I keep reading these posts where the husband/ partner basically does absolutely nothing and makes things 10x harder and that makes me really sad. I wanted to put an appreciation post out there. My husband has been so incredibly wonderful, I cannot imagine doing this without him and his support. The whole time while I was laboring he kept telling me how amazing I am and how proud he was of me. Since we've been home, he makes sure I always have water and food and rest when possible, tries to keep the house tidy, takes baby when he can, does diaper changes (and gets peed on regularly), and constantly entertains our toddler. He also just loves being a dad and truly wants to bond with and care for our two sons. He is a fantastic husband and father. Please let me know what your partner has been doing that you appreciate! Or for the partners out there who did not give birth, tell me what you appreciate about the person who gave you your child 🙂

EXCLUSIVE: US refusals of crucial newborn vitamin spike, raising risk of dangerous bleeding

Refusals in US hospitals of vital newborn vitamin rose 57% from January-June, analysis finds. Girl babies more likely than boys to not receive the shot within a day of birth, data shows. Doctors express growing concern over rising risk of catastrophic bleeding in newborns. Health agency says it is evaluating data and surveillance related to vitamin K refusals and bleeding events.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-refusals-crucial-newborn-vitamin-spike-raising-risk-dangerous-bleeding-2026-09-01/

this is going to sound weird but bear with me

i love my son more than anything, genuinely, but i wasn't ready for how much i'd also grieve my old life at the same time. like i'd be holding him at 4am completely in love and also just... missing who i used to be. missing sleeping in. missing being able to leave the house without a 45 minute prep routine. missing just being ME instead of "dad" 24/7

i felt so guilty even thinking that at first, like it meant i didn't love him enough or something. but then i mentioned it to my brother and he said he felt the exact same way when his kid was born and it was honestly such a relief to hear

i think we talk so much about the exhaustion and the crying and the sleep deprivation but nobody really prepares you for the identity shift part. like you're allowed to love this tiny person completely AND still miss your old self at the same time. those two things aren't in conflict, i just didn't know that going in

anyway if anyone else is feeling this and hasn't said it out loud yet, you're not a bad parent for feeling it

did anyone else go through this or was it just me

6 weeks old: Baby cries at least half the time he’s awake. He seems totally vacant when he cries - screaming into the void - and it goes on and on. I don’t understand what’s wrong or how to help him.

16 weeks old: Baby only properly cries once or twice a day now. He wakes up from his nap crying, usually a sign he’s not quite done sleeping yet. I can see he’s already doing everything he can to calm himself down - sucking hard on his little fist, shaking his head from side to side. It strikes me how hard he’s trying. He looks up at me and seems relieved that I’m there to help him. He softens as I pick him up and turns his head into me.

As we bounce together on the yoga ball, his crying slows, and he starts to reorient himself. Within 10 minutes, we’re bouncing quietly and calmly. He drifts back off for a quick nap top-up. I listen to a true crime podcast and flick through Vinted. Then I give him a big smooch on the head, and we move on with our day.

The difference isn’t just that he cries less now - it’s that crying is now a conversation. He has a way of asking for help, and I have a way of giving it. If you’re waiting for this, it really is just around the corner ❤️

I’m a FTM to a 6 wk old. Are there any other parents out there who cannot nap during the daytime? “Sleep when your baby sleeps” is especially difficult for me, and I just can’t nap when he naps.

My husband and I are taking shifts ever since he returned to work, and our evenings end so early. He takes the 8-1 shift and I take the 1-6 shift, and I miss him terribly.

If I get 6 hours, I count myself lucky. How much sleep are other people getting? If you’re able to nap, are you getting more sleep?

I had my second son about 3 weeks ago. I am struggling so bad. He WILL NOT sleep in his bassinet or crib. I think the longest stretch we’ve gotten in the whole 3 weeks is maybe 45 minutes. My husband and I are taking turns staying awake and holding him all night. We are exhausted. The exhaustion is making us irritated with each other. I have tried waiting until he’s in a deep sleep, warming the bassinet, swaddling, not swaddling. You name it- I have probably done it. Please help me think of something to try that maybe I haven’t done, i am desperate.

Baby girl has started getting really passionate about her future as an opera singer but I just can't support her this early in her life. I have tried many things to put a pause on her career path and finally found what works for her. I stick her in the swing and throw on some Nascar with no commentary at a pretty good volume, she stops and goes right to sleep. As much as it annoys the crap out of me after 20 minutes, she loves it, so I'll play it all night if I have to.

What have y'all found that works for you? Anything weird or silly that just makes you go "huh, well ok then?"

Why is our generation so obsessed with wake windows and sleep patterns and all the things. It’s all consuming to constantly be thinking of when my daughter’s (7w) next nap is and I feel like it’s taking away from the joy of motherhood. BUT I feel like it’s important to know these things. I’m torn. Any type B parents out there that just go with the flow? I’m trying but I want to know if it works out in the long run sleeping wise.

My son is 6 weeks, he has been dealing with infant dyschezia for weeks. It's been really hard, lots of sleepless nights, grunting and crying.. However, the last couple of days it seems he's struggling less! I was actually caught off guard by him pooping without a single fuss or grunt!

While the sleep was disrupted, I got 7-8 hours of sleep. I did have to go back to sleep at 8am with him, but hey I feel like a new woman. He woke up twice last night.

Lastly he smiled at me multiple times today!!! I'm so happy about how today went, even if it were just for today!!

Hey everyone
I have a 9 week old. She’s our beautiful rainbow baby after a missed miscarriage last August.

During pregnancy at 24weeks I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I was severely strict with it so it was managed with diet only. But it was hard because i love food. I love cooking and baking. The only thought that got me going was that once my little tenant moves out of my belly - I can have that donut and that cookie or cake, a bowl of spaghetti.

We wanted to be parents so much and for the first few weeks things were looking great.

And I got that. For a month. At the end of July she started having a rash. I was so sure it was neonatal acne, but doctor said it is food related and told me to cut out all dairy product and sweets as I exclusively breastfeed.

It’s been three weeks and her zits are gone for like 3 weeks too. But her poop became greenish (one or two were proper green), mucousy, sometimes with specs of blood. And she has a rash on her face and body in the form of little red thingies.

So the doctor told me to go on to the elimination diet. Basically all I’m eating now is chicken (which I also have to cut out as it turns out), turkey, lean pork, carrot, cucumber, pumpkin and zucchini, rice cakes and rice with buckwheat. And I don’t even have the time to cook all this 🥲

This has been my cherry on top together with a constantly screaming baby. I fear every evening as I’ve never feared anything else. She screams whenever I try to feed her. Screams if I don’t. Screams to the point of choking. Me and my husband try to calm her down but I am overwhelmed. Last few evenings started crying with her because I don’t know what to do. She doesn’t eat much during the day, she’s like 7-15 min eater and I try to offer her every two hours because I’m afraid she’s not gaining enough weight. But it’s becoming so hard. For example it’s almost 10pm here and through the day she ate less that 1,5h combined. I don’t even know how she’s able to poop five times a day.

I don’t know if it’s her belly, witching hour or the devil himself torturing me for who knows what, but it’s so debilitating. I feel like we’re both being tortured by me trying to breastfeed her because I really want to. My husband also really wants me to. But I don’t know if I can between the screaming, belly and strict diets and food diaries.

Feels like I’m having less milk because of all the stress. Which, of course, causes more stress.

I don’t feel like it’ll get better 😢

I just need to vent

I'm a ftm to a 8w boy and he's my whole world. My pregnancy was horrible and postpartum has been hell. I have postpartum preeclempsia hypertension and my dr sent meds for ppd. It's the first week since my husband went back to work and i feel like I'm drowning. Not sleeping and it's worse since my baby has refluxissues. I feel like everyday I'm struggling. Breastfeeding and pumping is another nightmare. We have absolutely no support from anyone and it's been so hard. Today he came home with food since I've been looking after him alone since 11pm last night. He brought donuts and after I eat some and see something crawling on me. A freaking ant. I look in the box and there's ants. We don't have any. I ate donuts with ants and that's what was the cherry on top. I don't know how I'm going to make it. I don't even feel like I'm as good of a mom asi could be. I'm falling apart. Thank you for a safe space to rant

Today I fed my 6 week old. I always feed him his bottle burp him after every 1/2 oz. Today when I was burping him, he spit up a little, then a larger amount came out and some out of his nose. It looked like he wasn’t breathing for a few seconds and then he started crying. It terrified me so bad. I don’t want him to have fluid in his lungs. Is this normal?

This is the first week that I don’t feel so overwhelmed. I went back and read my old posts and cried. How just 4 weeks ago I was so scared and shell shocked at becoming a mom over night. The sundown scaries, anxiety, the unknowns were all too much. Each day felt heavier and heavier, like I couldn’t breathe.

Here I am, rocking my 6 week old to sleep, crying at how much lighter it all feels. Things are still hard, but I’m more confident in myself. I’m back on my anxiety medication, in therapy, and actually reached out for help. I’m so proud of myself for showing up every day. I don’t have anything figured out, but I know I’m on the right path.

It doesn’t get “easier”. You become more brave, more courageous, more confident.

first time mom here and honestly curious about this

what was the one thing that felt the hardest during those first weeks with a newborn?

for me it was how there always seemed to be something to figure out lol. sleep, feeding, crying, trying to understand what the baby needed... and when you're already tired its kinda hard to even know where to start

was it the same for you or was there something completely different that stressed you out the most?

just curious what other moms experienced

Our baby is 3 days old and we have been up all night for the last couple of nights because he wants to eat and eat. They told us at the hospital that cluster feeding would start and there would be back to back feedings but we didn't think it would be all night long and only a couple minutes apart. We were just wondering if this is normal or if we should go see a lactation consultant. Also another thing is that we can only manage to get him to sleep if he is breastfeeding or immediately after the feeding is over and we have to hold him on our chests. He hasn't slept in the bassinet since the hospital its almost like he needs skin to skin to sleep.

I have been using Yoga ball (plus tapping on his bum and using white noise at the same time) to sooth the baby to sleep daily since he was 1 month old (currently 2 and a half month old). I have tried without the Yoga ball but he would cry. After he falls asleep on the Yoga ball i would standing up and only tapping his bum until he is deep sleep then putting him down to his bed.

Now Im worried that he would get addicted to this high level of sleep assistance and the habit might continue to even when he gets older.

Anyone have been using yoga balls to sooth your baby to sleep? What is your experience when the baby gets older?

Thank you,

Hi, I’ve seen a few post similar to mine but I just want to put my exact experience and someone to tell me there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Since my baby hit 4 weeks, she has fought sleep at every given opportunity.

She’s 5 weeks today and hasn’t grown out of it. We’re totally 1 hour 45 minutes sleep since 8am this morning. She’s had 30 mins there, 15 there and 5 elsewhere.

Normally I can get through on the thought that she does sleep at night. (4 hours bottle, 4 hours) however, last night she decided absolutely fucking not.

I feel I can’t take her out the house because she just thinks the world is the most interesting thing ever. So I took her to the shopping centre today so I could levee the house - zero sleep.

She doesn’t cry or kick off much, maybe like 3 minutes of crying every so often? She’s just… awake? But surely it’s no good for her?

Also I’ve tired everything
- pram walks (nope the outside world is interesting!)
- hates swaddles
- contact naps end up in her practicing tummy time or staring at my face
- dark room, haaa she won’t be fooled!
- carrier, hit and miss, some days yes some days no
- car, nope, just enjoys the tunes and looks out the window
- white noise just chills her out she just listens to it
- “shh” just looks at me like I’m a dickhead
- walking, bouncing, rocking - nope
- put her down in her crib she just looks around for 20 odd minutes until she cries to be picked up

I’ve had this since 4 weeks, she did have a sleepy day yesterday but then her night sleep was fucking awful!

We’re averaging about 12 hours sleep across 24 hours

But she’ll regularly do
20 mins nap
Up for 2 hours
5 min nap
Up for 3 hours

Is this normal?! Will she start napping more?

She started the week at 4 weeks with 8 hours straight awake 🙃 I thought we’d be out of it by now but it’s been over a week.

Please help - a very anxious momma!

Our baby girl was born today, and one of her feet looks very bent/turned compared to the other. It honestly looks quite dramatic and almost as if something is wrong with it.

We asked both the midwife and the pediatrician shortly after birth. They both examined her and believe it is most likely due to the position she was in during pregnancy, and that it should gradually straighten out on its own.

I still find it a little worrying because of how extreme it looks.

Has anyone else had a newborn with a foot that looked like this? Did it straighten out by itself, and if so, roughly how long did it take?

I’m not looking for a diagnosis, just hoping to hear experiences from other parents who have seen something similar.

I’m so livid bc my husband woke up my 2 month old at midnight by kissing her goodnight…. Like WHY. It’s been over an hour and a half and I can’t get her back down.

I then nursed her after he woke her, then gave her to him to burp. I immediately passed out. He said she fell asleep and he put her back in the crib and then accidentally woke her up AGAIN bc he was anxious her swaddle wrap (the kind w Velcro) was too tight 😭

UGH

I am F28, almost 11 weeks postpartum, I just had my first baby. When I was in my 39 weeks of pregnancy, they noticed a high blood pressure and I was diagnosed with Gestational Hypertension. Which I get it, it happens to a lot of women during pregnancy. I had to go through an induced labor, it was long and hard but the delivery itself was fast after they broke my waters. Because of the Gestational Hypertension diagnosis I had to start blood pressure medication, the prescribed me Labetalol.
My baby was born healthy, with double wrapped cord around her neck, and I had to get an episiotomy to get her out. But the most important thing is that she was born healthy. When it was time to breastfeed, i couldn’t, my body wasn’t prepared properly to start breastfeeding and my milk wasn’t coming in. I tried getting the lactation consultant but she was on vacation. So I chose to use donor breast milk in the hospital, because I honestly just wanted to breastfeed myself and I didn’t want to start with formula right away. Which there is nothing wrong with formulas, it’s just what I have decided as a mother. But sometimes things don’t go the way you want. By the time we left the hospital our baby has actually gained more weight rather than losing it because we started with the donors milk.
While I had lots of issues breastfeeding, I started pumping with hands free pump because my hospital grade one didn’t arrive on time. I was not producing enough milk, and I had so many issues, one week I had mastitis in one breast the next week my other boob had a giant clogged duct. I was in so much pain I cried for weeks. Even when I got the hospital grade pump it still wasn’t helping me. I tried everything to get rid of the clog, but nothing was working. After a long week and a half of torturing myself I finally decided to latch the baby back on to my boob so she could clear the duct. When I tried it earlier it just wasn’t working because my boob was too swollen, my baby was born with a small tongue and lip tie.
And by some miracle it happened, she cleared my duct and I was able to bring down the swelling and the pain and I was able to live again.
At the moment my baby is thriving and I am so thankful for my beautiful baby girl. She is gaining weight, smiling, holding her head and of course doing tummy time.
The reason I wanted to write this post, is because I am laying on hospital bed. It’s 12:15am instead of laying in my own bed with my husband watching our baby sleeping in her crib. I am by myself because of a stupid mistake I might have made along the way of my breastfeeding journey.
Somewhere between me taking the Labetalol for my Gestational Hypertension and because of my issues with breastfeeding, I decided to take Mommy’s Bliss lactation support Supplements. I don’t remember how I got on exactly that one, I think my husband made a mistake while getting it and thought it was the same as another one that I actually chose. But either way, today I had to get a liver biopsy because it seems that I might have something wrong with my liver. All of my scans say that the liver is healthy however the liver enzymes themselves are not, my numbers are in thousands.
When I first came in to the ER they thought I was having Tylenol poisoning. But I haven’t taken Tylenol for like a whole month before this whole thing started. And I want to describe how I knew something was wrong with my liver.
I started getting nauseous, I had really bad heartburn, I would itch my body when nothing has bit me and the itch just wouldn’t go away. At first I thought, oh god maybe I am pregnant again? So i ordered pregnancy tests, but no I was not. Thank god for that. “Although at the moment i would choose a pregnancy over what i am going through right now.”
3 days ago i started noticing that i looked a bit more orange or tanner, but I couldn’t put my finger on it and then i noticed my eyeballs looked just a little bit yellow on the sides. And I thought hmm I must be going crazy, but let me check these symptoms. And I kept trying to get the ChatGpt to tell me what was going on and it’s said go get your blood checked because you might have a liver failure. So I made an appointment with my OBGYN because it would be faster to do that then get an appointment with my PCP because he doesn’t work on Fridays.
Saturday morning I woke to see that my blood work was ready for review, however they wouldn’t be reviewing it over the weekend because they are closed. So I decided to check it out myself and I was in shock. My numbers were so high I wanted to scream but I had to stay calm. I called my mom and I told her everything and we ended up calling my sister in law she is a GI and when we told her the numbers she was in shock, and said we should go to the ER or try to make an appointment with our PCP, but he is closed on Saturdays. So we tried going through our insurance network to get a hold of someone through telehealth and I made an appointment for 11:30am but it was only 9am so I was still panicking and wasn’t sure what to do.
But not even 10 minutes go by when the doctor calls me and says, miss you need to go to the ER right now I am letting them know that you will be coming in. So I got dressed and took my wallet with my insurance card and my dad took me to the ER. The reason my dad took me was because my husband had to stay home with our baby and our doggies.

Right now I am going on to day 5 in the hospital and we are still not sure what is going on with my liver. That is why I got the liver biopsy this morning. All of my test came back negative and my organs look healthy. The doctor believes that the mommy’s bliss herbal supplements injured my liver. But then I did some more research and I found out that there is 8% of people who can get liver issues from Labetalol. And I thought to myself I could definitely be that person. Even though it’s a medication that is prescribed to people with high blood pressure and even people with liver issues because it supposedly okay. 8% of people still can get liver damage from this medication. However the doctors still believe that it’s more likely because of the herbal supplement and not the medication. Because god knows where those herbal supplement were made and with what exactly.

I wanted to make this post to make people be aware of things you put in your body. Because it’s doesn’t matter if they are doctor recommended or the most purchased products. Just because it worked for one doesn’t mean it will work for you.

I will definitely post an update if you guys want. At the moment the doctors believe i have an Autoimmune liver disease. I’m not sure about it tbh, I will just be waiting for a result from the biopsy. Hopefully it will provide some kind of info.

Please feel free to share your own medical crisis. ❤️

All I remember is that the newborn trenches was literal hell for me. It was the hardest thing me or my husband have ever done . We had lack of sleep and had no time to keep up with cooking or cleaning. Our baby cried quite a bit and basically always needed a bottle in his mouth to be calm. But a part of me is gaslighting myself now saying that it could’ve been easier had I done XYZ …. And I kind of feel like … why was it actually so hard? Was it anxiety ? Was it hormones? Was it cause my baby only slept while being held?

Please remind me of why the newborn trenches are TRENCHES, cause I’m over here contemplating having another soon lol.

I’m noticing my baby (8 w) will sleep a lot in one day and then the next day be up for like 5 hour stretches and not sleep more than 30 m during the day. Anyone else blessed w this? I kind of just let her do what she wants when she wants. If she seems super awake I don’t try to put her asleep… maybe I should be?she’s been awake since 4 right now. Running out of funny faces to make

I felt like I was finally out of the trenches with the witching hour of week 6-7 and now right back to it again.

My 9 week old exclusively contact naps and only on my body, and he hates all of the 3 baby carriers, his bassinet, and his 2 cribs. He takes about 5-7 naps a day. Typically the first nap is about 1.5hrs, mid-day nap is 1hr, then he cat naps throughout the afternoon. Every afternoon naps he will wake up fussing, then escalates to screaming no matter what I do (feed, face time, swing, tummy time, going outside, take a tour of the house, all his favorite activities). The only way to stop is to put him back to nap again. If he naps for 2hrs then he is happy but then shows sleepy cues 1hr later, and rinse and repeat. That all points to afternoon naps needing to be longer for him to be happy. So now come 2 scenarios.

One, we let him nap longer in the afternoon. But, he naps more than 4hrs between 2-8pm then nighttime will be absolute crap. After night routine (bath, feeding, rocking) he will go down for 30min, then wake up crying, refusing to sleep and refusing to play. It’s like a reverse vampire, once the sun goes down he doesn’t want to play, only sleep, but he can’t sleep if he’s not tired so cue the screaming crying. When he fusses, we walk, rock, dark room, dim room, fan on, no fan, white noises, pacifier, nursing. He will keep going down for 20min then wakes up crying. That goes for hours and hours until 1-2am then he goes down for 3hrs of normal sleep, wakes up, another 3hrs, and that’s it. 6hrs of night sleep total. And he will be fussy every time he wakes to feed.

Second case, I just endure the afternoon screaming and call that a wake window. I just keep forcing the nursing so I know he is not starving. Then, after 6-7 hours of this exhaustion, it’s bedtime around 9-10pm and we do the routine. If we follow this case then he sleeps for 4+2+2+2 or 3+3+3 hours at night, and returns to sleep easily after every wake up/feed.

I pay attention to wake windows and follow Huckleberry sweet spot as long as it fits his sleepy cues, and for the most parts it does. I am confident I know when he wants to nap and put him down easily for naps, I just don’t know how long naps should be. It is extra confusing because I never wake him up, he just sleeps on me then wakes up by himself and screaming crying.

i just am so tired, I need sleep, I need food, and I need some kind of time for personal hygiene. Because he contact naps, I’ve tried meal prep soft foods to eat during his naps and put everywhere in the house, but sometimes he doesn’t tolerate any kind of chewing and wakes up. So I’ve resorted to using his wake windows to get a bowl of something and play with him while eating, but if he doesn’t play and just screams the whole wake window then I can’t do any of that. Husband works and is home 6:30pm-7am, tries a lot but LO only naps on me and screams even worse if both of us are not present for his afternoon-evening fuss. I used to have help from my mom but she went back home now. So someday I don’t get food until midnight. I am starving and I want to sleep.

Please tell me what I should try. Please tell me your success stories. Sincerely, desperate mom typing from the rocking chair with a baby in her arms.

My 12 week old has a classic FOMO baby personality- she is active, inquisitive, intense, and fights sleep (especially in the day.) She has recently started to roll over and I suspect she is starting her sleep transition (4 mo regression). She has been harder to put down than usual, fussier than usual, and will wake up at 26 minutes on the dot after a nap. If I have her in the carrier, I can soothe her to sleep for another cycle.

She has always struggled with naps, but for the past two months I used tools that work to get her to sleep in her bassinet at least 50% of the time, and if she woke too soon in the bassinet, I would put her in the carrier and she would sleep no problem.

She was swaddled tightly. I fed her to sleep. In addition, the room is dark with black out curtains, has a white noise machine, and is 70 degrees with the fan going. Rocking, humming, and shushing are all part of the routine.

Since she is rolling she has outgrown the swaddle. But with her arms out, she startles herself awake after about 10 minutes. As a super active baby, her startle reflex and other sleep movements are very strong.
I don’t think the Merlin suit would work since she overheats easily and it is impossible to get the bedroom cooler than about 70 degrees (Arizona summer heat).

Also, I have fed her to sleep for naps since she was a newborn (she even has trouble napping at one week old). I used to wake, play, feed, then sleep. But now her wake windows are longer (2 hours has been the sweet spot), I have to feed her towards the beginning of the window.

Currently, our wind down routine has been I put her in the carrier in the dark bedroom, bounce on a yoga ball, and hum/shush her to sleep. If the timing is right, she’s out in less than 5 minutes. I can get a decent 1 or 2 hour nap nap in the carrier if I can soothe her back to sleep between cycles. I am happy to do this occasionally but this has been every nap every day or she doesn’t sleep.

For the record, I have tried adjusting her wake windows shorter like Huckleberry and other online resources suggest (ie 1hr20min), but then she fights our whole wind down routine and doesn’t fall asleep until after the 2 hr mark anyway. I have never had success with drowsy but awake during the day, though she can fall asleep this way at night. Her night sleep is currently strong, she can sleep in 6-8 hr stretches and only wakes up once for a feed. All of this is if she is swaddled.

I’m worried that at 12 weeks I may be forming bad napping habits that may be difficult to break when I go back to work in a month. Will this contact napping requirement be forever? Does this sound like the beginnings of the 4-month sleep regression? Advice or reassurance would be appreciated!