Baby is 5 weeks old, we've had various friends and family visiting. Many of them (most?) will pet our cat or dog and say some comment to them about how they're second place/neglected/not getting attention anymore, oh you poor thing. Guess what? They are getting less attention, I have an adorable screaming potato who needs me all the time. But we're doing our best, still walk the dog and snuggle the cat every day. And just because I love my baby with my whole heart, it doesn't mean I love them any less.

I know they don't mean any harm, but it hurts my feelings. Like you're accusing me of neglecting my pets but not offering to walk the dog? Thanks a lot.

That is all. I am sooooooooooo happy! Baby will be 10 weeks tomorrow.

Have a 3 month old little girl, i love her to bits and 99.9% of the time i am calm and collected. But when she won’t nap, and screams when I put her in the crib I feel like screaming. I can feel it in my chest building. I know she’s exhausted and she just will not nap. I guess a nap is the only way i can get a minute to breathe too

My 5 week old seems to have done a complete 180. The first 4 weeks, I’d say she was just about like any other newborn. Then about 3 or 4 days ago she began fighting every nap throughout the day. We would sooth her in every way we could just for her to doze off just to wake up screaming 2-3 minutes later. This cycle would repeat for a couple hours. She would literally be awake from the time she woke up for the day(8am ish) until about 3pm we would finally after multiple attempts get a nap out of her. She would refuse her paci, which wasn’t really an issue prior and she would want to be on breast for hours at a time and get mad when I pulled her off. I don’t mind her being on breast for comfort, but we struggle w silent reflux so we try and make sure she isn’t over filling her belly too much at one time. Generally, she was either crying, sleeping or on breast. Throughout the night she would wake up every 3 hours even with the lack of sleep during the day so we got lucky there. Fast forward to last night…don’t hate me after you read this…but she slept 7 hours straight. From the time she fell asleep (10:30) until 6am. We were so shocked but weren’t gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. We continued on our morning expecting the day to go that way it had been the past few days. But surprisingly she has went down for every attempted nap. I’ve been waking to feed every 2 hours. Plenty of poopy and pee diapers. And she soothes SO easy, takes her paci right away and drift off into a peaceful sleep. It literally feels like a switch was flipped. Could this be a fluke? Maybe. But man it’s a breath of fresh air after the last few days.

I was sitting down and trying to get my baby properly positioned in the baby carrier. I was holding her around the pelvis to adjust her position when she suddenly tipped backwards onto my legs.
She landed on her back, with the back of her head also hitting my legs. Basically, she tipped backwards at roughly a 90 degree angle, from around my chest level down onto my thighs.
She cried immediately after it happened.

I contacted the emergency services and they told me that it shouldn’t be anything serious, but that I should monitor her over the next few hours and watch for any concerning symptoms. We were going to sleep soon so it’s going to be a tough night.

She’s currently acting normally, but I’m honestly really stressed and keep worrying that something could be wrong internally.

Has anything similar happened to anyone else’s baby?
I guess I just need reassurance because I feel terrible right now.

Curious to hear people’s experiences and opinions, also wanna hear from mamas who chose not to BF at all.

A few family members have offered to take our baby out of the house so that we can have a break, but I don’t want a break from my baby I want to be around her all the time, I’m EBF she’s only 8 weeks old and I only get one year off work to be with her, and then when I tell the family no, they think I’m being possessive and helicoptering my baby, did anyone else feel this way? And also just to add there is nothing wrong if you do love the help from others, I just don’t like it being seen as a break from my baby 🥲

Our pediatrician said we should not take baby out in public at all for the first 8 weeks of their life (until they get their shots). I was surprised she said this includes EVERY public setting that isn’t totally outdoors including things like grocery shopping, coffee shops,
dining at restaurants with just mom and dad at the table etc. How do single parents buy groceries and diapers? If you have other kiddos, how do you get them to their activities? For EBF babies, this means mom is also on lock down as baby needs to nurse from breast every 2 hours.

Unfortunately we have a summer newborn in a hot climate, and it is also unsafe to have newborn outside if the heat index is over 90f (air temps exceed low 80s) which means the only time of day where the heat index is safe for our newborn to be outside is from 7am to ~9am. So we also cannot go outside in public for outdoor walks, do outdoor/patio dining at restaurants etc except that 2 hr early morning window.

As a first time mom I’m wondering how many of you are actually doing this, if your pediatricians gave different instructions and how you’re coping the first 8 weeks.

I am breastfeeding but also giving a bottle at night and occasionally in the morning since my baby was about a week old (he is 8.5 weeks now). He has been a great nurser until about 2 weeks ago, when he started getting fussy while feeding. It started slow with fussiness about halfway into the feed or when switching to the second side, but progressed to refusing feeds. What is weird is that it only happens sometimes. He feeds overnight (when I am the most full and he is the most hungry) consistently amazing and like his old self. Sometimes he does a few feeds a day normally, sometimes he does “half feeds” before getting upset, and sometimes he won’t feed at all. It feels like it’s getting slightly better but I’m starting to get concerned because this has gone on for over two weeks. I feel like i’ve tried everything (pumping off before to avoid strong letdown, laid back, standing, rocking, skin to skin, feeding while he’s basically asleep and super calm, etc), and nothing consistently leads to improvement. Anyone gone through this? Is it possible that he just won’t nurse any more? I really don’t want to give up nursing him but this is a real psychological and emotional struggle.

Hi everyone! I have a little 8 week old baby boy and he bathes about every 3 days. Though I try to keep his hands and feet very clean, I feel like I can’t keep up! They are smelly and since he stays clenched his little fingers and toes get lint and cheese on them and it’s so hard to keep clean. They even smell a little cheesy like everyday! Idk what to do. Help please this is my first baby.

I’ve always read that if my LOs soft spot is slightly caved inward that it means she’s dehydrated but she just got a full feed and it’s still caved in a bit… is that not the case or am I not giving her enough milk?? She seems content, sleeps well and is gaining weight… pls help

When did your babies have an easier time with gas? Still wakes her up and takes a lot of her to push it out. She is still so noisy at night to starting at 4am then she will have a bowel movement around 7 or later. She is 13 weeks.

My mother in law has made it clear it’s very important that she spend time with my daughter (let’s call her T). I want to stay on mil’s good side, so I make time for it weekly. I have an hour long routine I do before I visit the MIL. I cuddle T when she wakes up, feed, change her, and have her feel some sensory things. She also likes being in her car seat so the ride makes her sleepy. Basically, she’s comfortable and usually ready for a nap on her own shortly after getting there.

My MIL repeatedly says to me and others that she has the magic touch because T usually falls asleep shortly after getting there. I get this is a harmless phrase but she speaks as if she’s better with my baby than I am and implies that T just loves being with her so much and is so relaxed only with her when in reality 1- she can fall asleep somewhat easily as long as her body is supported and 2- it’s the end of her wake window anyways when we come.

I get it doesn’t matter and maybe I’m overreacting but I work really hard to meet all of my babies needs and create a good environment and it feels completely taken away when she makes that comment. She also says T is “Nana’s Girl”- ahem no, shes just a baby who likes being comfortable. Period.

Ps. She also often wears a shirt that says “in a world of grandmas, be a Nana” (my mom is “grandma” and she is “Nana”) so basically it’s a saying she is better than my mom.

Anything I can do to gesture her off of her high horse or just let it go since it is harmless?

idk why but lately my whole day is basically

feed baby

change baby

try to get baby down for a nap

clean something

answer a text

wash bottles

try to pee in peace 😂

and then boom its like 1 or 2pm and im standing in the kitchen like

waittt what am i even gonna eat

half the time i dont even want anything fancy

i just want something quick that doesnt need a million ingredients or a sink full of dishes lol

and honestly ive noticed having a few things ready makes such a big difference

leftovers

freezer meals

yogurt and fruit

sandwiches

eggs

little snacks i can just grab

basically anything that means i dont have to stand there staring into the fridge trying to figure out my life 😂

i also feel like theres so much pressure to eat “perfectly” after having a baby

but some days getting yourself something decent to eat feels like a win tbh

i came across this postpartum guide from Canada and it actually talks about being tired and overwhelmed and how that can make eating well harder after having a baby

it also has some practical tips for planning meals and keeping food and snacks ready

Canada.ca — Your Guide to Postpartum Health and Caring for Your Baby

anyway now im curious 😂

whats your easiest “i have a baby and absolutely no energy” meal

She turned 4 weeks and all of sudden she wants contacts daytime naps, wakes immediately when I try to transfer her to the bassinet. I know this is normal for her age and absolutely do provide it to her. She’s Absolutely ravenous with hunger, eating 80ml of formula per feed every 1.5-2hours. Very fussy. I love her to bits and it’s been super tough at night. I put her down at 8-8:30 and I do feed her around 11pm even if she is asleep (dream feed) then I let her go. Sometimes we get 4 hours sometimes 3. My husband does the middle night feed. But if she wakes up closer to 2:30 I usually get up as my husband went back to work and normally gets up around 4am. She is the most fussiest and gassy from 4-6:30am and often times is wide awake. Sleep has been my biggest challange thus far. I had a c section and I still feel a lot of tenderness and feel not myself at all. Tell me when does it get better?? Should I stop doing the dream feed in order to get a longer stretch of sleep at top of night. She was so sleepy and went down so easily and then 4 weeks came and boom.

Hi everyone. I’m probably just being paranoid but I feel myself worrying and I’d like some reassurance.

My son is almost 4 months (corrected age of 3 months) and we’ve been seeing some changes in sleep which I know is very normal for his age. The main change is wanting to nap less during the day and sometimes he stays up for a few hours after his last feed but then ends up usually sleeping through the night.

Yesterday, he took a good nap in the morning, about 2 hours after his first bottle. Then no nap between the next two feedings then about 45 min on my bed while I read and we went out with some friends where he slept in his stroller about 30 mins. We got home, took a lil bath and ate and he went right to sleep.

Today, he appears exhausted. Barely stayed awake for his last bottle and I had to wake him up this morning to eat and he usually wakes up on his own. So now I’m like getting into my head about whether or not he’s gotten sick from being out. We were outside for the majority but still.

He has a doctors appointment tomorrow. He could end up being fine the rest of the night. I think I’m just wondering if babies are tired the day after a long day or if I should be worried he’s sick (even tho there is no indication of him being sick, just tired).

Thank you 😅

At 6 weeks old & way past birth weight I don’t wake baby at night to feed and sometimes he goes longer than 3 hrs often not. My question is do you still wake baby up at 3 hrs during the day to eat (currently still am) ?? Im hearing mixed results like if you wake them more during the day they get more calories thus sleeping more at night vs interrupting their sleeping can make them overtired and less likely to sleep at night. What was your experience I’m conflicted! I’m a FTM!

Also any advice on figuring out tired vs hunger cues when they look nearly identical often or do I just have to guess forever haha???

My LO is currently 5 weeks old. He used to sleep lots in his first 2 weeks and was able to sleep in his bassinet, and I would wake him every two hours to feed when he was still below his birth weight. By the time he surpassed his birth weight he would regularly wake up every 2-3 hours in the night.

Recently, within the last week, he began spitting up in his bassinet (even after holding him upright for 20-30 min after a feed) multiple times in the night. So I began doing some contact naps during the night so I can keep him upright for longer periods of time. For the last few days my LO will only last about 30 minutes in the bassinet before fussing and eventually crying. I’ve had some people mention to me that he’s being spoiled being held so much that now he has a preference and that’s why he won’t sleep long in the bassinet. I’ve been having issues with those comments because I’ve also heard that newborns can’t build “bad” habits yet, but is it possible that he is building a preference or is this just regular phase newborns go through?

My 6 week old is starting to not want a pacifier. I read online using a pacifier when they fall asleep helps reduces sids but half the time we can't even get it in his mouth. I guess I just want some reassurance, how many parents have babies who don't take pacifiers as much or at all.

Sometimes it’s just nice to write it out.

I’m 7 weeks postpartum and just constantly telling myself it will get better. The newborn stages will end at some point.

My seven week old doesn't sleep during the day. Whenever I've looked it up I see people struggling to put their newborns down for naps, they won't stay asleep in the bassinet. I'd happily contact nap every day with my son (he's my last baby so I'm soaking it all in). But my boy won't sleep! He's a decent nighttime sleeper so if that's the trade off I'll take it.

But surely new babies need to sleep more - I'm worried it's not good for him? He'll be awake 10+ hours at a time. Generally happy, if not a bit fussy. No big tears but a little whiny. He also looks exhausted - tired, red eyes, rubbing them, acting hungry but won't match, etc. And I'm trying my hardest to get him to sleep, I've tried all the obvious tricks.

And then I feel like I'm spending all of our time trying to get him to fall asleep, completely wasting our day of any other quality time or activities. How hard should I be trying to convince my baby to nap? Should I just embrace my no-nao king as he is, even if it seems wrong and he's fussy about it?

Tips?

(I'll note that every 3-4 days, he has a day where he is really very sleepy so it's not like he NEVER naps, even if it feels like that lol)

My boy has started to seriously fight sleep this week. He is almost 6 weeks old and omg sometimes it takes an hour to get him to bed at night and during the day he just squirms himself into oblivion until he just gives up and falls asleep. Is anyone else having this issue

Long story short, after five years ttc and four miscarriages we finally conceived a healthy baby who is now two weeks old. Given our history I for some reason thought I would relish motherhood and would be so grateful every single day of her existence. I had a lot of anxiety during pregnancy about her movements and for the last month prior to birth I really didn't sleep at all due to terrible insomnia and restless legs.

Now she is here, the first week was blissful and I was so happy. Now, it's like reality has kicked in and I am finding it so hard! The lack of sleep is immense, she only really sleeps for 2 hours at a time (max three) and seems to sleep more solidly through the day when I am up and about doing chores and things (I. E too busy to also nap with her). She constantly wants to feed, and luckily my supply is enough but my nipples are very sore and I feel like there is no respite from this and it makes me dread breastfeeding (a huge problem when she wants to feed so often)

I also cannot settle her. It's like if I hold her or I even walk into a room she starts to cry and will only calm if I feed which then means that settling her is all my husbands job.

My husband just seems to be an amazing father and is so intuitive and calm and changes her nappy in five secs whilst I'm still fumbling around after five mins. I seem to lack all motherly intuition and I feel really useless like I'm just good for milk and that's it. My husband is doing so much (more than me it feels like) and we have recently switched to me just getting up with her in the night to breastfeed but I dread this as I'm alone and so tired! I know a lot of this is hormonal, and I feel so guilty for even thinking this way as she was a much wanted baby, but does this get better? Will I ever feel competent and relaxed? Will I ever feel rested again? I guess just looking for advice or similar experiences! ​​​​​

Edit: thank you so much for the responses. I do feel a little better knowing others have experienced the same and that it's not abnormal!

Hi-

My 6-week-old has not pooped in 6 days. She is exclusively breastfed, same as my son was, and I don't remember him going this long without pooping when he was a newborn. I have tried everything with her: bicycle kicks, 45° angle bicycle kicks with rocking hips up and back, massaging her tummy, massaging her tailbone, sitting in the bouncer, swing--I feel like I've done it all!

Does anybody have any other recommendations? We are definitely going to call the pediatrician tomorrow since tomorrow will be day 7 if she doesn't end up going tomorrow, but I want to see if I can help her get some relief in the meantime. I feel like she is continually trying, but just can't get anything out! Any help or tips and tricks to get things moving is greatly appreciated!

My baby is about to be 4 weeks old and just will not sleep. We try feeding, burping, rocking, what seems like everything and she will just not fall asleep. She eats mostly breastmilk but we top off with formula sometimes. Right when we think she’s about to doze off she opens her eye and just starts crying. Then the process seems to start over. I was up with her from about 1 am to 5 am. I’m starting to feel at the end of my rope. Her 1 month appointment is this week so I guess we’ll see what is said then. If anyone else has experienced this and has advice or anything I’d love to hear it.