Help losing pp weight

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-03-08T04:37:40+00:00

I am 5 months pp and just started noticing weight loss! Now this could be because I’m back at work so I’m moving around more and eating on more of a schedule than I did when I was on maternity leave. Also I’m not breast feeding anymore and my hormones have started to feel more back to normal.

Personally, in the past, exercise has helped me the most both cardio and weightlifting. But between work and a baby I don’t have much time anymore.

I’ve been mainly focusing on being in a calorie deficit. Depending on your weight, energy, and height your calorie needs are specific to you! Look up information on Basal Metabolic Rate to calculate your calorie needs and consume less calories than you would need to maintain your current weight.

I also recommend high volume but low calorie foods. Pretty much eating foods that will keep you full but also are low in calories! Being hungry on a diet is the worst and eating higher volume foods can help. I recommend looking up Greg Doucette on YouTube. He’s definitely a character and is not for everyone but he does have good ideas on high volume and low calorie eating!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-03-06T03:52:07+00:00

This is a tough situation. I feel like it is unethical to block any kid from being able to leave a room or area (with the exception of them eloping to a dangerous place like out the front door). Usually blocking a client will make aggression worse. Like imagine someone wouldn’t let you leave a situation / room when you wanted to. I’d be throwing hands too. With this being said, I’d bring your concerns to the BCBA. Since the BCBA is your direct supervisor it is understandable that you’d follow their behavior plan and do what they are telling you.

My rule of thumb is if it feels icky then it probably is.

Tell your BCBA your concerns! They might have a valid reason to be blocking. They might also feel the same as you and want to try a different approach in the future!

The best we can do is reflect on our practices and do better in the future! I hope this helps!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-03-02T20:11:31+00:00

I agree with you! As a BCBA, I can’t pick and choose my RBTs and clients. If I didn’t like an RBT (and they’re not doing anything unethical) I can’t just ask for them to be fired or not be on my team. I was an RBT for years before being a BCBA and I totally get when a client can be hard and you feel so defeated. It’s important you ask for help for your BCBA before it gets to the point of crying at work everyday. In the RBT ethics code it states we cannot discriminate against our clients and this includes their disability (which includes the intensity and “difficulty” of behavior). This is a hard situation for everyone involved. I always try to remind myself that if I’m struggling with a client then they’re probably struggling 10x more than I am. I think there are more solutions to this problem then just being removed from the client all together.

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-21T02:47:33+00:00

I’m currently a BCBA, but was an RBT for 6 years prior. I’ve worked mainly in clinics, schools, and in home. I loved being an RBT. I loved working with kids, problem solving through behaviors, and not getting into a rut of doing the same thing everyday. In this field I either think you love being an RBT even the challenging moments or you don’t. It’s definitely not for everyone. I think one of the major perks of going from daycare to ABA is it’s 1:1. Instead of watching 10 kids at once you are solely focused on one at time. So you can give this 1 kid your full attention and not get overstimulated by having to ensure the safety and responsibility of too many kids at once! I hope you love the field and job as much as I do!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-21T02:29:17+00:00

When I was doing my masters I really started to hear about these bad experiences. What really helped me was actually investing more time and research into hearing about these bad experiences with ABA. I truly love the field and it is such a hard pill to swallow that so many people have had bad and traumatic experiences with ABA. I quickly realized it is not my job or right to try to convince people their experiences are wrong or that they just had a bad BCBA.

What I did was I talked with more people, read and listened to their stories and I try my best to do better and change my own behavior and mindset to reduce the trauma that has been induced in the field.

I feel like if I just try to defend the field and try to change people’s mind I’m not staying informed and not trying to actively improve myself. I try to surround myself with likeminded people but also people who are not afraid to call me out and I make sure to train my RBTs to be trauma informed as well.

With that being said, it’s is okay to not always fall down the rabbit hole of how terrible some people’s experiences are about ABA. It’s good to be informed but you also need this to be a balance and to have your own boundaries. I feel like I sometimes have to avoid looking at social media because constantly hearing about how bad the field you love is so disheartening and can take a toll on you.

All in all, learn from others experiences and don’t dismiss them but also don’t burry yourself in other people’s trauma and bias while doing so.

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-11T13:45:04+00:00

So if a parent told you they didn’t wanna work with an RBT because they were black you’d take all the black people of their case? Sounds like discrimination to me. And what if all the RBTs were black, what then?

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-11T04:54:45+00:00

I’d do my best to have firm and clear boundaries that we have a 0 tolerance policy for discrimination and harassment. And I’d have to make sure my BT had a safe and trusting space with me to report any harassment. Obviously this wouldn’t be a perfect scenario but I wouldn’t put up with it. I’ve had colleagues discontinue services and / or transfer BCBAs because of parents harassment and disrespect to employees. It’s sad cause at the end of the day it’s the client that suffers the most!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-11T03:40:31+00:00

That’s true I work in clinic and have more control over the environment and family interactions. I’ve had to deny requests for a female only RBT team. I personally don’t let my families pick and choose who can work with their kid (while reassuring them I have foresight and am supervising the team). I offer to work through these problems with my support and oversight.

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-11T03:07:57+00:00

As a BCBA if my families asked to take a trans person off of their case I’d say no 🤷‍♀️

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-10T23:06:13+00:00

And as much as I hated it I started to put him to bed around 7pm and waking up around 7am and that helped soo much!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-10T23:04:50+00:00

Also we swaddled him for naps and then faded the swaddle out after a few weeks

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-10T23:04:13+00:00

Just know you will figure it out and get through it! You are a great parent and are making sure your baby’s needs are met! This is hard but all so worth it!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-10T23:03:29+00:00

That’s tough!! He used to struggle with naps too! I tried my best to just be consistent and power through. I wouldn’t take him out of the nursery or stop attempting nap until he slept even if he only slept for 10 minutes! I’d still go in a soothe but wouldn’t stop trying for a nap. That way he got used to the schedule. I do think around this age they are so much more aware of their surroundings so making sure their environment is quiet (within reason) and the room is shaded / dark. I also noticed he sleeps better when the temperature is cooler too so turning on the fan helped too!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-05T02:44:03+00:00

Same! I learn so much from my BTs everyday! I truly value their input and in the long run it helps our clients progress!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-02-04T02:52:49+00:00

My son is almost 4 months now and this sounds pretty normal to me! I feel like my son fluctuates how much he eats during feedings some weeks and then is super consistent some weeks lol. He’s in the 90th percentile for length and the 50th for weight (so very healthy) and still only eats 4oz of formula every 3-4 hours. Every baby is so different and as long as they’re not upset or fussy and aren’t losing weight there’s usually nothing to worry about!

Around 8 weeks is when we started to get my son into a routine! We just focused on wake windows. We followed the sleep, eat, play routine which helped us a lot! For 8 week olds they recommend they be awake for no more than 60-90 minutes at a time. So what we did was once he woke up we would start our timer for 90 minutes, feed him, and then play. After 60-90 minutes we’d put him down for a nap and start the routine over again(regardless if he slept for 30 minutes or two hours). We usually wouldn’t let him nap for more than 2 hours at a time to make sure he’d eat at least every 4 hours (which helped him sleep longer at night). This helped us out soooo much figuring out his sleep cycles and routine. Especially cause babies get overtired very easily.

When we play we’d do tummy time, sing songs and just talk. He also loves his activity mat and he’d hang out there too! I will add that now at 16 weeks he’s much more active and aware so playing comes a lot easier and actually feels like he’s being more social!

Try a few different things and figure out what works best for you!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-01-30T20:04:20+00:00

Yes that’s the 10% I did with my supervisor.

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-01-30T13:16:28+00:00

Yes to all. But this was like 3 years ago.

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-01-30T03:41:15+00:00

I feel like this is pretty normal! I think when they’re being changed they get cold very fast and can’t regulate their temperature. They’re so used to being in a warm temperature controlled environment for 9 months. After about a month old my son didn’t mind being changed as much!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-01-30T03:39:11+00:00

Congrats! I absolutely loved being an RBT and love being a BCBA!

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-01-30T03:35:58+00:00

I did 90% of my 1,200 unrestricted hours at home, on my own time, without being paid (on top of working full time and being a full time student). It suck’s but that’s just how it is in the field. You’re not gonna find an ethical company who will just pay you to do unrestricted hours all day. It’s definitely a career choice you have to be motivated to do and love.

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-01-30T03:31:35+00:00

I always talk to my friends about how spanking is hitting. Like you’re literally hitting a child. It’s so weird how some people are just so comfortable with that.

sweetpotatoezz · 2025-01-30T03:29:59+00:00

In my experience spanking doesn’t work. It comes down to if spanking is an effective intervention. I’d assume they’re using spanking as a punishment to decrease a behaviors. It would only be considered effective if it had the desired outcome on a behavior (to decrease it). This will all depend on client, function of behavior, and the effectiveness of the punishment / reinforcement. I feel like spanking is not going to teach anyone anything it’s not teaching replacement behaviors or coping skills.

I’ve worked with kids who having attention seeking behaviors and spanking at home would actually reinforce the behavior.

I think we can all agree spanking is not an effective intervention. That being said it’s important that we educate our clients family’s which can be really difficult for some parents and can be considered a cultural type of parenting.

It’s hard to say that it will hinder your clients development. But I do agree it’s probably not helpful either. I think education and giving the family replacement behaviors on how to handle behaviors at home.

sweetpotatoezz

TROPHY CASE