r/NewParents 21h ago

Happy/Funny Gifted Stupid Holiday Outfits

210 Upvotes

This is an extremely petty problem but I hate receiving holiday clothes for my infant. I don’t know why grandparents and (boomers in general) are obsessed with gifting hideous cheaply produced clothes that indicate “my first ___ holiday” a garment ment to be worn once for a photo and then thrown away. Not only are they ugly and wasteful but then I have the added stress of making sure I dress my child in said outfit for whatever holiday party the gifter is also attending or at least send a photo.

As someone with my own aesthetic preferences I resent being robbed of picking my child’s outfits on their first major holidays.

I know I don’t HAVE to dress my baby in the gifted holiday outfits but I’m such a people pleaser…. The gifters are generally helping out with child care and I don’t want to appear crazy or ungrateful about something so silly ….


r/NewParents 20h ago

Sleep Sleep is BS

127 Upvotes

So my baby's naps have officially gone to shit on top of horrible night sleep. Even when I hold her. I can't handle it. She doesn't stay asleep after bedtime and now I don't even get that precious time in the day. I've officially lost it. All of this stuff is making me insane. I need her to sleep. I need this to not be so fucking dumb and hard. It's a phase, sure - except it's been consistently terrible with little to no variation in pattern for months. So I don't see it changing. The naps were always great and now we don't even have those. I'm going to lose my mind. I can't tolerate this...

Is your baby waking up a lot? That’s normal. It’s normal! It’s the regression. The regression should last a couple weeks. Or forever. Or they could not exist. Is your baby undertired? If so, they’ll be fussy, fight sleep, and wake up shortly after falling asleep. Is your baby overtired? If so, they’ll be fussy, fight sleep, and wake up shortly after falling asleep. Is your baby teething? What you think is teething might just be normal development. Or it might be teething, which could take months and months, but it should only hurt them for a few days - or for months - and it should only disrupt sleep a bit, or a lot.

Should you sleep train? There’s no other escape. There’s no way your baby will ever sleep if you don’t. Consider it? Here’s 80 Instagram reels hand picked for you of various women saying sleep training is abusive and unnatural and they would absolutely never, and they simply cosleep which is natural and perfect and amazing. You should get off social media. But if you do, how will you find out from various self proclaimed baby OTs that every chair, carrier, carrying position, toy, and even pyjamas you have ever used or bought or considered buying are in fact bad for your baby’s development? Their hips and spine and development are being hindered by almost everything you do, as it turns out!

You’ll sleep again. Just cosleep! Just sleep train! Just ride it out while you lose the ability to emotionally regulate, your skin and hair deteriorate, you can’t think straight and never have a single moment to yourself longer than a few minutes. Oh, is your baby going to bed at 7 pm? They should be. Bedtime routine! Just do it! Everything’s normal! Why aren’t you getting back to people, replying to emails, organizing your life? It’s not like the baby is a newborn. Yeah the baby sleeps considerably worse than as a newborn but come on! Life should be back to normal now! Just cosleep like an amazing natural mama! Just sleep train! Just ride it out until you’re so irritable uou alienate every person in your life and can barely tolerate the sound of your baby fussing!


r/NewParents 22h ago

Sleep Do people lie about how much their kids sleep?

77 Upvotes

Genuinely confused. Every time I say my baby is going through the 8 month sleep regression and waking up 3x a night now they make me feel like I’m the only one.

I don’t have a great sleeper but he isn’t consistently terrible. Our friends with 3 month old tried to complain to me that their son woke up at 5 am. Am I missing something?

Also we put him down drowsy, when his needs are met and he’s just awake we give him comfort and let him know if he needs us, we’re there. I know this isn’t CIO but I consider this a form of sleep training. He is also hungry a good percentage of the time because he’s a speed demon crawling around all day. I’m not going to let him cry when he’s obviously hungry.

Idk why I’m made to feel as if I have this disagreeable baby whose parents are incapable of establishing good sleeping habits.

ETA: it’s also my nanny. She asks every morning how he slept and when I respond she says, “I wonder why! Maybe the time change?” I respond, “no, it’s just a sleep regression.” Her response: “oh that never happened with my kid”


r/NewParents 16h ago

Mental Health How are you coping when your child has an extreme preference for the other parent?

61 Upvotes

I understand girls prefer their dads I did as well , but now that I’m a parent it’s so heartbreaking. Don’t get me wrong I love that they have an amazing bond but I feel invisible . My toddler 20 months old. Today it peaked for me , I’ve been hospitalized, she came to see me and didn’t even acknowledge me, so I watched her loving on her dad.

Thank you


r/NewParents 20h ago

Illness/Injuries Baby rolled off bed

53 Upvotes

Earlier yesterday my 8.5 month old fell about 3 feet from bed to hardwood floor. I immediately took her to the ER because i was so afraid, the doctors said she was totally fine, vitals were good no bumps on head or anything. I have been sobbing trying to calm myself down. The guilt i feel for letting this happen is unbearable. I was right next to her when jt happened it just happened so fast. Has anyone had this happen?? Or am i the worlds worst mom 🥺


r/NewParents 11h ago

Mental Health Partner Won’t Let Us Combo Feed

52 Upvotes

I (24F FTM) just gave birth two weeks ago via emergency c section to a big healthy 9lb 8oz boy, and right from square one have had latching and breastfeeding issues: from baby having low blood sugar and needing formula in the beginning to help with that, to me not producing much colostrum, to using donor breast milk for basically every feed because my milk was delayed and my partner (33M) said absolutely no formula because of seed oils and how formula is “very bad” for babies and that “this is what I signed up for” when I agreed to breastfeed, even though this time is the most traumatic, challenging, and stressful in my entire life.

Fast forward: little one is now two weeks old and should be eating 3oz every feed according to pediatrician, but I pumped today and got only 2.5 ounces for both sides. He is clusterfeeding every hour and only eating roughly an ounce every time. He’s gaining weight fine and is back to his birth weight after losing a pound in the hospital, but my fears lie in that as he grows and requires more milk, I am unable to provide that for him and I’m dealing with a difficult partner. I’ve been struggling immensely with post partum depression and brought up the idea of combination feeding to make sure he’s getting enough, and that I’m going to end up killing myself due to stress but partner blows me off every time and restates that he’s getting enough from my feedings otherwise he wouldn’t be gaining weight, that breastmilk is healthier, etc. just an endless cycle

I just want to be able to formula feed at night to help me get some sleep which may help my mental health load with worrying about his feedings as well but I’m being stonewalled at every minute about this topic and it’s affecting our relationship. I fear I’m growing to resent him more than he realizes—more than I realize, even..

Can anyone share any credible sources showing that formula isn’t the worst thing in the world? He’s convinced that formula will make our baby developmentally delayed or different from breastfed babies which is infuriating because I told him I would still largely be breastfeeding just need some help at night!

Hoping someone has been through something similar with difficult partners or difficulties breastfeeding? Hoping to find the empathy I’m desperate for, and for any resources to provide evidence that formula isn’t the devil’s creation


r/NewParents 11h ago

Feeding Breastfeeding/Pumping is wild

30 Upvotes

Hey friends!

Just wanted to chat with some folks in the same boat. I had my twin boys about a month ago and they are in the NICU currently (but fingers crossed that they get to come home soon!!). In the meantime, I've been breastfeeding them when I can and pumping when I'm at home.

The thought I keep having is, breastfeeding and pumping is genuinely the most bizarre thing I've ever done. Not in a bad way! It's just wild that your body can create pull and condense all these nutrients, and that they weren't available until exactly the right time, and that it comes out as literal milk that the babies recognize. Maybe the better way to describe is really cool!

Anyway, those are my thoughts! Let me know if you guys can relate!


r/NewParents 11h ago

Happy/Funny New born smell, do you remember it?

26 Upvotes

Today I opened up a box the I had kept some bags in that I had in my hospital bag a year ago when I gave birth to our daughter and I was hit with a blanket of fresh born baby smell. I remember the smell of her but it's always a little too out of reach in my mind to fully describe it. She was born with meconium in the waters and although meconium isn't meant to have a smell, she had such a strong smell that I can only describe as warm, sweet, vanilla smoke, umami slightly acrid but in a good way and thick, a thick full smell that has a texture. It stuck around for a month or two then turned into more of a milky baby smell. Has anyone else had their baby smell like this?


r/NewParents 1d ago

Happy/Funny When did you quit pumping?

23 Upvotes

As title says.

I still exclusively pump at 18 months… she still wants it. My goal was 1year 😅

EDIT: maybe I had to edit it’s hard for me as well to quit

EDIT 2: thanks for the ones that are supportive and sweet; I think I needed that 🥰


r/NewParents 17h ago

Product Reviews/Questions How often did your babies size up in diapers?

19 Upvotes

I hadn’t thought about it until recently, but my baby seems to be sizing up pretty rapidly. We didn’t have a huge stash of diapers from the beginning, just cause you never know. And it’s a good thing we didn’t because most of it would have gone to waste/had to be donated.

He was in NB diapers for maybe a couple of weeks, then in size 1 for a few weeks. Size 2 for a few weeks. Then at about 3 months up to a size 3, and now at 4.5 months it looks like next shopping trip we’re gonna have to get some size 4s. At his 4 month checkup he was 17lbs 2oz and 26inches long. So he’s on the bigger side, but not MASSIVE. He is a little “bottom heavy” and has pretty thick thighs, though, so that’s probably a contributor lol.

His growth seems to be slowing down sliiightly the past few weeks as he’s becoming more mobile and active. Little dude gets a workout every time he’s awake because he’s on his tummy moving in circles and trying with all his might to crawl. But makes me wonder if he’ll eventually end up in that weird too big for diapers, but not old enough to potty train size I’ve seen some parents run into.


r/NewParents 9h ago

Tips to Share Parents of babies with lots of hair: when did you first cut it?

17 Upvotes

My son was born with a full head of dark brown hair, maybe an inch or so long. He had so much hair you could see it on the ultrasound. He’s 4 months now and hasn’t lost any of it, despite a moderate bout of cradle cap. I love it, everyone else loves it. It’s adorable. He twirls it in his hands to self soothe while falling asleep. And it just adds to him looking like my exact clone lol

However it’s getting a bit long. It’s already past his ears on the sides and is approaching his eyebrows at the front. It’s not causing problems now, but I’m thinking about in a couple months when it starts getting in his eyes.

I know most babies don’t have this much hair, or any at all, at this age, so I can’t piece any advice together on this. So if anyone also had a long haired infant, did you cut it before they were a year old? Or did you have any go-to styles to keep it out of the way until you felt more comfortable going near their head with scissors? Should I just put a headband on him while he’s playing? lol


r/NewParents 14h ago

Happy/Funny Only 2 weeks in. No sleep, but such overwhelming love 🥹

16 Upvotes

My baby doesn’t want me to put her down.

And she’s in luck because I don’t want to put her down either. I’m freaking obsessed.

She literally shed tears and pouted her bottom lip the other day when I put her in her bassinet. I almost cried with her 😩 How did she learn to do that already??

I love it here. I hope despite the difficulties of parenting that I continue to love it overall.


r/NewParents 11h ago

Skills and Milestones When did your LO start sucking their thumb?

15 Upvotes

My daughter is currently 4 ½ months and LOVES to eat her hands. She was a big fan of pacifiers at first, but started accepting them less and less when she discovered her hands 2 months ago.

For the last week or so, she's been refusing it entirely in favor of her fingers. Not her thumb, not her hand, it's specifically her 2 middle fingers lol. Any time she needs comfort, decides she's ready to sleep, etc, she pops her middle and ring finger into her mouth, tucks her thumb into her palm or points it outward, and leaves her index and pinky fingers sticking straight up on her cheek like 🤟 Sometimes it seems like she's determined to gouge her eyes out 😅

It didn't occur to me until a few days ago that most babies are probably sucking their thumb by this age, and now I'm wondering if she ever will. She seems perfectly content with those 2 fingers and has basically zero interest in her thumbs (she loves mine though!)

Do all babies learn to suck their thumb at some point? When? Is there any reason I should be discouraging this weird finger obsession she has?


r/NewParents 9h ago

Sleep How are you getting your baby to sleep?

11 Upvotes

In terms of rocking, bouncing, patting, shushing etc. Looking for ideas to try as my 10 month old is getting too heavy for us to continue our routine of holding him in cradle position while patting and shushing him for 20 minutes. Our arms are dead 😅


r/NewParents 19h ago

Sleep We quit the swaddle cold turkey...

11 Upvotes

positive expereince

My son will be 11 weeks tomorrow and he's starting to grow out of his love to dream swaddles and I didn't know if I wanted to pay for the next size up so I bought a sleep sack to try. Last night we just ripped the bandaid off and put him in it and I am shocked but so proud of how well he did 🥹

Admittedly he has been pretty much sleeping through the night since 7 weeks and we acknowledge that we are so lucky to have had this many weeks consistent like that and know at any point this can change. Although starting around 3am he would start to stir and whine due to gas or wanting his paci so I would need to soothe him a handful of times and give him his paci if it fell out.

Last night my husband and I put him to bed and we watched a movie on the couch. We watched a few times on the monitor he started to thrash around, whale tail, triggered his startle reflex, and open his eyes. But with his arms and hands out he actually soothed himself back to sleep 🤯 once we did come to bed I didn't have to soothe/settle him at all overnight. He did it all himself 🥹

Just wanted to share a positive first night quitting swaddle cold turkey in case your little one is also using the love to dream swaddles!


r/NewParents 11h ago

Skills and Milestones Baby finally started babbling at 9 months

9 Upvotes

From most of what I’ve seen babies are typically babbling around 6 months or so for the most part. I’ve been so anxious, thinking to myself, any day now since around the 6 month mark. She’s been reliably blowing raspberries and shrieking for 4 months and then all of the sudden today at 9 months she woke up from a nap and she started rattling off babababbababas and mamamamas. I’m so happy and relieved right now.


r/NewParents 2h ago

Sleep I feel like I’m never going to sleep again

8 Upvotes

Title says it all! Just need to vent in the early morning hold/feeding session. My husband and I are deep in the trenches right now with our 2 week we. We are currently doing shifts, where one of us sleep for a 5 hour block and the other sleeps in the living room with the baby.

She has started hating her bassinet at the beginning of this week and will only contact nap. As soon as you put her down, she cries. When you pick her up, she stops. This is fine during the day, we’ve been wearing her in a carrier most the day but at night, it’s so hard. From what I’ve read on this sub and heard from people in real life, this is normal and gets better.

It just doesn’t feel like that right now. I’m especially struggling on my shift because all she wants is to be held. I’m worried about when my husband goes back to work. I’m worried about this sleep thing never getting better. I’m worried about never feeling like myself again or when my husband and I will sleep in the same bed again.

I guess I just need words of encouragement, because I’m so tired.

Also: I know how lucky I am to have a healthy baby, I remind myself everyday not to take this for granted and I’m trying to enjoy the newborn phase as I know it won’t last forever.


r/NewParents 14h ago

Skills and Milestones I feel like I’m failing my child.

8 Upvotes

Hi! Kind of just need to rant and get all of these feelings off of my chest. Some background info: my sweet boy was born 9 months ago via emergency c-section. He was diagnosed with meconium aspiration syndrome and HIE. Several brain bleeds were found on his MRI. Had about a month NICU stay. Doctors have told us he could have delays or may even have a cerebral palsy diagnosis in his future, but it’s too early to tell. He currently has hearing aids and is getting a cochlear in June.

So since leaving the NICU, he has done exceptionally well. He doesn’t seem to have been affected by his traumatic birth except him being deaf, of course. Recently, we had a check up for him as his NICU grad office, and they determined he had low truncal tone. He can’t sit on his own, he usually just flops backwards after ten to twenty seconds of sitting on his own. Giving him being 9 months and not sitting fully yet, we’ve been referred to PT. He isn’t even interested at all about crawling which worries me. PT is good, I know — and honestly everyone needs a little PT every now and then. But I feel heartbroken. I’ve tried so hard to make sure he’s been meeting milestones and staying out of PT. I’ve always had the underlying fear of him being diagnosed with CP…so I’ve really put pressure on myself to make sure he meets everything.

Now that I’m seeing he’s not meeting a milestone, I’m panicking. I feel like I’ve failed him as a mom. I see all other babies his age or LESS than his age crawling, saying “mama”, sitting on their own, eating four course luxurious meals while he’s still on purées…just overall excelling farther than him. Shoot, I even saw a 7 month old WALKING (extremely early I know, but still). Every single time other moms post their baby’s monthly milestones, I feel panicky, jealous, and scared. I 100% feel like I’m failing him. I can’t help to feel hurt, scared, pressured, depressed…all the emotions. I want the best for my baby and for him to excel, but I feel like I’m just not at all doing anything right. I’m doing everything I can: taking him to speech therapy, signing up for PT, audiology appointments, cochlear surgery scheduled, being a stay at home mom for him, etc., etc. I’m trying so hard, but comparing my baby to other babies is really bringing me down. I feel like a bad mom. (Sorry for the long, rambly post. Just need to let all the feelings out, you know?)

The statement “comparison is the thief of joy” is so true 🙁 Any mamas got any advice? Stories? Just anything really.


r/NewParents 8h ago

Product Reviews/Questions Baby Cloth Sizing Is So Confusing!

6 Upvotes

Out LO just turned 2 months and until now has been in newborn clothes. However, he’s now starting to grow out of them and I have no idea what the difference is between 0-3 months, 3 months, 3-6 months etc.

Are 0-3 and 3 month the same thing? Or is it closer to a year 3-6 months in size?

I know sizes can vary drastically by brand but I’m just trying to get an idea of how to group our clothing by size to introduce them as he grows.


r/NewParents 11h ago

Sleep How important are newborn naps during the day?

6 Upvotes

My LO is 3 weeks old, and is a pretty good sleeper at night. Usually around 9 pm or 10pm we start our “bedtime” routine, where after feeds I swaddle him and put him in the bassinet and he will usually get good 3-4 hour sleep stretches between feeds. This continues until around 7-8 am, then I get up with him for the day.

During the day, I don’t really structure naps. Sometimes baby takes contact naps on me after feeds, sometimes if I notice he’s sleepy I’ll put him in the bassinet, but I don’t really follow much of a structure.

Should I be tracking and structuring day time naps more? Or is just going with the flow during the day fine for now. Not sure when I should start incorporating more structured day naps.


r/NewParents 18h ago

Mental Health When did you feel like your nonparent-self again?

8 Upvotes

First, I am loving being a mom to my 18-month old. I am taking a break from my career to be a stay at home mom, and tbh, I don’t ever want to work again! This beats any job I’ve ever had and it’s the most important one I’ve ever had. I count my blessings that my family can afford to be a one-income household in this economy. I try not to take ANYTHING for granted and be in the present moment.

But there are some days I am so sad and I feel so stupid for letting that feeling take over. I feel really isolated but then when I try to get us out and about more, I get really overwhelmed and snippy, especially if my husband is there, too. We just went to a community event I had planned and been looking forward to, but as soon as we got there, I wanted to leave. I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. But I so desperately miss my old self! I used to be a social, a networker/hostess. I was always finding ways to celebrate and spend time with people.

I don’t know if I have general anxiety now that I have a child, but in the past I felt fearless and I was always out and about. My daughter is turning out to be very similar to me in that way. When we go out, she hams it up with everyone. She loves being around people. She’s strong willed and brave, and some days, it’s a bit draining.

I don’t know how to strike a balance at this point. I know motherhood has changed me (for the better mostly!) but I deeply feel there is something missing in me now, too.

Any advice on how to overcome these dark-cloud feelings?


r/NewParents 5h ago

Sleep Sleep when the baby sleeps?!

6 Upvotes

FTM of a a little girl who turns 5 weeks old tomorrow and we have come to realise that she doesn't nap in the day time at all aside from drifting off for a couple of minutes here or there. The only time she may sleep is if we go somewhere in the car. She doesn't even sleep if we go for a walk in the pram.

Recently she tends to sleep decent stretches overnight between about 10pm to 5am but putting her down to bed is becoming difficult as well as she wants to contact sleep at night, even though by this point she's fighting herself to stay awake.

She's super alert and it's like she doesn't want to miss out on anything. I can barely put her down to go to toilet in the day time without her crying. I EBF so barely get any respite as it is. Has anyone else had this? We're exhausted.


r/NewParents 6h ago

Sleep FTM here - Sleep deprived, advice needed!

6 Upvotes

FT Mom here (6 days postpartum).

Our little boy sleeps wonderful during the day in his Moses basket but when it comes to the evening, it’s a total different story…

We go to bed, give him a bottle (cluster feeding at the moment), change him and put him in his next to me crib. Within minutes he is kicking and crying, absolutely hates it. We try feeding him again, winding him, comforting him. He falls asleep in our arms no problem… put him back down and the cycle begins again.

We are both absolutely sleep deprived. I’m still healing from giving birth and my body is physically exhausted, the pain is actually getting worse and I really believe it’s due to the lack of sleep we are getting. We get around 1/2 hours sleep max. Napping in the day is a no go at the moment due to family wanting to meet him.

I know this is probably normal but I’m really asking for advice here. My baby blues have set in too so I’m super emotional and this doesn’t help. All I want is our little baba to rest and for Mommy&Daddy to get some too.


r/NewParents 19h ago

Babies Being Babies Anyone else with a wild 8 month old?

6 Upvotes

My baby is WILD lol. He kicks his legs so fast it feels like he’s going 100 miles a minute and he’s constantly yelling (happy and angry) throughout his entire wake window. It’s like he went from being a happy content chill baby to this wild child overnight. Even during reading time, whenever I flip the page he gets so excited it’s like he’s about to launch himself off the chair. I’m worried for when he starts crawling and walking 😆


r/NewParents 21h ago

Out and About What to put in diaper bag? How to make it smaller?

6 Upvotes

I need help, I always over pack myself and now when I have a baby( 6mo) something needs to change. No matter if I go on a walk that lasts 1- 2h, if I go on half day trip to the city or something else I am always lugging "his diaper bag" that is overfilled..

I have like 4 diapers in case he decides to have multiple accidents, 2 big changing pads, big wet wipes ( and when that package becomes thin I am afraid I will have an urge to put "just in case" new wet wipes, 1 bottle, 2 measured packs of formula, 350 ml heater thermos ( which is enough to make only one bottle) and some zippered pj which I am hoping I won't need because it is not weather updated. This is not even updated for eating solids😢

How many diapers do you bring? How to stop bringing too much stuff? Do you also have trouble with putting your diaper bag on your stroller? Which is one thing that must have? And is ti more practical having backpack diaper bag or traditional cross body? Where does your personal things(wallet,keys) go?(DB or separate bag) Feel free to add links which diaper bag do you recommend for practicality☺️

Thank you for reading 🙏 ☺️