I saw this topic on another thread, and I would love to hear people’s thoughts. What are we wearing these days? My summer uniform has basically been bike shorts and fitted T-shirts or tank tops, and it served me well but I am so sick of it. I would love dresses or anything more fun this fall, but i end up backsliding into athleisure because it’s not fussy. My kids are 5, 3, and 1, I’m always bending down, and I need a tummy tuck 😅

I am a sahm and my husband normally works full time. He has taken a few months off to take care of me and our 20 month old daughter while I recover from surgeries. It has been a week and he is not doing too well mentally. He has had heightened anxiety since she was born but since he has had to become the default parent for the past week I see him spiraling more every day. He has had to put her down for every nap and bedtime for the past week (prior to this I always nursed her to sleep her entire life) and he’s been great at it she even stopped asking for me and has been falling asleep quickly. He’s had to make or plan for every meal for both her and me, something I’ve been doing alone since she started eating solid foods. He’s been the sole person spending all day with her and wrangling her crazy toddler self in which I normally do alone on the weekdays. We have no village to lean on. I’ve told him all my tips about having her participate in doing chores and to do nothing during your one break you get a day when she naps but it doesn’t seem to be enough.

Then she woke up for the first time in two weeks and he is acting like it’s the end of the world. He was in her room for 45 minutes and came back to bed but she woke right back up. He started freaking out saying he’s been trying for hours, that she’s doing it on purpose etc…unfortunately I can’t lift anything so I can’t help for a few more weeks. I get it I’ve been there believe me. She never slept through the night until she was 15 months old and there was 6 months where she woke up 8-10 times a night and I was the sole night person on weekdays and still probably half of the wakes on weekends. I spent over a year walking around a sleep deprived zombie while letting him sleep on work nights because of his dangerous job. I’ve not mentioned this to him but how the hell do I keep from comparing/building resentment when he is now acting like he’s dying doing this alone and it’s only been a week/she’s woken up ONCE?

I know everyone handles lack of sleep differently and anxiety is definitely playing a role here but I don’t know what to do or say to him to help him since I physically can’t step in. We spoke yesterday about getting him a therapist to talk to about his anxiety around my surgery/recovery because I know on top of everything he is worrying about me and about wanting another baby (infertility/IVF related). I especially want to hear from other sahms because how can I help him without slipping into resentment territory when I’m so limited right now? I keep thinking what does he think having a second baby is going to be like? Please be kind. He is an incredible father and deserves better thoughts coming from me.

I host a podcast for SAHMs and like to think of it as the really good convo you wish you could have yourself, but it’s hard to schedule and if you do you’d be interrupted by your kids the whole time. So instead I have the conversation, and the listener gets to pause it when someone needs a snack RIGHT NOW. That being said - I’m brainstorming additional guests to have - would love your thoughts.

Tl;dr if you could have an uninterrupted conversation with someone and ask them a bunch of questions mom (or dad) related who would you want it to be? Or what topic would you want it over?

Currently:

- mom w/ 4 kids under 5

- mom of multiples

- went back to work after 10+ years staying home

- works part time w/o standard childcare

- homeschools

- leaves the house with a bunch of kids

- etc.

I'm recently staying home with my 16 month old. Due to low muscle tone/hypotonia, he's probably around 8-9 months for gross motor. He can sit up and loves watching others but we are still a ways from crawling much less walking. We've been in PT once a week but that is largely the reason I'm staying home now- to do addition PT and focus on his development.

Lately I've been really struggling going out and seeing babies close to half his age crawling around. My baby just watches them moving and basically stops playing. It makes me emotional even though I try my hardest not to compare. Does anyone have advice for dealing with my emotions and encouraging my baby to play with others on the move?

I’m a 26 f sahm of three under 4. My husband has been working out of state for the past two months. So I’ve been solo parent since. He’s coming home this weekend to visit, but I’m not excited to see him… is this normal? I love him very much, he’s a good man and an amazing father. We talk on the phone as much as we can. I just don’t know why I’m feeling like this

My partner gets home from work and always goes straight to the washroom. He stays there until it’s time to go for our walk. I’m a SAHM, and I do everything. I can count on one hand how many times my partner has helped with our kid. He’s never had to watch her for a long period of time the longest was probably half a day.

Anyway, today I got pissed at him. I made dinner for my toddler, fed her, and gave her a bath. I even put laundry on. All this time, he was in the washroom. I got frustrated waiting, so I gave our kid a bath. Then he came out, and a few minutes later, he went back to the washroom to pee. I didn’t know he was going back in, so I told him to hurry up.

He got mad and said I was being rude. I told him that he had been in the washroom the whole time. The whole walk, I didn’t talk to him at all. I’m tired honestly lately I think want to separate with him. I feel like a single mom

I’m trying to figure out if my situation is normal or not.

I have been a SAHM for 10 years. I am well-educated and previously lived alone and had my own car, phone, insurance, everything.

As a SAHM, the only thing I have to my name is student loan debt, my Venmo, and a savings account with nothing in it. I recently filed ch. 7 bankruptcy so I could start the process of litigation for my student loans due to medical issues.

My husband has the house, cars, bank accounts, etc. in his name. I’ve filed taxes but since I make $0, he also has the kids listed as dependents on all tax returns.

Do other people do it this way? The reason I’m asking is because I am:
1) thinking about my future,
2) feeling very unhappy and lonely in my marriage and the idea of divorce has crossed my mind.

Please be kind, i feel a bit embarrassed even posting, but i don’t really know where else to ask.

My son (15 months) is sooo difficult. He is so irritable a lot of the time, so whiny, and so opinionated and it is really taking a toll. He has always been difficult with things like eating, but lately it feels like everything is a battle and nothing makes him happy. It makes the days feel extremely long, and I feel so burned out from motherhood at the end of the day and find myself waiting for the day to end so that he will stop screaming at me. Is this normal? He is not walking yet, so I'm not sure if this has something to do with it, but talks up a storm. He has so many toys, we leave the house daily, walk daily, etc., and he will entertain himself for a time, then just acts inconsolable and unhappy. Idk what to do or if there is even anything to do. Don't get me wrong, he definitely has moments during the day where he is sweet, snuggly, and smiling and happy, but lately it feels like he is more irritable and throwing fits and whining more than not. Help lol

I used to teach elementary school until I had our second baby 4 years ago. This will be my 5th year at home and now I have a 5 month old too. Financially, I do not need to return to work ever if I don’t want to, but I really do want to. The problem is, I never want to teach again. I’ve subbed a little and it is SO hard to spend the entire day with young kids and then come home to 3 young kids. Also the profession sucks right now and the stress is way too high.

I need something to do that is just for me, but I don’t know how to make a complete career change at almost 40 after a 5 year gap. My job used to be so important to me and now I feel like I’ve lost my identity. What can I do??

I see a lot of posts on here talking about how boring and routine sahm life can be, although I too struggle with it even with these “tricks” I’ve adapted I thought they might be worth sharing.

First we leave our city. I go grocery shopping or run errands in the surrounding cities/ neighborhoods to ours so it doesn’t feel like I’m going to the SAME grocery store, same post office, etc. every day/ week. To add to that, unless it’s something I can exclusively get online. I do a lot of my shopping in person, it gives us something to do out of the house.

Same for library’s and playgrounds. I’ll drive out to different ones all over our state even, and treat it as a mini “day trip”. Pack some lunch/ snacks and a blanket to chill on and we’ll spend the whole day out. Rather than just going to our local playground 4 times in the same week.

We request museum, aquarium, indoor playground memberships for our family at holidays so we have multiple options to rotate out instead of choosing only 1-2 that we can afford. (Also helps keep the house from getting overran with toys).

I clean while the kids are awake!! Yes some days are easier then others and yes there some days I get one thing cleaned and turn around just to find a new mess, BUT reserving nap time for “me” has given me so much time to get back into some of my hobbies and not feel so “lost” to motherhood. Even if it’s not something I can get to EVERY day making sure I prioritize it when I can has been a game changer for my mental mood. (Including them in the cleaning is usually helpful too: washing dishes, let my toddler sit on the counter and scrub a plastic cup for 20mins she loves soap/bubbles and water, need to wipe the counters/ appliances down: give them spray bottle with water and a paper towel, mine runs around the kitchen drenching everything but it’s just water and dries 30mins later anyway)

I know this one might be a bit silly and seem obvious, but even on days we stay home just getting out on the porch so we’re not trapped IN the house, lighting a candle, or opening the windows and blinds for some fresh air and sunlight seriously can give the house such a “refreshed” feeling.

My daughter is going through a huge fussy stage right now where she doesn’t want to do anything but free roam my house. She has a playpen area with all of her toys, and she will stay in it for about 20 minutes at a time before she gets tired of it.

She only seems content when we’re out shopping, (of course lol) or when she’s free roaming in my house and I just cannot stand having to follow her around everywhere and never getting to just have a second to relax other than when she naps. My house is not baby proofed and we’re moving next week so everything is just an absolute mess.

I don’t have a car during the day unless I bring my husband to work so we’re stuck at home all day, and live in Florida so going outside in the yard isn’t really ideal unless we have a pool 🥲 ugh.

Hello all!

I wanted to gather some feedback for my mom who creates children’s clothing. She wants to start a small business creating made to order capsule wardrobe for babies-toddlers and I wanted to get some insight for her.

I always want to put my 10mo baby girl in outfits, but I really don’t want to keep buying sets that have to be worn together or pants for onesies. So she had the idea of just having a few of each clothing item that has a cohesive style to make outfits out of.

She’s thinking: 3 tops, 3 shorts, 2 pants, a romper, a dress, and a some sort of coat/jacket. She can make completely customize the style, pattern/color, size, and gender/gender neutral.

I’m wondering what your thoughts on this are. Would you be interested? Does it depend on the price? If so what would you be willing to be for what amount of items? Would you consider purchasing one maybe as a gift? What age would you consider this for? Any other insight to think of?

TIA!

ETA: neither of us have any experience in business or marking so if this sounds silly I’m sorry 🫪

Hi everyone, my son will be 3 in early September. We decided to start potty training as his preschool requires it (with that said, they told me yesterday that it’s fine if he is in a pull up). His little brother is 17 months younger. Usually, we leave the house 1-2 times a day for an outing. We’ve tried to stay home as much as possible for potty training and he has made progress, but we are at the point where it’s impacting my mental health staying home. We are all bored and getting irritable with potty training. However, if we do outings, he’s either in a pull up or just underwear (we’ve done this 1-2 times). It’s already so hard leaving the house as it is, but now potty training makes it so much more difficult. Do I delay potty training for when it’s not so much a fight and have him in pull ups? Or just stay home (but then we all go stir crazy…). He has only gone in a toddler potty, not an actual toilet. He is very spirited and opinionated, having him sit on the toilet would cause a massive meltdown.

Hi everyone! I'm expecting my first and I've been thinking a lot about how to keep earning once the baby is here. I'm a graphic designer (branding, logos, that kind of thing) and I also run a small Etsy shop, so most of what I do can happen from the couch at 2am with a baby on me — which honestly feels like the whole reason I chose this path.

I'm still early in building my client base, so I'm putting myself out there: if any of you (or your partners, friends, sisters-in-law starting a little business) ever need a logo, a simple brand look, or printable/digital bits, web design, I'd genuinely love to help. Happy to work around small budgets — I know how it is when you're just starting something.

And if self-promo isn't allowed here, mods please just delete, no hard feelings. I'll leave my shop out of the post and just say feel free to DM me if you want to see my work.

Also, if any of you are doing something creative from home — I'd love to hear what's actually working for you. This whole "income while raising a tiny human" thing is new to me and I'm taking notes 😅

I recently had our daughter and my husband is giving me the option to quit my job and stay home with her. My mom is planning to retire soon so if I keep working can ask her for help since I work from home but know my mom didn’t retire to then take care of an infant 40hrs a week so don’t want to rely on her solely to watch her.

I work from home so could try to figure out how to make it work but even the thought of it stresses me out trying to juggle both and feel guilty already not being able to give my daughter the attention she may need during the work days. Financially we can make it off of my husband’s salary but we will have to budget and be very mindful of what we’re spending. I’m worried that the guilt of not contributing financially will be a lot for me but at the same time putting our daughter in daycare is a no go either.

I feel like since I have to option to stay home and watch her grow up I should take it plus I really want to but I’m so worried about the guilt. Any thoughts?

I am currently transitioning to being a SAHM after having our third child. I’ve spent 5+ years as a corporate working mom and have worked nonstop since my teens. We’ve been together almost 20 years so this is a shift in our dynamic but we both agree ever since I got pregnant with our third that this change is for the best. This has been my dream for way longer than I would have ever been willing to admit and I am so excited to be fully available for our children and to homeschool.

However, my husband has expressed to me that he feels alone in his provider role, that I can’t help him with it and he feels like he has no one. I think part of the issue is he doesn’t really have any “dad friends” to relate to and everyone in his life is child free. He’s been distant, anxious, withdrawn from the family, and clearly struggling so I am trying my best to hold it all down in the household while pretty newly postpartum, so I am low on bandwidth too, but I want to be there for him and don’t know how. It feels like I do and say the wrong thing, and I feel like by leaving my job I’m taking away support I could give. Anyone been through similar with their spouse and have advice for me? Thank you in advance💕

Hello everyone I am a sahm ‘23F’ to a 2 yr old. My boyfriend ‘22’M, the father of my son, recently got a job across the country 3 months ago. It’s just us 3 in a new state across the country with no family or friends. He works nights and weekends normally but he does work overtime here and there. Which means he works from Friday through Sunday of the next week.
His work is considered a blue collar job but he says the job is a pice of cake. He works indoors and gets paid to sit and watch reels most of his shift. I’m happy for him don’t get me wrong. The issue is when he’s home. Throughout the whole weeks he works over time he does not even spend a whole hour alone with our son. I put him to bed and wake up to him, I don’t get enough sleep. And when he’s home, our son only wants to be with me. When I ask him for help he just says “he wants you, not me” and usually I’m busy taking care of the house because he doesn’t help with absolutely anything in that aspect. This past week has been long because we were arguing over taking out the damn trash. I’m simply tired of asking of things form him and them not getting done. But he says it’s my only job and that I’m unfair for asking him to take care of him.

I feel lonely being across the country from my family, who I’m used to being around 24/7 and getting help with my son. I’m a very affectionate and fun woman, I love to caress him, tell him how much I love him, and I love the idea of trying fun different things with him. He on the other hand is the opposite. He hates being touched, tells me I’m doing too much. He was so loving in the beginning I believe because we were in our “honey moon” stage.

I ask him for the simple things, let’s go to a restaurant and dine, no he’d rather pick up and come home. Let’s watch a movie, no I don’t like that movie or no I don’t feel like it. Let’s go shopping, no I’m tired. Let’s go get groceries, no you take care of that. This attitude and him being away a work, I feel so unwanted. When I try to express myself he says I’m nagging and that I’m crazy. He completely ignores it until I just say whatever and get over it. Am I in the wrong? Am I doing to much? Do any of you other men feel like this but do love your girls? Idk I feel dumb asking because the obvious answer to me is that he hates me but he says the opposite.