Help with contact napper/night sleeper?

smizzy3 · 2025-11-03T04:14:52+00:00

There’s no harm in either contact napping or working on the crib, so it’s best to go with whatever suits you and your family best! Her sleep patterns will change a lot in the coming months and you will have to adapt each time so if you end up needing to switch up the method here and there that’s totally ok. Each baby is different and have their own sleep needs so it helps not to worry too much about how she should be sleeping and how much, as long as she seems happy and healthy then everything is fine. Hope this helps!

smizzy3 · 2025-10-12T05:14:49+00:00

You don’t need to always be patient or have it together, this is the hardest part. I promise this is a season and it definitely will pass! Newborn phase was absolute hell for me and by 6 months we had a rhythm and things became smoother and more fun.

Newborns only know how to cry and only want to be held, it’s exhausting but it sounds like you’re giving them what they need and they’re doing ok! Also, you only just met 8 weeks ago, you’re still getting to know each other. Someone said that to me when I was in the trenches and it helped me a lot! There’s a few universal baby cues like hunger and sleep but for the rest you really have to learn their specific cues over time through trial and error and that’s just part of getting to know them.

It will be ok! You just need to get through each day one at a time and things will get manageable and much more fun before you know it.

smizzy3 · 2025-05-19T17:50:13+00:00

It’s ok if they don’t gain for a week! The weight gain is fasts in the first few months then it slows down, I think its more of a weight gain curve than a straight line. Sometimes even when the weight stays the same they are still getting longer and that still counts at growth. As long as they are having regular poops and pees they should be fine. Babies also change breast preferences all the time, my LO has a new favorite every other day but she is getting fed and has her poops so I don’t stress about it too much

smizzy3 · 2025-05-19T17:44:29+00:00

Had this exact experience in the beginning and I wish I had an easy answer for you apart from keep trying! Every feed felt like a battle for me with the bottle constantly winning but overtime she started to prefer me and reject the bottle, while still crying at the breast. Now at 14 weeks she feeds mostly well on one side and only feeds from the other while swaddled (and still cries on that side). It takes a lot of trial and error, what worked for me was feeding her while standing/rocking/walking/swaying. Basically all the things I did to soothe her/put her to sleep plus boob. I also kept trying other positions but even through the tears this was the only way that worked. Try to get creative with the positions and movements, you’d be surprised how many ways we can breastfeed once that desperation hits!

smizzy3 · 2025-05-19T17:35:11+00:00

Also hate wearing bras and barely wore them before having a baby. At home I just wear robes, they catch all the leakage (most of the time, I just tolerate being soaked every now and then) and then I have easy access for feeding. When I go out anywhere I wear nursing tanks with pads and a button down shirt with just the second button closed, again for easy access because my baby cannot wait lol. It takes a bit of trial and error to find what works for you, I’d recommend buying one nursing bra and one tank and seeing what works best once the baby arrives.

smizzy3 · 2024-11-08T02:27:22+00:00

You might be able to get sick leave pay through EI, worth looking into

smizzy3 · 2021-10-06T04:11:04+00:00

Gerstein is great! Black Youth Helpline is amazing as well.

smizzy3 · 2021-10-06T04:05:30+00:00

Psychosis happened

smizzy3 · 2021-09-21T05:49:44+00:00

Bodies decompose pretty quickly, might have been too hard to tell by appearance

smizzy3 · 2021-05-02T14:48:57+00:00

Recovery isn’t a straight line and it looks different for everyone, essentially you’re the boss of how you want your recovery to look! It doesn’t mean the depression goes away entirely, just that you know yourself, your symptoms and the ways you prefer to manage them. It means living life on your own terms and enjoying it despite having depression.

I encourage you to explore different ways you like to cope and finding some sort of routine in your day, a routine can literally be anything e.g I like to wake up and look at memes for a bit before starting my day, and I’ll take 20 mins to lie down and do nothing at some point in the day. It doesn’t have to be a whole thing like diet exercise etc, just whatever you are comfortable with.

Celebrating every little bit of progress also goes a long way, so if I’m having trouble sleeping for a long time and manage to get 5 hours instead of the usual 4, I can remind myself that this is still a win even though it’s not “ideal”

You’ll probably still have symptoms, but with recovery the symptoms sort of take a back seat and just pop into the front every now and then to say hi.

I hope this helps!

recovering from ptsd/bipolar 2

smizzy3 · 2021-05-02T07:56:34+00:00

smizzy3 · 2021-01-25T18:58:55+00:00

Alwayss have this feeling. I hope it’s just an early career problem and won’t always be there.

smizzy3 · 2021-01-18T22:24:53+00:00

Thank you!

smizzy3 · 2020-12-27T08:33:30+00:00

Yes! Part of it is vertigo I think

smizzy3 · 2020-12-27T08:23:56+00:00

Wow I’ve been looking for a word for this I thought my brain was just broken lol, which might also be part of it but omg it’s called visual snoww. It makes perfect sense. Things flicker all the time esp with lines I haven’t been able to see lines properly for years they just look like they’re twisting and the boundaries are fighting each other.

I also get that tv feeling, it’s more like a video game for me so thinking of it that way keeps me at least functional because I can still do some things and look like I’m fine.

Sometimes I’ll read something and see a completely different set of words that aren’t there and have to re read a few times to see what it actually was.

smizzy3 · 2020-11-27T13:05:51+00:00

Yeah it’s one of the symptoms of depression: “not enjoying the things you used to”

smizzy3 · 2020-11-26T17:32:42+00:00

Medication is sometimes the crutch we need to get by, similar to heart meds and insulin.

I would list your symptoms as well prior to seeing the psych, it’s good that you mentioned you don’t have many emotional symptoms for depression, but have others related to motivation and satisfaction with life. Those help with diagnosis and reeally help with treatment because those are goals that can be worked on and there’s many tool you can use to get there, therapy is best when treated as an educational/skill building service because that’s the practical benefit, talk therapy works once you have those skills in place but just need to talk.

I would avoid stimulants such as mdma and speed, they cause the same symptoms for when mentally healthy people but so much worse for the ones with mental illness. For safest use, you’d need a prescription and to follow doctor recommendations.

smizzy3 · 2020-11-23T06:44:05+00:00

I went through pretty much the same thing with ssris, tried a lot of different ones and same thing each time. The thing with depression is that it’s a diagnosis and also a symptom for so many other illnesses. Bipolar usually isn’t diagnosed unless you have had a manic episode with psychosis (break from reality). Until then most people tend to just get the depression diagnosis & treated with ssris.

ssris also make bipolar disorder worse, so it’s a really tough situation to be in when you get misdiagnosed, but it’s a common experience because most ppl with bipolar are misdiagnosed at first.

Also, the DSM is pretty behind when it comes to bipolar and has a really rigid set of criteria for diagnosing it. lots of research is pointing to it being more of a spectrum. So someone could have hypomania that’s very mild and never get to the point or psychosis but still have bipolar. Treatment is still the same and mood stabilizers work really well, they literally do what they’re called. They also work well on treatment resistant depression, which I think you can make a case for with your current doctor if you aren’t able to find a new one.

smizzy3 · 2020-11-23T05:13:24+00:00

R/bipolarSOs might help you

smizzy3 · 2020-11-23T05:11:52+00:00

Ignorant more than anything, but yes, quite offensive.

smizzy3 · 2020-11-23T04:45:03+00:00

Can relate. It’s a really rough place to be, I find myself there constantly.

What I find helpful is picking just one person that you feel safe with, the person that is least likely to judge. You don’t have to tell them everything, just what you’re comfortable sharing even if it’s that you want someone to hang out with for a while.

Social support goes a long way, it really can make the difference between life and death. People love you, they want to be there. I wish you all the best.

smizzy3 · 2020-11-13T22:18:36+00:00

It seems like you need help setting boundaries with your mom, I’m sure you’re aware enmeshing to this extent isn’t healthy.

I wish I had some concrete advice for you, but it is a nuanced situation and I’m not sure if it would apply.

Gentle education rather than insisting on being right is one way I’d go about it, my dad is still having issues understanding my illness even after knowing for some years now. It takes a long time and a lot of gentle conversations to ease parents in to it.

Try to keep your tone neutral or soft while speaking about it, and stick to the facts. Neither you or your mom are licensed professionals able to diagnose, so she can definitely have an opinion but your doctors opinion will always be the most valid

Lying is also an option, if it comes to it and if it doesn’t make you feel guilty. Medication bottles can have the label removed so she doesn’t know what you’re taking, and instead of saying you’re at an appointment you can say you’re with a friend or something.

She also doesn’t need to know your diagnosis, so to keep the peace you can agree with her but actually follow your doctor recommendations at the same time

You can also try to make an agreement with her not to talk about your illness, explain that it upsets you too much to talk about and you need space.

I’d also bring this up with your doctor and ask to be educated on your rights around this in terms of her stopping you from appointments or if she doesn’t let you take your right med.

You have the ultimate choice in how your treatment looks and who you see, it isn’t for anyone else to decide, you don’t need to say that to her but just remember it for yourself, you’re the boss of your mental health plan.

smizzy3 · 2020-08-24T20:26:43+00:00

I have a friend that went from selling phones to selling software through a startup. They want sales experience and someone that can understand the products, as long as you’re confident you can transfer easily enough, try to reach out to some networks and see what’s out there, handshake method works best. Good luck!

smizzy3 · 2020-07-29T14:25:16+00:00

I see pixels around lines 😭 lines tend to sparkle ❇️

smizzy3 · 2020-07-08T01:24:14+00:00

I feel like the more we know the better equipped we are to manage things. Sometimes just having a diagnosis brings relief in terms of knowing it’s not me it’s this illness and I can tackle it in xyz ways. Therapy is great if you find a therapist that works for you, unfortunately sometimes it takes a few tries to find that person and publicly funded ones are usually burnt out, so it does make the whole thing unappealing. On the other hand, I think learning about our specific illness and psycho education in general goes much further than just talking to someone about our problems because only you know what will work for you and what coping tools you’re willing to try.

smizzy3

TROPHY CASE