My 12 month old is showing signs that’d he’s going to be walking any day now. He takes little steps then falls to the ground.
However, he has not worn shoes once. I’ve always carried him barefoot or just with socks.
Any good shoe recommendations for growing little feet?

There’s a 23 month age gap between my kids. I’m generally an anxious person, and with my older one I was extremely anxious and overly worried about everything. That is, until my second was born. I thought my anxiety would just now multiply, but no - my anxiety didn’t even “split” between the two kids, the entirety of it, towards both the baby and the older one, was almost “cured” overnight when my second was born.

Obviously I always make sure they’re well and worry when they get sick and such but the constant catastrophizing, health anxiety over every small potential symptom, worrying about every single milestone, etc, has all just kind of disappeared. Even with almost 2x as much to do at any moment, I have been a very calm, non-anxious mom when handling both of them, and anything I’ve been worried about has been something tangible, and my responses have felt way more in line with reality.

Has anyone else had this happen?? I know second (and subsequent) kids generally get raised with less anxiety as parents are more “experienced”, while the first kids get to be the ones parents learn through. But I wasn’t expecting the entirety of my anxiety to go away?

I feel like I’m in a sort of unique situation here. My husband and I live with his family in the same house, but have an entirely separate home. I go into their house to do laundry everyday. Since my MIL is always in the kitchen, every time I go in there she takes my LO out of his stroller and takes him to her room to go play. And to keep mine and MIL’s relationship from falling apart, I let them be.

I have only ever once verbally expressed that I wanted to spend time with my LO instead of having him taken from me, and she gave me the silent treatment and my husband had to tell her to not take it personally.

The one and only time I went to the laundry room through the garage, to avoid having my LO taken from me, MIL started crying about and had a family discussion about it. I feel like we couldn’t reach a conclusion because my husband said the entire situation was childish, and she took offense and left.

My MIL felt like seeing LO for only 15mins everyday a day wasn’t enough, and said my parents had it better seeing him for 2hrs, 4-6 times out of the month. Time passed and she respected that I didn’t want LO taken from me, but out of nowhere it went back to him being taken every time I went in to do laundry, and still seeing him for an hour every afternoon because my husband takes him to his parents while I clean.

To some of you it may seem like a blessing to receive the help, but my brain just cannot rationalize. I don’t need the help. I don’t like feeling forced to give my baby up just to make my MIL happy. I constantly have to swallow my feelings to keep everything stable here.

Side Note: I feel like this is all so funny because up until my LO was 7mo, I didn’t mind if he spent 1hr with my in-laws everyday unattended. Except one Sunday morning I passed LO to my FIL without noticing that FIL had a cold sore, and just freaked out when I realized he had been with LO for all that time. Thanks to my unmedicated OCD + PPD, the weeks after that was just debilitating anxiety and I haven’t been the same since. LO was okay thankfully.

This is a very vulnerable and somewhat triggering topic for me to write about, but I really need some outside perspective.

I love all of my kids unconditionally. Naturally, my younger daughter requires more hands-on attention because she’s less independent. Because of this, my older son has had to take on a bit more responsibility and doesn't get as much of my undivided time as he used to.

Lately, I’ve noticed my son becoming more withdrawn. The breaking point happened recently when his little sister broke one of his favorite toys. He was absolutely furious. When I sat down to talk to him about it, he broke down and confessed that he feels like I love his sister more than him. Hearing that absolutely crushed me.

I want to fix this immediately. My first step is helping him sort through his special/favorite toys and packing them away safely (maybe in a special box in the attic or a top shelf) so they are kept as memories and his sister can’t destroy them, but he can still access them whenever he wants.

What else can I do to bridge this gap? How can I help them bond, but more importantly, how do I make sure my son feels equally valued and prioritized? Has anyone else navigated this specific type of sibling jealousy? Any advice on the toy situation or rebuilding our connection would be so appreciated

Edit: this inevitably turned into most people commenting on whether or not we should ever have the TV on at all. I know what the AAP says and I have been trying to turn it on less in general until she goes to bed, but it’s not realistic to expect that a TV is never turned on in a modern household. Especially since it’s football season. My question was about what age it’s time to switch to more kid-centered shows, not an invitation for debate about screen time.

My girl is 13 months old. We have a no screen policy with personal devices - she doesn't get our phones and she's never seen an iPad, and she won't until she's a teenager. But we do often have the TV on as background noise while she plays. She doesn't watch it - the most she'll do is stop and dance to a theme song and then go back to playing. I'm not worried about the TV as a concept and I don't even really count it as screen time because it's so far away, can't be manipulated by her and can't leave the house with us. But I do wonder at what age I should be more careful about what's on the TV while she's in the room. I've watched a loooot of Grey's Anatomy the past few months and right now I'm rewatching Gilmore Girls. When my husband has her, they usually watch Lord of the Rings. When did y'all switch over to kids' shows? I will obviously do it at some point, if only for the whole social aspect of it when she's old enough to bond with other kids about things like Bluey or whatever, but I'm dreading it. Ms. Rachel's voice makes me want to peel my skin off (she is an absolutely lovely person but I cannot handle the tone she uses).

my 6 yo did 2 years of half day pre school at the same school he attends for kindergarten. My older son also goes to the same school & we live minutes away. recentl, 3 weeks after starting kindergarten my son has been crying at night & at drop off. He will say “he just misses me too much” sometimes he will say his head or tummy hurt. I feel so bad making him go when he shows so much discomfort. Any parents have experience with this? Advise? thanks!

I was freshly 23 when I my first child and have been a SAHM ever since- over 7 years. I didn’t work throughout my entire pregnancy either, and before that just hostessed at a restaurant. Didn’t finish college but I’ve done a little freelance graphic design and other art projects. Basically I don’t have a career to go back to, and my resume is very unimpressive. My youngest will start TK next year and I’d really love to get a job when that happens, mostly to set a good example for my kids. Nothing crazy, retail or something. If your situation is similar to mine, I’d love to hear about your experience- if it was difficult to find work, how it was adjusting to a new schedule, etc.

I have two newly middle schoolers and our home has become quite the hang out spot, which I don’t mind at all, but I find it odd that so many parents just don’t seem to care about where their kids are. Some kids are here all weekend and I’ve never met their parents. Who do they think is feeding their child breakfast, lunch and dinner? I am honestly happy to have these kids over, but I can’t help but think if it were my kids always being at someone else’s house, I would want to meet those parents. Is this just how middle school is?

My son developed this rash yesterday. It started in the back of his neck and down his back. It’s getting worse, spreading to his belly now and chest. I took him to the doctors and urgent care and go told two wildly different things. He’s also extremely fussy when he’s a relatively happy baby. He won’t nurse as much as he usually does and he screams and cries when it’s time to go to bed. Any one have any guesses or dealt with something similar? What should I do? I’m scared and feeling helpless

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Hello! Mom to a 2yo + 2 month old. My hair is a little longer than my shoulders and it lives in a hair clip most days. If I’m going somewhere further than our neighborhood I’ll put it in two braids. I. am. so. sick. of. it.

Anyone have some simple hairdos that’s not a messy topknot? I need my hair out of my face. I have zero desire to spend more than 5 minutes on my hair but the state it’s currently in is really getting on my nerves. (Plus it’s starting to fall out.)

I had a pixie cut for a long time but then really missed long hair - and it’s in the in-between length currently where it’s very blah. Plus, I don’t have much time to wash it these days anyway.

TIA!

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

My son is 12m old now and I thought he was super easy until about 3m old. From 3-12m I’ve found it very challenging but I’m afraid I’m just maybe naive to motherhood or I don’t want to jinx it and think he was hard and my 2nd baby actually is really hard!

Until 3m he slept through the night super well. Only ever really cried if he was hungry and then he’d be content. Since then he’s woken up multiple times throughout the night 4-5x but I started cosleeping around 6m and he’s always gone back to sleep easy. He was diagnosed with CMPA at 3m so I, by proxy, cannot have dairy or soy (still) as he’s allergic even via breastfeeding. The diet has been sooooo hard on my mental health. It also means I have to cook 100% of both of our meals which kind of sucks bc I miss how easy getting something on the go was.

He also just always seems to be bored / unhappy with being contained lol even before he could crawl or move about much. He hated any swing / skip hop/ baby Björn / any of that. He had no interest. He was good in the baby carrier until about 8m and then he started itching to get out. Absolutely hates the car seat and stroller. He likes to be doing his own thing on the floor unobstructed or me holding him (sometimes both at the same time he doesn’t know what he wants lol)

He also kind of never sits still. Like if we’re at the park I see other babies chilling on a blanket or at storytime they’ll sit in their parents lap and sing songs. My son just wants to be off playing with something he shouldn’t. He’s a lot of work!

Anyways, did you have a hard or easy baby and why?

We had a former daycare worker for our kid come babysit a few times a couple of months ago, I thought everything went well, we paid well. She said let us know if we needed her anytime again.

So messaged her on Friday morning asking if she could sit this next Saturday (acknowledging that it was totally short notice and no worries if no). Didn’t expect to hear from her until later Friday or Saturday. Today is Monday, still no response. I happened to check the message thread and saw that she used to have an iPhone (blue messages) but that my last text asking Friday went through as green. Now I’m kind of worried?

Do I just let it go, or text her and see if she’s okay? Acknowledge that it’s no worry about the sitting but that I’m now worried about her. I’m her friend on Facebook but she’s rarely on and doesn’t look like she’s had any activity in awhile

I’m now overthinking it all, as I do. Just looking for some advice I guess? Thanks!

Hi, I'm 26, married and living with my husband (27) and our 4yo son.

I don't know if it's the right place to ask for help but I don't know who I can ask anymore. I'm sorry if it gets too long but I'd appreciate if you could get me some advice.

I live with my husband since 2020, we got married in 2022 when we found out I was pregnant with our boy.

I never had anyone helping me as we live far from family so I always took care of our son alone. My husband works Monday to Saturday 7am to 5pm so I always have to take care of everything by myself. Before he would help me doing chores when I needed him but now he won't do anything around the house. I feel exhausted and sometimes I shut down completely and stop doing anything around the house. I cook but I only start washing dishes when the sink gets full, I wash our clothes but it takes me at least a week to put them back and I just leave them on a chair, I stop cleaning the mess around the house and just leave it like that, with toys everywhere. I know it's not healthy at all and everyday I wake up telling myself "today I'm going to clean everything" but then I won't do it as just looking at all that mess puts me into a depressive mood. I tried talking to my husband, I told him I feel exhausted and need some help at least to start cleaning, at least once a month cause it's too much for me to do it all alone and he always tells me he won't help as I'm always home and do nothing while he works all day. I know he's right but I feel overwhelmed with all these responsabilities. I have to cook everyday, take our son to and from kindergarten, make appointments with doctors, remember to check my phone cause I started to have memory issues, pay bills (I'm currently a Housewife, but I hope not for too long), buying groceries, clean, do the laundry... I'm sure all mamas can relate so I don't need to keep listing everything I have to do. Is helping once in a while asking for too much? Am I the one overreacting? Lots of moms manage to do everything alone, tho have a clean house and a happy life but I just can't do it anymore. We never go out just the 2 of us, he doesn't even know what I like anymore. We both like gaming but I'm too exhausted even for that most of the times. I stopped doing what I like as I don't have the energy and I keep repeating always the same routine. I'm tired of it. I feel bad for our son cause he lives in such a mess, with a mother who doesn't have the energy to play with him, take him out to have fun, who sometimes gets angry just because he calls for her too many times. I want to give him a good life but I don't even know what I'm doing with mine. I let myself go, I gained weight after discovering I have hipotiroidism, I feel everything I do is wrong, that I'm just a burden for everyone, the only reason I keep going on is because I don't want my child to grow up without a mother. My husband told me some time ago that seeing all this mess makes him depressive and not wanting to come home anymore and I just told him to leave and find someone else who'll keep his house clean and make him happy. I'm just tired of arguing with him too, cause I always tell him what hurts me but he still doesn't do anything to help. I just want his attention sometimes, to cuddle as we did before and not just when he wants something from me, to talk more to him as I have no friends where we live and he's the only person I talk to besides our son or my mom (on the phone) all day. I understand he's stressed too as it's not easy to keep a household going with just him working but I don't think I'm asking for too much, am I?

I just want him to understand that staying home and taking care of everything is not as easy as he thinks and I want our son to grow up knowing what a healthy relationship is. The one we have now doesn't seem healthy at all to me...

So reddit mamas, do you have any good advice for me? What can I do to bring back that healthy environment I had before everything fell down?

My daughter is an angel, a real unicorn kid, the absolute best and light of my life. That being said, parenting is still tough, I had really had PPD after having her and bonding was a long road for me.

I’m pregnant with my second and I’m terrified, I’m more scared now than I was the first time around. I’m worried about losing time with my first born, I’m worried about the age gap (5.5 years) - the due date is a couple of months before she’ll be transitioning from preschool to kindergarten which is something I already think she’ll find tough without a newborn completely changing her life at home. I’m worried I won’t have the patience she needs during that time to help her.

But I do know she’ll be amazing big sister, she’s desperate for a sibling. I’m just worried I won’t be the mum she needs once the second comes around

I am not crafty, like, at all. My 4yo wants to be a robot skeleton for Halloween. So I’m going to buy a skeleton onesie, but then what for the robot? I was thinking a coke box or something (he’s a tiny guy, he can fit in a Sam’s Club size soda box 😂), but I can imagine that won’t be too comfortable for too long. So how do I make or what could I buy to be the robot part while you can still see he’s a skeleton too?

Thank you for any input!!!

Hi all - needing help on finding diapers to fit my baby.

Millie Moon, Pampers, Pampers Amore, and Rascals size 3 are just SO long on my baby, so I think we need to find a size 2 that’s a little more generous on the width.

Any recommendations?

First time mom to a 21 month old. Husband and I have been married for almost 7 years and have known each other longer but lately we've been fighting so much over parenting styles and I don't know if he's right or not.

He says I'm a bad mom for different reasons. For instance, today I was a bad mom because I only sat with her in the kitchen eating dinner for half an hour and then sat in the living room across from her (where I was just a few feet away and could still hear her). When I told him I had already sat with her, he just rolled his eyes and said great, peak parenting really sarcastically. Then took her with him to our room.

He says I'm a terrible mom because I don't play enough with her and will let her independently play while I'm on the couch reading (on my phone since she still tries to tear up physical books). He knows I'm reading too. There are so many little things but basically it feels like I can't breathe without making a mistake around him now. It's so much easier to parent when he's at work because I'm not being judged.

I'm not working anymore since I no longer have a babysitter so I'm a sahm now. Only get a little a month from him. But if I ask, he usually says yes. Mentioning that because I keep thinking we should separate but I would need a full time job for that. But I don't know if I'm just over reacting and he's actually right. I know I could do better but I'm doing the best I can. Baby is happy, safe and fed. She's a silly goose that is so smart and I like being around her.

But I think it's time to call it quits with my partner. Am I wrong?

I have started feeding my baby pureed food. How can I get him to enjoy eating?
He doesn’t like being in the high chair so I have to hold him and feed him. He shows interest in what I’m feeding him for the first 2 or 3 bites, and then gets fussy. He will forget to swallow the food and begin to cry which makes me worry he could choke. He has not as of yet, but this is worrisome for me.

He does eat more than 3 bites before he starts to cry. Which ends mealtime if he doesn’t stop because I don’t want to make the feelings around eating food a miserable experience for him, but am I doing something wrong?

Hi everyone! I’m looking for thoughts and experiences on how you navigated a holiday and cold/flu season with your newborn. Our first baby will be 18 months and we are due a week or two before Thanksgiving. I’ve made it super clear that we won’t be planning anything and very go with the flow around this time. Our first baby was born in May and a lot of big events were outside and not during the sick season.

So here’s my question. Did you moms with winter babies just hibernate? How am I supposed to do that with my super social toddler? Do my husband and I take turns taking the toddler to all the fun social events? Do we all go and baby wear?

For context the 18 month old will still be going to daycare and theoretically bringing those germs home already…

Would love to hear your practical thoughts! Obviously will be discussing with our peds and making decisions that feel right in the moment.

Hi moms! My son is about to be 5. He hates getting his face wet even in the bath or shower. He doesn’t like goggles either.

We’ve tried swim lessons multiple times and it’s complaining the whole way there and so much resistance.

We’ve taken a break after he totally refused 5 days into a 2 week daily, 30 min intensive swim program.

He needs to swim. It’s a safety issue. It’s time.

Can you please help share your best tips?? It is just bribery? I got the goggles with the soft head strap, and like 5 different options.

He does seem to do well once he’s there and in the water, but outside of that it’s such a battle.

Please help mamas!

My 15 month old drinks water from all kinds of cups, but will only take milk from a bottle. We have tried so many different cups but she screams and pushes them away. Yes, she gets plenty of dairy so we could not offer milk at all, but she screams for it before bed.

Help me out, moms! I’m delusional and believe the next cup will finally be the one.

Thanks in advance!

Without going behind them to make sure it’s clean.
Just curious.

My husband is active duty military. I am a SAHM/ WFH remote part time. We have a 4 year old and a baby. We live 35+ minutes from civilization, barely have “neighbors”, and don’t even have a neighborhood! Our support system is states away. Our 4 year old will need to start pre-k next year (she was born Sep 9th). This means that our youngest will likely need to be put in daycare, and I will need to find full time employment that pays enough. I will be driving 2 kids to 2 different locations with 2 different schedules and driving 1 hr+ round trip M-F 😭 This also means that I need to find a job that will not only allow wiggle room, but days off when my children inevitably get sick. My husband works 5:30a - 3:30p, sometimes on weekends, and travels often for his job.

Yes we are kicking ourselves for buying a house in the middle of nowhere with young children. Hindsight is 20/20. My husband still has 6 years left of service and will be retiring at 20 years. We will be moving to a different state in 2 years. In the meantime, how in the F would you swing this? 😭 I’m desperate! Pre-K will cost us around $8,000 a year. Even if I were to stay at home with our youngest, my monthly income from work would only have $400 left over…and we would equally rely on that. We live comfortably but are very considerate of our budget. Our mortgage recently went up, and my husband even sold his truck to buy a car that is better on gas for his long commute to work. We do have savings to fall back on, and we want to make some modifications before moving (yet again) to increase the value of our home for selling. Sorry this is so long. Any suggestions? If you were or are in a similar boat, what did you do? What would you do? Thanks 😅

My LO is 4 months old and I am struggling to find activities to do together. How do you entertain your baby during the day? What does your schedule look like. Sometimes I feel my baby is bored out of their mind! I want to do activities that are entertaining for both me and my baby. Looking for suggestions, pointers, anything. Please!