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I always like to check places like Pottery Barn Teen for cute sheets and towels and things like that because I tend to have more playful taste than a lot of the grownup stuff out there. These sort of space-dyed blue and purple sheets look really lovely, and they’re on sale. They come in extra-long twin (for dorm rooms, of course — ah, memories!), full, and queen, so these would work for adults, college kids, teenagers, and little kids. They are Oeko-Tex® Certified, which means that they’ve been lab-tested and are free of 300 harmful substances. They were $32.50–$129 but are now $19–$79 at PBTeen. ivivva Static Tweed Jersey Sheet Set This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!Sales of note for 4.18.24
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
Edna Mazur says
I am four months post partum with my third and my supply is dropping. I don’t really care if we have to supplement with formula, but the only time this happened in the past was when I was pregnant.
I am probably going to buy a test over lunch but I am rather freaked out right now but don’t want to tell anyone in real life. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
Anon in NYC says
It could just be that your period is going to return. Mine started up again at 5 months PP, even though I BF until ~15 months. My supply always dropped the week before and picked back up afterwards.
Anonymous says
This was my first thought! Even before I got my period back, for a few months my supply would drop part way through my cycle.
Edna Mazur says
You ladies are great! I still think I’ll test over lunch but this is helping my peace of mind.
Edna Mazur says
Negative. Girl’s night here I come!
ElisaR says
woohooo have a glass of vino for me!
Mrs. Jones says
Have you seen the Harry Potter owl sheets at Pottery Barn? I put them on my Xmas wish list.
avocado says
I have been hiding the PB Teen catalogues from my daughter because of the Harry Potter and Star Wars collections. We just redecorated her room a year ago.
Anon says
I just ordered a second set of The Company Store penguin flannel sheets. We got a set last year (for our king) and love them, and had the friends and family discount.
anon says
Has anyone taken Zoloft while pregnant/nursing? Or weaned off it before getting pregnant? Tell me your stories, I want to hear about the pro/cons you thought of, etc.
Background: I had PPD/A after my second was born but didn’t go on Zoloft until he was around 18 months. I feel 100% better and I can’t believe I lived so long with PPD/A. So I am singing the praises of Zoloft BUT, we are hoping to start TTC a third next year and I’m not sure what to do re: the Zoloft. I’m going to make an appointment to discuss with my doc, but wanted to hear first hand stories as well. My biggest concerns about staying on it are the unknowns (not having been on it for other pregnancies) and not being able to co-sleep safely (it makes me tired, so I wouldn’t feel comfortable co-sleeping while on it, and I love co-sleeping/it was the only way I survived going back to work with my second). But I am also nervous about weaning off of it (the stories are horrible . . .).
Would love to hear your war stories and/or anything else I should be thinking about . . .
Boston Legal Eagle says
If it helps, my doctor said that Zoloft was the most studied of all the SSRIs with pregnancy/nursing and the main risks with taking it while pregnant is that the baby may be dependent on it after being born (which is eased by nursing) and may have difficulty latching. I think you have to weigh how severe your depression/anxiety is. I remember that my anxiety made the first few weeks post-partum absolutely miserable and I didn’t really enjoy my new baby at all, beyond what I believe is expected for new parents who are dealing with lack of sleep, etc.
NewMomAnon says
I went on Zoloft late in my second trimester and stayed on it the whole time I was nursing. I agree that the main risk is baby’s withdrawal symptoms for a few days (which we didn’t experience). If I remember, there was a doubled risk of a heart defect if Zoloft is taken in the first trimester – but the risk went from incredibly low to still very very low, and I was past the first trimester. When looking at risks, also note that the risks are judged from a baseline of “mom without mental health issues,” which is the wrong baseline. Untreated depression and anxiety can have all sorts of side effects in a pregnant or new mom, from improper nutrition and low birth weight to attachment issues.
Also, how long did you stay on Zoloft? I found that sleepiness and other side effects mostly wore off after the first month, and completely wore off by month 3-4. Which would be a good reason to start it during pregnancy, so you can be past the side effects by the time baby is born.
Anonymous says
I took Zoloft for anxiety before becoming pregnant and weaned off of it during my first trimester. My doctors told me I could safely stay on it, but I felt like I was ready to come off and I shared your concerns about the unknowns. I took it VERY slowly. First, full pill one day, half pill the next for several weeks. Then half pill every day for a several weeks. Then half pill every other day for several weeks. Then off. I really had no trouble and I have been doing fine (meditation has helped me a lot as well). But talk to your doctor and consider your circumstances. You need to do what is best for you, and that might include staying on the medication.
Cornellian says
I’m on a different psych drug and have posted about it here before. I can’t speak to Zoloft, but I do recommend seeing if you can get an appointment with a perinatal psychiatrist. Even if you just go to them for one appointment and then take the recs to your normal psych and your kid’s pediatrician, it seems like they are taken more seriously.
Also, consider getting a sidecar cosleeper so you can be as close as possible but incapable of rolling on top of the baby. I’m sure you can find an “arms reach” one on craigslist, but I actually had a wooden made (for 450 bucks, I think) on etsy. It was a great investment.
Anon says
first trimester with twins and on it now. both psychiatrist (who specializes in treating women trying to conceive) and obgyn said its ok. i believe my doc said that it would affect the baby more in later trimesters, so i might try to wean off of it, but i haven’t decided yet. i think there is a greater risk of going into labor early. i just found out im pregnant with twins last week and haven’t had a chance to ask a doc yet if the risk of early labor is compounded with the medicine + twins. i did try to decrease my dose, though the doc said they don’t know that dosage makes a difference (logically that doesn’t make sense to me, i’m just not sure if they’ve studied it)
you have to do what works for you, but my thinking is the chemicals a body generates from depression/anxiety aren’t also good for a baby and so if the doc says it is ok i’m sticking with it for now.
anon says
There is lots of good research/info here: https://womensmentalhealth.org/ – from Mass General
Elementary School? says
So a few weeks ago I posted about having an elementary schooler come to live with us under some not-great circumstances. I was sort of flailing at the time and trying to figure out what we would do after school. You all gave some great advice, including encouraging me to ask the school for help.
I just wanted to report back that everything is going pretty well, all things considered!! We spoke with the principal and the relevant school staff to make sure that they knew what they needed to know about the situation. When they asked, ‘Is there anything we can do to help?’ I told them flat out that what we really needed was a spot in the afterschool program. 36 hours later, we had one.
Like the rest of parenting – the highs are higher and the lows are lower than you would ever expect. It’s also both so much easier and so much harder than I would have ever anticipated. I still don’t know what our life will look like in 6 months, but then again – 6 months ago I never would have expected putting a kid on the school bus every day!
Anon says
This is a great update! So glad the school is being supportive.
avocado says
Great news! Hang in there, and don’t be afraid to keep asking for what you and kiddo need going forward.
anon says
That’s a great outcome! I’m so happy you asked for what you needed.
Anonymous says
Thanks for the update. I literally have ‘it takes a village’ as my phone lockscreen because I need the constant reminder to reach out and ask for help.
Good for you for taking this on. You are making a huge difference in this kid’s life.
Elementary School? says
Thanks for all the good vibes guys. The other thing that I keep reminding myself is that I have to be the rock right now and that we will have good days and bad days.
The only way out is through and all.
NewMomAnon says
Yay for starting to find your village! A huge parenting milestone.
Tfor22 says
I am so glad you posted an update. Asking for help always yields much better results than I expect. We are all pulling for you and your family!
octagon says
This actually brings tears to my eyes. This anonymous internet stranger has been rooting for you. You have a great attitude and that kid is so lucky to have you.
Elementary School? says
Awww, thanks! I don’t want to give this impression that I’m some magical unicorn parent. I’m someone who shows up though, and that seems to be the most important piece right now.
Show up, do your best, have an amazing partner.
anon says
I’m curious if any of you have work-at-home arrangements and whether it’s made a difference in how stressed you feel about combining work and parenting. Under what circumstances has it relieved your stress — or conversely, was it a wash? I’ve been a full-time working mom for years and I’m slowly losing my mind. The daily routine is so draining. We actually have a good setup for daycare and school (both in our neighborhood), and my commute isn’t terrible (25-30 minutes, in town). So, I’m not sure working at home would do much for me, but I’m grasping at straws to figure out how to make all of this feel a little more balanced. My office has a history of allowing partial WFH arrangements and would probably allow it if I asked, but I’m weighing the pros and cons about whether it’s worth it. I’m pretty attached to my office setup, even if I have to drive to get there!
avocado says
It really depends on your personality and your co-workers. I had two different partial WFH arrangements and both turned out to be unnecessarily stressful. Despite the fact that I was a highly valued top performer, I was constantly under pressure to prove that I was working. I would get e-mails with subject lines like “Are you working?” and was expected to answer all e-mails and calls immediately, even if I was in the middle of something else. Co-workers would gripe about not being able to have me review materials immediately in person and about having to schedule meetings around my in-office availability, despite the facts that we have very few meetings and I could often go days without anyone actually coming to see me. It was so stressful and unproductive to have to constantly monitor e-mail and drop everything to respond that I just gave up and went back to being in the office full-time.
ElisaR says
i don’t work from home, so maybe this is less than helpful. . . . . this morning i left for daycare/work and just left the house a mess. crumbs on the floor, chairs flung from an aborted breakfast attempt, laundry getting wrinkled in the dryer. if I worked from home i *might* feel obligated to take care of a lot of this stuff and I could see it snowballing and leaving me getting less work done. or maybe i’d just have my act together more….. not sure which.
Anon says
This is me. I think I’d be distracted by all of the “home” stuff if I were to work from home. Plus, I kind of go crazy when I’m just by myself for long periods of time. But my introverted husband who has a great ability to hyper focus would love to work from home full time.
Anonymous says
+1
I wouldn’t be able to WFH. DH does well with it 2 days/week but he has a dedicated home office.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Agree that a lot of it depends on your work environment and general culture. At my previous job, everyone worked from home on Fridays so there was much less questioning of whether employees can still be productive because everyone did it. There was more acceptance of other occasional work from home days. At my current place, some people work from home on a regular basis but there is a definite (implied but sometimes verbalized as well) bias against them. Most are taken off the promotion track after making these arrangements. I don’t agree with this bias, but you have to know your office to see if it will work. Also depends on your career goals.
You may also consider whether you will become the default parent and homemaker in your relationship if you are home more. Maybe you need this based on your SO’s circumstances, but consider whether you would be ok with that.
Anon for this says
I have an informal WFH set up — generally I work from home 2 days a week, but I don’t have fixed days. It works best on slow days where I have to catch up on several little things, or super busy days where I either have a series of conference calls or have to focus on one large project.
I find it SO helpful for a few reasons. One, it lets me get more billable hours in during the day if I need them. Cutting out a commute and time to get ready gives me an hour and a half, not to mention minimizing co-workers interruptions. Two, it lets me get some stuff done at home on slow days — a few loads of laundry through the washer/dryer, time to go grocery shopping before daycare pickup. Three, mentally it gives me a quiet day where I don’t have other people around.
I think it works for me because I’m generally just as responsive as I am when I’m in the office and I don’t do it on days when I’m working with someone who would prefer that I be there in person. And, unlike avacado’s situation, my co-workers actually trust that I’m an adult who gets work done.
anon says
I was at your current point after having my second and my partial WFH arrangement made a HUGE difference. It think it is job/office specific, but all of my work was with global teams, so I was never actually needed in the actual office anyways. I WFH 3 days per week. I was able to throw the laundry in and out, and then fold while I was on listening only calls. I could load/unload the dishwasher, prep dinner before the kids got home. And sometimes just sit in silence with my thoughts, which was amazing.
The other thing that made the difference was having a sit down with my DH about all of the emotional/mental labor I was bearing. We split everything 50/50 and his contribution made a big difference for me.
The hardest thing about WFH is ensuring you don’t add any extra projects to your “home to-do list” while you are working. I thought I would magically have more time for home projects (I didn’t).
Tfor22 says
I don’t work from home but I realized in the past year or so that what was pushing me over the edge was meal planning and prep. I love cooking but accommodating all the variables (who likes to eat what, how much time we have to cook and eat on a given night, making sure we have the ingredients for a recipe, making sure we do the shopping, and that the food is healthy and as much in line with my principles as I can manage) was just too much. I’ve totally streamlined the dinner decision-making and also started getting Blue Apron two nights a week.
EB0220 says
Based on your description of your situation, I think WFH would help you a lot. First, you save yourself the time it takes to get ready in the morning to the office-appropriate level, which I assume is a bit more effort than drop kids off/WFH level. Then, you save yourself 50-60 minutes every day by eliminating the commute. Conservatively, you’ve now added 1.5 hrs to your day which is a big amount of slack. Next – and this is huge for me – you can now fill in your “time cracks” with home stuff. Your work day is full of large rocks – meetings, assignments, etc. But you probably have a lot of space in your day – meetings end early, you’re waiting for someone to get back to you before completing a task, etc. When you WFH you can use that time for short tasks (laundry, dishwasher, start dinner, etc.) instead of wasting time on the internet. I worked from home for years and I would do all sorts of chores while on conference calls. That being said, it could be a challenge if your office is largely on-site. When I worked from home, 99% of my co-workers also worked remotely, and we were usually on calls with clients located yet somewhere else. So there was zero downside to working remotely. YMMV but it’s definitely something to consider. As anon said above, you do also have to be wary of taking on more than your share of house stuff. It’s really easy to make the WFH the default person to deal with delivery people/talk to maintenance people/let the cleaning ladies in/do whatever around the house. It can be super annoying if it’s interfering with your work day.
Anon says
I work from home 30-50% of the time, but that’s largely because I have an awful commute (60-90 minutes each way). I don’t have kids yet (due soon!), but I think my WFH arrangement will be a positive, simply because my commute takes up SO much time when I do go into the office. I will have dedicated childcare on my WFH days, so I’m not using it as an alternative to nanny/daycare.
What helps is having a dedicated WFH office/space. It’s not as nice or efficient as my office at work, but it has a door I can close to force me to ignore the rest of the house and DH set up two computer monitors for me. I pretty much lock myself away in there when I’m working from home to avoid getting sucked in by any home distractions (laundry, cleaning up, etc.). I will occasionally throw a load of laundry in or something when I get up to get a snack or some water, but I generally try to keep my work time and my home time pretty separate.
I am also so busy with meetings when I’m in the office that my WFH time is the time I can actually get real work done. I’m so much more efficient without the distractions or interruptions of the office.
I do feel pressure to “prove” I’m actually working, because the WFH setup is unusual for my company and they’ve made a big exception for me. For example, I rarely leave the house on my WFH days in case someone calls or I miss an urgent email chain, whereas I have no qualms about running an errand during lunch when I’m in the office. My boss is super supportive of my arrangement, but I also keep him informed on what I’m working on when I WFH so he can have evidence or support for the arrangement if senior management questions it.
octagon says
I WFH one or two days a week. It is an enormous benefit. I have a longer commute than you (45 mins each way) and the ability to skip the commute in favor of grocery shopping once a week makes a huge difference. I also constantly run laundry when I am home — nothing really gets folded, so no break is longer than 5 minutes. I also can put food in the slow cooker so we have a hot dinner that night with no rush.
What if you proposed a 3-month trial period with your boss to see how it works for both of you?
Walnut says
My 4 month old has been in daycare for a little over a month now and she has not adjusted. She doesn’t sleep longer than 5-10 minutes at a stretch and it sounds like she cries or is fussy all day long.
When I pick her up, she’s usually so tired that she passes out. I dream feed her a bottle before going to bed and she sleeps until the next morning. She’s had a few nights where she came home very overtired resulting in several hours of crying before falling asleep. On weekends she sleeps in 2-3 hour stretches during the day and will usually go 6 or so hours overnight and is a super happy baby.
I’m getting the feeling that daycare is really struggling with her during the day. They’ve tried sleep sacks, but she’s a master of getting out of them or snuggling down and covering her face up.
Any suggestions I can pass along to help them out?
ElisaR says
i struggled with this when my son started at daycare at 4 months too. honestly, he never got really good naps there the way he did at home. But I did bring in the baby merlin magic sleep suit for him to wear there (he wore it at night at home too) which seemed to help a little bit. it’s available on amazon (but not at buy buy baby). it was very frustrating, and i often brought him home from daycare and he promptly fell asleep immediately for the night (at 4:45 some times) and slept until morning. I also brought in the same sound machine he had at home (not sure that really helped or not). good luck, i know it’s heartbreaking and frustrating when they don’t sleep well!
Cornellian says
Obviously this depends on staffing ratios at your daycare, but do you leave them with a nice carrier? When I dropped my then 5 month old off at daycare, sometimes they would strap him on their chest for a half hour to get him to nap. It’s not always practical, and I don’t think it’s fair to expect them to do that forever, but it may be a good stop gap measure.
Anonymous says
Does daycare have a separate nap room? I know mine does and that is the ONLY reason either of my kids have taken good naps at daycare. If it’s an open setup with lights on and playing happening could you find a daycare that has a separate nap room?
anon says
My daughter was like this and honestly the terrible naps continued until about 8 months. She just recently started to nap decently at daycare and even those naps aren’t as good as the ones she takes at home. So I guess my advice is that I wouldn’t be too concerned, and this may sort itself out with time. If you’re really concerned, talk to your ped. At first ours was concerned about the lack of napping but once we explained how much she was sleeping at night she was fine.
octagon says
My kid did. not. nap. in the infant room. They didn’t have a set schedule and just let the babies nap when they were tired. It was too stimulating so a nap never happened. We had what you have — passing out immediately after pickup.
As soon as he moved to the older kids room with a defined naptime and a dark room, naps happened like clockwork.
JP says
My kid has severe FOMO and if there’s something going on, she will not fall asleep. Granted she started daycare at 8.5 months so her sleep schedule was more regulated, but they’ve done some things that have helped her nap. They agreed to put her crib in a corner (they all sleep and play in one room, lights dimmed if everyone is asleep but otherwise pretty bright). They also pin up a blanket with clothespins on the outside of her crib so that as she’s settling down, she can’t see what’s going on in the room. I think they said that they take it down once she’s asleep but I gave them permission to leave it up. I also got a battery-operated sound machine that they keep under her crib (it’s the Big Red Rooster). I don’t know whether they still use it, but at the beginning it helped blur out some of the din in the room until she got used to it.
POSITA says
I’ll echo the consensus that it might not get better until she switches rooms around age 1.
I don’t know if this helps but I regret keeping my second daughter in a daycare setting as long as I did. She was safe and cared for, but wasn’t thriving. I always hear about these awesome daycare centers that immediately get a baby on a schedule. I wish mine had been like that. My center never ever tried. They were completely incapable of working on any sort of routine or schedule. There was just too much going on with kids awake at different times, teachers taking breaks, substitute teachers, floaters, training sessions, inspections, baby blow outs, feeding times, bottle times, and I don’t know what. If I suggested at drop off that she’d be ready for a nap around 9 AM, that message would be lost by 7:45 AM and it would never happen. The only naps she got were when she fell asleep on the floor and they moved her to her crib. I’m sure if I’d insisted, they would have just laid her in the crib at an appointed time and let her scream until she passed out, but I didn’t have the heart. My daughter was a good sleeper, but needed to be rocked a bit before she would be ready to sleep. She ended up miserable and exhausted 5 out of 7 days a week.
(For the record, this was an exceptionally expensive center with a 3:1 ratio and many parents swear that it’s amazing. It may have worked for them, but it didn’t for us.)
We had a nanny share early on with my first (daycare waitlist purgatory) and, post-daycare, have switched to an au pair for both kids. It’s so much better having the kids at home. They are so much happier and less stressed. They nap in their beds and go out a few times a day for activities. About 2 weeks after we’d made the switch my 4 yo spontaneously told me at bedtime one night, “I’m grateful for my whole life now. It’s so much better.” My baby was also clearly happier.
If a daycare center isn’t working for you and your kid, you can think about other options. At the time we didn’t switch because we were so overwhelmed. I kept hearing how daycare could be great. Maybe it was my center. Maybe it was me. Maybe it was my kids. I don’t know. I just wish I hadn’t waited so long to try something different when I knew it wasn’t working for us. Good luck.
Baby bedtimes says
When did your baby get a bedtime? My very colicky daughter is 11 weeks. I mostly let her lead the schedule (see colic) while I am home on leave with her. She starts getting fussy around 5 or 6. If we are lucky she settles down for an hour nap somewhere between 6-8 followed by another feeding, or if we are unlucky she wails inconsolably for hours on end. We usually give her a bath between 8 and 9 every other day or so. Usually around 10 she is ready for a bedtime feed and will be put down, but she wakes again between 11 and midnight for another feed before settling in until a 5 or 6 am wake up. She then eats and usually goes back down immediately until 8 or 9 for another feed and, depending on how she slept, is either awake for good at that point or goes back down until 11 or noon. This is our first, so I don’t know if it is the colic or if all babies are night owls like this, but I keep hearing it will get better when they go to bed at 7 or 8 (a girl can dream). When does that happen?
Cornellian says
My baby got a bedtime around 3-4 months, although he still woke up at least once for another couple months. Around 6 months he began sleeping 9 or 10 hours in a row. There have been small regressions around teething and illnesses but he’s basically sleeping 10 or 10.5 hours every night now.
I think 6 hours is probably pretty normal for an eleven week old, honestly.
avocado says
I don’t think we defined an official bedtime until kindergarten. Until then we just put her to bed when the time was right, which ended up being pretty consistent from day to day but gradually crept earlier over the years.
avocado says
Also I am under the impression that (1) many babies that age are night owls and (2) many babies that age like to scream constantly during the “witching hour,” colic or no colic, there is really nothing you can do about it, and they outgrow this within a few weeks.
Everlong says
Thanks for asking this. My second baby is only 6 weeks but I am ready for the schedule to start and I can’t remember how it did with my first. At some point, I think I just started doing the same routine every night to prepare him for sleep then and putting him in bed around 7:30pm with the expectation of getting up as much as needed. I only know that I did this relatively early because he was sleeping through until about 6 or 7AM by the time I went back to work with the exception of waking for a feeding or two. My first still goes to bed between 7:30 and 8 every night at age 2, so I want to try to repeat whatever I did. I’m having a hard time imagining coordinating elaborate routines for TWO children.
JP says
I did exactly what you did for your first and it worked out so well for us. We started putting baby down around 7:30 (at like 8 weeks?) and eventually she started stretching out that first, longest stretch on her own. She’s now 10 months and her bedtime is still 7pm (we’ve tried moving it and she won’t have it). I think the bedtime really helped us establish a routine and set the stage for longer and longer night stretches during the time we were also sleeping.
Everlong says
Thank you! I guess I need to start working on that with this little one with whom I was up until after 11PM last night. That does not work for me!
ElisaR says
i vividly remember reading about sleep when my son was 12 wks old or so and i was like CRAP! I have been keeping him up and not even trying to put him down to sleep. It didn’t even occur to me to try to stick to a schedule. I skimmed the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child and gathered that babies need to go to sleep early. I started trying to put him down around 7pm and it eventually because evident by 3 or 4 months that he needed to go down even earlier. I would skim through that book a bit to see what they recommend for different ages,…..
mascot says
We also had a colicky, rocky first 4 months with a rough witching hour between 5-7pm. I think that is why we were so motivated to get to an official bedtime and bedtime routine. I think we set that around 8pm maybe. We’d do a whole bedtime routine with a feeding, book or song, rocking, etc. We’d go back in for a dream feed around 10-11pm before we went to bed. Generally my husband handled this one because I handled the middle of the night feeds while I was on leave. But, by 4 months, it got a lot better. He started daycare and was tired at night so he slept in bigger chunks.
I’d try moving the bedtime earlier than 10 and making it into a routine so she can wind down. She’s getting a catnap with that late nap and may be giving you the sign that she’s really ready for bedtime.
rosie says
I found the book The Sleepeasy Solution very helpful.
SBJ says
Any words of wisdom about gestational diabetes? I just failed my one hour test by quite a lot (failed the one hour with my first, but just barely, passed the three, so I know that drill already). Baby’s also measuring 95th percentile on a recent growth scan, so I’m thinking it doesn’t look good here. Trying to mentally prepare for what dealing with GD means.
Edna Mazur says
It’s really not so bad. When I had it I had to meet with a diabetes educator person who showed me how to use my monitor and did about half an hour or so of nutrition education. Mine had me count carbs (3 meals should have 45 to 60 gs carbs, two to three snacks should have 15-30) and take my blood count fasting and then one hour after every meal. They gave me some good information for estimating carbs (average in a taco, banana, etc.) but all that information is pretty readily available on the internet anyway.
The needle is super small, it really isn’t that big of a deal and everything can be carried in a little bag. They had me keep a food and blood sugar level log that I faxed (that was the only huge pain, who faxes anymore?!?!) in every week. I have a friend that had to take medicine as hers wasn’t controlled by diet alone.
I could eat anything I wanted, just had to be in moderation. The plus side is I lost ten pounds pretty quickly and then my weight stayed the same for the rest of the pregnancy. I think I walked out of the hospital within spitting distance of my pre-pregnancy weight.
Edna Mazur says
Oh and that baby was my smallest by over a pound. He was full term.
jlg says
i just barely failed the 1-hr with baby 2 but couldn’t even keep the 3-hr solution down for the first hour of the test, so rather than repeat that experience we treated as if i had gd, which meant a reduced-carb diet and blood glucose monitoring. the reduced carbs meant that i had some difficulty gaining weight in the 3d trimester, and the testing was annoying, but once it was clear that knew what choices to make to keep the levels in the appropriate range they let me do every-other-day testing. baby wasn’t measuring unusually large other than head circumference, but that was similar to baby 1. they did do an extra growth scan and an early nonstress test but that was more because i stopped gaining weight and also b/c i was planning for VBAC than anything to do with GD. i found some extremely helpful recipes online for low-carb, high-calorie foods to help maintain my weight (overall i gained 10-12 fewer lbs with baby 2 even though he was born 4 oz heavier than baby 1!). there are a variety of blogs/forums both for diabetics and also for folks using a keto diet or trying to increase muscle mass (who knew i’d be checking out bodybuilding forums during pregnancy??). reducing the carbs to one serving per meal really made keeping the sugars in check fairly simple for me. not everyone is able to control GD with diet, but it is definitely where you want to start. you will do fine — just keep communicating with your NP or nutritionist about what is going on. it literally went away as soon as the baby was out — his blood sugar was very slightly low at birth, but the hospital was great about having me express some extra milk in the recovery room (VBAC failed, unrelated to GD) to get his sugars up. they didn’t even test my sugars, and the difference was obvious and immediate for me in terms of my sugars not crashing after eating carbs.also FWIW, while baby 2 was big (9 lbs), he was entirely proportionate which indicates that he wasn’t large due to GD. GD-affected size apparently usually means that they are carrying a lot of fat around the trunk/shoulders. frankly most of baby 2’s weight was in his giant noggin or spread pretty evenly over his entire 22-inch self. he continues to be off the charts in height, weight, and head circumference just like baby 1 was even though i did not have GD. so sometimes a big baby is just a big baby, regardless of GD. all that to say — you will get thru this. its annoying, but manageable with a bit of attention.
Anonymous says
One note is that even if you pass the 3-hour, you may want to keep an eye on things. My last pregnancy, I passed the 3-hour, but my baby was big, and it turned out I had developed GD by the end of it. Now, I’ve bought myself a glucose monitor, and I can tell my insulin sensitivity is going up in the 3rd trimester so I’m basically eating as if I had a GD diagnosis (which, as described above, is probably for the best anyway).
Everlong says
You all always have great gift suggestions. I have two friends going through hard times personally. I’d like to surprise both of them with something small to offer a little encouragement. $20 or less would be ideal. I’m not looking for anything crazy, just a little treat that can be enjoyed in the car, per say.
Anon says
depending on what is causing their personal stress, something like a seamless gift card, starbucks gift card or manicure gift card are all great gifts, particularly if you write a nice note/card. i know that sometimes gift cards can seem impersonal, but they are useful and allow the person to treat themselves! i never buy myself fresh flowers, so i also find it fun to receive flowers. or an edible arrangement. if they are into music, maybe an itunes gift card?
anon says
What about the send a cookie thing Kat featured recently – https://www.cheryls.com/cheryls-cookie-greeting
HSAL says
Yes, I sent that and the recipient LOVED it.
Anon in NYC says
If they have a car commute, what about something like a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts gift card?
Everlong says
Thank you! I immediately thought of the cookies but then stalled when I saw they won’t deliver for a week or so. But, stress isn’t going to go away within a week. Good point about the gift cards, too. Thank you for helping me feel like a decent friend. I have some ordering to do!
GCA says
Gift card (electronic or otherwise) to their favourite local coffee shop/ bakery/ deli! My bffs did this for me last month and it was amazing.
NewMomAnon says
I know it’s expensive but the Harry and David fruit boxes (or something similar) always feel so luxurious, and the person doesn’t have to go out and spend a gift card if they don’t have time/capacity. We have a local grocery store that will put together a fruit basket (or cheese, crackers and sausage basket) and deliver it for less than Harry and David….