We switched at 18 months to a toddler bed, and 22 months to a twin. (Our same frame supports crib or twin mattress, and we often end up laying with him and the twin was more comfortable).

We didn’t really plan for the switch, but a friend was selling a hot wheels car bed and our son is obsessed with cars so we bought it from them and had no room to store it. After a couple weeks of it in our dinning room we just went for it. It’s got tall sides so he can get out himself, but would take a lot for to roll out at night. He’s never gotten out of bed himself from a nap or nighttime. When we are getting ready for bed or playing he has no trouble getting in or out of it.

It’s weird to me that they would trust him to watch her, but not change her.

I can totally see not wanting someone change my child’s diaper that I didn’t trust, or didn’t know super well… but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

I think a conversation is warranted. If they don’t trust him to change the diaper, they probably should find other arrangements. It’s uncomfortable for everybody to make the baby sit in a dirty diaper unnecessarily for any period of time.

Lakes and rivers where we live are quite dirty with farm runoff. They occasionally get shut down for e-coli and such at the monitored swim beaches. I’d be concerned with a baby not having the immune system to fight off anything random they came in contact with.

I’d feel less concerned about a pool, although the chemicals may be hard on babies skin if they are sensitive.

I think this is a go with your gut, and take precautions to keep baby water safe. I’d probably limit to a short amount of time to see how baby does.

Our son hated tummy time! Like hated it. He did lots of tummy time our chest, because he’d red face scream if we tried on the floor. We tried the water mat, had multiple different mats, toys, etc… and he just refused. He was late to roll over, didn’t until he was almost crawliny… but ahead of all his other milestones and now is a running toddler.

Chest to chest tummy time counts! Obviously would be great to get them on the floor doing it but some babies just hate their tummies!

Every night, we have a meltdown if the cat doesn’t come into the bedroom with us for bedtime. Wants nothing to do with the cat once she’s there, just wants her to be locked in with us. Thankfully cat is a good sport and usually comes in willingly, but is happy to leave with me when toddler makes it to dreamland.

I don’t like sharing our names. Everyone has an opinion. I’d be a little sad if someone in my circle named their baby our top pick before… but can’t be too upset if it’s a random coincidence. Now, if it was 100% on a name that had a family connection I’d probably make it known to anyone else in the family expecting of my intention. First baby gets dibs, but i would be annoyed if someone took the name I made known I was planning.

Yeah my mom hasn’t done anything. A lot of breakables in reach. So far nothing has happened, and our son is almost 2… so at this point if he breaks anything that’s her own fault. She’s a knicknack, decorative person so there is just stuff he wants to touch everywhere.

Outlets are probably the only safety hazard. Obviously kitchen is a no-go too. Their stairways all have doors, so baby gates unnecessary.

We have outlet covers, baby gates, cupboard locks (primarily because it’s annoying putting stuff back 100 times), and an oven lock at home, but haven’t necessarily done much else. We are self-proclaimed helicopter parents though and are never more than across the room.

Sirius or Atticus (HP nerd/librarian)

We also really love the name Avery for a boy, but it’s become such a popular name for girls that we worry about him being referred to as “boy Avery” or being misgendered frequently.

Pre-packaged muffins, and cheese.

We used a small lightweight muslin swaddle blanket to cover baby and poured the water over. He was comforted by the weight of the blanket, and helped keep him warm.

Our daycare requires all items to be in those huge ziploc storage bags. Like the size you’d buy for a bedding comforter. When they were a newborn 2-3 extra outfits.

In a small insulated lunchbox, we brought breast milk in a labeled blender bottle that we brought daily, and four bottles. That went back and forth everyday.

Diapers and wipes we were able to bring a full package at a time. We usually would go 2-3 weeks before restocking.

At our center, Creams, lotions, etc all require a medication form with our instructions written out.

We also got waterproof labels off Etsy, and a clothing ink stamper so we can put our son’s name on everything. Literally label everything!

Our daycare had a recommended list of what to bring. I’d just ask what they want and how they want it.

My first child was born when I was 36, I’ll be 38 with my second.

I worked really hard to earn my seniority and to pursue advanced degrees before my children were even a twinkle in my eye. I love them dearly, but in order to provide the life I want for them, I have to continue to work. I’m 15 years into my career and taking a year or two off working would put be back at the start in my industry. I am however blessed to be able to to have all holidays, weekends, and large breaks in the summer off with them.

I applaud people who can make it make sense financially, but that’s just not everyone’s reality.

Nowhere is perfect, but when it comes to the important stuff… it’s a great place for my son and a good fit for our needs.

My two year old loves silly faces and sounds. Peek-a-boo will silly faces gets him going pretty quick. Ask questions. My son loves to show off his trucks and animals, and tell you what color they are. He also loves finding a book to read together.

Sit on the floor and play. Might take her a few minutes to warm up to you, but don’t overthink it. You’ll have a great time. It’s a fun age!

The guilt is real, but my son has thrived at his daycare. He’s about a year ahead of the cdc milestones in speech and language, average socially, and has a really good routine.

Finding a place you can trust, and that is a good fit for your family is key. Our son started at 10 weeks, at a small public/but exclusive center. (Only for university teachers and students). They use the daycare for all their early childhood labs, and have full time teachers in each room, and then staffed with work study students. They have very little staffing issues like other centers in our town. A few of our favorites even babysit for us on the weekends. We love it there!

No. I’m too paranoid. We followed safe sleep guidelines for night time, though did let our LO sleep in his dock-a-tot during the day, but only when we knew we’d be awake,alert, and supervising.

We co-sleep with our toddler but didn’t until he was at least 9 months and it’s out of survival. Lol.

Sandbox or water table if outside. I can usually get at least a half hour of time to sit down. Inside, I have good luck entertaining him with blocks and making towers. He also loves the Melissa and Doug water coloring books. No mess!

We do no screens from 9am-5pm when we are home all day. But I selfishly love our mornings of Blippi so I can lay under a blanket and read, or sometimes my son will cuddle with me and I can rest with my eyes closed a bit.

I used all my sick days the year my son started daycare. He missed at least once a month for illness. Year two, he wasn’t home sick a single day.

We only bring 1-2 handheld toys in public. If my son puts them down and another kid were to pick them up, that’s fair game. I’d ask for them back when it’s time to go, but nicely. As I’d expect my kid to as well…. But generally, we leave our handheld toys in the car or in the stroller, or my son will hand to me to put in my pocket.

If we bring more toys than that to the pool or the beach, we play with our new friends. We had a big bag of sand toys along when we were camping with friends, and another boy joined the kids. We let him play and the kids had a great time. Most kids know what to do, and learn respect and sharing from the behaviors of the adults.

At the same time, I also teach my boys to ask to play with someone else’s toy. It avoids a lot of conflicts by teaching them, no that’s their toy and they don’t want to share right now, lets go find something else right now. It’s okay to say no, and it’s okay not to share especially when we teach kids how to say no appropriately. (This mom missed that lesson though).

I’m sorry, it’s a horrible decision to have make.

A couple years ago our neighbors unsupervised pit bull jumped the fence and killed our miniature schnauzer. We were supervising our dog and in the yard for the whole attack, we tried to intervene but couldn’t get the bigger dog to stop. And we’re unable to save our dog. According to them, it had never shown aggression. We had a one month old at the time, and were very frightened at the possibility of the dog returning home. Thankfully, he was rehomed. As a former pit owner, I was horrified by the whole situation. It happened so fast. I still have ptsd from it.

Responsible owners do everything they can to keep their pets safe. Sometimes keeping them safe requires rehoming them into a different situation. You are making the best choice for both your dog and your child. It’s so hard, but you can’t take the chance that a split second incident could ruin the dog and your child’s life.

Love Cat and Jack! Some of their designs are a bit odd, but most are super cute. The quality is great. Cloud Island by Target is also a favorite.

Carters is hit and miss. Some of it shrinks a lot. Seems to be a lot of differences in fabric and quality.

Love the look and quality of OshKosh but it runs small, and shrinks a lot in the wash.

Our baby is now a toddler, and we love the Walmart Granimals brand tshirts. Cute designs and they wash surprisingly nice. Their pants/shorts seem inconsistent between seasons, but we have some we like a lot.

Clothes! Almost all my son’s clothes come from a second hand children’s store. Just watch closely for the correct size, shrinkage, and stains. I’ve saved so much money, and he has a lot of name brand clothing. I’ve got many, $50+ Jordan and Nike track suits in like new condition.

Swaddle blankets. We used a ton of these in the newborn days. It was hot summer when our first was born, and we used them for everything. He also preferred to be swaddled tightly in a light blanket instead of any kind of wearable swaddle. This can go for sheets, blankets, etc. I am very picky with of the quality I buy at the second hand store, but there is tons you can find in like new condition. And then everything gets washed, even if they say it’s prewashed.

We have some second hand toys, most of which came from friends or family.

Car Seats should be brand new. You want to know they haven’t been in a crash. I’d probably say sleep spaces should also be new, or at least the mattress replaced.

Id also be careful with anything with moving parts or had to be assembled. IE: swings, bouncers, etc. Make sure they are clean, assembled correctly, and in excellent condition and there haven’t been any recalls on that item. Id probably be fine getting these second hand from a friend, but less likely to purchase them at a second hand store… really depends though.

When things are difficult and tense, a partner deciding therapy is no longer not worth missing work is a pretty big red flag. 🚩

I’m sorry, it’s so difficult to be expecting and have a marriage not providing what you need. My spouse and I have been fighting so much and it’s can feel lonely to feel like you’re walking on eggshells and doing it alone.

It sounds like this has been a downward spiral for awhile, but have you spent any time together and had a good talk? Does he have regularly scheduled time for himself (so important for both mom and dad). Is he feeling extra pressure to provide for a third child?

I just read the book how not to hate your husband after having kids, and found it super relatable, while being both hilarious and helpful.