Think there is something wrong

I think it's great that you share your feelings about it! It's so easy to show the good parts of parenting and the joys and it's so hard to share what is hard. There is so much going on with little ones in the first few years of their life. I think guts feelings are legitimate feelings and you could gain some insights talking to a healthcare professional you trust. We're going through CMPA too sis, and it's a lot of hit and miss for us - so I hear you, it's tough! You're definitely not alone and there is a special CMPA group on peanut too. I mean there are many things, I read: you're worried about little one being behind milestones. Which milestones? My little girl only started crawling a month ago and she only started climbing furniture recently. She's always been super social and smiling but is quite demanding at night time and doesn't really self soothe. She only fell asleep about 10 minutes ago and she will feed on me a lot during night time. Every baby experiences development differently.

Crying happens a lot for us too, she is teething and hates transitions. The key word is: distraction. We use all sorts to get her distracted. I dress her upwards I ask her to hold on to me as she hates to be on her back. Once again - perfectly normal developmental stage. She eats some of her meals in her high chair, sometimes in the chair with the table on the floor and sometimes just sitting on the floor. Depending on her mood. This is just honest parenting. The staring in space can be normal as her brain registers so many new information it can cause the staring in space. Our LG occasionally has this too. The toy thing may just be that she's used to them and there is not so much novelty. We have them on rotation at home to keep her interested. Who commented? Does their opinion matter to you? Do they spend enough time with her to comment? Opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one, it doesn't mean their opinion is relevant.

But I get it, it affects you and it would affect me too. When people are just making an ill informed comment I breathe through it. Some days I have the energy to reply and somedays I let them have their narrative. It keeps people busy to comment. And some days I am just sharp especially if I am menstruating. Lol.

I love baby groups I find it such a shame you're preventing yourself from living such a cool experience, I mean it's obviously up to you but you gain so much from them: stimulation, socialising, a break from being the main source of distraction, meeting incredible human beings who have a passion for babies, ideas to do at home. And I could go on. You have only one lifeeee 🎵🎤🎶 enjoy it! Haters gonna hate, potatoes gonna potate. 💕

This is such a lovely response. Your baby is so lucky to have you; you sound like a wonderfully astute and loving mother

I think sometimes the pressure just gets to you, doesn’t it, and ‘comparison is truly the thief of joy’. I think the reflux and CMPA has caused her to be in pain for a lot of her life and with her poor sleep, she is so drained it must be really hard and so tears naturally are quick to come sometimes. You are right that there is definitely an aspect of boredom too in toys. I dropped some money on a play kitchen this week and she played with that which was lovely to see. The novelty definitely helped.

I think I’ve just felt a bit drained this week with it all but you’ve helped me remember the importance of enjoying and not missing out on good moments just because of other people or my own anxieties.

Thanks for the hint about the CMPA group. I’ll look it up!

Yes comparison is the thief of joy as you said, equally the support you get with a baby affects how you live things through. Financial situations will also affect how much money you can pour in the jar of issues and how you're likely to cope with them. So don't beat yourself up! It's just tough! Yes CMPA can be deffo super hard. For some ideas: https://www.happyfamilyorganics.com/learning-center/article/meal-plans-and-recipe-ideas-for-your-dairy-free-baby-or-tot/. Snacks wise we get the dairy free pouches her favourites are pear and cucumber from Ella's kitchen and the mango/apple/pear ones. You could give the falafel and sweet potatoes or the butternut squash lentil ones which are dairy free a good go. Curry, chilli, tomato pasta are her favourite (when she wants to eat a meal, which to reassure you atm doesn't really fancy mostly because of teething. So soya yoghurt helps if yours is intolerant to soya, you can get coconut ones (though they are pricy they are so good).
Yay! The new kitchen is a victory 🙌

Churches groups have normally a lot of toys and are very reasonably priced (1 to 3 pounds on average per session I found) and are followed with sing songs and they normally celebrate children birthday which I find great to build their sense of self. And no financial commitment 😁. You've got this mama 💕 it will pass too. Call a friend. Put your two cheeks on a sofa and get yourself a glass of whatever you like and get the playlist on and dance. We've done some Halloween decs at home, that's my joy and pride and helped me to feel better because I was crying 🤣 just my menstrual cycle. Sorry if this is TMI haha! Lots of love to you! 💜💜💜💜

Thank you, truly. You’ve helped more than you know. I will keeping going!