Parenting Megathread: Babies are like TARDIS, much bigger on the inside.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Parenting Megathread: Babies are like TARDIS, much bigger on the inside.

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skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

Chili posted:

As for content, just joined the 4 month sleep regression club... A whole month early! Saying goodbye to a wakeful state of mind, but super glad that the little sucker is growing so quickly. Baby is kind of outeating mom's supply though, so it looks like we'll be needing to supplement. Doing my best to be supportive of my wife through this, and of course, we'll supplement if we need to, but we'd like to do our best to stick to the good stuff as much as possible. Part of the problem is that baby seems to have an unyielding appetite.

She's only three months but she's perfectly capable of putting away nine ounces at a time which, when we told her pediatrician about, got a huge laugh. I've tried a bunch of different things to see if we can adjust how much she takes ib: changing schedules, more feeds with less, etc. But, it just seems like most of the time when she finishes whatever I give her, she screams for more. She keeps it all down, so it's not like it's going to waste. So I guess... Just keep doing what we're doing, and supplement if need be?

Our current operating theory on how much she's putting away is that we're vegan and don't take in a whole lot of fat, so the milk she's producing might be nutritionally dense, but not calorically. No idea if there's any truth that.

If you want to PM me, I�m a LC and can help troubleshoot. While supply issues aren�t uncommon, a lot of people mistake normal baby behavior for not getting enough milk (and some supply issues are caused by trying to change normal baby behavior inadvertently).

# ¿ Aug 16, 2018 04:06

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 07:14

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

WarpDogs posted:

Is there a one weird trick for freeing your arm after putting the baby in a crib? I feel like a magician doing the tablecloth trick only the dishes and cups go flying everywhere and the baby wakes up and cries and it's terrible

Roll baby out of your arms onto side in crib and then gently roll onto back.

# ¿ Aug 25, 2018 04:44

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

You can still be a W-2 employee and work from home, which gives you credit toward SS.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2018 16:27

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

Alterian posted:

Can anyone recommend a shoe that doesn't fall apart in a couple months? I am tired of buying my 5 year old new shoes every 2 or 3 months because the top separates from the sole. Part of the problem might be that he's a little on the small size for his age so he's still in toddler shoes. He wears around a size 11. I was thinking of trying something like a converse style shoe where the toe and heel are sort of combined into one rubber covering. The problem is he can't tie laces yet.

We love Tsukihoshi and Native. My middle child destroys shoes and they�ve lasted quite well. We have Keens too but I try to avoid heavier, less flexible shoes.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2018 04:37

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

bollig posted:

It's too bad but we're going to have to go with the Ferber method. He just got quiet after 40 minutes of crying. I had really been pushing, early on to just get him in the habit of going down awake but drowsy but my wife would 'accidentally' let him fall asleep feeding and such. And here we are a month later, listening to him scream.

No matter whether you support sleep training or not, it�s ridiculous to blame your wife for �letting� him fall asleep while feeding. The four month sleep regression is a major developmental sleep milestone that happens no matter what and most reputable sleep training sources do not recommend sleep training before six months as a result (it�s also tied to failure to thrive). I hope your wife is pumping for any missed feeds if she is still breastfeeding.

# ¿ Oct 13, 2018 20:55

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

We also use iCloud Photo Sharing and it works great.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2018 16:13

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

Good-Natured Filth posted:

Any ideas as to what could be the issue here or how to resolve it (if it even needs to be addressed)? I'm thinking it's probably just a phase that'll pass (like most things for kids), but curious to hear if anyone else has had similar experience.

Dress her in warmer pajamas? My kids are horrific at keeping their blanket on, so they wear fleece footie jammies or sweats and slippers.

This doesn�t really seem like an issue, though.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2018 21:01

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

It very easily could have been nothing then and now it�s something. Ear infections can come on incredibly quickly after a virus.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2018 20:29

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

I�d look into an in-home visit from a IBCLC. That�s going to be a lot more productive than hauling a newborn to a group class.

3 oz bottles are pretty darn big for a newborn if you want to support breastfeeding and three hour schedules are a great way to tank a milk supply. A newborn should breastfeed a *minimum* of 8-12 times per day. 20+ sessions is absolutely within the realm of normal. Their stomachs are tiny. Put your wife to bed with the baby, Netflix, a water bottle, and healthy food and nurse every time the baby twitches (crying is a late hunger sign). Five minutes is a perfectly reasonable session too, btw.

An IBCLC can help with a weigh-feed-weigh. A SNS to help supplement with formula can help if it�s needed. It sounds like you really need to find that in person help from someone really educated in breastfeeding.

Please note this is all only applicable if your wife wants to figure out breastfeeding.

Edit: please feed your newborn when she�s hungry. Scheduled feedings at this age are a major predictor of failure to thrive. There is no need to reinforce a schedule with a six week old. Please don�t make her wait an hour, wow.

skeetied fucked around with this message at 06:51 on Nov 19, 2018

# ¿ Nov 19, 2018 06:48

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

nwin posted:

When you take your kid out, how do you deal with bottles and formula?

We�re headed out for a few hours and are thinking to put the formula in a bottle, and then a separate bottle filled with distilled water. We might carry a third bottle with more formula just in case.

They make little formula dispensers that you can dole out and then carry bottles filled with water.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2018 22:37

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

bollig posted:

Is there a good/elegant way to transfer pumped milk from bags into the bottles? I usually just kind of crimp it and jam it in (heh) but there has to be a better way, right?

Take the flange off the connector part for pumping and use it like a funnel.

# ¿ Dec 13, 2018 23:25

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

nwin posted:

Will kids grow out of the startle phase? My 7 week old can only sleep at night in a sleep sack swaddle thing because otherwise he wakes himself up by startling himself. Sometimes he�s ok but he does better at night swaddled, which is funny because he hated being swaddled a few weeks ago.

The tag says I can use these until he starts to turn over, so I guess then I�d move to a sleep sack? Not sure how well that will work if he�s still waking himself up by starting though.

We used a Love to Dream Swaddle Up, which kept the arms confined, but let my daughter chew on her hands and push up... it just seemed restrictive enough to prevent the startle reflex while still allowing her to move as needed. She still wears one at 19 mo old with the arms off now, ha.

# ¿ Dec 17, 2018 00:19

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

The Cosco Scenera NEXT is like $35 at Walmart and works perfectly for traveling.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2018 21:24

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

hooah posted:

Does anyone have any good methods for giving toddlers eye drops? Our 3-year-old has pink eye and the clinic prescribed drops, but she's so upset by them that I feel she cries most of the medicine out anyway.

We do them with eyes closed, which is a lot less scary. Our pediatrician said that the drops still get in there fine when they open their eyes.

# ¿ Dec 25, 2018 06:06

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

Irritated Goat posted:

Our nearly 3 yr old son decided this past weekend was a great time to start throwing tantrums and pushing boundaries.

Can't bring milk with to daycare? Stomp, Stomp, Stomp, Cry.

Tries to put on coat? Stomp, Stomp, Stomp, Cry.

Gets told to eat dinner instead of playing so he won't beg for snacks later? Stomp, Stomp, Stomp, Cry.

I figured this would come but it's just so stressful. I try my hardest to be calm but firm with him and it just hasn't helped.

At least he's rarely bad at daycare?

Have you tried giving choices? It didn�t work for my oldest but it works like a charm for my current four and a half year old. Instead of saying no, come up with two or three things that are all good with you and provide a choice. Threenagers usually want to control things and it gives them control (but not really).

# ¿ Jan 3, 2019 22:06

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

hooah posted:

Is there anywhere that has information about high-quality kids' shows? Bonus points of its organized by age group. My daughter no longer wants to watch the same two shows over and over, but there's so much on Netflix that it's hard to trawl through.

Common Sense Media

https://www.commonsensemedia.org

# ¿ Jan 13, 2019 21:29

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

Sarah posted:

She got so much worse last night and this morning so I took her to a children�s urgent care. She�s got bronchiolitis.

If they didn�t give you one already, get a nebulizer. It helped SO much when my daughter had bronchiolitis at seven months.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2019 00:34

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

Sarah posted:

I�m losing my mind from the lack of sleep in the past 24 hours. The only way she will go to sleep is if she�s tummy down on my chest. Which means that I can�t sleep. No other positioning that we�ve found helps.

She was still not eating well, we were told we can give her pedialyte. It was a little funny how she would suddenly deal with the coughing enough to scarf down some strawberry yummy! We started to run a bait and switch in her. A few seconds of the good stuff then switch to milk. Working ok so far.

The doctor we saw said the worst of it is days 3-5. Then it starts to get better. We are actually on day 5, so I�m really hoping this is the worst of it.

We would do albuterol via nebulizer first and then feed so that her lungs were nice and open and coughing was minimal. We�d also feed her in the shower. I took a lot of showers that week...

Do you have a baby carrier? It can help mimic that tummy down position.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2019 03:41

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

Heners_UK posted:

General advice to stop your 1 year old pooping in the bath?

She's done it a few times. Last night I thought she was just farting with confidence until a log dropped.

Sit her on the potty before hand? It�s always good to work that into your routine somewhere. We read a book or two with her sitting.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2019 06:02

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

sheri posted:

The lands end ones have held up great for my son. We are in year 2+ of using it and it still looks new. They run 40 and 50% off sales fairly regularly.

I've heard the pottery Barn kids ones are good too but don't have personal experience with them.

We have Pottery Barn Kids ones and they�re decent. They come in a lot of kid friendly prints. We switched to LL Bean (my childhood standby) when we had to toss my oldest kid�s and theirs are still built like a truck.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2019 15:51

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

VanSandman posted:

Is there a guide to how much you should feed a 3-month old? I'm trying to make sure she gets at least 24 oz of formula or breast milk a day but I have no way of making sure it happens.
My wife is VERY anti-formula, which sucks because baby girl doesn't do boobs to well during the day but will suck down a bottle of anything warm. My wife pumps, but I don't know how we're going to deal with increased demand as the baby gets older since her supply hasn't been growing much.

Breastfed babies don�t typically take more volume as they grow (unlike formula fed ones) once they hit three months or so.

# ¿ Feb 24, 2019 06:23

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

Yeah, try different brands and flavors in general. Dye free Target brand is the preferred in our house. Also, lean them across your lap so their head is lower than their body. I don�t know why that works but a nurse in the surgery center showed us that trick and it�s amazing.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2019 22:45

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

Sleep begets sleep in kids. It�s counterintuitive but a day of broken sleep is more likely to lead to a terrible night. If it starts becoming a trend in our house, we do whatever necessary to ensure a solid day of napping to get back on track.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2019 04:33

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 07:14

skeetied: Mar 10, 2011

Boz0r posted:

I found this guide. What do you do if the baby never stops crying? I assume he will, but I just can't image him stopping crying by himself.

For what it�s worth, my oldest two were both abysmal sleepers as babies/toddlers (and abysmal in totally different ways). At ages seven and almost five, they put themselves to sleep and sleep all night. We didn�t do cry it out. In both cases, when they were done getting teeth, we did �sleep train� to help them figure out how to go to sleep (but it was a slow process of us lying with them, then starting to leave once in a while for short bursts � there were no tears) and they figured out the night time stuff on their own when it was appropriate (I�d say they were both done waking up at night by three).

My youngest (23 m) is by far our best at going to sleep and by far our shittiest night time sleeper. Go figure.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2019 21:22

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Parenting Megathread: Babies are like TARDIS, much bigger on the inside.

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