Parents who work far away from daycare - how are you handling midday emergency pickups?

We live in the GTA and work downtown a couple days a week. We don’t have any family in the area, and any nearby friends would also be working during these hours. I’m nervous about going downtown knowing I’m about an hour commute from the daycare (i believe their window for pickups is 60 minutes).

September 1 is a big start date, so how are we all feeling for those who just started daycare? 15 month old did little over an hour today and cried half the time I think? Feeling rough over here

Have any of you gone to a baby show and is it worth it? Bonus if you can speak on the Toronto baby show but I feel like they’re probably all similar..?

FTM, recently found out we’re expecting. We’re about 3 hours away from Toronto so I can want to know if it’s worth the trip and price to go.
I imagine it can be useful to see things in person before we have to purchase (strollers for example), or maybe there’s some free samples or coupons?

Thank you!

Just a straight forward advice needed. I am around 39weeks and 4days pregnant when I caught my husband cheating on another woman. I was watching TV, when my mind told me to check on my husband’s phone while he was sleeping on the couch. He does not mind me checking his phone from time to time (we were that open with each other) which made me feel secured and confident with our relationship for 8 years (5 years couple 3 years married)……… Until I found a name of a woman that I do not know on his messenger. Thinking maybe it’s one of his “girl“ friends during his college years but when I open the chat, there I saw them talking to each other, planning to meet this December (because you know, holidays, they can definitely request for a good long vacation.) The messages started from being friendly to being intimate, talking about life, work, fun and s**. And after a few scrolls down to their conversation, their plans were set. Now they are just waiting for the date to come. Well, the woman is working in Saudi Arabia and my husband is here in Canada, it’ll take them a while to meet each other back to the Philippines. With all the rage I felt, I woke him up and asked him about the woman he was chatting with. He was at first confused and saying nonsense like, ooh it’s nothing, it’s the usual “old friend” from back home and they were teasing each other, but when I told him the details of the messages, he immediately paused and went into out room to talk, he admitted that it’s his fault and said he was “sorry“ (with crocodile tears) and saying it was just for fun and I should not worry about it. He said he can’t live without me and the baby. I am so done. I have heard stories from his friends at work about stuff like he was talking to other women, I did not believe them this whole time because I did not see any signs of him cheating. I am planning to leave him and drive back to my family which they’re 10 hours away. But I am worried, with my condition, that maybe along the road, emergency might happen because I am almost due to give birth. Should I stay or leave? I dont want my family to know the reason about leaving him. I just want to have peace, and deliver my baby surrounded by people who loves truly.

I wrote an email to my MLA about the lack of affordable childcare in Vancouver and now I have a meeting with him to discuss.

Reaching out to any parents in Vancouver/BC to share their thoughts and feelings ahead of my meeting tomorrow at 1PM.

Thank you!

Hi. I’m trying to figure out what car seats to buy for our new second car, which will just be used to take the kids to and from daycare nearby.
Our main car is a Subaru Outback and we have 2 graco E2F, both rear facing for my 23 lb, 80 cm 1 year old and 40 lb, 110 cm 3 year old. Second car is a 2023 Impreza hatchback.

I was planning to keep my 3 y.o rear-facing as long as possible and getting 2 more graco E2F, but was also thinking about just getting him 2 FF seat like the Chicco myfit, and using his seat for my 1 year old in the new car.

Wondering if anyone had a similar situation and switched the older child to a FF seat sooner to give their seat to the younger kid, or when did you change to a FF seat?

Hi everyone, I am currently 9w pregnant and urgently looking for an OBGYN in North york general. I had an issue with dr Kreichman front office they wasted my 2 weeks in looking for a doc. Now i am kind of desperate to find a good doc in this area, as Kreichman was my doc in the first pregnancy. Please share some feedback!
Thank yyou!!!

Looking for some positive VBAC stories + advice on managing a toddler and newborn with little family support

Hi everyone! I just found out that I’m 6 weeks pregnant with our second baby, and honestly, I’m feeling a mix of excitement, anxiety and “how are we going to do this?” 😅

I had an emergency C-section with my first. I was induced (on my OB’s recommendation), and after about 8 hours of labour, things just weren’t progressing, so we ended up with an emergency C-section. I still regret the induction sometimes and really want to try for a VBAC this time if I’m a good candidate.

Our first will be 18 months next week and is also starting daycare, so we’re going to have a toddler and a newborn very close together.
Our family doctor has reassured us that we’re within the recommended timeframe for another pregnancy, which made me feel better. But my parents are really upset about the age gap and keep telling me how difficult it’s going to be. They also said it’s not possible for them to support this time due to their health conditions. My in-laws aren’t really in a position to help either.

So,it’s gonna be me and my husband. Thankfully, he’s amazing and very supportive. He’ll take full responsibility for our toddler during delivery and while I’m recovering postpartum.

But I’m trying to think ahead and figure out how I can prepare myself, especially if I have a VBAC vs. another C-section. I’m totally open to hiring a doula for labour and even for the hospital stay because I really don’t want my toddler to have to come to the hospital just because I need support from my husband.

I was also lucky enough to get a midwife this time, and my first call with her is in October.

I’d really love to hear from moms who were in a similar situation — VBAC, with a toddler around 18–24 months old and little or no family support nearby.
How did you manage? What did you do to prepare for postpartum? If you had another C-section, how did you handle recovery while caring for a toddler? If I hire a doula, should I need her throughout my stay in hospital ?

Honestly I was pretty upset when my parents said they can’t support. After reading stories from here, I feel like I can make it through if I plan things ahead and properly.

I am 37 weeks with my first and I’m calling all fellow anxious (particularly health anxiety) moms to share your positive birth stories!! 🥲

I had two losses last year so I think my brain keeps defaulting to what could go wrong, and of course people love to share the scariest birth stories with pregnant women haha.

I’m not afraid of pain - I know it will hurt! I’m afraid of being out of control, of something happening to me or to baby. Did anyone else have this fear?

Thanks in advance 💕

My daughter is 11 months old and is breastfed. She just started daycare and I have been sending her with a few bottles, which she seems to find very comforting. I’ve been told that after 12 months she shouldn’t be using a bottle anymore and that I can give her cows milk in a cup instead.

She drinks water from a cup with a straw but gulps it and half of it spills out of her mouth. I’m looking for a cup that she can drink milk out of that is slow enough flow so that she doesn’t spill milk all over herself. Any recommendations?

Hey moms! Trying to get some input on what’s considered normal and what isn’t.

My girl is 2.5 and started in a new Casa room at the beginning of the month with the older kids. It’s the same daycare, but this room has an 8:1 ratio, with 24 kids and 3 teachers. The class goes from 30 months up to just before preschool age.

On her first day in the new class, she came home with two deep scratches on her arm. We didn’t say anything because kids will be kids, and my daughter has scratched other kids a handful of times too.She was then off for a few days because she was sick. The second week back, she came home with a huge scratch on her face. She told me “Bobby” scratched her. This was the same name she gave us the previous week. My husband picked her up that day and asked what happened. One teacher said she didn’t know, and the supervisor suggested that she may have hurt herself while opening a lid.

The following day, I went in and spoke with the supervisor about the repeated scratches and the fact that my daughter was consistently saying “Bobby” scratched her. What really surprised me was that the supervisor told me there was no Bobby at the school. I know for a fact there was a Bobby in her previous class, and I had been told he moved up to this room a few months ago. The supervisor continued to deny it, while also reassuring me that everything was fine.

Fast forward two weeks to today. My daughter came home with another deep scratch on one side of her body and three noticeable pinch marks on the other side.My husband asked the teachers and supervisor what happened, and all three said they didn’t see anything and that it must have happened recently.When she got home, my daughter told me she was sad and cried at daycare. She even said she hit a wall and cried.

At this point, I’m pretty upset. I completely understand that toddlers will have conflicts, scratches happen, and no daycare can prevent every single incident. My concern is that every time my daughter comes home with an injury, nobody seems to know what happened.
If another child hurts her, I’m not expecting the daycare to magically prevent every incident. But I would expect the teachers to have some awareness of what is happening in the room, especially when there are multiple visible injuries.

For moms who have kids around this age:
• Is this considered normal in your experience?
• How often does your daycare have no idea how an injury happened?
• Would you be concerned about the repeated unexplained injuries?
• How would you approach the daycare/supervisor about this?
• Is there anything specific you would ask them to do going forward?

I’d really appreciate hearing other moms’ experiences before I decide how strongly to escalate this.

We sent our LO (16 months) to a new daycare licensed by WeeWatch today. It was day 1. The provider during the interview/meet and greet seemed very warm and caring. But today she was a bit distant and frankly weird.

So we dropped off our LO at around 9am. The provider refused to share any pictures (of just our LO) to pacify our anxiety that she is fine or not. After about an hour she texted saying that we forgot to give his wipes so she can't change the diaper. Firstly we are certain we have the wipes and secondly how hard is it to find a substitute solution (wet tissue or a spare wipe box). Then she sent a picture of our LO in distress and said you have to come pick him up as day 1 is transition for just an hour. We went there in 15 mins. At pick up she just gave us a bag of her dirty clothes with poop in it since the diaper had leaked (and she had changed her diaper then). Also above all this we had Informed her at drop off that he will likely poop since he hadn't yet this morning.

I just wanted to discuss whether this is a genuine concern or just an anxiety.

We will try it out for a few more days but wanted to check with the community.

Wife had her US and when she was going in the tech said I’d be able to come at end. Had abdominal first and then TV and when I asked afterwards if I could come in she said doc will review with it. But then I said why did u initially say I could come in and she was like I didn’t feel comfortable when we went to TVUS. After I pushed a little she confirmed heart beat and intrauterine and that as far as I could tell baby looked good. But she said “between you and me only “… was just weirded out at the whole experience.. should we be worried ?

Hi everyone! FTM here, due in November, and I’m getting a little overwhelmed trying to choose a stroller 😅

For the infant car seat, we’re leaning toward the Clek Liing, and originally I thought we’d just go with the UPPAbaby Vista V3 since it seems like such a popular choice.

But after trying strollers in person, I realized I don’t actually have a strong preference! The Vista V3 felt good, but so did the Cruz, Bugaboo Fox, and some of the Cybex strollers. They all seemed nice, which somehow made the decision even harder 😂

A little about us:

• I’m 5'1" and my husband is 6'2"
• We live in a condo in Victoria, BC
• I don’t drive, so when I’m alone with baby, I’ll most likely leave directly from our condo and walk/use the stroller
• When we go somewhere by car together, my husband will be the one loading/unloading the stroller
• We’re not sure yet if we want a second baby
• Budget isn’t really the deciding factor, I mostly want something practical that we’ll enjoy using

For those with a similar lifestyle, what would you choose? Vista V3, Cruz, Bugaboo Fox, Cybex, or something else?

Anyone have their dating ultrasound done at north York general hospital? Wife has hers tomorrow. Would I be allowed in the room? Do they share picture print outs ? Thanks :)

Looking for babymoon destination ideas for November. I will be in the last week of my second trimester.

We want to avoid the US. We were considering Paris but a little concerned about the long flight. Love the island but typically go to ucluelet every year so doesn’t feel as special….

Looking for somewhere romantic/cozy. TIA!

Is cord blood banking legit? I did the Markham prenatal class which has a significant section talking about it and I’ve been pushed many ads online… It kind of feels like a money grab/scammy, but maybe I’m being cynical. Curious if others have the same impression or if it’s actually something we should consider?

Hi! We have a nuna pipa car seat plus base that came with the tavo stroller travel system. We have always used the base but now that my husband is going back to work and we have two cars, we will interchangeably use our cars. My question is, can the car seat that comes with the system can be used without the base using the belt method?

When my baby was born (they are currently 5 months old), I added them to my insurance plan (Canada Life). This increased my cost. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make the most of it? We are fortunate that our baby is in good health. Is an osteopath/chiropractor worth going to without any major issues?

I have a 7 week old baby (as of today!) and I’m not very crafty but one of my favourite things to do as a kid was look through scrapbooks my mom had made. I’m hoping to do some digital scrapbooking with my photos and then print them into a book. Does anyone have a recommended website or software they use to do something similar? Because this is something that I’d want to work on over time, I don’t know if I’d want to do something like a Shutterfly photo book. I’ve been thinking maybe Canvas, but wanted to see if there are better options out there!

We have the Stonz cruiser but not sure if it's waterproof? With it raining every other day in the GTA, I need to get rain boots for daycare, any recs would be appreciated!

My 11 month old is going to daycare soon and he’s nowhere near walking! The daycare requires indoor and outdoor shoes. He has only ever been in bare-feet and occasionally socks for warmth. The thought of him being in an actual shoe (e.g Stonz) all day inside makes me kinda sad? The daycare said non-slip slippers are fine before he’s walking. Any suggestions for products for indoor? Are Stonz the go-to for outdoor or both? What worked for your littles around this transition from crawling to walking?

Edit: Also - do we put them in socks in the shoes!? Idk why this is a mystery to me lol

I am having a missed miscarriage as confirmed by no fetal heartbeat at my first ultrasound. I am in BC. I have been reading up on options and I am thinking of doing d and c. Is it necessary to insist on it being done at the hospital or is mild sedation in a clinic enough?

I have just started lightly lightly bleeding if that makes any difference.

Does anyone have a bottle they've used successfully for daycare that holds up well to frequent dishwasher washing?something with as few parts as possible and ideally made mostly of stainless steel rather than plastic. Not sure if there are ones with stainless steel straws though. TIA