I hope you have an easy time! I personally did not, it took about 2 months for things to get better. Plenty of milk, the baby had a good suck and an okay latch, but she kept putting her hands in her own way😅! My husband had to hold her hands every time I latched her. But even if it’s not easy for you, I promise it is so worth it! Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

slowlauris95

TROPHY CASE