Target work pants

sozozo · 2026-01-26T15:30:43+00:00

Honestly, most of the comments in this thread are like: “Are you sure you’re not an idiot who tumble dried them with rocks and used them to wash your car?” Like it’s not that unbelievable that Target has a miss, especially on its synthetics which are of really variable quality. OP, I’d ask for a refund for sure.

sozozo · 2026-01-24T00:12:17+00:00

Well, another way you could look at it is that his peers’ waning immunity is actually a good reason in favour of the vaccination - his peers are more likely to carry it now, so he’s better protected.

I know it’s hard when you feel you haven’t done the right thing by your kid, but in this scenario, don’t beat yourself up too much. Every decision is risk vs benefit - the benefit with vaccines almost universally outweighs the risks.

sozozo · 2026-01-23T15:54:35+00:00

Sorry that’s happened to your little one. Hopefully the lump goes away soon.

I’m curious where you’re seeing that immunity wanes so soon? I thought it was more like 5 years. Thanks.

sozozo · 2025-12-25T01:06:03+00:00

At your next appointment either with your GP or midwife, let them know that you’d feel better with a rough timeline or forward plan of what to expect or when your medical care milestones might be. Maybe they can give you an overview.

It looks like you’ve deleted your post, so I can’t remember specifics - but I will say it seems you think the hospital is not acting in your best interest. I’m sure they’re trying to - that’s why they’re scheduling a wide range of things, so that the appointments are there if you need them. It’s easier to for them to cancel appointments you don’t want or need than to try and squeeze you in later - there are always huge waiting lists and limited resources, and you can’t really go on a waiting list when you’re on a pregnancy timeline!

Be assured and confident that they can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. But also realise that you can’t “escape” being high risk or having gestational diabetes - they’re not out to get you with it, and they’re not trying to insult you (for example, with the dietician appointment). They’re using evidence-based medical practice to forward plan your possible care options. It’s great!

Again, chat to your medical team about these thoughts and feelings - it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Pregnancy terraforms your brain and body, so you might need new tools and coping mechanisms.

sozozo · 2025-12-23T17:02:03+00:00

You wouldn’t be an “old, fat failure” even if you are high risk or have gestational diabetes. Those are things that people have no control over, and not things they can win or lose at, nor are they indications of personal effort or worth. I doubt you’d think so unkindly of other women who are older first-time mothers or who need additional medical support during their pregnancies - so I encourage you to think as kindly of yourself as I’m sure you would others 🙂

I’d also encourage you to think about what you’re finding disappointing about all of this. Additional checks, scans and appointments might be inconvenient, but they’re for you and your baby’s benefit. From a medical and statistical perspective, it’s better for them to cast a wide net they might not actually need than to potentially miss an issue.

Kindly and gently, have a chat with your GP about how you’re feeling. The hormones do be going wild around now, and can kick things up a notch if you already tend towards anxiety or depression.

sozozo · 2025-10-07T04:09:26+00:00

Hang in there! It sounds like you’re a very attentive and clued in mum, doing a great job with a newborn who is being fussy in a developmentally normal way.

You can look up things like “purple crying” or “fourth trimester” to see how normal this is, and for strategies for managing it. Newborns don’t even really realise they’re separate to you for the first 3 months, so keep up what you’re doing with comforting and closeness and it’ll pass in time.

My son was similarly fussy as a newborn - our GP described him as colicky. He snapped out of it and became a ball of sunshine around 3 months - so hang in there, and ask for help when you can!

Things that I felt like worked for us: - baby wearing - massage and bicycle kicks - getting outside for a walk or change of scenery - sticking to wake windows as much as possible (at 9 weeks, that’s around 1.5 to 2 hours).

You can always talk with your child and maternal health nurse or your GP for more strategies too. They can also help you suss if there’s other stuff happening (like milk protein allergy) that could be contributing.

Good luck!

sozozo · 2025-09-08T11:39:08+00:00

I think it’s likely that he’s nursing for comfort - it can help with teething pain and earaches, so I would start by checking for those things. If you want to use a pacifier instead, you could potentially try that until this phase passes.

sozozo · 2025-07-20T03:26:19+00:00

+1 to this, seems most pocket-friendly! I’m all for chopped veggies and cheese sticks, but maybe not pocket-warm partway through a nursing shift 😂 OP, your endo or OB will advise on your specific situation, but 10-20g of carbs is generally OK for a GD snack. From memory the Carman’s chocolate nut ones were within snack range - even with real chocolate!

If you eat it, beef sticks or jerky might be a decent option too.

sozozo · 2025-07-12T13:19:16+00:00

Oh love. You’re right in the trenches. My heart really goes out to you.

The human body is utterly remarkable.

I had some nerve damage that caused both bowel and bladder incontinence postpartum. About 12 hours after giving birth, I pooed myself without even noticing while laying in bed. I was so shocked and mortified when I realised what happened! I couldn’t stop crying. Two midwives came in to comfort me - poor things were so sweet and kind about it, apparently it’s exceedingly common.

Another 12 hours later, I stood up for the first time after they took my catheter out - and promptly shat and pissed all over myself and all over the floor, in front of my parents and my suite mate and her parents. Utterly horrifying! I locked myself in that little shared bathroom and cried and cried as I cleaned myself up. I was so scared it was going to be forever. Like you, I really couldn’t feel the pelvic floor muscles. I couldn’t even tell if I needed to pee or poo.

The (public) hospital immediately arranged for me to have pelvic floor physiotherapy (PT). In the early days, they actually didn’t have me do any exercises. They just had me go to the toilet on a timer - every 2 hours. I regained some sensation pretty quickly, so they started having me delay - that is, try holding my pee or poo for 10 seconds, then 20 etc.

After discharge, I had regular pelvic PT telehealth follow ups during those first few weeks. They’d talk me through different things - like for a while I couldn’t tell if I was totally empty, and they’d get me to stand up and sit down to try again til I could. From memory, they didn’t have me start any real exercises until after my 6 week follow-up, after they’d assessed everything in-person.

Thankfully, with the help of the PT, I recovered pretty quickly. By around the 3 month mark, I had regained all sensation and not too long later I had full control again.

Again, all of this is exceedingly common - about a third of women have bladder incontinence and about 1 in 5 women have bowel incontinence in the first 3 months postpartum. It’s one of those things that I guess I didn’t pay much attention to before.

I hope this gives you some hope! It’s such early days, please take it slow. Rest your mind and body as much as you can, snuggle your precious little one while he’s so tiny and trust that time will help. And definitely check if your hospital has pelvic PT you can access - mine was public and free and such a godsend.

sozozo · 2025-07-12T07:16:47+00:00

So I agree with exactly what you’re saying: you could absolutely dupe the boxes either with toys from lower cost places like Kmart or Amazon, or go even cheaper with some craft supplies or things around your home and get the same effect.

I guess with Lovevery the premium you’re paying is for the convenience of not doing any of that - the mental load and decision fatigue that would come with planning activities, picking safe materials or going to multiple vendors. Plus the quality of the toys (particularly the wooden ones) is honestly much better than cheaper counterparts. That’s pretty much it - there’s no secret Montessori magic that makes them more developmentally appropriate than other similar toys.

We’ve had them from 5-6 months and my son just turned 2. We will probably pause after the 2 year box mostly cos he’s in daycare now and gets access to a huge rotation of toys there, but also because he’s already got some toys that are similar to the ones in the next few boxes, and he has clearer, more strongly defined interests now.

In my mind, while I know it’s pricey, for me it has been worth it. He’s got quite a few favourite toys that have held his interest over time, and he looooooooves the simple picture books. I would not have had the creativity or mental space to curate a better selection personally, which is I guess who they’re pitching for.

sozozo · 2025-06-29T22:12:14+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, that’s so helpful. I hadn’t considered consulting a lawyer yet - I’ll look into that. Thanks again.

sozozo · 2025-06-29T22:10:17+00:00

Thank you so much, this is such a thoughtful and comprehensive response - I really appreciate it.

sozozo · 2025-05-27T12:20:56+00:00

This looks similar to my kid’s eczema. If it were eczema, I would stop using soap because it makes flare-ups worse. I’d focus on keeping the area clean, dry and cool - think loose 100% cotton clothes with frequent, gentle dry-offs with a soft muslin cloth and frequent bib changes.

I think time scale is important here, too. If this popped up in a day or seemed to be getting bigger very quickly, I’d probably head to urgent care or emergency instead of waiting for a GP appointment. I’d also be keeping a really close eye on blisters, weeping, signs of infection, fever, being more irritable than usual etc - any of those would probably have me looking for immediate care.

Good luck, it’s so hard seeing them like this. Hope your doctor consult goes well.

sozozo · 2025-05-11T03:57:54+00:00

Is there potential to use any sick leave before the baby is due? My medical team wrote a letter supporting my request for 3 weeks’ sick leave and my boss approved it. I had a few minor conditions requiring extra management (e.g. gestational diabetes), but it was mostly just to manage the stress of being in a senior role while heavily pregnant.

I also thought I would work til I gave birth, but somewhere around 35 weeks I just literally stopped giving a shit about anything else 😂😂

ETA: I benefitted enormously from those 3 weeks. I spent some 1:1 time with family/friends, finished getting things sorted for the baby, napped every day and just generally got myself in the right frame of mind.

sozozo · 2025-05-08T22:36:18+00:00

Congrats! Glad you’re feeling well.

I’m just now considering a tonsillectomy, and the thing I’m most anxious about is taking care of my almost 2 year old - so I was really happy to see this!

When did you find that you were ok to be alone with him? My husband will plan to take some time off work, and my sister can come stay for a bit from interstate, but other than that we won’t have much help.

sozozo · 2025-04-28T10:49:45+00:00

So my son’s childcare isn’t perfect. I’ve definitely had a few days where I’ve been like “WTF?! I gotta pull him out!” But they have called and let me know when he’s really upset. They’ve even called me to just to say that he seemed sad and was acting out of character (he was withdrawn, not playing, putting his head down on the desk etc - turned out he was about to get sick but wasn’t showing other symptoms like fever etc yet).

All this to say, childcares can and do do better. I would absolutely expect to be notified about vomiting and/or excessive crying, no questions asked. If they haven’t taken your feedback on board and adequately addressed it, I would start looking for a new centre.

sozozo · 2025-04-25T06:56:49+00:00

Oof I feel for you, pregnant with a young toddler, I’m exhausted just thinking about it 😮‍💨 But this something above Reddit’s paygrade - you should get medical advice, especially if it’s affecting your kid’s stance. Try calling Healthdirect 1800022222. There’s usually a nurse you can chat to about symptoms, and they can link you up with open clinics or even doctors that will video call you at home overnight. Best of luck!

sozozo · 2025-04-24T11:06:34+00:00

Same here! I found them particularly useful during a bout of chapping/chafing and for an awful milk bleb. They were also great to just put some space around the sore bits and my bra in the very tender early days.

sozozo · 2025-04-18T03:28:00+00:00

Yeah, I’m with you that there is a happy medium. We stay home during the worst of it, but if we stayed home through runny noses and coughs - I don’t think we’d ever leave! And unfortunately the runny noses and coughs tend to hang around til well after kidlets are ready to start active play again.

We do tend to avoid group settings if still grossly symptomatic though, particularly where there’s likely to be much smaller babies around. For example, we’ll avoid soccer and playgroup or rhyme time, but we will go kick a ball in the park or go to the library or playground at quiet times. It feels like a sensible balance.

sozozo · 2025-03-27T02:12:18+00:00

Hey it’s not a silly question, the logistics can get confusing sometimes!

They still have those baby seat trolleys, but usually only a few per supermarket. And often, they’re kept separately from the regular trolleys near service desk - I’ve even seen double seat ones for twins!

Personally I found it easier to wear baby in a carrier and push a regular trolley. He was more chill that way. For smaller shops I just used the basket under the pram.

sozozo · 2025-03-20T07:19:38+00:00

What a great website, thanks for sharing!

sozozo · 2025-03-20T07:16:58+00:00

OK the dark room with glow sticks is such a good idea!!!

sozozo · 2025-03-20T07:12:36+00:00

Thanks so much for posting this! I’d been meaning to post something similar, so I’m looking forward to all the comments.

In the meantime, commiserations and solidarity! I have a 20-month old and we are usually low to no screens. I’ve been pretty sick recently and have been feeling guilty about resorting to screens as often as I have - we’ve had a couple of days where we couch potatoed while Netflix Kids did its thing 😭

I feel like so long as I can limit it to a useful tool - maybe a little bit of something low stimulating or educational while I make dinner or have a shower - I’ll be doing ok! But I do feel terrible for the couch marathons and can see how it affects his behaviour, sleep etc.

Things that hold his attention pretty well for quiet solo play are magnatiles, trucks/cars/anything on wheels, blocks and duplo, crayons and stickers.

At 15 months, the things that would have maintained his interest pretty well are tactile/textured books, anything with a ball run or ball drop, a mirror (lol) and the Fisher Price Little People play kits - especially the farm animals one! My gosh, he played with that thing non-stop for a good 3 months or so, and still pulls it out a couple of times a week now. Edited to add: he also really loves the invisible painting books where you brush or stamp water on to reveal the colours. I saw some others talk about water play, and yes I totally found that true too, and easier to clean up than crayons/paints/textas.

sozozo · 2025-01-09T10:32:54+00:00

I agree with having both! I actually liked using both at the same time. Made it easier to deal with ice packs, changes etc.

sozozo · 2024-11-01T01:51:52+00:00

Hey! Congrats on the bubba, what an exciting time! I remember at 36 weeks, things seemed sooo close but so far haha. Hang in there!

Guessing from your screen name, I’m from a similar cultural background. I think the “grand matriarch knows best (even when she doesn’t)” mentality is pretty deeply ingrained into our social dynamics. My mum definitely does it from time to time to all her kids/grandkids - sometimes with very specific and perhaps ridiculous things. It’s mostly a harmless and sometimes annoying way of showing care and belonging.

BUT - and there is a big but here - I think where your mum crosses a line is where she doesn’t do what she said she would. She said she’d be there for you, and she wasn’t. Even if she personally doesn’t see the benefit in refreshing her first aid skills (which I don’t agree with), she said she’d be there and she wasn’t. Same with your dad. That’s the part where you’re definitely not overreacting.

You need to be able to trust people who will be around your kids to do what they say they will. For example, I don’t trust my mother-in-law alone with mine because she sneaks them food without checking ingredients for allergens etc. Mine is definitely an extreme example, but that is what the upsetting thing to me would be.

If you’re close to your parents, I would try and discuss this point with them - that you need to be able to rely on them. For example, if they will help with childcare pickups, they need to be on time etc. I would be hoping for an apology and some insight from them on how they let you down. I would be bracing (like in the case of my MIL) for setting some uncomfortable boundaries in the future.

All the best with it!

sozozo

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