New Parents Feeling Overwhelmed

“Found out I’m pregnant, still early but at least 3+ weeks in. This would be my second and I’ve been dealing with the opposite than I did with my son - emotional, fast food being a trigger, not tired) and so on and so on. I was 22 with him and in my “party” phase but I quit and didn’t even think about yet with this and I barely even drink 1 night out of the month and even then that hangover the next day reminds me I’m getting to old for this lol. But I have the biggest craving for cocktails. Not”

“I am looking to see if anyone has experienced something similar to what I’m feeling and if it gets better/ any advice to offer to help navigate it?? I am a first time mom, with my little one having arrived in August. Ever since her arrival I don’t mind what I consider “my people” like my mom or friends etc to hold or be over around the baby. However I feel EXTREMELY hostile towards my in-laws calling, wanting pictures, wanting to come visit and hold her etc. Specifically, my father in law has to”

“I have a 1.5 month old baby and shared a margarita with a friend while I was nursing. I thought that was the best time to consume it, but now I’m reading contradictory advice. I haven’t drank in over a year +, so I felt a little tipsy quickly. Did I harm my baby? submitted by /u/thegolden_sunshine [link] [comments]”

“Please tell me if this is normal? I have ADHD and get burnt out easily, and I feel like I can't keep up with what I assume other mums are doing (or what I know I should be doing). What with pumping, feeding, washing, sanitizing, changing nappies, daily bath (for eczema), lotions and creams, play time, nap time, tummy time, skin to skin, outdoors time, storytime, daily c-section massage, exercise, remembering to drink enough water, cooking, eating, showering, tidying up, laundry, and everythi”

“So to preface: I’ve reached out to her ped, says these are normal fluctuations. Just want some parents to share experiences or guidance and that this in fact is a thing that occurs. I KNOW I have anxiety. For those WITHOUT anxiety, do you worry if your kids temps randomly hit 99s in afternoon or right before bed? Even if she’s mostly recovered. I just think low grade fever = leukemia and then I’m just fixated on the temp and so stressed She’s active happy eating drinking well. Eye discharge is g”

“My 5.5 month old has been in his own room for a few weeks (excluding a vacation and sickness where he slept with us) but now I’m seeing online that 6 months was minimum for SIDS reduction. He outgrew bedside bassinet and I don’t have nearly enough room for his crib anywhere but his room. I have been incredibly anxious since finding out about the deep sleep issue causing SIDS. He has a sound machine and his window faces the road which is loud too. I don’t know what to do but be anxious. He wakes”

“My husband and I both suffer from night sweats and we typically keep our house set to 64 Fahrenheit at night with the fan on high. I know this will be too cold for a newborn, but I am curious what others keep the temperature set to? We took a newborn care class that told us it should be no colder than 68 with no fan running. I also know parents in Nordic countries regularly leave their babies outside in much colder temperatures than 68 degrees to nap in the pram. Of course they are bundled up, b”

“Just looking for empathy more than anything I guess. I had a difficult fertility journey, a difficult pregnancy, a terrifying birth and then 7 weeks in NICU (which is its own special version of hell for parents). My little guy turned 1 today, and he is so strong and magical and healthy and happy and overall a wonderful little person, and I am just in pieces. Took leave from work a month ago, still have a month of leave to go. I had pre-existing PTSD and medical trauma, and all that I’ve been thr”

“Im curious about how other moms are feeling about regular alcohol consumption and breastfeeding. Im familiar with "if you can find your baby you can feed your baby", not pumping and dumping and the relative safety of it all. However, i reflect on some of my drinking nights and wonder if ive allowed too much. I'll have maybe 4-6 (sometimes capping at 8 if Ive had a few earlier in the day) drinks & nursing as the night goes on, and occasionally nurse when I feel a bit on the loos”

“Hi all my boy has just turned 12 months. I suffered terribly postpartum (still on the journey with MH) and was on a mother and baby unit when he was around 7mos. I’m still suffering terribly with anxiety especially at bed time and first thing in the morning to the point my whole body buzzes with the force of my heart beat. Does it get any better? I’m terrified every day and every night and it’s really eating away at me. I still receive support from my perinatal mental health team but I feel like”

“I just wanted to share a really lovely moment I shared with my 16 week old today. I've spent the entire day incredibly sleep deprived and feeling sorry for myself, but the world doesn't stop when there's a baby to love. During tummy time my boy pushed himself up for the first time! I was absolutely amazed and when I told him how clever he is, he followed up with a huge gummy smile. Just like that he turned my entire day around and the hard times prior to that moment were completely f”

“Hi! Here’s the situation: I live in a hot climate, it has been and will continue to be around 90-100° outside. But as “fall” approaches, it’s been getting chilly at night. In our bedroom, it’s about 80° when I put my 4 month old to bed at 8pm. Later in the evening when it drops below 80°, we open the windows to cool down the house. At some point overnight, the bedroom gets to 60-65°. We’ve been dressing her in a thin onesie and a 0.5 TOG sleep sack because it’s so hot when we put her down to sle”

“Went to my first mommy and me class last week bc I told myself I'd get out of the house more. Every other woman there had a full face, activewear..even their babies were practically vibing on their mats. I showed up with spitup on my shoulder (not on purpose!) and spent the majority of the class trying to do the math on how long it was since my baby ate. After today's class ended I practically ran back to my car and chugged an entire bottle of vita coco like my life depended on it. I sat”

“I feel like sitting doesn’t exist anymore. I am so overwhelmed by my baby constantly running around and getting into everything 🥲 I also have 3 dogs and 5 cats and I’m just constantly overwhelmed ever.single.day. And we only have 1 car and my husband takes it to work. When does it get easier? Some days are better than others, I just feel like everyday I’m exhausted by 10am already. submitted by /u/nostalkingallowed [link] [comments]”

“My baby son’s room is about 200 sq feet. We live in a tropical climate. We want his room at 20/21 degrees. His room goes down to as cold as 18 degrees sometimes. I set the thermostat at 22 degrees. If we put it up to 23, the room warms through the night to 23+ which is too warm for how he is dressed and how it’s recommended for babies to sleep. We recently replaced his 18,000 BTU unit with a 9,000, thinking that could be the reason. But we’re having the same issue. We can’t seem to get it to rem”

“I can't tell if i have postpartum depression/anxiety or if it's all just part of being a first-time parent. we're 4.5 months pp and i feel like i'm still a terrible mother. Last night, he only slept 5-ish hours- 2 of which were on my chest which means i only slept 3 hours. I finally gave up trying to get him to sleep at 6am and just started the day in defeat. Later that day when he had napped, pooped, fed, changed, etc he was crying for about 15 mins for no apparent reason, and I”

“We have had a difficult year with illnesses and injuries. There has literally been either a visit to the Emergency Room or hospitalisation 6 or 7 times so far this year. Currently, my 2 year old is admitted with Influenza A because she is refusing to eat or drink and needed an NG tube placed. She did this in April with HFM and we discovered she has Ketotic Hypoglycemia (she goes into ketosis/hypo sooner than she should and has trouble stabilising her blood sugars). We are on day 3 in hospital an”

“I’m 4 months postpartum and I feel like I’ve lost all sense of who I was. I can’t function socially anymore. I accidentally interrupt or say weird things I didn’t mean to say and I keep slurring and mixing words up or stuttering. Everything I do I feel like I’m annoying people and I feel like they’re all just waiting for me to say or do something stupid and make fun of me after. I just wish I could feel like myself again. It’s like I’m trapped in someone else’s brain and it’s all foggy and messe”

“Apologies in advance for how long this is going to be. I just need somewhere to scream into the void, I guess. I’m currently 3 months postpartum with the most amazing, beautiful baby boy in the entire world. I love him more than anything. I love being his mom. I love seeing the amazing father my husband has blossomed into. I love our little family and can’t imagine life without my baby already. I have also never hated myself more. I have a lifelong history with eating disorders, and after nearly”

“My baby is 5 weeks old and I drank alcohol quite a bit ugh I feel so stupid and I gave the baby formula but still breastfed at night and I feel so so guilty to the point where I feel like i dont deserve him. Will he be okay? submitted by /u/New_Condition_5230 [link] [comments]”

“Currently 5 months pp and I absolutely adore my babygirl. It's so awesome seeing her little personality coming out and seeing her hit all her milestones and im just so in awe of what my body was able to create. However I also feel so lost right now. My body is still squishy and full of marks I have a belly and everything just obviously looks different from how it used to be. I rarely have time to shave or do my hair and makeup so I just end up with hairy legs hidden in my pajama pants I slep”

“About a year ago I posted in this sub just after finding out I was pregnant. I shared these feelings: …I started questioning our choices, whether I’m capable of letting go of my ego and sacrificing all my life that I absolutely love, all the comfort. I’m afraid of resenting the baby of what I had to let go in order to have it, I’m afraid of being impatient and emotionally unavailable. Im afraid I don’t have enough. I have never been into the kids and I feel like I’m quite an egoistic person and”

“I am in the trenches right now guys. My little one is nearly six months old and I'm struggling to come to terms with everything. Basically I was made redundant the day after I found out I was pregnant so I'm after my 'maternity leave', I have no job to go back to. Before having my lil one, I was super ambitious and determined about my career, getting promoted etc. Now? I have nothing. And no income coming in either which is the scariest part. I am desperate to find a job before m”

“This is going to be a lot, bare with me lol I am almost 9 months PP with my second baby, don’t breastfeed. I have been struggling with PPA/D since 7 months PP. I wasn’t shy to reaching out for help - I have since found a great therapist. Waiting to see a psychiatrist. I feel like my symptoms are at bay, but some days the feelings are so intense I just break down crying & feel so guilty and ashamed and like im failing. despite it all, I do everything I can to keep myself afloat & life nor”

“Hi everyone, I have a 13-month-old and I'm dealing with severe sensory overload since giving birth. It only takes a few minutes of my baby crying or screaming and all I can think about is walking out the door and never coming back. Things like her throwing food, constantly wanting something she can't have because it's unsafe, and just crying/screaming over every little thing – it all sets me off badly. I have great support from my husband, and I've been seeing a psychologist sinc”

“I’m almost 14mo postpartum and still nursing and I feel like I’m still more hot and sweaty than I was before I was pregnant. I know it’s been hot out but man I will be getting the kids dinner and ready for bed and sweating my butt off in my 72° air conditioned house. Anyone else?! I’m tired of it! submitted by /u/MEG0518A [link] [comments]”

“I just need somewhere to vent because having an 8-month-old has been incredibly hard lately, and I feel completely drained and alone. My baby has struggled with a severe bottle aversion. We followed Rowena Bennett’s method, and things have gotten a little better, but he still isn’t taking his normal amounts. Feeding has been a huge source of stress for me. Now solids are another struggle. He doesn’t really eat meals—he’ll take a bite here and there, and that’s about it. I don’t even think he eat”

“I just need somewhere to vent because having an 8-month-old has been incredibly hard lately, and I feel completely drained and alone. My baby has struggled with a severe bottle aversion. We followed Rowena Bennett’s method, and things have gotten a little better, but he still isn’t taking his normal amounts. Feeding has been a huge source of stress for me. Now solids are another struggle. He doesn’t really eat meals—he’ll take a bite here and there, and that’s about it. I don’t even think he eat”

“Haven't made a post in 7 months wow! In the early months of having my baby it was really hard for me and my mental health, i even posted about it 2-3 times on here. Up until 4 months when i went back to work and the colic/reflux stopped (yay) it was SUPER hard! At 6/7 months it got a little easier because he learned how to play with toys and how to crawl! Tho he went through a huge sleep regression (waking up every 1h-30mnts for about 2 weeks) so that was BAD. Now at 9.5 months old he is so”

“Greetings fellow new parents, I'm writing from the ER where our 3 week old thankfully has a temperature well below the 100.4 we took at home. (Rectally, I should add.) In fact, it's 97.8. We came right to the hospital. She was just wearing a onesie, no sleep sack. This is the second time this week her temp was high at home but much lower in a doctor's office. A few nights ago, it hit 100.3. The overnight doc we called recommended taking her out of her sleep sack and giving it 10 minu”

“I’m literally about to scream. Doing anything with my baby in this heat is driving me insane. That’s all lol. submitted by /u/Imaginary_Math_4918 [link] [comments]”

“Don't know If this is the right flair. I'm only 7 weeks postpartum. I understand during pregnancy why you frequently use the bathroom, however even after baby is out I use the bathroom often at night still. Sometimes when baby wakes up I have to use bathroom first, and 30 min later I'll need to use it again. Honestly it's made me not want to drink water much because it's as if everything I drink comes out 30 min after consumption. It makes going out hard. But if I don't d”

“I’ve been a mother for about 8 wonderful months. Like most people, the first few months were rough, but we eventually came out on the other side, and motherhood is genuinely the best thing I’ve ever done. My heart has never felt so full. One thing I’ve especially loved is breastfeeding. I love latching my baby, and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever felt more bonded to him than when I’m breastfeeding. There’s nothing about it that I dislike. It’s convenient, it’s bonding and it’s healthy. When he”

“Hi all and thanks for reading, my husband and I have worked hard together to get our 7mo old son into his crib for bed at 8pm. I was so excited for this, and in knowing that now my husband and I will get back some time together in the evenings! We are planning to be intimate routinely on a set day per week, and agreed to a 2nd night too if the week allows. And I dont feel pressured - Im excited! My body has changed so much since prepregnancy. And despite having an extremely loving, supportive, u”

“I am 8 weeks postpartum with my first baby, and I’ve already made up my mind. I do not ever want to be pregnant and go through postpartum recovery ever again. I was diagnosed with hypermesis gravidarum 6 weeks into my pregnancy and was horribly sick all the way up until I delivered. The first trimester was absolutely debilitating, some days I was throwing up more than 20 times a day. Multiple hospital visits, complete isolation and living in bed. On top of other complications, like pregnancy rhi”

“Hi there, I'm 40 yo (yes, geriatric mama!) and 35 weeks pregnant with my first. Physically, this pregnancy has been so easy (literally zero symptoms), but emotionally and mentally I've changed a lot. It's like pregnancy doesn't agree with my brain and I've become very anxious with OCD tendencies and struggle with extreme insomnia. Never imagined this for myself and I don't typically struggle with anxiety. Naturally I'm quite worried about PPD, PPA after having the bab”

“I had my miracle baby 21 months ago after traumatic journey of loss and a stroke, she finally was here and I was overjoyed! When my daughter was 4 months, I had gotten cdiff and it severely exacerbated my IBD. I nearly missed my milk supply, but I managed to nurse until 19 months. And have begun to take control of my IBD with a med change. My colonoscopy revealed that I had precancerous polyp removed and will have to go in again in 6 months. I work full time and manage my toddler between work. M”

“I've been a SAHM for almost 5 years. I have 3 kids, 10 months, 3.5 years, and 5.5 years. I have ADHD (medicated for it), so stimulation seeking is a little bit a part of that. I am used to working incredibly hard and get so much satisfaction from achieving. I used to love school so much that the summers would be torture and I would beg my parents to teach me something and give me worksheets to do. When I first became a SAHM when my oldest was 10 months, I was on top of the world. I absolutel”

“Found out at 3w2d and now have soooo long to wait until first scans. I already told my family but am going to struggle so much not telling friends given we are big social drinkers. Not to mention I am just going to be anxious until I get the certainty of the scan and confirmation! Gah! submitted by /u/shbong1 [link] [comments]”

“BabyG just hit 9 mos. There's too much to even begin to type. A lot of it has already been posted throughout my pregnancy and early PP. Its been 6 days since I showered. I haven't had more than one shower per week since I had this baby. I'm overweight so that adds to the stink. I ask for help and I get dismissed or I get brushed off for days at a time. Could I take her back there with me? Yes, but she screams from the time I turn the water on until I pick her up. Its nor just whining”

“I delivered my son on Aug 18 vaginally either a vacuum assist. I haven’t been able to pee on my own since. I was cathed about 4 times, being on a foley for 3 weeks. I just started self catheterizing a few days ago and I don’t see an end in sight. I feel like this is my life moving forward. Looking for some hope. I do have a urogyne and I’m waiting to see a PT. submitted by /u/tsla85 [link] [comments]”

“I have a 2 month old baby. This is my second baby and I had the occasional drink while breastfeeding my first child but I don’t think I had my first drink until he was over 6 months old. We recently went on vacation to visit family and while there I had a drink each night, by the end of the time there I suddenly realized that it had been every night for like 7-8 days which is not “occasional” and immediately began feeling so anxious about it. I had tried to time things so that I would start the”

“We are traveling to the Mediterranean in a couple weeks and I am freaking out because it is still +30C during day and I don't know how to cope with the baby. This is not a beach holiday and we need to be out and about quite a lot. I don't enjoy lounging by the pool but am not totally opposed to it. I just don't know how it would go with the baby....I havent been in water with him. We survived summer in the Nordics nicely because it wasn't too hot and baby was smaller. Now he is a”

“I know I’m not alone but somehow still feel like I am. Husband and I have been together 12 years now, had our first baby 6.5 months ago and she’s a sweetheart and we love her dearly. But I feel so entirely isolated. Baby girl doesn’t want anyone else to put her to sleep for bed or naps- she will eventually fall asleep for naps with dad but that’s after 1.5 hours of screaming and bottle after bottle. She won’t really let anyone else hold her either. I BF but we do one pumped bottle before bed to”

“my 8 month old baby, my boyfriend, and myself live with my mom and siblings. my baby room shares with us as we don’t have the space for her own area yet. my boyfriend has been sick since friday night. he’s now puking as of literally 20 minutes ago. i don’t know what he has as hes going to the doctor tomorrow. he thinks its covid or the flu. my baby and i have been in the family room during the days since saturday morning. we have to sleep in the bedroom though since she refuses her pack and play”

“I’m currently 6 weeks postpartum and my best friends birthday is on September 21st. I would love to be able to go out and have a few drinks but wondering how to go about that as far as milk goes and how much I will need frozen if I plan on drinking. I will probably have about 4 drinks and will be leaving around 8 pm. Should I plan on having enough milk stored for baby until like 12pm the following day? Should I just plan on not even drinking? I would love any advice on this or am I overthinking”

“During my pregnancy my libido was at an all time high. My husband couldn't keep up and I usually ended up using my toys to get me off. 8W Postpartum now, sex is the furthest thing from my mind. I'm trying to get back to work and I work from home. My husband asks me for sex while I am actively pumping, setting the baby up with toys to entertain her and have the laptop in my lap about to start work. I'm already not turned on at all, but God did that put me in the negatives. Separately”

“I had really bad PPA and PPD with my first baby. One thing that triggered my anxiety was giving my babies baths as newborns because I was so afraid of hurting them or dropping them. My second baby is 8 weeks old today. She’s the girl we both prayed for (my son is 2). I started playing music during bath time and singing to her which helped me forget my anxiety. Now every time I give her a bath I play “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story and I bawl my eyes out. Every time. They’re so little and it w”

“Did anyone else completely lose their sex drive and start feeling weirdly overwhelmed by touch after having a baby? Like not even just sex, sometimes any physical affection feels too much. I feel so bad for my partner because I’ve barely shown him any affection but I just can’t, please tell me this passes. I ebf my almost 8 month old, he’s 23 lbs and dealing with him allll day… I’m just exhausted at the end of the day too. submitted by /u/Old_Literature_3750 [link] [comments]”

“Our 9 month old son has a temp of 38, goes down around 36.5-37.5 with help of Advil and tylenold We saw his family dr and she didn’t do care or do much. Is it worth going to the children’s hospital? It’s been roughly 24 hours. Any help would be awesome since we are first time parents and clearly worried. submitted by /u/Skylasmydawg [link] [comments]”

“Hi all After my first I had PPD pretty much immediately. It peaked around 3 months but I think I had some degree of it for probably closer to 9mo/year. This time around I was so thrilled, I didn't have a traumatic birth again and emotionally I felt great! My daughter is a great sleeper so I'm sure that helped but it really was a complete 180 from my son's birth emotionally I must have said it a dozen times to my mom and husband Well we're almost 3mo pp and over the past week or t”

“My husband admitted to me today that he doesn’t feel lusted after any more, and it’s really been weighing heavy on me. The reality is that sex is literally always the last thing on my mind between working full time and my 6 month old. I stopped breastfeeding at 3 months, so I genuinely don’t know what’s wrong with me, I just don’t have the desire any more. I’m still very attracted and in love with my husband, and I can see how this is hurtful, I just don’t know how to make myself want to have mo”

“I just want to ask the universe why. What lesson is being taught here? Why am I under the weather, my partner is 100% drained and now my child has fever. Shes off at home and I had to ask my partner (his boss is an a hole) to stay home and have her whilst I work from freaking home. We have no support system, never had in 4 years and tbh now realise never will.. Out of all days I have back to back calls... paid pennies.. obviously.. theres a house alarm going off, I have a mild headache, feel shi”

“Feeling emotional and at a loss as I type this as I’m just not sure what to do… I gave birth to twins just over a week and a half ago. I desperately want to breastfeed them both, but am also very open to supplementing that with bottle where necessary to help keep things manageable, but also so my partner can be involved in feeds. One of my twins initially latched well and the other struggled, and now they’re both struggling. Multiple midwives and lactation consultants have advised that I should”

“FTM in a massive heat wave and need some advice! My husband and I are set to bring home our first baby any day now (38 weeks today). We moved into a house at the end of the year last year. For context, it’s a rental and we live in a climate that is regularly above 100 degrees throughout the summer for ~15 days a year. Unfortunately, this summer has been brutal with over 25 days above 100 and not stopping anytime soon (predicted above 101 for the next two weeks). Our house has struggled to mainta”

“I had a baby two years ago so I am no longer in postpartum, but my energy levels still feel like a shell of my former life. I feel like I've tried everything: - consistently getting good hours of sleep (~8hrs a night) - working out 2-3 times a week - no caffeine to avoid crashes (never was a big caffeine drinker in the past, used to do it occasionally but stopped in the last few months because of how I'd feel the next day) - vitamin d daily supplements after some bloodwork showed low lev”

“I've been nursing my daughter from birth exclusively and she's now 14 months. She eats 3 meals a day and 2 snacks before anyone mentions food. She was on her way to self soothing and sleeping through the night, then she had the worst sleep regression. Then teething happened. Then she got the flu. She now wants to be at the breast the entire time she's sleeping whether its a nap or for the night. That or she'll be in her swing to sleep but as soon as we try and transfer her from s”

“My son is 19m and we have had such a beautiful breastfeeding journey. Lots of ups and downs in the beginning with the usual plus PPD/A/OCD. And now here we are, at the end. Im ready, I know I am. He is ready, but gahlee i cant stop crying today over it. He hasn't outright asked to nurse today except for once when I was holding him. I just said no boob boob baby, its gone bye bye. He said bye bye? Yep, all done. He said Oh! And gave me a hug and toddled off. We were down to 2 sessions a day f”

“I am a 37 year old female who had her second baby December 2024. My first child I did great - my anxiety the first 3 months postpartum was high but subsided. I’ve dealt with anxiety my whole life but this is totally different. Beyond debilitating. Obsessing about my anxiety and ruminating 24/7. I truly don’t get even a full day of relief. I have tried 3 SSRIs, I’m on an antipsychotic, Lamotrigine and have tried TMS and went through an intensive ERP program. Please tell me this eventually subside”