u/smehdoihaveto

Seconding cutting out screentime cold turkey. It will take some time for him to adjust but he will eventually forget about it.

Repeated exposures are really key too. If he doesn't eat it the first...or 5th..or 10th time, don't give up and just keep giving opportunities to try different foods and different textures. Especially top allergen foods as exposure early and often is key to preventing life long food allergies. Role model good eating habits too, if you aren't already - sometimes parents eating it first then offering a bite makes a food more enticing!

Try making some simple foods in different ways (e.g. my kiddo used to refuse plain avocado, but loved guacamole with fresh lime juice). My kid hates butter noodles or Mac and cheese, but loves spaghetti with tomato sauce. Frozen veggies (single or blended) are so easy to steam up and you can try different seasonings on them, or make them into fritters to try. Peas, carrots, sweet potatoes are naturally sweeter when cooked and might appeal more than brussel sprouts or asparagus when starting out.

Dairy products can replace formula at one year...whole milk, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese cut appropriately sized, all good sources of protein and fat. 

Berries and fruit (2-3 times a day) give good fiber and nutrition too if vegetables are trickier. Just gotta be careful not to overdo it for digestion.

Hope this helps and good luck!

This. I worked in RTC/Acute for children (aka a lot of trauma, CSA, foster care) and I learned quickly that they want detailed notes for CYA, especially if sessions got heated or client acting out behaviorally. Too many of these clients (and their families) often had maladaptive coping mechanisms in these settings and might allege abuse or start threatening you while angry or feeling out of control. 

Oh, and adding here. Postpartum anxiety (and the well known PPD) is also really really real, and having a traumatic birth can make it way more likely and problematic. Don't be afraid to talk to your OBs and doctors and get help if these feelings don't slowly fade or they get worse. Hugs and take care. 

Thank you for saying this. The majority of government workers ARE working, without pay. They aren't checked out, just scared for the bills that are coming with no paychecks. 

Republicans don't hold supermajorities despite holding majority, and thus are responsible to work in a bipartisan way to reopen the government, period. They work for the American people, who pay taxes to have a functioning government.

I'm laughing my ass off. I took an IKEA trip for similar reasons at 34 weeks. A few days after my baby shower. I kept thinking, ah we gotta get this nursery together, everything put away. IKEA was rough to walk through, sooo many Braxton Hicks (but no poop for me).

Next morning, my water broke first thing and baby girl was born like 3 hours later. Turns out my cervix also hates me. This pregnancy, no IKEA after 30 weeks lol.

HOLY CHUCKIE DOLL.

Abstinence! Oh sorry, I mean Abstynnanyse. 

I've had 2 weird interactions over the last year. 

One was right after Agent Orange took office again. A man approached me at the gym and asked me if my baby was a boy or girl. "Oh she is beautiful! I'm pro-life and she deserves to have a life!" 

The second was literally the other day. A man approached me, husband, and baby at a local store to tell us about how "they say we need more kids and babies, it's just amazing you have little one. She's amazing, I can't imagine, you are so lucky to have her. Soon they will need to build more schools!" And went on and on about how blessed we were and how happy he is to see more babies about.

This!! Literally gained thickness in places I never had before while breastfeeding. No amount of diet adjustment or exercise mattered. Now that I'm down to nursing less than 2-3 times a day and night weaned (14+ months), I'm finally seeing the scale drop and my pants size slim down.

Sitting with, engaging with, experiencing. Acknowledging the feeling, experiencing the sensation in the body and sometimes identifying it's origin (or sometimes not, sometimes we don't know where they come from). "Wow I just cussed, I'm clearly feeling angry. I feel my heart pounding, that really upset me. I'm going to give myself 5 to just breathe until my heart slows down." 

Bottling is a form of denial or compartmentalizing.  "I can't think about this right now, I need to just focus at the task at hand" "feeling angry is bad, so I don't feel angry, get over it, tough it up, life isn't fair."  

All concepts from Acceptance and Commitment therapy.

One of our nurses took our daughters footprints and laminated it for us.

Our other nurses were just kind, patient, and encouraging. When they had time, they taught me a lot about her care, just let me cry without judgment and were just supportive individuals. I will never forget the kindness.

Praying for you and little one!!

Sharing my story with goal of giving you hope:  I had PPROM followed by precipitous labor at 34+4 exactly. 7 day, relatively uneventful NICU stay, now a happy nearly one year old girl. By 34+4, they can be so strong and capable.

I'm on the fence with homeschooling. I'm worried I won't be able to do enough and in the same vein, our local public school is awful and I don't think realistically I can afford a private non-religious education (and I have concerns about quality there too).

But I'm also worried about the lack of play and excessive use of technology in most schools, including the good ones. I'm trying to keep my kid screen free (particularly mobile/tablets/laptops) as long as possible. As a society we owe our kids a real childhood, not dissociation by screens. I know I won't be able to shelter forever and will need to role model healthy use, but that can wait easily till she's older and has better executive function and more differentiation between what is real versus fake.

My mom and MIL to a T! 

I think they really vary store to store, probably based on the store management, staffing levels, and region. In my area, they are the most affordable, except maybe the Walmart for some items. It's absolutely less overwhelming because it's a much smaller store than Walmart. But my Aldi is well organized and clean. 

2011 Prius for the win! 

Wow, I'm glad they found it and were able to fix it for you! Thank you for sharing

May I ask what the reason for it? I had PPROM at 34 followed by precipitous labor. Doctors thought maybe insufficient/incompetent cervix but didn't really give me any clear answer. 

ACT all the way. Thought defusion and acceptance exercises. Especially thought observation. "I'm notice I'm having the thought that..." 

The sad part is, even if you went that route, the PFAS, micro plastics, pollution, etc. is everywhere. In the water, the wildlife, etc. Isolation and you would still have to contend with all of it in the wild without the convenience of modern life and social support. 

I use disposable at night for 2 primary reasons. One - my baby screams like I'm killing her if I disrupt her sleep with a diaper change, and then won't go back to sleep and will stay awake 1-2 hours. Two - she is also prone to diaper rash. A nice thick layer of aquaphor plus the disposable means no rash while everyone gets more sleep.

A friend of mine who was raised in a Muslim household recently told me, that even in Islam, abortion is viewed as okay until viability. The thinking being "if God wants a soul to be born, there is nothing man can do to prevent it." It makes wayyyy more sense than Christians using poor justification in the service of patriarchy. 

Came here to say something similar. My baby's temperament and just general mood improved so so so much with increased mobility. Before 6 months it was so hard to get her to smile or laugh, and now it's so much better. She is still sensitive, still pretty clingy, and still needs attention, but generally tolerates a lot more before crying. Finally opening up to social situations more too, which took a solid 8+ months. 

This! At older ages too, this is effectively giving your child space to feel their own emotions and own body signals instead of being projected onto by a caregiver. This is some of the secret sauce to emotionally intelligent kiddos. 

Mine was born same age, nearly same weight! We had a relatively uneventful 7 day NICU stay. She needed CPAP for 2 days, which she ripped off herself and just showed the nurses she could handle room air, no stepping down needed. My baby's feeding tube came out by day 2, her IV for sugar out by day 4. She learned to pace feed without desaturating by day 6. Needed only one day of light therapy for jaundice. Discharged day 7 and has thrived. All of our follow up appointments have gone smoothly (no hip dysplasia, no hearing loss, we did have the cranial shape helmet but that's done now too!). We were even able to transition to breastfeeding around her due date.

We are now going on 9.5 months actual, 8 months adjusted. We are rolling and starting to crawl. We love solid foods and drinking from our straw cup. She's no longer colicky and is starting to babble. She's silly and giggling. She's my whole world.

Everyone's NICU journeys are their own and there is no guarantee or predictability. But know I am rooting for you and your little one. Congratulations on your little one and I hope your NICU journey is short, uneventful, and soon a distant memory. I wish you both healing and health.