The Village Fund

ok so i have a 4 and a half month old son, my boyfriend lives with me and helps with him but, i feel very alone. he goes to his parents to make extra money but rarely does he actually work, he used to have substance abuse problems so the first time he went down there i told him i don’t want him around his friends because they hangout with people that abuse substances and they admitted they do. he went and hung out with them anyway and i told him i felt very disrespected and he went and hung out with them again the next weekend. so finally i had to explain it to him in the middle of an emotional break down, but not even a week later he went back down and is doing it again. i feel like he knows he gets a break from our son when he goes down there and i love my son but i need a break too and with him going places every weekend, i NEVER get to ho out and get a break.

I am 4’10 and as the title states 12 weeks pregnant. My son will be 23 months old when his sibling is born. I recently moved from FL to MI so my son could grow up around in laws, but that doesn’t mean I have my village. ❤️‍🩹 We were planning to buy a larger home next year but the surprise baby (I was told I’d not be able to conceive again after a botched c-section) we likely won’t be moving until the following year into a bigger home. Does anyone have advice or has been through having 2 under 2 and still wanting to get back into college online as well as managing a small home with very limited yard space? We had planned so well and ended up being hit 70mph head on in the middle of a custody case for my nephew and my identity being stolen in the six figures. We fell pretty hard and picking up the pieces. It feels like Groundhog Day everyday, especially not knowing people or having my own village. My husbands’ family has a strong mentality of only blood is family so I am just an outsider living 1000 miles away from anyone I know, home alone 6x a week and feeling defeated and scared about baby on the way. I felt like I was just getting back to feeling like me before pregnancy began. Did anyone else lose their sense of self, identity, other than being a mom, once becoming a mother?

Hey everyone, looking for advice on navigating some tough stepfamily dynamics.

My partner and I have been together for a while. There was a lot of drama with his ex at the beginning, so the kids didn't like me initially. I get why the transition was hard, but we're running into a wall now that I gave birth.

The 12-year-old daughter has been super moody and upset about the pregnancy, especially stressing over whether it's a girl (we waited till I gave birth to find out the gender). On a recent FaceTime (which included the ex and the 17yo son), she literally sat in the background the whole time texting, ignoring us completely.

It really unsettled me especially the thought of her resentment if I had a daughter. I gave birth to a baby boy but still.

How do you guys handle stepkids who are openly resentful about a new baby, and how do you set boundaries with FaceTime calls when the ex is involved? Any advice is appreciated!

I’m currently a single mom.. I’ve never been able to think about as to what to post here but I feel like I wanna tell my story.. I got pregnant early in our relationship and god was I so happy. But I was also in shock. It took me a few weeks to actually process that I was really pregnant. After awhile my ex became.. Toxic and controlling. He cut me off from friends and family.. he assaulted me while I slept because I didn’t want any intercourse I had completely lost my drive. It got me to a point where I wore layers of clothes around him, slept under a separate blanket, I wouldn’t sleep until I was sure he was asleep. Then we moved to my dad’s for extra help. It got even worse. He was rude all the time, taking my phone from me, telling me I was fat and so many things. I had my daughter May 28th 2025 it was supposed to be the best day of my life but it turned to be the hardest day. He made it all about him, I was in pain terribly, I had 2 second degree tears and a 3rd degree tear and he refused to help. After we got home I couldn’t get out of bed, I refused to speak or move I was just stuck and he did nothing. I started taking care of our daughter on my own. All day. All night. 24/7 with no help but I still tried to stay. He always said his only job was to provide and that’s it. All he did was work 3 days a week, play his video games and sleep and that’s all. In February of this year I was on the phone with my dad catching up. He came out of our room took my phone out of my hands.. kicked our daughter who was in her walker across the room.. and still found a way to make it my fault.. March of this year we moved to his hometown. He told me he had everything figured out…He didn’t.. we lived in a shed. No window. No bathroom. No kitchen and little to no signal. He was leaving everyday to do who knows what. The abuse got worse.. my breaking point was may 1st.. he burst into the room and almost assaulted me in front of daughter yet again. He pinned me to the bed and was screaming over and over. My daughter screamed in fear and that’s when I lost it.. I hit him picked her up and ran.. By the middle of May my friend got me a plane ticket back to my dad’s. It took me weeks to heal though I still struggle. My daughter has a fear of men now.. it took her almost a month to even let my dad near her without crying. We’re both doing better now. I haven’t heard from my ex in 3 months now. Though he still tries to post on facebook that he’s such a great person. But my baby and I are healing. We’re thriving.. Sorry for the rant I just wanted to get it out

I am overwhelmed by the amount of strollers options and prices, I have a 3 month old and I would like an easier stroller to take in and out of the car that has pockets and big storage space underneath. Any recommendations? Also something that I would be able to add a second kid in the future.