Needing some recommendations on a sleep sensor - either a sock or mat or some other device. Early in my pregnancy i was convinced i needed an owelet sock which after being diagnosed with prenatal depression and anxiety my psychologist very strongly recommended against for me due to how high tech it was and that it connects to my phone and i’d be able to see it 24/7. However i would like an alternative as i think they are quite good IF (god forbid) you end up needing one and it has caught something.

Any recommendations would be fantastic thank you! Please don’t tell me i dont need one and keep negative opinions to yourself there has been so many negative comments thrown towards me on the things i want during pregnancy lol

I’m going back to work after being a SAHM for almost two years and I’m struggling with it much more than I expected.

I was recently offered what is essentially a dream job for me. It’s an opportunity I’ve wanted for a very long time and logically I know I’m incredibly lucky to be in this position. But accepting it means putting my two-year-old into daycare, and I feel so guilty about it.

A few people around me have made comments that she’s “too young” for daycare or questioned why I’m going back to work when I could stay home with her. I know I shouldn’t let other people’s opinions affect me, but the comments have really gotten into my head.

I keep wondering whether I’m being selfish for choosing something I want when I could continue being home with her.

I’m also suddenly grieving the last two years. I keep thinking about all the days I was tired, distracted, on my phone, doing housework or just trying to get through the day. I wish I had appreciated being home with her more while I had it. Now it feels like that chapter is ending and I can’t get it back.

I think my biggest fear is that I’m going to look back one day and feel like I missed her childhood because I chose to work. She’s changing so quickly at this age and the thought of someone else seeing parts of her life that I’m not there for genuinely hurts.

At the same time, I know I wanted this job. Before I got it, I would have been devastated if the opportunity had passed me by. So why do I now feel like choosing it makes me a bad mother?

I guess I’m looking to hear from other mums who went back to work after being home with their children for a couple of years. Did you feel this kind of grief and guilt? Did it get easier once you actually started? And looking back now, do you feel like you missed out?

Hey all,

FTM here, I would love if anyone could share some pros & cons from your experience using the owlet sock and/or whether you are planning to use one this time around?

I’ve been gifted one second hand and I’m in two minds about using it or not. Is it worth it or just more stress inducing? I’ve heard conflicting ideas from family and friends, so I’m looking for some wider advice please.

Thanks in advance everyone. 💕☺️

Is this normal? So my son is 2 and a bit. He’s been waiting to transition down to the 2-3 room at daycare but waiting for vacancies. I recently pushed for him to get down the soon solely because his bestfriend who he’s been with from the beginning is extremely smart and his parents have really been pushing for him to go down and I don’t want my son to miss out on being with his favourite person at daycare. Now I don’t really care about him moving to a bigger room so do more advanced things, I’m happy with where he’s at and really believe daycare should be fun and play and not so much education, he’s got his whole life to do that.

So Monday he went down on his own without his best friend. They said he had a good day but didn’t play with anyone. I am immensely sad like I’m a very happy person usually. But if I say the words he didn’t play with anyone or like think about daycare I am like a wreck.

Is this like a normal thing? Like I was fine when he started daycare but he’s got new educators that I don’t know, all the kids are big and mine is below 3rd percentile so very small. I have this belief they won’t care about him and I just feel like nothhhhing positive about this. Is it just me grieving that he’s growing up. He’s my one and done, I’ll never get to do this again so all of his firsts and lasts are the only time we will experience them.

Thanks for reading my essay and thank you for any and all advice to get through this.

I’m in a pretty fortunate position where I currently work 3 days a week and have the flexibility to add/reduce days if I want to.

I’ve just run the numbers on going back to 4 days, and after tax, extra daycare and HECS, I’d only be about $50 a week / $2,500 a year better off.
Honestly, that doesn’t really feel worth giving up another day at home with the kids.

My husband has asked me to come up with a number where I’d actually feel like the 4th day was worth it financially, rather than staying home with the kids.

So I’m curious, what would that number be for everyone else?

How much extra per week would make you think it was worth working the extra day?

Edit: thanks everyone, but a couple people might have missed the mark here. It was just a healthy, curious conversation between my husband and I. He is a very involved father and does a lot around the house (probably more than me a lot of the time) and he supports my decision. All our finances are shared between the family, so his salary is taken into account. I was more just curious what it would be for others!

My 9 month old gets up multiple times a night I feed him back to sleep, which sometimes is draining but I am not wanting to do any sleep training. Anyways naps… he normally does two 60-70 minute naps a day recently he’s been wakening half way through and I go in and pat him or rock him back to sleep is this wrong should I let him wake? But I feel if he’s easily going back to sleep within two minutes he needs the rest.

Sorry if this is a bit too TMI but just checking if this change is normal.

Bubs is 5 month old and has been breastfed from birth and we haven’t started solids yet. Up until maybe 4-5 days ago he would usually poop once in a day or two with some normal variation (which I know is common for breastfed babies). But in the last few days, he’s pooping after almost every feed and the poop colour has also changed to a dark green (it was yellow beforehand). Nothing in his feeding / sleeping pattern has changed and he seems totally fine so just sussing if this is normal?

Thank you!

I’ve been EBF my 12-month-old since birth. We co-sleep and he still nurses frequently overnight. My cycle returned at 8 months postpartum, which we were excited about because we’ve always hoped for a small age gap.
We’ve been trying to conceive ever since, but my cycles have been long and irregular (40+ days), making ovulation hard to track. I’ve been using OPKs for the last two cycles with no clear answers.
A few mums have told me that even though my period has returned, I may need to wean from breastfeeding to get pregnant. Has anyone found this to be true? Or conceived while continuing to breastfeed?
The problem is that neither my son nor I feel ready to wean. I’ve tried replacing some daytime feeds with cow’s milk, but he still asks for the breast and gets upset if I refuse. I really want to follow his cues.
It feels like such a hard choice 💔 I desperately want another baby, but I’m not ready for our breastfeeding journey to end.

So I’m due to go away for 1 night in November and I’ll be away from my baby while he stays with my mum. I’ll be gone for about 18 hours and he will be 7 months by then but I’m struggling to understand how people build a freezer stash? I’ve been pumping after each time I feed him and the most I’m getting is like 30mls. Does that mean I have to pump 5-6 times after feeding just to get one bottle worth to freeze?? Pumping is like impossible as well when I’m at home with the baby and a 2.5 year old the only time I can do it in peace is when they are both sleeping and it’s usually not after I’ve fed the baby. Do I just buy a tin of formula?? Help!

I’ll be returning to work soon for 4 days a week when my baby turns 14 months.

My husband and I are probably the typical first time parents in that we are both feeling a bit nervous about putting him in daycare those 4 days. Ideally we would have gotten a nanny until he was closer to 2 years old but it’s not really in the budget, so we’ve found a daycare that we feel happy with (at least from the one tour we’ve done).

I was just wondering if it would be worth getting a nanny for one day a week?? Thinking Monday or Friday to give him a “long weekend” at home and then he’d only be in daycare for 3 days.

I’ve told one friend this idea and she mentioned the juice probably wouldn’t really be worth the squeeze. She said only seeing a nanny once a week would require getting him reacquainted with her every week and then it’s also less days that he’s in daycare forming bonds with his caregivers there. I see that but I think I’m just nervous about having him in for 4 full days, it feels so much… he’s such a quiet content little boy that I worry the squeakier wheels will get the oil, so to speak.

Idk I’m definitely overthinking this but thoughts/opinions??

I’ve been using a wearable pump more regularly lately and I’ve noticed one side consistently gives me way less than the other.

It’s not just a tiny difference either. Sometimes one side will be nearly double the other, even when I start at the same time and use the same settings.

I’ve tried repositioning it, checking the seal and making sure everything is centred properly, but it still seems to happen.

Is this just one of those normal breastfeeding/pumping things, or could it be a fit or flange issue?

Would love to hear if anyone else has the same thing.

whats the best age to start baby sensory class? i want it to be worth it for my baby. theres an enrolment coming up, but she’ll only be 2mo. i wonder if i should wait for the next term when she is 6mo, and get more out of it?

what did you guys do?

Do you have a regular cleaner and are the benefits worth the fortnightly costs for you?
I only work 3 days so feel like I should be able to get more done but it’s all the big stuff piling up (bathrooms!) that I feel like taking the pressure off would make us all feel happier. But the guilt of how much it will cost is getting to me!

After tips & tricks for breathing with larger breasts.

I am about an H cup maybe larger & struggling to find a breastfeeding pillow or option that is comfortable and works.

I always have to hamburger my boob and hold it in his mouth, otherwise the weight pulls it down and turns the latch bad and painful.

Baby boy is 3 weeks old, so I still need to support him a lot while breastfeeding.

Would love to be able to breastfeed without any pillow as well - so we can feed comfortably if I’m not home because I know I won’t have pillow with me everywhere I go! So any tips or pointers there would be swell.

I LOVE hearing people’s birth stories. Loved your epidural? Cool. Water birth? Amazing. Natural and quick? Wowsa. C-section? Tell me everything.

But there’s such a difference between sharing your experience and pushing your opinion onto a pregnant woman…. “Don’t be a hero, get the epidural.” “If you have a water birth I won’t look at you the same.”

Like… why 😂 I just want to hear YOUR experience, not be told what mine should be. Anything can happen on the day, right?

So, what’s your birth story?

​

For parents who skipped daycare and kept their children at home until kinder: how did your child adjust when they started? In retrospect, would you do anything differently?

​I’m lucky to have the option to keep my child at home until kinder, but I'm concerned about how it might affect their social skills.

I just need to have a vent.. my precious little girl has awful reflux and colic. Her life consists of living in the carrier, crying and being in pain. I feel so terrible for her, she’s six weeks old.
My sister in law and brother in law had a baby a week and a half after my daughter was born. We had a family catch-up yesterday and I just feel devastated.
Their baby is very chilled, just sleeps and eats. She barely ever cries. My husband’s family all took turns at holding my baby and after a few minutes they all gave her back and said “oh she’s very unsettled” or “go back to mum, mum will make you feel better” or “have you taken her to the doctor again? Have you tried gas drops”. I feel like any conversation I have with them is always about how unwell and unsettled my baby is.
I had to watch them all take turns in holding my sister and brother in laws baby. They all cuddled her and said how “beautiful and calm she was”. The interactions they had with the baby were so nice.. I had to hold back tears.
I know it’s probably my hormones but I just felt like me and my baby were a burden and theirs was this angel sent from heaven.
I spent the entire catch-up walking up and down the hallway with my baby who was screaming. No one offered to take her which I understand.. but it just made me feel so unwanted. My husband has been a blessing and took her for a 40 minute walk by himself in the carrier so I could eat and have a break.
I love my niece and it has nothing to do with her or my SIL/BIL. I just feel so sad that she doesn’t get the same loving interactions as her cousin.

FTM, almost 35w ... Feel like I'm stuck and overwhelmed at the same time. I'm still working, one more week left which I'm excited for. Trying to organize a local get away with my somewhat emotionally distant partner, but that's been a logistical nightmare, so it probably won't happen. We don't have sex anymore, and tbh I don't even feel like it anyway but can't help but feel incredibly guilty about it. I'm constantly thinking about all the things we need to do or talk about, but never having the time or energy to deal with it, or prompt the conversation; cause if I don't initiate anything to do with the pregnancy or baby it just doesn't happen. We (or realistically just 'I') have already bought the basic necessities for the newborn, nursery and hospital stay, but am constantly feel like I'm missing something, or find myself doomscrolling things I may need. I have nothing to wear, and feel too far into this pregnancy to buy more maternity things. I've been managing pelvic girdle pain since the second trimester, and it's been shit not being able to even just enjoy a walk or just sleep.

Whenever anyone asks how my pregnancy is going, I say it's going great because in the grand scheme of things it has been an "easy" pregnancy... But man, I just feel so alone, and overwhelmed, and anxious about the weeks left to come.

Thanks for allowing me to rant.

If you have had a toddler and a baby with a similar age gap, what has your experience been like? And what advice would you suggest?
Really appreciate it if you could tell me about the newborn + toddler phase and toddler + toddler phase.
Hoping they are best friends but I’m assuming there will be a lot of fighting and jealousy as normal

FTM here - My 9 month old baby boy has been waking up 3x a night consistently for a few weeks now and it’s been extremely frustrating, as he was a much better sleeper when he was younger.

He used to wake up once or twice max for a bottle from 3-4 months old. Despite having solids twice a day and plenty of bottles, he now wakes up for a full 200ml bottle 3x a night. Usually around 10-12am, 2-3am and then 5-6am. I’m at my wits end, I am getting so burnt out and sleep deprived! I feel like I have a newborn. He won’t go back to sleep if he’s even a little bit hungry so if I offer a 150ml bottle, he won’t sleep without that extra 50mls. I’m not sure if this is a sleep regression or a growth spurt. He’s also teething really badly at the moment and just cut his first tooth. Separation anxiety is at a all time high.

He woke up tonight at 1am, then 3:30am and then 5am for a full bottle. It’s 5:45am now and he’s babbling away & blowing raspberries as I type this lol

Before this sudden change, he’d wake up once a night for a feed and I was really considering him putting in his own room.

Is this a regression? Is my sleep going to get better? Am I doing a bad thing by giving him bottles at night as I heard he should be night weaned by now? He genuinely seems hungry and smashes the entire thing. He’s also growing super fast lately, I feel like everyday he looks bigger and taller.

My little boy is 12 weeks adjusted age and 5.5kgs. He’s put on about 2.8kgs since birth and seems to be on his own curve (12th percentile) but does sometimes dip below it.

We struggle with feeding - he gets frustrated on the boob and takes a bottle so I’m moving towards pumping more and combo feeding but honestly, I can’t get him to take more. I try to offer top ups, he seems to enjoy snacking more than big feeds but he doesn’t take more food. He isn’t crying, he’s very smiley and alert and happy

Is he just a smaller eater?

Edited to clarify - he’s never dipped in weight between weigh ins, good amount of wet nappies, just one nurse made a comment about his slow gain…

Two days ago I had my dating scan, I went in thinking I was 6+6 but measured at 5+5. There was a heartbeat of 117 though. Since the scan I’ve had spotting, mainly when I wipe (with a bit of blood on a liner, not enough for a pad). It’s mainly pink or brown but occasionally red. I haven’t had any pain, just the occasional light cramp. I know spotting can be common, and I’m thinking the transvaginal scan might have irritated my cervix, but the whole measuring behind thing has me wondering if this warrants a doctor visit? I wouldn’t otherwise think so and would be prepared to wait it out, but wanted to get some other opinions

Hi everyone! I'm a FTM currently at 33 weeks. Baby girl has been getting the hiccups quite frequently. She gets them the most as I'm going to bed, I try to change positions and rub where she's sitting in my belly. But is there anything I can actually do to settle them? I get little sleep as it is without the hiccups getting in the way. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm an Australian maternity care provider with an interest in improving how women prepare for labour and birth.

I'm currently trying to better understand women's experiences of antenatal education and where they feel the biggest information gaps are. I am now a mum myself and having gone through it from the other end, I feel that current education options are lacking in depth and detail around birth, as well as postpartum recovery and lactation.

I'm conducting a short anonymous survey and would be incredibly grateful for perspectives from anyone currently pregnant in their first pregnancy or who has recently given birth (see below links) Any general comments about your experience of birthing education also welcome.

Thanks so much!

For those currently pregnant but none yet done birthing classes: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdl8WjrGuK1UudIqN2wd1tFXoq_w4pAexuR-IemLLRyiZXqYA/viewform?usp=publish-editor

For those currently pregnant and have completed birthing classes: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSffxAK-eFE7DBoy3U1jN9-oU4jEMaPBRr9s1xougw0SH892kQ/viewform?usp=publish-editor

For those that have had their baby and now post partum: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEpJ64LyMKk2yw9OBLuOUcnD1dhDsv6GXrmEljtE2iH8bkYw/viewform?usp=publish-editor