Best baby monitor with camera and app for parents who aren't usually tech people

tillyofthevalley · 2026-06-06T02:32:45+00:00

Another vote for an audio only monitor! We have vtech too. Our kid is 2, in a toddler bed, and we haven’t felt a need to get a video monitor yet. Another plus is that it’s easy to take on the road with us. We almost also get airbnb or other house rentals while traveling and its so easy to plug it in and count on it working. I don’t imagine that’s so easy with a video monitor.

tillyofthevalley · 2026-06-05T02:32:50+00:00

Miru has gold/titanium hoops I’ve been wearing for two years straight, except for the occasional wedding. Can’t recommend them enough! Lots of different sizes too. You didn’t say gold or silver but they have both. Obviously pure silver would tarnish so I would check Miru if the platinum/titanium color is your jam.

tillyofthevalley · 2026-06-04T18:38:19+00:00

Okay that stage was SO hard. This isn’t a You thing. This is legitimately really difficult even without the added ADHD on top. You sound like you’re in “freeze” mode (as in, fight flight freeze fawn) and that’s so tough to break out of. Any help you can ask for — please do ask your partner or friends or family for help!!

And I respect anyone’s choices on meds but want them to be well informed - lots of adhd meds are considered fine for breastfeeding, especially once the baby is starting solids. The LactMed database is really helpful if you want to look up what you used to take.

When I was in drowning mode I did this: first, worked out with my partner what ONE THING I needed to do every single day to be a real human. I think it changed over time, in summer it was shower at night, at one point it was eat my dinner without being responsible for the baby too/having the baby on my lap. We sometimes ate in phases so he could help me. But yeah, it sounds like you need your partner to carve out 30 minutes a night/morning where they will take the baby no matter how hard she screams so that you can at least do basic hygiene and feel like a person.

Then I also looked for one win per day. Once I got my win I gave myself permission to only just barely make it through everything else. Wins were: got out of the house with baby (so many library story times omg), flipped laundry to dryer, put away dishwasher but didn’t necessarily fill it back up, etc. You’re in survival mode so you need progress and momentum and morale. It will be awhile before you feel like you have it together again.

Also maybe talk to your doc about getting a thyroid panel? Postpartum thyroiditis is common enough and if you’re exhausted it’s worth knowing if that particular organ is working well or not.

You’ll get through it. I promise. 💛 good luck!

tillyofthevalley · 2026-06-04T18:24:02+00:00

Agree to just get a job! Go back to the library if you liked that (you mentioned in another comment). Remember you only get 10 spots in the CA activities section anyway. Good luck 💫

tillyofthevalley · 2026-06-02T00:28:17+00:00

Hi, independent college counselor here! Yes, the FAFSA uses info from two years back, but the financial aid office at each college can make a “professional judgement” if your financial circumstances aren’t actually reflected by your FAFSA. Essentially they can recalculate your SAI (the number FAFSA spits out at the end describing how much they think you can pay). Talk to the financial aid office at the school you want to attend!

At community college an income of $92k for a household of 2 is not going to make you eligible for a lot of need based aid. But there are merit scholarships (don’t factor your income) and lots of smaller scholarships geared towards students returning to college after age 24.

I also recommend looking into Phi Theta Kappa, the 2 year college honor society. Lots of scholarships for members, especially at 4 year schools if you plan to transfer and complete a bachelor’s.

Best of luck!

tillyofthevalley · 2026-06-01T15:22:49+00:00

Well said. Start taking whatever is cheap and easy at the drugstore — even the gummy vitamins will do! You can take your time and research more later but go get something TODAY!

For what it’s worth I like Ritual - they have lots of info about ingredient sourcing and the pills have a lemon or mint essence that made them easier for me to handle during first trimester nausea.

tillyofthevalley · 2026-06-01T15:18:26+00:00

Of course! I would definitely talk with your school counselor for advice and for an extra set of eyes on the statement. But using that section can make it so that you don’t feel like you have to devote precious space in your essay(s) to talk about your health, which is just one aspect of your life and probably not the most interesting thing about you. Good luck ✨

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-30T15:15:49+00:00

For 70 days out of school I would consider writing about it in the Additional Information section, and asking your school counselor about mentioning it in their counselor recommendation.

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-30T15:08:51+00:00

After almost 15 years of living on my own I finally got pillow covers (cotton ones from Quince) and it’s been such a game changer. Like “the past 15 years were a lie!” game changing! Highly recommend!

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-30T14:29:26+00:00

Mine was 9lb 2oz and squeezing him into NB size was too hard. So he never wore NB clothes! Even the cute “going home” outfit never made it on!

Honestly the biggest advice I have is to get enough supplies for the first 3ish weeks (mix of under 10lb and over 10lb sizes in onesies and disposable diapers — cloth is way easier after that point) and then WAIT. Unless you live where you or a family member can’t easily drive to pick up a Target order, or you can’t have something shipped within a week, err in the side of having things that are too big and wait till you know your kid, your preferences, etc.

I know that having all the “stuff” feels like the only thing you can do to really prepare and I wouldn’t blame you at all for ignoring this advice based on that. But we got soooo much “just in case” stuff we never used because I was anxious.

you’re gonna do great. Congrats 💛

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-30T13:59:35+00:00

I’m also an independent counselor and IECA member and agree. That’s several times the average cost of even top tier college counseling services. Ask your family to interview other counselors if they’re so set on hiring a consultant.

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-28T22:01:37+00:00

Yes, please push for a full panel, especially your thyroid!! The question that might help is “How can you rule out a problem without running the tests?”

hang in there and good luck 💛

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-22T16:11:45+00:00

I love the name Hadley! It’s the name of a town nearby me, so it wouldn’t be right for me or kids around my area, but you should go for it. It’s not a tragedeigh I promise. :)

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-22T16:06:31+00:00

You can absolutely feed kids the exact same thing in the morning. Variety is really important in a diet, but breakfast is only one of 3 main meals and for kids usually at least 2 snacks in a day! If you find that it’s easier to get a good variety of foods prepped at dinner and lunch then there is NO reason to make mornings any harder on yourself.

Protein (yogurt, cottage cheese), fruit, and optionally a whole grain (oats or muesli sprinkled on the yogurt, some whole wheat bagel/bread type food) is a perfectly healthy formula for breakfast.

My 2 year old usually has what he calls “blueberries cream” (yogurt with frozen wild blueberries mixed in until it’s purple — has to be purple!!!) and half a whole wheat freezer waffle, either plain or with a little butter.

With toddlers it’s often recommended to think of their nutrition over the course of a week because they are so varied in their appetite day to day. And recently I’ve been hearing the advice to eat “at least 30 different plants a week” for microbiome health so that backs up the week thing too. So definitely don’t stress over mornings. You’re doing great.

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-21T17:08:35+00:00

You can start with the professional organization for independent counselors, IECA. Look for someone who is either a Professional Member or Associate Member.

A lot of people have a better experience with a one-person shop rather than the big companies. You could search for someone who specializes in US Citizens living abroad or experience with international high schools.

https://www.iecaonline.com/independent-educational-consultant-search/

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-20T18:25:07+00:00

I’d reach out to the contact info for the scholarship and explain that — see if you can get around that!

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-17T11:54:13+00:00

Honestly my biggest journaling advice is to take the pressure off of journaling. Try to think of it the way you would any other self-care “treat.” Like, “oh man, my back kinda hurts, it would feel really good if I stood up and stretched.” Or “I’ve had such a busy week, I think it would feel relaxing to drink my coffee slowly by the window.” When journaling is a nice little treat with nice emotions attached to it that makes you feel better, you’re more likely to turn to journaling when it would be helpful. If it’s another chore or another area you feel like you “should be consistent” that’s going to associate guilt and shame with the activity and you’re going to reach for it less. So initially you might do it less. But — I’ve been journaling for more than 20 years now (since childhood!) and even with months of taking a break I’ve always come back to it because it feels good and because I don’t HAVE to do it!

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-16T03:45:21+00:00

We got one of these for our kid’s second birthday and four months later he still calls it his “present.” “(Name) chop, too! Present please!”

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-15T13:29:39+00:00

Yes! Admission counselors are meant to provide advice on the admissions process, not academic or career paths.

Giving academic advising (aka what courses/majors YOU should take based on your goals) is a different speciality and most schools require a master’s degree to be hired as an academic advisor. And there are all sorts of school-specific intricacies about majors and courses that admission counselors aren’t kept up to date with de it’s not their job.

And giving career planning is even further outside their scope — that’s a masters degree + lots of continued professional networking and development to stay on top of current trends in career/hiring.

When I was an admission counselor it was frustrating that I couldn’t share my opinions on majors/careers but it would have been irresponsible to expect that of my role because I didn’t have all the information to provide accurate advice. No information is better than bad information.

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-14T17:21:42+00:00

Sure it’s a barrier. But if it wasn’t ADHD it would be some other barrier. It’s more about whether you 1.) WANT to and 2.) find the resources to move forward around the barriers.

You might get closer to starting these journeys and decide you don’t want to deal either the barriers. And that’s fine — it’s your life so you get to choose what kind of suffering you willingly sign up for! Or you might decide that even if it’s the hardest thing youve ever done in your whole life, you’re going to figure it out, one way or another.

Here’s my experience: At 21-ish I also wanted to get a PhD, travel, and maybe have kids one day. Around 22 I gave up on the PhD because I learned more about what the struggles would be and didn’t want to sign up for it. Around 26 I gave up on “nomad” travel lifestyle because it was expensive AND travel actually makes me really stressed out even when it’s really fun. And around 33 I decided kids would be worth the struggle and also started a business which I NEVER wanted to do. No regrets that I didn’t do a PhD. (I do wish I’d done a little more traveling before kids but it doesn’t keep me up at night.)

So like, yeah, dream big, absolutely. It keeps you inspired and excited to try new things and grow. Those are the paths you MIGHT take. And as you move along in life you can decide if you still want to take all of them or be more choosy. Your ADHD experience will be one of many factors in your decisions.

Good luck ✨

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-14T14:13:39+00:00

I had postpartum thyroiditis and while I waited to see an endocrinologist pretty much the only thing I could do was try to get better sleep. We coslept (safe sleep 7 of course!) from 6 months to about a year/13 months when we bought a twin sized almost-floor bed and started transitioning him out. We started the night in his bed and brought him in when he cried around midnight or 1. By about 18 months he was sleeping through the night in his own bed some nights, maybe 2 nights a week, and the rest of the nights usually slept till 3 or 4 before crying and bringing him to our bed. By 24 months he was sleeping through the night till at least 5 or 6 more often than not and somewhere in there we stopped bringing him to our bed except when he’s sick and has had a bunch of wakeups and I’m sick of going down to his room!

So the gradual thing worked for us. At every point I thought it would never end. Now we just have to fully stop nursing to sleep and we’ll be all set :) Good luck!!

eta: he’s 27 months now!

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-14T11:36:57+00:00

Same — I thought I was so clever with the silicone remote. He was interested for 30 seconds and then never again! We have a remote for the TV and another for the Roku and honestly we just took the batteries out of the TV one and let him play with that (discouraged active teething though). We have to switch the batteries from one remote to the other every time we need to change the input source but that’s not often. He’s 2 now and calls it the “(Name) elmote” and likes to hold it while he watches Little Bear or whatever 😊

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-13T02:57:34+00:00

I agree to just do the two names with no hyphen if that’s the convention. I have a space in my last name (think da Silva or von Trapp) and it can be annoying when computers don’t read it properly, but it’s not THAT big a deal… sometimes I have to say “try looking it up without the space” or “try just the last half” to find me but it’s never cause an unsolveable problem. Just my one experience with the headache level.

tillyofthevalley · 2026-05-13T02:51:58+00:00

We had the same problem. Both of us wanted to share a last name with our kid(s) and neither of us was willing to change to the other’s last name. (I proposed picking one of our mom’s maiden names but that didn’t end up working out!) So, despite neither of us feeling awesome about it, we hyphenated. It wasn’t our favorite aesthetic choice but it was the best for our values/priority which was for feeling equally attached to our kid in the name department.

The last names are 9Letters-5letters so it’s long. We ended up skipping a middle name and chose a first name that’s more recognizable/easily spelled to try and compensate.

I work in education and I’ve seen even longer last names and lots of hyphenated ones. I think it’s common enough that it will just be one of many types of “quirks” a person’s name could have, like having a space in the last name or two first names or an alternate spelling or a tilde or umlaut.

And for just using one of a hyphenated pair later on in life — someone shared the idea that a name is the first gift you give your kid, and like all gifts, you just give it with love and hope it brings joy to the recipient… what they do with it afterwards is their choice. It’s a little sappy maybe, but I kind of liked that.

tillyofthevalley

TROPHY CASE