Words of encouragement

Mamas who already had their babies, please help 😞

I don’t have family around and my mum passed away a year and a half ago so I can’t cry to her but I have had enough! I am 35 weeks pregnant, sweating buckets in this heat, walking like a penguin, swollen everywhere, constantly out of breath, don’t recognise my body anymore, no clothes fit and I just feel useless at the minute! Please tell me I will feel normal again after my baby is here.. 😭 I’m so excited to finally meet him but also I just want my body back and want to feel somewhat normal. Please don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful to be pregnant, it’s just an awful lot at the moment

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You are doing so well! You’ve not got long left at all. It’s completely normal to feel useless, not recognising yourself etc as you are going through so many changes, but honestly when your little boy is here it will be worth it. I will say, in my experience it did take a little while for me to feel somewhat normal (my body isn’t completely the same, I’ve gone up a size in clothes but it’s to be expected) my mood was up and down for a while but 9 months pp I am very happy and have been for quite a few months now.
Hopefully you’ll be on Mat leave soon if you’re not already, I remember how much of a struggle it is but you’ve got this 🫶
Just a reminder - after birth if you’re feeling up and down, that’s completely normal but if you need to please speak to someone, it can be hard 🧡

Sorry to hear about your mum hjn xx I was feeling the same way tbh so don't worry you will get your body back might have to workout a bit after but no rush....I was 36 weeks and they told me I might have to be induced and I was actually happy about it coz I wanted to have my body back...had my baby at 38weeks full term. You hold on a little longer 🥰🥰 xx

Oh sweetheart. Your definitely not alone. I felt EXACTLY the same during last trimester. I cried everyday because it was just an effort to even get upstairs!
Your doing incredible, growing a tiny human is not easy at all! The fact you recognise that your feeling like this and reaching for support is a huge triumph .
There is so much they don't tell you when your pregnant about emotions and feelings and I'm pretty sure they sugar coat the tiredness and swollen body parts hahha!
You are at the final hurdle now sweet. You got this, and all of this has a huge huge reward at the end. Your beautiful baby will be so happy to meet you 💖 and all of this will become a distant memory! I lost my baby bump straight away obviously but I'm 17 days PP now and tbh the stretch marks and hanging bit of my belly doesn't bother me..I was so body conscious before I was pregnant. But looking at it now makes me proud. I've had my treats and I will start to try incorporate a bit more exercise as the weeks go on. But don't rush 💓

The last couple of weeks are hard!! I wore only dresses during this time. I will say that you will continue to be hot and sweaty after baby comes, but only because your body will be getting rid of the extra water (that’s causing your legs to swell). After a good 3 weeks pp, you’ll be feeling a lot more normal. I’d suggest a stroller fan and take it with you everywhere.

This is totally normal! And I really really feel for you in this heat! Last couple weeks are tough I remember crying feeling useless but I know everyone says it .. it’s so worth it best of luck with it all

Bless you, not long left now. It will all be worth it. After baby arrives you will be in love all over again. You will forget all the current hardships you are experiencing. I’m so sorry to hear about your Mother 😞. She would be so proud of you right now. It’s okay to feel how you are feeling right now, pregnancy and motherhood is so emotional and all your emotions are valid ❤️

My girl was born in March and she was my own personal hot water bottle throughout the winter so I can't imagine how you're feeling at this stage of pregnancy in this heat. If I'm being honest I didn't enjoy being pregnant, I had no reason to complain as I wasn't sick at all I just didn't like it which made me feel a bit worried but now she's here it's the most amazing feeling being her mum. I can't say my body feels back to "normal" yet buts I've not done anything in terms of working out but I don't really think about it with so much to do atm 🙈 hopefully it's not too long until he arrives and you'll have him in your arms!

You’ve got this, you’re going through such a unique journey and you will get to know your body in a completely different way, you’ll know your strength and beauty as a mother and you’ll experience pure bliss when holding your little one. ♥️ I wish I could give you a hug or bring you something yummy to stay cool, if you need to talk you can always message me, I remember being 9 months pregnant in late August.. it was miserable day and night. ♥️

in our community

Is this clever or cruel?

My husband and i were talking and with social media and the internet in general being a terrifying dumpster fire, we are trying to figure out the best way to keep our son safe while still teaching him how to safely be online and moderation.

We landed on the idea of giving him the 90's kid treatment. A computer in the living room for us to keep an eye on what hes doing online, and once we feel hes mature enough to hang with friends without adult supervision he gets a flip phone. When we feel he is responsible enough and he earns and saves up the money for the physical phone, case, and screen cover, then we will be happy to take him to get a smart phone.

I thought this was air tight, but now my brother says its cruel to give a kid a flip phone, and besides he can just use his friends phones at school.

My husband and i remember a time before the internet, and we remember having complete access to something no one understood yet. We saw unspeakable things and are always battling with the urge to put the phone and social media down. I dont want that for my son, especially with his brain so vulnerable still.

If your partners parent passes away

And you and that parent didn't get along are you still go to the funeral?

Not my situation!

Partner no longer wants baby #2

Before our son was born we originally both wanted minimum 2 kids but we were hoping for 3-4. My partner found the birth traumatic to watch and also struggled a lot with the newborn/baby stage. He no longer wants to have any more children and it’s completely breaking my heart. I need another baby. We’ve spoken about it a lot and the options. He said he wasn’t COMPLETELY closed off to it so I asked him to try and work through his feelings and reconsider his decision. He eventually said he definitely doesn’t want another. I know that I will always want one and my feelings will never change. Do we have to break up or does anyone know anything else I can do to help change his mind? Has anyone else’s partner said this and then changed their mind? I don’t want to break up because I adore him and our life together and I’d hate to split up our family for “selfish” reasons and make my son miss out on having both of us together but I just don’t know what to do

Nursery funding

My child turned 9 months last week. I applied for government funded hours nearly 2 months ago and so well within the required timeframe for the April term, however upon receiving my first invoice without the funding applied and having questioned this, I have now been informed that the stretched funding doesn’t start until 4th May.

Has anyone else been told it won’t start until May?

The government site states it should start from April 1st, and so I intentionally set my nursery start and return to work as the start of April for that reason, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to afford the nursery on my sole income without the funding

Jealous of my husband

I’m so jealous of him and it’s making me resentful. We have a ten week old and I’m jealous that he is at work all day. I’m jealous he can leave for lunch and actually eat an uninterrupted lunch. Take a phone call uninterrupted. Chat with a friend he runs in to uninterrupted. Even go to the bathroom when he wants uninterrupted. He comes home from work when he wants. He’s not on a set schedule. Some days are late some are early. It depends on when he’s done. I’m jealous he can come home at 10pm and shower, eat and go right to bed uninterrupted because I already have the baby asleep. He doesn’t have to worry about anything house wise or baby wise because I’ve done it all. Meanwhile I’m covered in puke and crap and smell like rotten milk. When he is home he is VERY active and helpful. So it’s not that. I’m just jealous his world hasn’t changed and mine has I guess. This isn’t something he’s doing wrong so I’m not sure how to get past this. I wish I could keep him home all day because that’s how helpful he is, but I understand he obv needs to work.

Calpol

My mum has just given my 4 year old calpol because he asked for it. He isn’t poorly (although was last week, been fine this week) he just likes the taste of it. My mum didn’t check, didn’t ask, just gave it to him and when I’ve questioned her she said “he asked for it”. Then quizzed 4 year old who said he asked for it because it tastes nice.

How would you react?