Cloth Diapers Honest Review

I love my mom and mother-in-law and am grateful that these are my complaints, but it still just irks me. I bought a super nice diaper bag with high reviews, but ended up not really liking and switched to a backpack with multiple pockets. Ever since then I keep getting the same complaints from these two. My mother thinks the backpack is too cumbersome and I load it with too much stuff. The backpack has a wet/dry bag, travel changing mat, pouch with wipes and a couple of diapers, travel butt creams, sunscreen, 1 pair of socks, pants/short, t-shirt, and a sweatshirt. That all seems pretty basic to me and covers a quick accident should one happen. Occasionally, more clothes end up in the bag because of my mother-in-law. She always complains that she can't ever find anything in the bag. My husband will start taking her side. Then when we get to my in-laws to pick up our son, I'll pull out the bag in front of my husband. I open it and quickly grab the thing she cannot find in 2 seconds and show him. She may have just needed to move a single item to find it. I've repeatedly told him, she just wants to dress him in the things she has bought him, which I would be fine with it if she were honest. I'd also like her to stop getting such large clothes. I can understand going up a size to ensure longevity, but our son just hit 3T sized clothes and she is buying him boy smalls. The pants just fall off and the shirts are like dresses on him. I get he will grow into them, but not for like another 4 years. By then he may not care about what is on the shirt. (He may have outgrown bluey or paw patrol by then. Who knows.) It's just stupid little preference crap that is like, if you do not like it, you do not have to use it. If you want to dress him up in clothes you got him. Do it, don't be lazy or lie to me. It's dumb and just an annoying little stream of complaints that are not necessary. Thank you for coming to my stupid rant. submitted by /u/VCOneness to r/Parenting [link] [comments]

The short version (because I know you're probably nursing a baby with one hand right now) If you're scrolling this with one thumb because the other arm has a sleeping baby on it, I see you. Here's the gist: the Quark BuubiBottle Pro Portable Milk Warmer is the most genuinely useful baby gadget I have bought in two kids' worth of trial and error. It warms milk fast, it keeps things hot or cold for over a day, the electronics pop off so you can actually clean the dang thing properly, and the battery lasts long enough that I stopped panicking about middle-of-the-night feeds at hotels. It is not the cheapest portable warmer on the market, but after going through the cycle of buying-cheap-and-buying-twice with my first kid, I'm done with that particular life lesson. Below is the long version. Pour yourself something warm. Or cold. Or lukewarm because the baby needed you and you forgot about it for forty-five minutes. We've all been there. A little context on who's writing this I have two kids: a three-year-old who runs the household like a small unhinged CEO, and a seven-month-old who is currently in the "discovers his feet are attached to him" phase. With my first, I breastfed for a while and then we moved to formula, and I learned the hard way that "portable milk warmer" is a product category full of, frankly, junk. I've owned a Babybrezza travel warmer. I've borrowed a friend's Babymoov. I've eyeballed the Momcozy on Amazon at 2am more than once. I've also spent way too much money on bottle warmer accessories that ended up in the kitchen drawer of doom. So when I say I've tried the field.... I've tried the field. I'm not a paid reviewer. I'm a mom who got tired of cold bottles in the car and lukewarm bottles at the in-laws' house and spending an hour scrubbing the inside of a warmer with a baby bottle brush trying to get to the gunk at the bottom. Let's talk about why this one is different. What is the Quark BuubiBottle Pro? The BuubiBottle Pro is a portable, battery-powered milk warmer made by Quark. It looks like a sleek matte white water bottle. Quietly minimalist. The kind of thing my husband actually doesn't mind having out on the kitchen counter, which, if you've ever tried to convince a man that a hot pink baby gadget is "fine in the living room," is no small feat. It does several things at once: It warms milk - formula, breast milk, even straight from a bottle or storage bag — to a precise temperature you set yourself. It keeps liquid hot or cold for over thirty hours. So it doubles as a thermos. It runs on its own battery. No plug needed. No fishing for outlets in airport terminals. It has a detachable electronic base (Quark calls it the "control pod") that pops off so you can wash the actual vessel without electronics in the way. It can self-sterilize by boiling water inside itself. I'll get into how genuinely cool this is. Quark sells it as the "Pro" version of their original BuubiBottle, which I gather was already a thing in this space. The Pro upgrades a bunch of the things parents complained about in v1 — particularly the cleaning situation. More on that. The target retail price is $129.99 CAD, which I'll dig into in the value section. The detachable control pod: this alone might sell you on it Okay, this is the feature that made me actually pre-order this thing instead of just adding it to a baby registry I'd never finalize. Every other portable milk warmer I've used has the same fundamental design problem: the electronics and the vessel are one piece. Which means when you wash it, you're playing this anxious little game of "how much water can I get in here before I fry the heating element." You end up using a bottle brush, a tiny sponge, a paper towel jammed onto a chopstick — whatever it takes to get the inside clean without dunking the thing. And let's be real. Milk residue. In a warm enclosed space. For days. Babies' tummies are not built for that. The BuubiBottle Pro's "control pod" - the part with all the electronics, the heating element, the battery, the buttons — clicks off the bottom of the vessel. You're left with a stainless steel cup, basically. A clean, simple, dishwasher-friendly stainless steel cup that you can scrub like any normal water bottle, run under hot water, soap up, even toss in the dishwasher. That single design decision changes everything about owning this product. I cannot overstate how much mental load it removes. Cleaning is no longer a stress event. It's just… cleaning. The pod itself wipes down with a damp cloth and that's it. It connects via gold-plated pogo pin contacts (you can see them in the product photos - those four little gold dots), which is the same kind of connector smart watches and certain laptops use. They're durable, they don't corrode, and they line up automatically because of the click-in design. You don't have to think about it. Insulation: 30+ hours hot or cold is not a typo The vessel is built like a high-end thermos. Quark describes it as multi-layer construction — stainless steel, a layer of copper electrolysis (which I had to look up; basically a thin reflective copper coating that bounces heat back inward), and a vacuum gap between the inner and outer walls. The result: over 30 hours of temperature retention. Practical translation: I filled this thing with hot water at 7am before a flight, used it to warm a bottle at 11am, used it again at 4pm, and the water inside was still hot when I went to use it the next morning at our hotel. Not warm. Hot. For comparison, my old Babybrezza travel warmer turns off once the contents reach temperature and then just… sits there cooling down. It's basically a kettle that pretends to be a thermos and isn't really either. This matters more than you'd think. On a road trip, on a long flight, in a stroller for a day at the zoo, you fill it once in the morning and you have warm-water-on-demand all day. You can warm bottles by transferring milk into a clean bottle and using the BuubiBottle's stored hot water in a regular bottle warmer set up or, more often in my house, the BuubiBottle just is the warming method and the stored heat keeps the warming cycle going without burning through battery. The unibody interior: a small detail that's actually huge This is one of those things you don't appreciate until you've cleaned a bottle warmer with a seam in it. Most travel warmers have a join somewhere on the inside. A little ridge where two pieces of metal or plastic meet. That ridge collects gunk. Milk stone. Mineral deposits from hard water. The bottle brush can't quite get into it. You convince yourself it's fine. The BuubiBottle Pro has a stainless steel unibody interior. One continuous piece. No seams. No creases. No corners for milk residue to hide in. When I rinse it out, I rinse it out. There's nowhere for stuff to lurk. I don't get that sour-milk smell that started haunting my first travel warmer about three months in. The interior just looks clean because it actually is clean. For anyone obsessive about hygiene with infant feeding equipment - and let's face it, that's most of us, especially with a first baby - this is a feature you'll be quietly grateful for every single day. 360° heating and the self-sterilization feature The heating element on most portable warmers is a small disc at the bottom. The hot spot is concentrated, which means the milk on the bottom of the bottle is way warmer than the milk at the top, and you have to swirl it around constantly to get even temperature. You also can't get the contents truly hot without scorching the bottom, which means no real sterilization. The BuubiBottle Pro uses full-diameter heating - the heating element wraps around the inside of the vessel rather than just sitting at the bottom. The promo material describes it as "360° coverage," and it's not just marketing fluff. You can feel the difference. Milk warms more evenly and more quickly. I haven't had to swirl a bottle since I started using this one. But the real party trick is the self-sterilization mode. Because the heating is even and powerful enough across the full vessel, the BuubiBottle Pro can boil water inside itself. Which means you can sterilize the interior of the warmer using only the warmer. No separate sterilizer. No microwave bag. No boiling pot of water. You just run the cycle and the heat kills bacteria inside the device. I cannot tell you how clutch this is for travel. Last month we were at a cabin with iffy water and questionable kitchen cleanliness, and I was able to sterilize the warmer in the warmer. That's a sentence I never thought I'd type. Battery life and TSA compliance: the travel mom's holy grail The battery is 11,600 mAh, which is a number that means nothing to most people, so let me put it in perspective. It's enough to run the device for 30+ hours of operation. It's TSA-compliant, which means you can take it on a plane in your carry-on. I want to camp on that second point for a second, because it's the reason I bought this specifically over alternatives. A lot of higher-capacity portable warmers on the market are not TSA-compliant. Their batteries are too big. Which means you either check them (and pray) or you leave them home (defeating the purpose of a portable warmer). The BuubiBottle Pro is purpose-built to slip in just under the TSA limit while still giving you useful real-world battery life. For a 6-hour flight with a connection? I'm fine. For a 12-hour day at Disney? I'm fine. For a weekend road trip where I forget the charger? I'm STILL fine. This was the deciding factor for me over the Babymoov, which only does about 7 hours, and the Babybrezza, which doesn't list a battery spec at all in any way I could verify (which is its own red flag). Charging: USB-C, fast, and they actually included a nice cable The device charges via USB-C with up to 25W fast charging. In real terms: I plug it in while I'm making dinner, and it's full by the time I'm doing dishes. Quark also includes a braided color-matched USB-C cable in the box. I know this is a tiny thing, but as someone who has dealt with the floppy little white cables that ship with most baby gadgets — cables that fray within a month and always seem to be the wrong length — getting a real, durable, normal-human-sized braided cable in the box was a nice touch. It tells me the company isn't cutting corners on the small stuff. Side note: it's USB-C, not USB-A or god forbid micro-USB. If you're buying a baby product in 2026 that still uses micro-USB, run. Precise temperature control (and why this matters more than you'd expect) You can set the BuubiBottle Pro to a specific temperature in single-degree increments. So if your pediatrician suggested 98°F as the ideal warming temp, that's exactly what you set. Not "warm." Not "preset 2." Ninety-eight degrees. You can also switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit, which sounds trivial until you realize that almost every competing product is locked to Fahrenheit only. I'm in Canada. We do Celsius here. Half my friends are in the US doing Fahrenheit. The fact that this just toggles is a little gift to anyone whose family is split between countries or who travels internationally. Babybrezza? Fahrenheit only. Three preset values, no precision adjustment. Babymoov? Fahrenheit only, but at least has single-degree increments. Momcozy? Fahrenheit only, single preset, no adjustment at all. The BuubiBottle Pro is the only one in this comparison set that actually does both: precise increments AND unit switching. For anyone whose baby has very specific feeding preferences (and yes, babies have preferences, and yes, they will reject a bottle that is two degrees off, and yes, you will lose your mind), this matters. Capacity: 17oz / 500ml is the sweet spot The BuubiBottle Pro holds 17 ounces / 500 milliliters. That is plenty for: Multiple bottle warming cycles in a row (you don't have to refill between feeds) Day-out-of-the-house use for a single baby Dual purpose as a regular thermos for grown-up coffee or tea (because YES we do this, don't pretend you haven't) For comparison: Babybrezza tops out at 9oz / 260ml, which is barely one bottle. Babymoov does 11oz / 320ml. Momcozy and Quark both do 17oz / 500ml. If you have a chuggy baby or you're feeding twins, the small-capacity warmers are basically useless. You'll be refilling and reheating constantly, draining the battery faster, and getting frustrated. The 500ml capacity is the difference between "this is a real solution" and "this is a toy." Compatibility: liquid, bag, AND bottle This is another sneaky important spec. The BuubiBottle Pro warms all feeding formats - pour milk in directly, drop a sealed breast milk storage bag in, or insert an entire baby bottle to warm. Most competitors only do one or two of these: Babybrezza: liquid and bag only (no full bottle) Babymoov: liquid only Momcozy: liquid only If you're a pumping mom dealing with frozen storage bags, "bag compatible" is non-negotiable. If you're the kind of parent who pre-fills bottles and just wants to warm one at the right moment, "bottle compatible" is non-negotiable. The BuubiBottle Pro doing all three means you're not buying a separate solution for each use case. For me, breast milk bag compatibility was a huge deal. I pump, I freeze, I thaw, I warm. The bag goes in, the bag comes out warm, the milk goes in a bottle. One device. Done. How does it actually feel to use day-to-day? Let me walk you through a real morning. 6:43am. Baby wakes up early. I'm not ready. I shamble to the kitchen. The BuubiBottle Pro is sitting on the counter where I left it last night, still showing battery indicator lights. I unscrew the lid, pour in pre-measured formula, click the lid back on, hit the power button on the front. The little display lights up. 6:45am. I set it to my chosen temperature. It starts heating. I make my own coffee while it works. 6:47am. It beeps quietly. The bottle's ready. I pour into a feeding bottle. I shake. I test on my wrist out of habit even though I know the temp is precise. Baby drinks. Baby is content. I am alive. The whole thing took two minutes. And critically, it took two minutes that I didn't spend stressed. That's the thing portable warmers are supposed to do, and most of them don't. They make warming faster but more annoying. The BuubiBottle Pro makes it faster AND less annoying. At night it's even better. I keep it pre-loaded with hot water on the nightstand. When the baby wakes up at 2am, I drop a bottle of cold milk into the warmer, the stored heat warms it via the 360° heating, and I'm not stumbling to the kitchen at all. Build quality and design The thing feels expensive. I don't know how else to put it. The matte finish doesn't fingerprint. The seams are tight. The button has a satisfying click. The lid threads on smoothly. The control pod clicks off and on with the exact right amount of force — not so loose it falls off in your bag, not so tight you have to fight it. It looks like an Apple product. Genuinely. If you set it next to my husband's HydroFlask, you'd think they came from the same brand. Quark clearly cares about industrial design in a way most baby brands don't. It comes in a soft white-and-peach colorway in the marketing, though I believe other color options are available depending on where you buy. The orange accents (the indicator window, the cable) are a nice break from the relentless pastel of the baby product world. Competitive analysis: how it actually compares Quark themselves put out a comparison chart, but I want to give you the honest mom-version. vs. Babybrezza Travel Bottle Warmer ($169.99 CAD) The Babybrezza is more expensive than the Quark and does less. Smaller capacity (9oz vs 17oz), only 3 preset temperatures (no precision), Fahrenheit only, integrated electronics (so harder to clean), turns off once warm (no temperature lock), USB-A charging (not USB-C), and only 10W charging speed. Honestly, in this comparison I cannot find a single category where the Babybrezza wins. It's older tech at a higher price. vs. Babymoov Moov & Feed ($99.99 CAD) The Babymoov is the budget option, and it shows. 11oz capacity, liquid only (no bag, no bottle), Fahrenheit only, integrated electronics, only 7 hours of temperature lock, a tiny 2,500 mAh battery (vs 11,600 in the Quark), and slow USB charging. If you're a casual user with a small budget, sure. But for serious travel or daily use, the gap in battery alone is disqualifying. vs. Momcozy Portable Warmer ($126.99 CAD) This is the closest competitor on paper. Same 17oz capacity. 10,000 mAh battery (decent, though still smaller than Quark's). Up to 24 hours temperature lock (vs Quark's 30+). USB-C charging. But: single preset temperature (no adjustment), Fahrenheit only, liquid only (no bag or bottle), integrated electronics, and slow 10W charging. It's also identified in Quark's chart as a rebranded OEM product from a Chinese B2B marketplace, which tracks with the spec sheet — it's a generic warmer with a logo on it. The Quark, by contrast, is described as proprietary tooling, meaning Quark designed it from scratch. Bottom line At $129.99 CAD, the Quark BuubiBottle Pro is $40 cheaper than the Babybrezza, $3 more than the Momcozy, and $60 more than the Babymoov — but it does meaningfully more than all of them, and the build quality is in another league. It's the rare situation where the more expensive option is also clearly the better value. What I don't love (because no product is perfect) Let me push back on my own enthusiasm so you can trust me. The price. $169.99 CAD is real money. If you're rarely traveling and you've got an outlet near where you feed, a plug-in warmer costs a quarter of this. The portability is the whole point — if you don't need portability, you don't need this. The size. It's a 17oz vessel with electronics. It's not small. It will not fit in a tiny purse. It fits great in a diaper bag, a car cupholder (mostly), or a backpack, but it's not pocket-sized. If you wanted something truly minimalist, this isn't that. Learning the controls. The first day I had it, I fumbled with the temperature settings and unit switching. The instruction manual is fine but I wish there was a slightly better quick-start guide. After a day or two of use it became second nature, but the first hour was "wait, how do I do that again?" You have to remember to charge it. Sounds obvious, but with a plug-in warmer you don't have to think about charge state. With this one, if you let the battery run flat, your "portable" warmer is now just a thermos until you plug it in. I've started habit-charging it overnight every couple of days. It's white. Babies are messy. Mine still looks great after months of use, but I do wipe it down regularly. If you're rough on your gear, consider whether a darker color option is available where you're buying. None of these are dealbreakers. None of them would make me return it. But I want to be honest about them because every other review I've read sounds like an ad. Who is this for? Buy this if: You travel with your baby, even occasionally (flights, road trips, hotel stays, weekends at grandma's). You're a working parent who packs bottles for daycare and wants them warm on arrival. You're a pumping mom who wants a flexible warmer for milk bags. You're the kind of person who buys once, buys nice, and keeps it for years. You're someone who reads spec sheets and cares about cleaning, hygiene, and build quality. You hate the existing options on the market and want something genuinely different. Skip this if: You only feed at home and have a wall outlet two feet from your nursing chair (just get a plug-in warmer for $30). You're on a strict budget and the Babymoov at $99 is your ceiling. Your baby is almost done with bottles anyway (don't buy this for two more months of use). Final thoughts: would I buy it again? Without hesitation. This is the rare baby product that I'll actually be sad to retire when my youngest weans. I might keep it as a thermos for myself, honestly. (My friend Sarah does this with hers - she uses it for tea now that her kids are older. Apparently the temperature lock makes it a phenomenal regular thermos too.) When you're a parent of small kids, you spend a lot of money on stuff. Most of it is fine. Some of it is great. A tiny fraction of it makes your life meaningfully easier on a daily basis. The Quark BuubiBottle Pro is in that last category for me. It does the boring thing — warming milk - better, faster, more cleanly, and more flexibly than any other portable option I've tried. If you're on the fence, my advice is the advice I'd give a friend texting me at midnight: just buy it. You'll wish you had it on the next trip you take, and you'll figure out a use for it on the trips you don't. Five stars. Recommended. Now please excuse me, the baby is waking up and I have to go warm a bottle. With my BuubiBottle Pro. Obviously. Quick FAQ Is the Quark BuubiBottle Pro safe to take on a plane? Yes. The 11,600 mAh battery is under the TSA limit for carry-on lithium batteries, so it's flight-friendly in your carry-on bag. Always check current TSA rules before traveling, but as of this writing, it's compliant. Can I sterilize baby bottles in the BuubiBottle Pro? You can sterilize the interior of the warmer itself using the self-sterilization mode, which boils water inside the device. It's not a replacement for a full bottle sterilizer for nipples, pacifiers, etc. — but for keeping the warmer's own interior bacteria-free, especially when traveling, it's excellent. How long does the battery actually last in real-world use? Quark advertises 30+ hours, and that matches my experience for keep-warm/temperature-lock mode. Active heating from cold draws more power, so if you're running back-to-back warming cycles from cold, you'll see less. For typical daily use — a couple of bottle warmings plus passive temperature lock — I get 2 to 3 days off a single charge. Does it warm breast milk safely without overheating? Yes — the precise temperature control is the key. You set the exact temp you want (most pediatricians suggest body temperature, around 98°F / 37°C for breast milk). The 360° heating element warms evenly without scorching, which is important because overheated breast milk loses some of its nutritional benefits. Is it dishwasher safe? The detached vessel (without the control pod) is much easier to clean than competitor products. Check the manual for specific dishwasher guidance — I hand-wash the inside with warm soapy water and a soft brush, and it's been spotless for months. The control pod, like all electronics, just gets a wipe-down with a damp cloth. Is it noisy? No. Quieter than my electric kettle. Quieter than the white noise machine in my baby's room. You can warm a bottle in the same room as a sleeping baby without waking them. What's in the box? The warmer itself, the detachable control pod, and the braided USB-C cable. No wall adapter included in most regions (you can use any USB-C wall plug you already own). Can I use it without the control pod attached? Yes — without the pod, it's just a regular insulated thermos. So you can detach the pod for easy cleaning and still use the vessel to keep liquid hot or cold. This is genuinely useful when you're doing a deep clean or charging the pod separately. Is the BuubiBottle Pro worth $169.99 CAD? For me, absolutely. Compared to its closest competitor (the Momcozy at $126.99) it's a vastly better product Compared to the Babybrezza at $149.99, it's better.. The only way it's not worth it is if you don't actually need a portable warmer in the first place. This review reflects honest personal experience and is not sponsored. Specifications referenced are based on Quark's published product information. Prices in CAD as of publication. submitted by /u/Front-Cantaloupe6080 to r/BeyondtheBumpCanada [link] [comments]

Was laid off from work and starting a new job in 2 weeks but kids bdays are coming up and it's been a month since I was laid off. First time ever having a Pokemon edition console and I went full out with the Scarlet Violet setup... Only had it for 3 months, was offered a good deal for it and need to part from it.. Maybe when things get better I'll be able to get these back Update: I did sell the switch and games. It covered what I needed paid and was able to get my son the semi truck toy he wanted, with money set aside for cake and ice cream. I understand it may not be possible to get the console back but I can get the games back at some point. Didn't gift this to my son for his bday as he's not a Pokemon fan, I failed somewhere there. There are other sources to help out which I have been utilizing. As for the job I had, since it was mentioned. I was making $6kusd a month and we were laid off on the 1st. I worked in the steel industry and I didn't join the union, will be next time if offered for my next job. The reason for the urgency to have cash on hand was due to bills for the house, an necessities for the family, and my son's bday gift. My sister came and visited and she brought me a box of old stuff from when I was a kid, sister is moving out of state and I had to live with her for a good while when I was younger. But the box had my old 2DS and charger. Plugged it in and still works, going to be modding it later on tonight since she wasn't able to find the old games I use to have but at least I'll be able to play some older games. Thanks to the support and kind words and the award that was given. Your comments made my day better Final edit: My other post was removed because people reported it. Got some time to review the replies and saw something about grifting? After reading further learned basically trying to scam people and some others mentioned previous posts. In the event those same people are viewing this post wanted to provide some further clarity. Wife bought me something post: Yes my wife bought me a gengar pez dispenser. $5 from hobby lobby from last year. Wife doesn't work, since I was making enough income to support all of us I was able to convince her to go back to college. She's great at graphic design and I told her to get the degree so she can get paid for it as well. She got in through a scholarship program, not sure which one since we submitted applications for several. Grift post?? Never heard the term but after seeing basically what it was I can see how a lot of users were concerned and reported the post. No judgment. The post was to share the collection I had started and was genuinely upset about getting rid of it. Still am. Didn't see harm in sharing what I had. As for trying to get money. I didn't want money or anyone to feel bad to give me anything, would have turned it down, still will as well the positive feedback was enough. Financial clarity. To fill in some gaps here. Yes I'm aware I have a post history. I mean every reddit user does. Yes my mom helped pay my rent and utility bill not the biggest bills I have, as others are familiar with there are other bills besides that. I have my own student loans, that I have not been able to put on hold due to using up the amount of deferments I can use. Phone bill, Internet bill, diapers, clothes, and food for the house. Food alone is roughly $800-$850/month. I won't give a full rundown because that's my finances and most adults as well as ones with kids can agree shit racks up especially if youre the sole provider. Especially with after school activities like sports and clubs for my son. The truck I had to return. Got the truck earlier this year, didn't buy it out right as I wanted to build some credit back. Yes tax refund was received and it was put into paying off an old credit card debt, and repairs for the house, we're renting since the landlord isn't the best I've been making the repairs myself. Yes I know it's stupid and before anyone says anything. There isn't anything for rent near me that's affordable. Ironic given my situation. I returned the truck back since it was a buy here oay here. Truck was in sound condition and the price was right there with Kelly Blue book. I returned it to avoid a repo in my credit report and no I wasn't given a grace period even though I was on time for payments. Honestly didn't need to explain myself or my situation, but I know how reddit is an how the users can be. I wanted to just share a picture of my collection and that I was upset about getting rid of it. If there are further questions I'd be happy to answer them submitted by /u/PointlessBein to r/PokemonScarletViolet [link] [comments]

I wanted to share an honest review of the BabyList Welcome Box (January 2026), especially because I ordered it based on reviews and photos from previous months. Older unboxings looked noticeably better and more substantial, and many people said the box was genuinely worth the effort. Unfortunately, this version felt like a major downgrade. What it took to get the box To qualify for the Welcome Box, I had to: • Create a BabyList registry • Purchase at least $30 worth of items • Pay $9 shipping on that order • Then pay another $9 shipping for the Welcome Box itself What was actually inside (with realistic value) Diapers • Rascal + Friends: • 1 Newborn diaper • 1 Size 1 diaper • Huggies: • 3 Size 1 diapers Real value: ~$2 total Feeding & breastfeeding items • Lansinoh: • 1 breast milk storage bag • 1 pair disposable breast pads Value: ~$1–1.50 • Philips Avent bottle (4 oz) Value: ~$6–8 • Munchkin Flow Nipple Shields Plus (full product) Value: ~$9–11 • Suavinex pacifier Value: ~$6–8 Wipes & care samples • WaterWipes (10-wipe sample) Value: ~$1 • Lume Whole Body Deodorant (14 g sample) Value: ~$3–4 • Noodle & Boo baby laundry detergent (30 ml sample) Value: ~$1–2 • Breast milk storage guidelines magnet Value: ~$1 (at best) Clothing (the only standout item) • Kite Baby bamboo bodysuit This was the only item that felt truly premium. Retail price is around $34–38, and it accounts for nearly half of the box’s actual value. Coupons & “offers” The box also included several coupons and trials: • “Free” swaddle (still requires \~$9 shipping) • 20% off Kite Baby • Bobbie formula BOGO (requires purchasing first) • Shutterfly birth announcements • TinyBeans trial + “$28 value” photo book These are conditional offers, not products. Real cash value to me: $0. Realistic total value Being generous: • Diapers & samples: \~$15 • Feeding items: \~$25 • Kite Baby bodysuit: \~$32 ➡️ Total realistic value: ~$65–70 The issue BabyList advertises this box as having a $125 value, but that number clearly includes: • Coupons and discounts • Items that require additional purchases • Shipping-dependent “free” offers When I opened the box, it honestly felt almost empty. Without the Kite Baby bodysuit, this would feel like a standard free registry box — not something you effectively pay nearly $50 to receive. Final thoughts I ordered this specifically because previous months’ boxes looked much better, and based on those reviews, it seemed worth the effort. The January 2026 version, however, feels significantly downgraded. If you already planned to shop at BabyList and really want the Kite Baby item, maybe it’s fine. But if you’re expecting a $125-value box of useful baby essentials, this isn’t it. For me, after $30 spent + $18 in shipping, it was not worth the effort. submitted by /u/ThinkRiver4571 to r/BabyBumps [link] [comments]

If you’ve been anywhere near a cloth diapering Facebook group, you’ve definitely heard of Mama Koala. Their prints are everywhere, their bundles are cheap, and they’ve built this “good quality without breaking the bank” kind of reputation. The Mama Koala 3.0 Pocket Diapers have been around for a while now, but they’re still one of the most talked-about budget-friendly options and for good reason. So, I finally decided to put them to the test myself. After a few weeks of washing, stuffing, and chasing a very opinionated baby during diaper changes, here’s the honest lowdown. Quick Overview Product: Mama Koala 3.0 Pocket Diapers Price: Around $10 per diaper (bundles and discount codes make them even cheaper) Fit Range: 8–40 lbs What’s New: Angled hip snaps, better crossover snaps, updated inner lining Overall Rating (Mom-scale): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Absorbency & Real-Life Performance Let’s start with the most important part does it leak? In short, not during daytime use. The 3.0 handled the usual 1.5–2 hour changes with zero leaks, using just one 5-layer bamboo insert. I also tried the hemp inserts (because #curiousmom), and they were great too, super absorbent, no leaks, and no weird bunching. Would I use it overnight? Probably not, unless you double-stuff it or your baby isn’t a heavy wetter. It’s a daytime champion, but nighttime warriors might want a dedicated fitted or overnight system. What I liked: Absorbs well for 2-hour changes No leaks even with one insert Easy to boost absorbency with hemp or bamboo What’s meh: Like most pockets, not ideal for heavy overnight use Tip from experience: Stuff the inserts properly (flat and edge-to-edge). A sloppy stuff job = guaranteed leaks. Learned that one the hard way. Fit & Adjustability The fit on these? Surprisingly good. The angled hip snaps and repositioned crossover snap make a big difference, no more awkward gaps or “wing droop” (if you know, you know). My 13-pound baby looked comfy, not bulky, and we had zero leg or back leaks. Plus, the snaps actually make sense now you can adjust the waist and thighs separately, which is great if your baby has chunky thighs and a smaller waist (like mine). What’s great: Snug fit without being bulky Angled snaps actually help seal leaks Can grow with baby up to 40 lbs Personal note: I was a little skeptical at first because snaps can be annoying at 2 a.m., but these are sturdy without being stiff. Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy-peasy. Prints & Fabrics Okay, let’s talk about what Mama Koala is famous for their prints. They drop new designs every Thursday (yes, really), and the variety is borderline dangerous for your wallet. From minimal neutrals to full-on cartoon chaos, there’s something for every aesthetic. But it’s not just the looks. The materials are really nice for the price: Outer layer: Waterproof TPU, soft, flexible, and doesn’t feel plasticky. Inner layer: Athletic Wicking Jersey (AWJ), lightweight, fast-drying, and, my favorite part, doesn’t hold onto pet hair (bless this fabric). After 3 weeks of constant washing, there was no fading, pilling, or stretching. It still looked new, which is more than I can say for some pricier diapers in my stash. Big win: The AWJ lining actually keeps baby’s bum feeling drier compared to microfleece. Bonus win: My cat’s fur didn’t cling to it. #PetMomVictory Support, Warranty & Brand Vibe Mama Koala actually surprised me here. If you buy directly from their website, you get a 365-day warranty (Amazon orders get 90 days). Their customer service is fast and friendly even if there’s a bit of a language gap sometimes, they do get things sorted. They’re also pretty active on social media and open to feedback. You can tell they’re listening because each version has meaningful improvements (not just color changes). Customer perks: 1-year warranty (MamaKoala.com) 90-day guarantee (Amazon) Responsive email & social media support Price & Availability Here’s the part every cloth mom loves: they’re cheap but not “fall apart in a month” cheap. You can grab them for about $10 each, or less if you go for bundles. Plus, there are always discount codes floating around (like 10–15% off). Shipping is free in the U.S. over $50, and they’re widely available both on their website and Amazon. Compared to other budget brands like Alva or Nora’s Nursery, Mama Koala’s 3.0 feels sturdier and better thought-out. Eco-Friendliness Mama Koala’s not pretending to be a super-green brand, but they’re trying. Their materials are tested for safety (no phthalates or lead), and they’ve mentioned plans to use more organic fabrics in the future. They also run a Buy/Sell/Trade Facebook group that keeps old diapers in circulation, yay for less landfill waste. 2.0 vs 3.0 — Should You Upgrade? If you already have the 2.0, here’s the tea: The 3.0’s biggest upgrade is in the fit. The new angled snaps are a game changer, especially if your old ones leaked at the legs. The fabrics and quality are similar, but the 3.0 feels more refined overall. If you’re starting fresh, definitely go straight for the 3.0s. If you already have a bunch of 2.0s, maybe just grab a few 3.0s to mix in, you’ll see the difference. Pros Budget-friendly (and discount codes galore) Adjustable snaps = excellent fit Soft, durable, pet-hair-resistant fabrics Huge variety of cute prints Washes easily and dries fast Year-long warranty if bought from the brand Cons Not the best choice for heavy overnight wetters Snap learning curve for total beginners My Final Thoughts Mama Koala 3.0s are the kind of diaper that make you go, “Wait, why are these so cheap?” in a good way. They fit beautifully, hold up after multiple washes, and don’t leak during the day. Are they perfect? No diaper is. But for everyday use, they’re the ones I reach for first (and that says a lot). If you’re just getting started with cloth diapering or you’re expanding your stash without going broke, these are an easy “yes.” submitted by /u/HappyHomemakerLife to r/ToysAndTots [link] [comments]

I’ve been looking into hybrid diapers as a compromise between cloth and disposables (I like the option of disposable inserts if we’re overwhelmed by cleaning things). GroVia appears to be the most widely recommended brand in this category but as their availability is currently limited, I am looking into other options. I stumbled upon Honest Company, and while the reviews I’ve read have been generally positive, they don’t pop up in very many recommendations. I’m wondering if anyone has actually used them, or can recommend another hybrid/disposable liner combo? submitted by /u/lilgreycell to r/clothdiaps [link] [comments]

I recently became a father, our first, to a beautiful baby girl who's now 2 months old. I love to research, and there's A LOT of information out there on the internet, some good, some not so good, so thought I'd share our experience to date, in hope that it may help some of your experience (I'm no expert). Uppababy Stroller System We decided on the uppababy, specifically on the Cruz 2 stroller, Mesa carseat, and bassinet attachment. The Cruz is more than big enough, and very glad we didn't buy the Vista. The bassinet attachment (which we questioned at first) has been absolutely amazing, and we use it daily. It's not a cheap stroller system, but if budget allows, would fully recommend. Also, we didn't buy the uppababy bassinet stand, I thought dropping $150 on a wood stand was a bit crazy, but someone ended up giving us theirs second hand, and honestly it's been a huge help and big part of our routine. It's so easy to wheel your baby in the bassinet and transfer from the stroller the stand. If you have the uppababy stroller and bassinet attachment, buy the stand instead of a separate bassinet, it works the same and is great. Boba Wrap Carrier I had never heard of these, but I work from home, and wanted a hands-free way to hold the baby while freeing up my hands to write emails, or doing things around the house. This thing far exceeded expectations and has been absolutely AMAZING, and probably hands down the best purchase of all baby stuff for our first 1 to 1.5 months for us. When our newborn was fussy, this was sometimes the only way we could calm her down in a mater of seconds. We'd put her in the boba and she would fall asleep almost immediately, it was like some type of voodoo magic. Also when she had gas, she would burp upon being put in the tight boba wrap. They're around $40 on Amazon, and cannot recommend enough. We ended up buying two, and I like the lighter bamboo option a lot more than the original cotton. Diapers We tried out several brands of diapers. I feel this is a very personal experience, and every baby has a different shape and fit, but this was our experience, ranked from Best to Worst. 1. Up & Up (Target Brand) 5/5: We bought these based on them being rated as the Consumer Reports top pick, and they absolutely did not disappoint. They're soft, absorbant, have an excellent elastic waist, aren't too bulky, aesthetically appealing, and on top of that are an excellent value, the cheapest of this list. Was very pleasantly surprised and will be our go-to diaper moving forward beyond size N and 1. 2. Huggies Little Snuggles 5/5: A very close second to Up & Up from Target, we like them equally as much, but the value put Target slightly ahead. Same as above, fantastic fit, great elastic band, absorbant, and all around a great diaper. 3. Coterie 4/5: We had read and heard so much about Coterie diapers, and it was actually our first purchase of diaper brand for our baby before she was born. Don't get me wrong, they're very nice/soft, certainly a premium product, but to be honest they're not THAT nice. They are no better than the above two, and to be honest I prefer using the Up & Up or Huggies diapers over the Coterie. Apart from that they're expensive, and even if you can afford them, it's crazy to spend this premium $$$ on these diapers when there are cheaper options that I think are better. These cost 2x the Huggies and 3x the Up&Up, and when you're using 8-10 diapers per day, that adds up really quickly, and not worth it in my opinion. 4. Pamper Swadlers 3/5: A lot of our friends use this diaper and swear by them, but simply didn't work for us. Like Huggies they're a major brand and trusted (I think they use them in the hospitals?), but we simply didn't love them. They're a lot bigger and bulkier than the Huggies, and the Up & Up for sure. And apart from that, in the fist 6 weeks of having our baby, she maybe had about 4-5 blowouts, and they were almost always in the Pampers. I felt like they fit her too loose, and we had to pull the waist band too tight. They're not bad diapers, but not our favorite. 5. Millie Moon 1/5: These were definitely our least favorite diapers of the bunch. They're marketed as a premium diaper (like Coterie), but I don't understand why. The fit is absolutely terrible, the velcro sucks, and they're pricey. Not much more to say, just wouldn't recommend and all of the above were far better. Pee Pads Yes, same as puppy pee pads. These have been essential for us so far, and we use them daily. Most importantly they're amazing on the go as part of your diaper bag for a change, but we use them at home as well. Most often she doesn't soil them each change, and we reuse one 4-5 times before tossing in the trash, however when she does, it's zero stress and super easy disposal and clean up. Baby Wipes We love the Honest Baby Wipes - clean ingredients, slightly more expensive than say Pampers or Huggies, but can find for good price when buying in bulk (which you'll need, they go fast). Bottles We're very happy with the Comotomo Baby Bottles. We didn't want plastic, and these silicone bottles seemed like a great alternative. Have no other bottle experience to compare them to, but very happy with them 100%. What We Didn't Buy As mentioned there's so much advice out there, and it's hard to digest what you really need and what you really don't. I feel like we prepared well, but didn't buy EVERYTHING that people tell you to buy. We certainly didn't buy a baby wipe warmer, our baby doesn't mind the cold wipes. At first I didn't buy a bottle warmer either, instead I put the milk bags in a bowl and used our kettle to pour hot water of them which worked perfectly. Eventually I caved and bought a cheap one on Amazon for convenience, but not a necessity (we also discovered our baby doesn't mind drinking cold or room temperature milk). We also didn't buy a special diaper bag. This was the hardest for me to research, as I felt all diaper bags out there are terrible looking, and there wasn't good info. I read a post that said most parents bring way too much stuff in their diaper bag, and I think this might be true from my experience so far. I wound up using a backpack I already owned that I really liked, that was quite small at 12 liters. I'd recommend slightly larger, maybe 14-16 liters, but in our bag we have 4-5 diapers, change of clothes, baby wipes, poop bags (dog poop bags, another great item), small diaper cream spray, burp cloth, pee pad, pacifier, and other items. Really haven't needed much more space, and fits perfectly under the stroller Anyways this has just been our experience 2 months in, hope it may prove helpful for some of you. submitted by /u/DL507 to r/Parenting [link] [comments]

Desperate to find a diaper that works for poo blowouts up the back as we have been having them every day for weeks! Open to granola and non granola suggestions. LO is 12 lbs, on the chubbier side and seems like his poos defy the laws of physics. Diapers we’ve tried / my review: Parasol - very soft, clean/TCF, pricey but the target coupons help. They are very thick which sometimes is a bit much for fitting into onesies. The tabs are not as stretchy as I would like. We did great with these until a few weeks ago the blowouts started happening. Using size 2. Pura - wanted to love these as they are also soft but not as bulky and available on Amazon. Also TCF. No wetness indicator in size 3 which is what we used based on the weight guidelines. Had multiple poo and pee blowouts in these Hello bello - honestly don’t get the hype with these as they are pretty rough/thin imo and not worth the price. ECF. The bright designs show through his clothes and make the wetness indicator hard to see. Also had poo blowout the side with these when usually we only get up the back. Used size 2 Huggies overnights - sized up to 3 as 2 isn’t offered. Did great with pee but still had poo blowout up the back, granted only a little bit and after holding 4 hours of pee. Pricey. Didn’t look into how granola they are but I imagine not very as it’s a mainstream brand. Millie moon - SO soft and affordable at Target. ECF. I stopped using them at size 1 due to blowouts but might try them again at size 3. I felt like his thighs/belly were always tight in these but maybe I just needed to size up from the listed weight recommendations? I know the plain Huggies has a poo pocket? Is this actually helpful and worth trying? Or any non toxic diapers out there that don’t suck? submitted by /u/whyarecheezitssogood to r/moderatelygranolamoms [link] [comments]

I saw this advice on a different forum and from parents outside the USA but honestly it's saved me a lot on wipes and no rashes. *The other end of this advice was about washing with soap and water after poop diapers also - so wipes were more "on the go" vs every change. I do use wipes on poop diapers but we wash her butt at the end of the day before bed and dry her well. I wanted to share for anyone who might not have thought about it. I know as a new mom the impression I got was always wipe with a water wipe, even if it's 12x a day. Some quotes beyond random reddit advice “Believe it or not, not every diaper change requires the use of wipes… today’s superabsorbent disposable diapers effectively limit the amount of pee that comes into contact with your baby’s skin. Reserving wipes for cleaning up poop can save you a considerable amount.” - Dr. Laura A. Jana & Dr. Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP American Academy of Pediatrics via HealthyChildren.org “Urine does not contain any germs. And hardly any urine is left on the skin. Reason: diapers are so absorbent. Don't waste a diaper wipe.” - AAP Handout via NorthPoint Pediatrics “If your baby’s diaper is simply wet, it's okay to skip the wiping to reduce the amount of irritation on the skin.” - Pediatrician-backed sleep and care site: takingcarababies.com “Products used to clean the skin can sometimes add to the irritation… When changing diapers that only contain urine, simply pat the skin dry and reapply the barrier diaper cream." - Pediatric Dermatology Tips via Pediatricskin.org "Studies show the primary causes of diaper rash are wetness and friction—not urine itself. Overwashing and frequent wipe use can damage the skin barrier, increasing the risk of irritation or rash." - Review article in Pediatric Dermatology (Vol. 37, Issue 2, 2020) Edit: Thanks for all the responses! Just a reminder to keep things kind. Not wiping after every pee diaper is backed by pediatricians and dermatologists when the skin is dry — especially with modern wicking diapers. The NHS advice is valid, but it’s also broad general hygiene guidance.I also agree the "no germs" AAP pamphlet is a little off too. Urine isn’t lab level sterile, but in healthy babies it isn’t harmful — no different than clean skin after a shower, and definitely not flesh-eating bacteria waiting to cause infection. That strong pee smell usually comes from urine sitting too long or breaking down into ammonia from air exposure (like on clothes during potty training or from leaky diapers), not from skipping a wipe during a normal change. Every baby is different. Wipe if needed, wash if needed, skip if it helps. I’m sharing this because new parents deserve to hear all sides — I know I didn’t when I started. submitted by /u/Terrible-Reasons to r/NewParents [link] [comments]

I saw this advice on a different forum and from parents outside the USA but honestly it's saved me a lot on wipes and no rashes. *The other end of this advice was about washing with soap and water after poop diapers also - so wipes were more "on the go" vs every change. I do use wipes on poop diapers but we wash her butt at the end of the day before bed and dry her well. I wanted to share for anyone who might not have thought about it. I know as a new mom the impression I got was always wipe with a water wipe, even if it's 12x a day. Some quotes beyond random reddit advice “Believe it or not, not every diaper change requires the use of wipes… today’s superabsorbent disposable diapers effectively limit the amount of pee that comes into contact with your baby’s skin. Reserving wipes for cleaning up poop can save you a considerable amount.” - Dr. Laura A. Jana & Dr. Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP American Academy of Pediatrics via HealthyChildren.org “Urine does not contain any germs. And hardly any urine is left on the skin. Reason: diapers are so absorbent. Don't waste a diaper wipe.” - AAP Handout via NorthPoint Pediatrics “If your baby’s diaper is simply wet, it's okay to skip the wiping to reduce the amount of irritation on the skin.” - Pediatrician-backed sleep and care site: takingcarababies.com “Products used to clean the skin can sometimes add to the irritation… When changing diapers that only contain urine, simply pat the skin dry and reapply the barrier diaper cream." - Pediatric Dermatology Tips via Pediatricskin.org "Studies show the primary causes of diaper rash are wetness and friction—not urine itself. Overwashing and frequent wipe use can damage the skin barrier, increasing the risk of irritation or rash." - Review article in Pediatric Dermatology (Vol. 37, Issue 2, 2020) Edit: Thanks for all the responses! Just a reminder to keep things kind. Not wiping after every pee diaper is backed by pediatricians and dermatologists when the skin is dry — especially with modern wicking diapers. The NHS advice is valid, but it’s also broad general hygiene guidance. I also agree the "no germs" AAP pamphlet is a little off too. Urine isn’t Lab level sterile, but in healthy babies it isn’t harmful — no different than clean skin after a shower, and definitely not flesh-eating bacteria waiting to cause infection. That strong pee smell usually comes from urine sitting too long or breaking down into ammonia from air exposure (like on clothes during potty training or from leaky diapers), not from skipping a wipe during a normal change. Every baby is different. Wipe if needed, wash if needed, skip if it helps. I’m sharing this because new parents deserve to hear all sides — I know I didn’t when I started. submitted by /u/Terrible-Reasons to r/beyondthebump [link] [comments]

I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/ReadFinancial7292 Originally posted to r/AITAH AITAH (still) because I grew from the divorce and became the husband/father my ex had wanted me to be? Editor's note: added paragraph breaks for ease of readability Trigger Warnings: descriptions of weaponized incompetence, verbal abuse Mood Spoilers: about positive as possible Original Post: September 10, 2024 I was the AH, I know it. My ex and I (40s) married in college in our early 20s. We went from living in the dorms together to being married and living on our own in another state due to my job. We enjoyed the honeymoon period with each other along with being young 20 somethings in an exciting new city. Not long after being married she was pregnant and our first child was born a few months after our first anniversary. She was a SAHM, I picked up overtime to cover everything. She matured way faster than I to support the baby, I was still closer to being a college dorm student than I was a husband/father/equal. We had constant fights how I wasn't doing enough to help or supporting her physically or emotionally; I kept trying to tell her how I was doing enough, how I worked 80 hours last week, how I changed a diaper last week, how I cooked my own meal (just for me) so she wouldn't have to, etc. She would explain her problems and how I could help her but I didn't hear them, I just wanted to argue. I used weaponized incompetence before that term was coined. In my mind I was working hard and she was just being unrealistic and couldn't see how much I did. In reality, there was far more work than I realized, my ex was drowning and asking for help and all I would do was argue with her about how there was no way she was drowning. Things would improve every few months, partly because I would do a little more work, partly because she just internalized her frustrations and stopped initiating conversations about them. We had another child during this time, but this soon added even more stress and the fights grew even worse. Eventually she said she couldn't handle it any longer and moved in with family a few hours away. I tried to win her back through love bombing (again, before I knew what that was) and figured she would come to her senses. And so I was extremely surprised when I got served the divorce papers. I couldn't believe it, I never cheated on her, I didn't abuse her, I had no vices, we loved each other, how could she be divorcing me? Yet she did, and when we met with lawyers I was taken off guard by how much resentment there was towards me, where had that come from? We agreed to every other weekend visitations. The first time I had to take care of my two toddlers on my own for two whole days was an eye-opener. I had done it once or twice when married, but she had prepped everything, pre-made the meals, picked out the clothes, cleaned the house etc. I was still learning how to consistently do the laundry and wash the dishes everyday and pick up after myself. I had gone from living with my parents, to living in the dorms with roommates who constantly cleaned, to living with my ex. I knew "how" to take care of a house but never had to do it all on my own, someone else always picked up the slack. And now I was fully responsible for that and for two little lives for 48 hours. I remember being completely overwhelmed, and hit by a huge wave of empathy and understanding of where she had been over the past few years and what I had done to her. I apologized to her, but that only made her angrier. So I grew up. I vowed to make the most out of each weekend with my children. I learned how to cook (I actually liked cooking?!), I learned how to braid hair, I bought tons of unnecessary toddler supplies and packed them all in the stroller just in case my kids needed something on a walk, etc. On my own time I picked up new hobbies and went to the gym. I read the non-fiction, how-to/relationship books that my ex had been begging me to read. Overall I worked on myself and tried to become a superdad to my kids. A couple of years after the divorce I started dating again. Being a single dad in my late 20s was a turn off to a lot of women and I was rejected often, but I found myself being matched with other single moms and really connecting with them. I eventually met my now-wife, a single mom whose ex had abandoned her for someone else and wanted nothing to do with their children. And to her, I was the perfect catch: a loving dad who worked hard, did the household chores, and was devoted to her. I learned from my mistakes in my first marriage, and took all the criticisms my ex had made about me to heart and improved from them. I became the husband my ex tried to make me into. I still slip up, and still have a lot to learn, but I do that with the support of my wife. I would still see my ex every other week and the relationship improved somewhat, but there was still an undertone of resentment in each interaction. She went back to school, got a job, and raised our kids as a single mom. I tried to get more visitation as they got older but she fought back and due to them living too far for daily visits, I only got longer summers with them. I have no idea about her dating life, I never ask the kids about her, but she is unmarried. I know very little about her life, she could be very happy and enjoying everything. But within our few interactions very little of that shows. Now, our youngest is a senior and going to graduate and I've been talking to my ex more to prepare for it. Its mostly cordial, but occasionally hints of anger and passive aggressive comments come out. I have thanked her for being a wonderful mother to our children and raising them, and again apologized for never being there or taking her seriously all those years ago. I still feel like the AH, though, sometimes because of how she understandably treats me, and other times just from my own guilt of how I treated her when we were married. She is about to have an empty nest after devoting her life to children when I failed her, and I am living the suburban family life we had planned for but with someone other than her. Am I still the AH for learning from my divorce and becoming the husband I should have been with my ex? AITAH has no consensus bot, OOP received mixed reactions Top Comments Commenter 1: NTA for growing and learning and apologising however your ex probably doesn't see it the way you do you see it as you getting a rude shock - divorce - and realizing just how much you'd let your ex down, and that you needed to become an adult and be able to parent your kids, and to your credit you seem to have done exactly that, which is admirable your ex might see it that you refused to listen to her, refused to deal with any of the issues she was struggling with, and made her life a lot harder than it should have been now she see's you with your wife, and the perfect life that she should have had with you, but you wouldn't/couldn't give that to her, so she might be feeling that she wasn't good enough, that you didn't love her enough to do all that you do for your wife now with her that sort of resentment can be lifelong, because every time she see's you she asks herself 'why wasn't I good enough to be treated the way he treats his wife', which means you will always be TAH for her of course that's just speculation on my behalf, and I could be totally wrong, but I had a friend who went though something similar, and 20+ years later she still gets upset because she feels that she wasn't good enough Commenter 2: You need to understand that you will always be the villain in her story. That you hurt and abandoned her so deeply when she was at her most vulnerable. That you can't fix what you did, or didn't do. That becoming a good husband and father only hurts her more because it means you were capable of being that man, just that you didn't care enough about her to do it for her. Whoever you are now, will never fix who you were or what you did. The second best thing you can do is accept all of that. The best thing you can do now is to be upfront with your now grown children. Be brutally honest about how you failed as a husband and father with your ex. Help them to not make the mistakes you did and to understand that part of their family history. Commenter 3: NTA but your apology doesn't undo the harm you caused. She may never be friendly with you; you just have to accept it. She probably questions why she wasn't worth the effort you put in after she ended things.   Update: May 12, 2025 (eight months later) Original post TLDR; I married my ex in college (both now in our 40s), had 2 kids within 3 yrs, I worked while she was a SAHM, I was the AH and I did not share the workload/mental load, argued with her when she said she needed help, eventually she left and filed for divorce, and I was shocked to learn how much work it was to raise 2 toddlers as a newly single parent. The shock made me realize how much I failed her in our marriage, I apologized to her, worked to become a better father and person, years later met a single mom whom I eventually married and gained two amazing children, learned from my previous relationship mistakes to better support my growing family, and lived the suburban life that my ex and I had planned for but now with someone else. My older children lived with me ~5 months out of the year, my ex went back to school, got a job, remained single, and we co-parented our two children (now adults). I still felt like the AH, though, sometimes because of how she understandably treated me with veiled resentment, and from my own guilt of how I treated her when we were married. Thank you for those who continue to reach out for updates. While nothing has changed from my previous post's original question (I will always be the AH in my ex's eyes, I will have guilt for that for life, will continue to try to make amends with her, and will try to do better with my wife and kids) there was an event that brought a little closure recently. My youngest child (now 18) with my ex graduates this month. My ex held a party for them at her house which was attended by immediate family and friends from both sides. It was the first time many members of our respective families had been together since our wedding 20+ years ago (we hosted separate parties for our oldest child's graduation 2 years ago). Overall, the party went very well. Our daughter was celebrated and felt appreciated. She said it felt a little weird to have her two worlds collide, such as when her (step) siblings hung out with her maternal cousins, or having both sets of grandparents spending lots of time talking with each other and laughing. It brought a pang of guilt that my daughter didn't remember a time when her grandparents were close friends, as they were before her mother and I divorced. My wife and my ex spent time with each other and laughed a few times. My wife won't tell me what all they talked about so my guess is they shared some common "war stories" about me. My ex and I had a chance to talk as well. We mostly talked about the kids and how proud we were of our daughter, how excited she is to move for college, and what our oldest child was up to. She asked what was next with our family and I gave updates about my younger kids and their future graduations and activities. She returned that she was excited and a little anxious about having an empty nest. Her job is mostly the same but going well and she is planning on traveling. She also casually dropped the name "Mark" during our conversation ("Mark and I talked about doing...") and I had no idea who she was talking about. Maybe he’s someone she’s seeing, but she didn’t elaborate, I didn’t pry, and the topic moved on. I suspect we each assume our kids inform the other parent about our respective life updates more than they actually do, because it didn't seem like she was trying to drop major news on me when she said it. And there was no "Mark" present at the party so I really have no idea what their connection is. Near the end, I again thanked her for being a wonderful mother to our children and briefly re-apologized for my actions years ago. She replied kindly and apologized for fighting so hard against me when I requested more visitation a decade ago. (note: Initially, I only saw the kids every other weekend with short summers. I pushed for more visitation after I remarried, had moved into a larger house that could fit everyone, and was in a position to take care of the kids for longer times. I asked for 50/50 but ended up with 40/60 after a bitter mediation). We returned to talking about the kids and the conversation mostly ended after that. And that seems like it, I don't see the need for other updates. I doubt I will see much of my ex. The kids-now-adults are both doing their own things, have their own cars, and can visit their individual parents and siblings as they wish. There are no more visitation drop-offs between my ex and I. There will probably be college graduations and maybe eventual weddings, but beyond that our interactions are mostly finished. While we both had caused each other frustration, pain, and resentment over the years after the divorce, and I will always have my guilt for failing her in our marriage, in the end we successfully raised two happy children who are starting their own adult lives. Each of our lives took unexpected paths to get here, but we got here nonetheless and are proud our children made it through while feeling loved. My wife and younger kids are also happy and doing well. There are tons of updates with all them but those aren't relevant to this subreddit. I am not the AH to them, I'm just "dad" and "husband" (although sometimes they are embarrassed/reluctant to admit to having those associations with me). Relevant / Top Comments Commenter 1: I still do not understand you not moving to where your kids lived to be able to get a better custody schedule. You describe it as "a bitter mediation" but you also say in the original post that the schedule wasn't 50/50 because you were too far away for day visits. Honestly sounds like you still want your ex to be a villain in that specific scenario since she very clearly isn't in every other aspect. I'm glad your ex seems to have made peace and seems to finally have the time to get her own proper social life, whoever Mark is to her, it seems he makes her happy. Good for her. OOP: I worked in a niche industry when we divorced which did not exist where she/her family lived. She was not working at this time so the only money that was being made was from my niche job which I had moved up in. I spent those first few years learning new skills to switch to a more prevalent but adjacent industry which had jobs nearer to my kids. During this time visitation was only weekends and a few weeks in summer because of how far I was. I eventually was able to move closer and by then was remarried, had a house that could fit my full family, and a work schedule I could adjust around my kids schedules. I could support 50/50 visitation at this time, but my ex refused any change to visitation, both when I talked to her about it and finally when I went through my lawyer. She admitted now that she was still resentful at that time and that was her only reason to fight my request. She knew I made those changes to be closer to my children, and at the time didn't want to admit I was a good father to them. She may not have been a "villain" but she was, by her admission, reacting out of anger and not what was best for the children. I understand why she did it, but I was doing what I thought was best for the children. And based on where we all are now, it was the right decision. Commenter 1: That's certainly changed from your original explanation "I tried to get more visitation as they got older but she fought back and due to them living too far for daily visits, I only got longer summers with them." This sounds like the court did not agree that you could easily support 50/50 due to the distance? OOP: There was no court review because we agreed to the new schedule in mediation. After moving closer I lived about an hour away. It would not have been easy to do overnight weekday visits due to school but it would be doable. Instead, I received more weekend visits, a longer summer, and many school holidays/breaks. So not quite 50/50 for me, but it did result in less daily transition for the children. Other split families have been granted 50/50 visitation in these circumstances, but we avoided the court and came to an agreement in mediation. Neither of us were totally happy (hence "bitter") but the kids ended up better off for it. There were many other concessions given by both of us in mediation which really aren't relevant to the story. In the end, this is what we agreed upon and the kids benefitted. Commenter 2: Bittersweet, OP. Thanks for the update. I'm glad you both moved on and hope the best for you and your families. Commenter 3: Nothing changes for your ex. You will always be the AH to your ex-wife who chose not to change for her or your children. But hey, you don't have to worry about that anymore because you changed for another woman and her kids, and you have a happy marriage. Your apologies are basically worthless to her.   DO NOT COMMENT IN LINKED POSTS OR MESSAGE OOPs – BoRU Rule #7 THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP submitted by /u/Choice_Evidence1983 to r/BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]

As hosts, my wife and I take pride in being easy to deal with. One of the most common complaints about Airbnb is all the rules hosts are imposing. We were looking for a place to stay and came across this listing that looked perfect. The listing mentioned several times to read all the rules before trying to book. Talk about a turn off. What we do isn't always easy but some people are just in the wrong line of work. This is long but a fun read. Especially the let stuff. Like why not just stop accepting pets? We request that if you want to book our place, to please read our house rules / rental agreement below carefully and confirm that you can agree to this during your stay. If you do not have time to read through this information, or do not like following rules or instructions, or if you do not respond to messages, then please book another place. We find that being clear about these rules up front creates a harmonious and positive experience for our guests and for us as hosts. It is important to us to make sure our place is a good fit for your stay before we approve any reservations. Having these guidelines is what allows us to feel comfortable continuing to offer our home as a vacation rental to our wonderful guests. We fully understand, accept, and respect that our place and the way we do things is not a fit for everyone. -Adults only please -No outside guests are permitted without checking with us first. -We request that our guests download the Airbnb app on their phones and make sure notifications are turned on so we can easily reach you and communicate before and during your stay if needed. Please be respectful of our time and respond to any questions that we send you promptly (within 24 hours.) We always do our best to respond quickly to our guests. -You have your own private backyard complete with swimming pool, tiki bar, sauna, and outdoor shower, and outdoor bathtub for two. This is a great place to stay if you want a luxurious relaxing vacation however, keep in mind this is not a party house. If you want to be able to be loud and yell and party in the backyard without regard for the noise volume of your group, this property is definitely not a fit, as we need to be respectful of our wonderful neighbors and our vacation rental permit and county rules. Noise from vacation rentals is a very contentious topic in our area with neighbors so please be respectful. We like to be very clear about this up front so there are no misunderstandings later during your stay. Lounging, relaxing, laughing and talking by the pool during the day in a normal voice is welcomed. Quiet hours are 9:30 pm to 7 am. At night, please do not stay in the pool house / tiki bar / shower area / backyard talking past 9:30 pm, our neighbors go to bed early and sleep with their windows open. Our neighborhood is extremely quiet at night, so any sound from the backyard travels easily. -Please do not play music in the backyard or pool house, and if our neighbors can hear your music playing from inside the house, then it is too loud. There is a county wide ordinance that there can be no amplified music (including boom boxes and speakers on phones) outdoors at any vacation rentals in Sonoma at any time. -Reservation is for 2 people, 2 additional guests can be added for $50 per person per night up to a max of 4 people. Please be honest and do not try to sneak extra guests or pets into our home without asking us ahead of time. Please tell us at the time of your reservation if you are planning to bring a pet or not. -Please always close the hideaway screen doors when leaving the French doors open downstairs, otherwise, a lot of flying insects will get into the house and are difficult and time consuming to catch afterwards and they may bother you during your stay as well if they are indoors (mosquitos, flies, wasps, etc). -Please leave curtains open part of the day so our plants can get some light. -No candles or flames on the property. Electric candles are provided. -We are an eco-friendly property and some of our guests are sensitive to strong perfumes so please refrain from using synthetic perfumes or cologne during your stay, unless they are all natural or made from essential oils - we love that stuff! -We are messy eaters ourselves, so if you want to eat or drink on the white sofas, please cover the sofas with the linen sofa covers provided first. If you stain the sofa and we need to remove and bleach the white slipcovers after your stay, we charge an extra $75 for our cleaner’s time to do so. Please pre-treat any stains you create on the sofa with the stain remover in the laundry closet. If you want to wash them yourself while you are there to avoid the extra cleaning charge, please message us for instructions on how to do this. -Please only use the black wash cloths provided to remove make-up, do not use the white towels for make-up removal or to wipe up spills. There are "work" towels in the laundry closet on top of the washing machine, feel free to get those as dirty and stained as you wish. -No smoking is permitted anywhere on the property or in front of property or backyard. Many of our neighbors are sensitive to cigarette smoke so if you wish to smoke please do so off property. Light cannabis use is ok in the backyard. -We do allow commercial photo and video shoots, but only if they are specifically approved, so please inquire if interested and tell us about your project, otherwise, no photo or video shoots permitted. -If you are coming for your wedding and plan to have anyone come to the house, please discuss with us first. -Please notify us if something gets broken even if it is something small, so we know to replace it, and please let us know if you notice something is not working properly during your stay or if something gets stained. -Check in is 3:00 pm. Check out is by 11:00 am sharp. Note that we are almost always booked solid, so we are not able to accommodate early check in or late check out requests. If by rare chance there is not a guest the night before your arrival, we will let you know automatically if you can check in early. Otherwise, please adhere to check in and check out times above. We always text guests as soon as the cleaners are done on day of arrival to let you know if you can come a little bit earlier. We are always happy to welcome you early if we can. -Guests acknowledge the following: 1. That the pool is solar heated only and therefore only works well when it is very hot out from late May to early September depending on the weather. The pool is operational in the winter/ spring/ fall, but it is not heated at all and will be cold. In the summer, we have the solar turned all the way up and can not make it more warm than it is. We do have two pool floats that allow you to float in your clothes and not touch the water, these are great for cooler months. 2. There is no outdoor grill at this property due to fire hazards. (There is a great indoor grill on top of the fridge) 3. This property is located within a neighborhood (which is normally very quiet and is on a dead end street) however, occasionally neighbors may be working on their house, someone may be doing landscaping, children might be playing on the street, etc and that we as hosts can not control normal neighborhood noise that may happen during your stay. 4. The house is on a well, so you may notice a slight sulfur smell in the water sometimes, we do have a robust $12K whole house water filter, and an additional reverse osmosis drinking water filter but if you are not used to well water, you may still notice a slight well water smell sometimes. The outdoor irrigation is not filtered and comes straight from the well, so you may notice the sulfur smell being stronger in the backyard when the irrigation is running. 5. We have a two person outdoor bathtub. (Not a hot tub as listed in amenities, Airbnb told us to check the hot tub amenity but disclose it is a bathtub not a hot tub in our listing) -Pool Rules • Swim at your own risk. Guests assume all liability and responsibility for use of the pool. • For your safety, no diving in the pool • No Glass in backyard area pool /shower/ bathtub area (use plastic glasses above the stove) • No Swimming if intoxicated • Please do not leave pool floats on the ground as the dirt will stain them and please do not drag them across the dirt/ground when taking them out of the pool. • Please use the seagrass mat at the pool steps to wipe of the decomposed granite/gravel from your feet before entering the pool. -Sauna Rules • Use sauna at your own risk. Guests assumes all liability and responsibility for use of sauna. • Do not use sauna while intoxicated. • Drink plenty of water and do not stay in longer then 20 minutes at a time. • Only use grey towels inside sauna while using the sauna. (do not use white towels from the bathroom) Wash and dry grey sauna sweat towels on hot cycle after using. (Pool towels are in the black cabinet in the kitchen and also in the pool house in the summer. You can use any of the towels you wish for the outdoor shower or bathtub) -Our home has an entrance video ring camera floodlight for added security and to assist our guests in check in if needed. **WOW holy smokes that was a lot of rules! If you got this far and all sounds good and you still want to stay here, then yay, you are exactly the kind of guest we want to host! Now it’s time to relax and enjoy your vacation! 🌞 ....Oh wait, if you want to bring a pet take a breath and keep reading...you are almost done!..... PET RULES (you only need to review this section if you want to bring a pet with you) -We love dogs! We know ourselves how hard it is to find vacation rentals that allow pets. So we decided to allow pets for now but with some conditions. Please inquire about any pets you are interested in bringing. Well behaved, quiet, mellow, fully potty trained pets will be considered. When you email us, please tell us about your pet and confirm you have read and agree to the house and pet rules around bringing a pet with you. -If you have high energy rambunctious dogs or a puppy, so sorry but this is not the right place for you. (Large mellow dogs are fine though) -Very Important Please walk your dog to go potty before letting them in the backyard and do not let them use the backyard area as a bathroom. There is a beautiful dog walking path one block from the cottage or you can walk them down to the street to the right out the front door, or you can just let them do a quick pee on the tree just outside the front door before letting them into the backyard each time. We have had issues with this and will have to stop allowing dogs if guests do not respect this house rule. If your dog does have an accident in the backyard, please pick it up, use the pet spray in the laundry closet and hose it down with water. If we see or smell urine or dog poop in the backyard after your stay, we will charge an additional $100 cleaning fee. We have a small backyard and it is not an appropriate area for dogs to use as a bathroom as it starts to smell very quickly. If you are not able to stop them from going to the bathroom in the backyard then please keep them inside. Thank you. -No dogs are allowed in the pool at anytime. If you know your dog is a water dog and you can't keep them out of the pool, then this is not the right house to stay at. When dogs go into the pool, it brings a lot of decomposed granite into the pool and our pool cleaners won’t clean it out because it takes too much time and it scratches our hardwood floors too. For your dog's safety, please do not leave your dog unattended in the backyard with the pool. Dogs who are not familiar with pools can accidentally fall into them. -Pets must be free of fleas. -Please trim your dogs nails before arrival so they do not scratch the hardwood floors. -We require that the white sofas are covered with the provided linen covers if you bring pets because we know how our own dogs can be rough on a white sofa. As long as the sofa and bed covers are on, dogs are welcome to sit on the furniture. (We automatically put on the linen covers for you before your arrival if you are bringing a pet.) Please put a work towel down on any outdoor furniture before letting your dog get onto any of the furniture in the tiki bar. -If you want to leave your pet alone in the cottage and have done this a lot without any issues, this is ok please but please keep your cell phone on you and your airbnb messages notifications turned on so we can reach you if needed. Dogs must be quiet and not be constantly barking. -If you go on a walk and it is muddy or raining, please wipe your dogs feet at the door. We will provide wipes for you in the hallway under the bench. -Please make sure your dog is friendly and on a leash during walks, we have a lot of other friendly dogs in the neighborhood and want to make sure everyone gets along during your stay. -If there is any damage caused by your pet, you will be required to pay for it. If you have a dog who has has accidents in the house please use doggy diapers, otherwise you will be charged for anything that is damaged. -We require a one time pet cleaning fee of $50 per pet per stay. -Please note: Two indoor dog beds as well as an outdoor dog bed are provided. Dog bowls are also provided. submitted by /u/NWBF7109 to r/airbnb_hosts [link] [comments]

Hi all! I'm interested in cloth diapering and I heard about several brands, but so far the one brand I'm most interested in is Nora's Nursery diapers. I wanted to hear some honest reviews from other's before buying any. Did you like them or dislike them? If you disliked them, please state why and what brands you ended up sticking with? Thanks! submitted by /u/PatientNobody9503 to r/clothdiaps [link] [comments]

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/pam1144 OOP previously posted as u/ThrowRADarkBeauty but that account was suspended How do I(27f) get my boyfriend's(33m) daughter who hates me to bond with me and not worry about how her mother will react? Part 2 Thanks to u/queenlegolas u/Middle_Reveal6113 & u/czechtheboxes for suggesting this BoRU TRIGGER WARNING: Infidelity, verbal abuse, parental alienation, bodyshaming, hostile workplace Previous BoRU tldr of first BoRU Courtesy of u/Maximum-Cover- Boyfriend has 4 kids, including a 1-year-old with Birth mom. OOP met him while he was in the park with his wife and 4 kids. Birth mom briefly left to go get diapers and within that time OP exchanged numbers with boyfriend to start an affair. Within weeks, after being walked in on by 8-year-old, boyfriend left his wife and 4 young children to move in with OP, who then promptly started to try to tell Birth mom how to parent. Originally posted to r/AITAH r/birthday r/CasualConversation r/jobs r/Stepmom AITA for ruining BM's holiday? Dec 27, 2023 I (27f) and my boyfriend (33m) travelled to USA on December 15 to celebrate christmas. We decided to come 10 days before so I can explore the area a bit, and surprise them, but they were more excited to see my boyfriend and BM [we went to his family straight after arriving]. We didn't know they invited BM to until they came over to give my boyfriend and his children hugs. I wasn't expecting a hug, but I wanted to greet them, but his mum said "oh, it's you", then whispered to my boyfriends dad "she's the girl [BM's name] was telling us about". I let it slide because they met me for the first time so I didn't think much about it. I introduced myself and they just said hi and came in. I was a little dissapointed but I entered. I complimented the house and got thanked. I went upstairs because we booked m boyfriend's kids mum a hostel for her and her and my boyfriends kids to stay in [and it was sort of expensive since we had to pay for five people, 1 grown up, 2 kids, a 1 year old baby and a toddler]. She asked what do I think i'm doing wondering what i'm doing wondering around people's homes like that! I was confused because I thought we were staying here. No! It turns out BM and the kids were staying here and that me and Chase [fake name for my boyfriend in this post] can book a hotel instead. We were both shocked, but I didn't want to cause a scene so I just took my luggage downstairs. We left after half an hour since I was getting bored and they were so excited to talk to BM and my boyfriend that they almost forgot I was there. I tried not to take it personally since we never met before and I was tired so I didn't think too much about it. Due to it being BM's custody turn, me and Chase said goodbye to the kids and we headed off to the hostel to cancel the hostel room which was complicated because we never did that before, but we got it done. We booked 2 hotel rooms for ourselves which annoyed us since we wanted to spend time together but it was too expensive to book a 6 bedroom hotel so we splitted it. He was sharing a room with his 2 kids [8f & 2f)] and I had his other 2 kids 5m and 1f. I was upset and on the verge of tears but I decided to let go and see how chrismas was like. Christmas ended up being on BM's custody day but it was christmas so we had extra few hours. Christmas at his house starts late at 6:00pm. While the turkey was being made me, Chase, Kourtney [fake name for 8f], bm and other grown ups helped my boyfriends mum make the food which was quick. We finished at 6:46 and had our christmas dinner at 6:50. We finished at 7:00pm and we were looking forward to dancing, games, christmas stockings, gift givings and christmas carols but it turns out BM only let Chase have custody of the kids until 6:59 which meant we had to go back to our hotels. We thought we would have christmas gifts and be included to but it turns out we didn't have christmas stockings for us and only Chase recieved gifts. I was ignored the whole time and given dirty looks by his relatives and siblings who all msde it clear that they disliked me. His grandparents were lecturing me about how they liked BM more. Chase apologized to me and defended me by having a go at his family while BM was smirking at me while no one was looking. I was so upset that I just stormed out of the house with my boyfriend tagging along as we head to the car he rented. We headed back to our hotel rooms and I was on the verge of tears so I was crying for the whole night. We put all this effort and money in only to be told I wasn't welcome and I was only invited to make chase stay over. I an so dissapointed. I know we were going to stay over for new years but we were so put of by our christmas and holidays with me so we decided to shorten our holiday and leave tommorow. BM was angry with us and decided to come because she felt like she had no choice since tey have 50/50 custody of the children and they agreed one parent cannot be left abroad with the children without the other parent being with them. I can't believe my and my boyfriends christmas and holiday got ruined just because his family wanted BM there and not me. BM's now having a go at me for ruining her trip because I couldn't suck up my feelings for one holiday. Did I ruin her holiday? Was I TA? edit: boyfriends family prioritising ex wife over me so I wanted to leave. I did idealy want to leave by myself so my boyfriend, his kids and their mum can enjoy but he wanted to leave to causing his kids and the kids mum to leave to because of a custody agreement they both agreed on which is no parent is allowed to go abroad without the other one present in the same country. Now BM is mad at me for ruining her holiday. Sorry for not adding this earlier. WIBTA if I stop picking up my boyfriends daughter? Jan 9, 2024 My boyfriend's daughter (8f) had the audacity to tell her school and friends thay i'm her personal servant and i'm a unpaid nanny who lives with her dad, but I am so livid that my boyfriend's daughter would try to brush me off as some nanny or hired servant and my boyfriend or his daughters mum can't pick her up due to my boyfriend being ill and his kids mums car has broken down. I understand i'm not her parent, but I do want her to be civil atleast as her father's girlfriend since they are also in my care during his custody time and I help look after his children. It feels like even a personal servant, maid or a unpaid nanny get more respect and taken more seriously. I don't usually pick her up, but she was feeling sick and no one else was able to pick her up [my boyfriend's kids mum went nc with her parents so they can't pick her up, and there's a virus going around where I live so that's why alot of people are poorly and unable to pick her up], his parents are in United States. My boyfriend does do something about her behaviour, tells her off and she's even in therapy and we changed therapists to, but I still can't believe she would disrespect me like that regardless. I decided I didn't want to put up with her disrespect and I want to not pick her up anymore if she will continue to disrespect me, but I feel bad about leaving a sick child at school or burderning her maternal grandparents and my boyfriend. WIBTA if I stop picking my boyfriends daughter up? edit to add, but I also want to add that I am on the emergency contact list. Apparently she got this idea from a post on social media where a girl referred to her stepparent as her personal servant because one of her cousins uses reddit (most of her cousins are older) and she overlooked at the post and thought it would be funny to do it to me aswell. edit: for anyone wondering, Chase was poorly because the temperature is going really low in the uk where I live and he caught a bad cold as a result which left him really weak, coughing badly, headaches and stomach cramps and felt too weak to move around alot so he couldn't drive, otherwise he would've picked her up himself if it was just a mild cold. WIBTA If I stop picking up my boyfriends daughter? Update Jan 14, 2024 Thankyou for your feedback guys. The conclusion has come that I am TBF and I won't stop picking her up or getting offended over 1 comment. Thankyou very much for putting things in prospective. We had a meeting after my boyfriend picked his kids up about her attitude towards me and me overreacting to her comment. I decided to apologize for overreacting and decided to laugh off any comments or play along next time. I decided to make the personal servant comment into a joke because when my boyfriend and I went to pick up the children, I rolled the window down and said "Your person servant's here to pick you up". This made the kids laugh and they entered in the car. When we arrived home, we had the meeting about Kourtney calling me her personal maid and me overreacting. I apologized for overreacting and she told me it's ok. She didn't speak to me but that's ok because as long as she's safe and happy then that's all that matters and I put my feelings aside for the sake of the children. I decided to bake chocolate cupcakes for my family since my sister, BIL, niece and my parents were coming to visit. The children loved the cake, especially my boyfriends son who tried to sneak another cake thinking I wouldn't notice, but that's ok since we were all having a good time. Overall, we had a good time and went to watch football the next day aswell. Everyone had a good time overall as I turned the personal servant into a inside joke and said jokatively "the personal servants here to serve her masters chocolate cupcakes". I love learning from my mistakes and make the best of any situation that comes towards me. I am blessed to have a good weekend with my boyfriend and his children. It's my partner's sons birthday party coming up soon and I want to make him this cake but his mum does not approve of this design Feb 5, 2024 This isn't our cake, it's a picture on the internet (I will send the link to the cake after posting this). We all shared responsibilities to plan out his birthday party & I got the duty to make his birthday cake. She is complaining that there is too much chocolate on his birthday cake which will make him sick and it is too unhealthy for him to eat. Should I take off the chocolates and leave the big chocolate bars on, or should I just take off all the chocolates and leave the footballs on? My partner's son really wants the cake but his mum is complaining that his birthday cake is too unhealthy. edit: the cake It's my first time hosting easter in my house. Is there any ideas or stuff I can add? March 29, 2024 What do you do for easter with your family? I never hosted a easter party before so i'm out of ideas. What do people usually do on easter with their families? I want to make a easter cake and have a egghunt for the children, but I know that will be boring if I only have a egghunt followed up by a easter cake. What other ideas and stuff can I add for my easter party? Is there anything else I can add to my easter party? Like food, decorations and games? WIBTA if I take my boyfriends daughter with me to my parents for easter? Apr 3, 2024 fake names for privacy: Chase (my boyfriend) Kourtney (his eldest daughter) Sofia (his youngest daughter) I just want to vent because I put alot of effort hosting my family this easter. I organised a easter egg trial where I hid clues around the garden and each egg had a clue to the prize and the first one to get there had a prize which was a large size chocolate easter egg which came in a box. I buried it in a small pirate chest which I decorated with easter egg stickers and pain with the help of my boyfriends children which all of them enjoyed taking part in. I organised it with my boyfriend for the children along with a small easter egg hunt afterwards which me, my older sister and my boyfriend organised with the help of my grandparents, Kourtney and my older nieces who which one of them is the same age and the other is older then her by 2 years. while everyone went to eat inside. Kourtney didn't want to take part in the easter egg hunt and that is fine but she ended up telling her younger sister where all of the chocolate eggs were. I told her not to tell the younger ones but she insisted she was supervising the kids. I got upset when she blurted out the answers. Chase got upset and told her off, he tried to take the half eaten easter eggs off of Sofia but she cried and we knew it wouldn't be fair to punish Sofia so I just told him that she can have them but put the rest away so she can have it another day and take them home to her mum. Plus the youngest one seemed happy she found all of the eggs even though Kourtney gave away the locations and the other children's quickly rushed and argued over who got the egg first leaving the younger ones (2-5) out and the younger ones started crying because they didn't have any eggs. My younger nieces and nephews and my boyfriends other kids were crying so I had to give away the eggs I promised to Sofia and buy her a toy and another 2 easter eggs to make up for. and I gave my sister £15 to take Sofia to the local corner shop and get her a large egg and a toy and the extra change can be Sofia's pocket money from me. I felt like telling Kourtney off but I couldn't but Chase told he off and threatened to send her to her room without her phone if she pulls another stunt. She calmed down until the kids went inside and she told the younger kids (they are around 2-6 years old) where the easter baskets are (I put chocolate eggs and small toys in them for the kids to take home after the party but I hid them inside a cabinet) and they went over to the kitchen and raided the baskets and started fighting over the toys. I didn't even notice until I heard the kids arguing and crying in the kitchen and the chocolate easter cake that I baught was half eaten that I was going to serve. In the end, I broke down but I tried to not cry infront of the kids so I went to my bedroom and I cried. I put in all tht effort for my family and it was all ruined. My boyfriend comforted me and my family (the adults) joined in to comfort me. and sent Kourtney to her room without her phone. He did have a go at her but I thought it was a bit too harsh so I thought it was better to just send her to her room without electronics and explain to her why it wasn't ok to ruin easter since it wasn't worth the hastle anymore and I don't want to spend easter nagging at her. My dad offered to buy some chocolate eggs and organise a egghunt at his home next week with the help of my boyfriend, me, my brother and my two sisters while my mum and my older 2 nieces can help with the food and I can design the cake and the desserts. My dad make a basket with eggs for Kourtney so she doesn't get left out since they don't want her to come over if she ruins easter at their place but we all agreed it wouldn't be fair to exclude her and punish her further so we agreed that she can be there if she doesn't ruin the easter egg hunt again since it would be unfair if we excluded her as long as she isn't left unsupervised. My boyfriend and my older sister thinks that we should I leave Kourtney at home with him and I take the other 3 with me to my parents but me and my grandparents don't think it would be fair to leave her behind and miss out all the fun just because she acted up abit and everyone else was neautral. My family doesn't mind her coming to the next one as long as she is being supervised and dosen't spoil the egg hunt. WIBTA if I take Kourtney with me? edit: I forgot to add that she is 8 and the youngest is 1. The only reason we couldn't discipline her as much is because everytime we did, HCBM would have a go at me an he gets introuble with the court as a result but I will consider this and not bring her with me but I will bring the other 3 since they didn't ruin the event but we decided that she won't be allowed to go to the redo and the will come out of her pocket money to make up for the money I lost. Following post not about the kids, but belongs here I can't work anymore without getting introuble for doing my job and feeling uncomfortable so I want to report my workplace for unfair dismissal Apr 5, 2024 My former coworker quit their job a while ago because of me constantly reporting them to HR for having bad hygiene and body odor. My manager had a meeting with me because they think I have a negative attitude in the work force. This wasn't the first incident, allegedly. I was open and honest with my interns that worked with me and I had to give constructive criticism after the end of every term and I got introuble for doing my job. I mentioned that the interns clothes were not appropriate for the workplace and that they need to work on their appearance since I believed it was mot professional. They had scruffy hair that looks like it was never brushed, their teeth were yellow, and they wore dirty clothes with stains. They would go on their phone all day and use mental health and being unable to focus as a exuse to not work. They would stare out of the window or play games on the computer on high volume. Eventually I had enough and decided to call them out on their behaviour firmly in a review meeting which led them to crying on the spot and making exuses for themselves. I'm sorry, but I won't sugarcoat them just because they are a college intern. I don't know how to describe it, but there is a college that has a internship program for people that do work experience in different work places each term. I do not understand the concept of it, and it still confuses me since I don't know if they are a student or a intern, but I was told that I was being too harsh on them. Why did they bother organising these review meetings if you're not allowed to give your honest opinion on feedback. I was given a lecture on being sensitive towards students and interns which I found useless so I mentioned how there was no point in having those meetings if interns cannot take basic criticism. I was told this was not my first incident with not being able to interract with colleagues appropriately since I also made another coworker quit in tears after I commented on their smell. I explained that their smell was distracting me and it was distracting me from working. What was I supposed to do if I wasn't allowed to swap desks. More incidents occured where I policed what people put in microwaves and got into a argument with a colleague for putting a fish curry in the microwave and I was lecturing them for making the kitchen smell. I didn't do anything wrong. I don't like coworkers who put fish or other food in microwaves that stink out the room. The last incident was that I snapped at another student intern for leaving dirty mugs on the desk at the weekends which they left me to clean up. I was very annoyed that I had to help out students and interns but I had to do it in exchange for a promotion and extra pay. I was told that my behaviour is unacceptable and that I was dismissed. Before I went home, I was told not to return to work until they said I can come. I'm not even allowed to have opinions without getting introuble or give feedback because it hurts their feelings. How do I file a complaint for unfair dismissal and getting introuble just for doing my job? THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7 submitted by /u/Direct-Caterpillar77 to r/BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]

So, uhhh, I wrote this before Jerry Springer passed away yesterday…this is kinda awkward. I had to make some last-minute edits. Hopefully it’s not too noticeable. Warning for some transphobia. I have blocked it out with a spoiler warning … Who is was Jerry Springer? Gerald Norman Springer aka “Jerry Springer” was an American talk show host. From 1991 to 2018, he hosted “Jerry Springer” a very famous and very controversial talk show. Basically, he would invite people to come on stage and talk about their issues…their very sensitive, very personal issues. This included confrontations between family members and loved ones. It would often lead to fights between guests. It was well known for being exploitative and demeaning, and today, it’s debated just how much of the fights were real, or if they were all choreographed After it was cancelled, he hosted the show “Judge Jerry” from 2019 to 2022. Aside from that, he did a bunch of acting, producing, journalism, served in politics, etc, but none of that is really important for this writeup. It’s mainly focused on his talk show when he was at the height of his popularity back in the early 2000s and commanded the hearts and minds of millions of people. Opera So, what is Jerry Springer: The Opera about? Usually, I would just link to the Wikipedia page, but the plot is so bat shit insane I am just going to paste it here: Act I Jerry Springer's frenzied audience greets Jerry as he arrives at his notorious TV talk show. His first guest, Dwight, is cheating on Peaches with Zandra. The three fight, and Jerry's security men break up the battle. Jerry is briefly admonished by his inner Valkyrie. Dwight is also cheating with a cross dresser named Tremont. After a commercial break, Jerry's second guest, Montel, tells his partner, Andrea, that he likes to dress as a baby and that he is cheating on her with Baby Jane, a woman who dresses as a little girl. Jerry's Warm-Up Man contributes to Andrea's humiliation and is fired. Jerry again wrestles with his inner Valkyrie. Jerry's final guests are Shawntel and her husband, Chucky. She wants to be a stripper and demonstrates a dance before her mother, Irene, arrives. Irene attacks Shawntel. Chucky pleads innocence, but Jerry's secret JerryCam camera footage shows that Chucky is a patron of strip clubs and a Ku Klux Klan member. The Klan comes up on stage, and the Warm Up Man gives Montel a gun. The Warm-Up Man jostles Montel, who accidentally shoots Jerry. Act II Jerry is found injured in a wheelchair, accompanied by his security man, Steve. The scene is Purgatory, a fog-enshrouded wilderness. Jerry meets ghostly versions of his talk show guests, who have all suffered unpleasant fates. Jerry tries to justify his actions to the ghosts. The Warm-Up Man arrives and is revealed to be Satan. Baby Jane asks Satan to spare Jerry's soul. Satan forces Jerry to return to Hell with him to do a special show. Act III Jerry arrives in Hell at a charred version of his Earthly TV studio. The audience is locked into cracks in its walls. Jerry reads cue cards produced by Baby Jane that introduce Satan, who is in charge of the proceedings. Satan seeks an apology for his expulsion from Heaven and wants to reunite Heaven and Hell. Jerry must faithfully read the cue cards, which introduce Jesus, the next guest, who resembles Montel. Jesus and Satan trade accusations. Adam and Eve are next; they are reminiscent of Chucky and Shawntel. They argue with Jesus, and Eve eventually attacks him. Mary, mother of Jesus, who resembles Irene, condemns Jesus. Everyone turns against Jerry, who hopes for a miracle. God and the angels arrive and ask Jerry to come to Heaven and help God judge Humanity. He accepts the offer, but the angels and devils fight over Jerry; and the talk-show host finds himself suspended over a pit of flame. Jerry launches into a series of glib homilies asking for his life, but finally gives up and makes an honest statement that resounds with his audience. Devils, angels, and everyone sing a hymn of praise to life. Back on solid ground, Baby Jane tells Jerry that he must go back to Earth. Jerry wakes up in his television studio, having been shot, his life ebbing away as he is cradled in Steve's arms. Jerry gives a final speech, and everyone is joined in sorrow. Yes. He dies at the end. And I am posting this a day after he actually died. Life is…life is weird sometimes. Too weird for me. Back to the writeup… The musical had a lot of swear words. And a lot of early 2000s cringe. But it also had a lot of heart. And it has a very interesting history… Early Years In 2000, a British musician named Richard Thomas staged a show called “Tourette's Diva”. It’s about a mother and daughter singing about their dysfunctional relationship, exchanging foul obscenities and insults. It was shown at the Battersea Arts Centre (BAC). A place for artsy, experimental, theatre work. Not mainstream stuff. Inspired by Tourette’s success, Thomas decided to write a show about Jerry Springer. It was the “obvious thing to do next” . In 2001, he held a series of workshops at the BAC for “How to write an Opera about Jerry Springer”. The flyer for the show read: "Have idea. Think it's a shit idea. Despair. Do it anyway.". He bribed the audience with beer to help him write it: Using Kombat's patented "beer for an idea" scheme, he bribed his audience for constructive feedback with a can of John Smith’s and punished them for stupid suggestions with a can of Asda bitter. Ah well, there's nothing quite like an inebriated focus group. And so the characters of Diaper Man, Duane, the Chick-with-a-Dick, and the Bitches Fighting were born: unusual subjects for an opera but perfect protagonists for a gloves-off (and sometimes clothes-off) TV confessional. They helped him write the first act, but he struggled with finishing the rest. So, brought in Stewart Lee, a British comedian, as a co-writer to help him write the second act and sharpen the plot. At this point, both of them had very little money and Lee had been unemployed for a long time The early years of the show were very experimental. It was constantly evolving. Lee and Thomas workshopped it 4 times. It was an earnest satire of a controversial American talk show. One thing was clear from the start: people loved it. Even back then, when it was still being worked on, every single showing sold out Then, in February 2002, Jerry Springer’s production company found about the musical. They weren’t very happy about it In an effort to placate them, one of the show’s producers sent them a copy of the score. This made them even angrier. Then, Jerry himself contacted Lee and Thomas. He wanted a meeting. SL Well, it didn’t. It made it worse. They objected on the grounds of language and religious and sexual content, which is odd, given the programme. Then Jerry Springer wanted to meet us, we met him at the Dorchester, and before he came in, Rich said to me “Don’t tell him he dies at the end of the first act”. Then he came in and said, “I hear I die at the end of the first act.” RT I said, “Jerry, you come out of the show really well, but you do come out of it dead.” … “We quite confidently told him that we didn’t think that there would be a problem because I think firstly it’s not really a parody of him and also I think he, even if he does find the opera slightly critical, would be flattered by inspiring all this beautiful music.” Source He didn’t take further action. So, the duo continued working on the opera and finally premiered it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2002 with a full score. Again, the opera sold out and it received mainly positive reviews from critics. And of course, the man himself, Jerry Springer, finally saw it. Afterwards, he said that he thought it was “Wonderful”…”Great”…and “many-layered”. He was also relaxed about the whole “died and went to hell” plot line: ‘Everyone is always telling me I am going to hell. Now I’ve seen it,’… ‘Not many people get to see their future,’. During the performance, the audience actually noticed him and started chanting his name and cheering. The opera was a great success. And it was noticed. Lee and Thomas received tons of offers to stage the show in London. In the end, they chose the National Theatre in London’s South Bank. The venue was perfect for Jerry Springer: The Opera. It was well known for putting on a variety of performances and supporting new playwrights. It also had a new director, Nicholas Hytner, who loved the show. He said: “It’s exactly the kind of work the National should be doing – bold, scabrous, funny and beautiful,”. At the time, Lee and Thomas gave an interview in which they discussed the musicals production and its reception. They noted that audiences in England loved it, but they were afraid that if the show ever premiered in America, it might offend people, specifically Christians, because of the “blasphemy” in the second half. So far, most of the Christians that had seen the show had enjoyed it: There have been Christian commentators who seem to have enjoyed the fact that it’s pretty thorough in its theology. It all adds up. One of the complaints I had in Battersea was from a woman who does secular funerals for the National Secular Society, who was disappointed that we’d “fallen into the trap of using the Christian story, and wasn’t it time that was ignored?” Ominous noises The opera ran at the National for five months. It received favourable reviews and sold out. Again. It then transferred to the Cambridge Theatre in the West End, where it had a black-tie premier. Guess who turned up…Jerry Springer. Again. It was apparently his third time seeing the show. He must’ve really loved it. Actually, the show was so beloved that it won a ton of awards during the 2004 awards season. At the Evening Standard Awards, it won best musical. It won the same award at the British Critics' Circle Theatre Awards. Then it swept the Olivier Awards (the British equivalent to the Tonys) where it won (Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Performance in a Supporting Role, and Best Sound Design)[https://playbill.com/article/jerry-springer-and-the-pillowman-win-top-honors-at-2004-olivier-awards-com-1180740]. A Broadway show was planned. Thomas was ecstatic about the shows success, while Lee was…more uneasy: “If I had known it would run in the West End as an independent commercial venture I would not have got involved.”…” “I went into this project thinking it would be the usual two-month job and I don’t feel any more proud of it because it has become a West End success.”… “It is a great piece of theatre but a vast amount of work is produced in places like BAC for the specific community they serve and not with a view to providing a script that will give someone his next hit. It is wrong to justify the fringe as a support for the West End.” It ran at the Cambridge theatre for a year and three months. Then it was scheduled to go on tour around the UK. The show seemed unstoppable…and then, it tripped. Television In November 2004 the BBC bought the rights to air a televised version of the opera. Almost immediately, there were objections from tabloids. The Daily Mail claimed that the show had over 8,000 obscenities. The BBC pushed back, saying that the show would be aired, fully uncut, at 9pm (in the UK, there are strict rules about what can be shown on TV before 9 to “protect the children”), albeit with warnings. Mediawatch, an infamous organisation that protested “harmful an offensive” media, sent a lengthy letter to the chairman of the BBC urging him not to air the show. They were joined by other media groups, politicians, and even the English Church. The Christians were the most upset. They were probably offended by the portrayal of a nappy wearing Jesus who sings that he’s “a little bit gay” and gets in a swearing match with Satan. Or Adam and Eve as trailer trash. Or Mother Mary as having been “raped by god”. Take your pick. Christians organised protests online. On January 7th, they marched on the BBC’s headquarters in London. Assembling outside, they held placards, chanted, and burned their TV licenses. By January 9th, 50,000 people had complained to the BBC about the show. However, the BBC said they had been receiving emails from supporters as well. They weren’t deterred at all. When the program finally aired on January 10th, there were still protestors outside the BBC offices. There were also protests in Cardiff, Birmingham, Belfast and Plymouth. Stephen Green, the national director of Christian Voice, a fundamentalist Christian advocacy group said: "I find it astonishing that Mark Thompson and David Soul [the show's star] claim they are Christians and they can see nothing wrong with Jerry Springer - The Opera. "What kind of Christians are the sort of people who find mocking God and Jesus Christ acceptable? "If this show portrayed Mohammed or Vishnu as homosexual, ridiculous and ineffectual, it would never have seen the light of day." It got so bad that the protests were even brought up in parliament and discussed by MPs. By May 2005, the BBC had received over 60,000 complains about the show, while Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, had received 16,000 complaints. At the time, it was the most complained about show on British Television. This record wouldn’t be broken until the funeral of Prince Philllip in 2021. However, it also set a more positive record. The program was watched by 2.4 million people. A then-record for a musical. Christian Voice, incensed by the show’s success, doxxed several BBC executives, publishing their phone numbers and home addresses online. Also, in February 2005, Lee and Thomas tried donating £3,000 of the shows proceeds to a cancer charity, Maggie. Christian Voice spammed the charity with protests, causing them to decline the donation. This wasn’t even the beginning of the end of the damage that Christian Voice would do to the show. A troublesome tour The show was meant to go on tour in September 2005, but almost immediately, it ran into trouble. In August, the Arts Council of England, refused to give the show financial support. They refuted claims that it was because of the protests, saying that: "The suggestion that this decision has to do with pressure from the religious right is absolute nonsense. There is so much we do on a weekly basis that puts us in the firing line. "There's barely a week that goes by that we do not receive a letter from one religious group or other. Our budget for touring funds is limited so we have to be very careful with how we spend it." He added that the Arts Council had had a history of supporting the production - both the Battersea Arts Centre and National Theatre are funded by the organisation - and that the primary reason for refusing the application was its commercial success. "There is no questions about its quality. This is simply just an issue about whether a production of this nature, given its success so far, needs our subsidy," he said. Even worse, Christian Voice sent letters of protest to theatres: "We are at this moment preparing charges of the criminal offence of blasphemy for service upon those responsible for broadcasting the show on BBC2, and those responsible for staging it at the Cambridge Theatre. Should any regional theatre stage Jerry Springer the Opera this autumn, we shall be looking to prosecute them as well." Here is the letter in full: One Two. This caused 30% of venues to pull out. But it didn’t stop the show. Mercifully, 21 theatres around the country stepped in and agreed to finance the tour by pooling their marketing costs. It came at a steep cost though, the shows creative team had to waive their royalties. Also, I can’t find a source for it, but around this time the Broadway version of the opera was cancelled. The troubles weren’t over yet though. Not by a longshot. Christian Voice decided to stage protests at theatres around the country. There were protests in Birmingham, York, Aberdeen, and Cardiff. In early 2006, the BNP (a far right organisation) decided to join them. Stephen Green wasn’t very amused by this, saying that BNP members were “not welcome” at the protests. Stewart Lee was sick and tired of everything. Protestors regularly sent him hate mail. The protests also impacted his finances. By 2006, he was broke: "If you have been on the verge of becoming a millionaire and that has not happened because of far-right pressure groups," he says at one point, sounding just like he does when he is getting into his stride on stage, "and your work has been banned and taken apart, and you've been threatened with prosecution, and the police have advised people involved with your production to go into hiding, and bed and breakfasts won't have the cast to stay because they're blasphemers, and you have to cross a BNP picket line to go to work in Plymouth, you do start to think, well, what can be worse that that?" Here are two articles from 2006 if you want to read more about his troubles. In 2007, Christian Voice finally fulfilled their legal threats. They didn’t sue the theatres. They tried to sue Mark Thompson, then director-general of the BBC and failed. Miserably. After their suit was dismissed several times, they appealed it all the way up the highest court in the UK, The House of Lords, who also rejected it. Their court costs were so high that in 2008 they were facing bankruptcy. Stephen Green was ordered to pay £90,000. He tried to appeal to the BBC: Green has said he will "certainly end up bankrupt" if forced to pay the money, and is now urging Thompson and Thoday, whose company Avalon produced the show, to waive their costs "in the interests of goodwill and justice". He said: "Mark Thompson earns well over 20 times as much in a year as I am worth. He could pay his own costs out of his inflated salary, and the BBC certainly would never notice the odd £55,000 alongside the money they squander on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I can’t find any record of the bankruptcy online. So, it seems the BBC caved and didn’t charge him. In 2009, Christian Voice protested another production of the opera at St Andrews university in Scotland. They called the university a “cesspit” and demanded that the “sinners” repent. They were unsuccessful: the performance went ahead as planned. Jerry Springer later expanded on his personal views of the opera. He had mixed feelings about it. In 2008, he said: Well, I saw it. When it opened, they invited me to see it on the West End in London. I thought they did a really good job. I mean, I'd prefer it were about someone else. It was awkward for me to watch it. For one, it's about yourself, so there's no common experience. There's no one I can ask, "Gee, how did you feel?" I can't call Figaro or Carmen and say, "Hey, how did you feel about your opera?" It's just a very personal moment that I can't express to anybody. And then I felt a little bit awkward because, as I was watching it, everyone was looking at me to see what my reaction was. It was uncomfortable. As for the Opera, from 2007-2011, it premiered in several other countries, but it didn’t get a Broadway premiere. There were two performances at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2008. Of course, there were protests. The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property picketed both shows, holding signs warning people of “blasphemy” in the theatre. In 2018, the show finally received an off-Broadway premiere. Ten years too late. Jerry Springer’s cultural relevance had diminished greatly. Even so, the show was still popular enough to receive an extension, but no protests. Thanks for reading. … That was the original ending of the writeup. But I feel like I must address Springer’s death. Yesterday, Lee and Thomas actually gave their thoughts on his passing and how it affected them: Richard Thomas who co-wrote the award-winning Jerry Springer: The Opera with Stewart Lee, told the BBC's Colin Paterson he was "really shocked" to hear about the TV host's death. "Jerry was great to us," he said. "We wrote a show about his show - and him. We didn't have the rights or anything, and he was totally supportive and kind." "He made us change two lines," Thomas said, joking that he could not repeat what they were, but added: "They dealt with a subject in his past which he was right to bring up." He said Springer "loved the idea" for the show, adding he met him at Edinburgh Festival, where it was playing. When the audience spotted him, they all chanted: "Jer-ry, Jer-ry!" much like the audiences for his TV show. "He just waved to everybody," Thomas said, adding that he had liked the TV show because it was "non-judgemental", along with the host's famous sign-off: "Take care of yourselves, and each other". Here is the final scene from the Opera, where Jerry dies in front of his audience and guests as they sing him goodbye. Rest in Peace, Jerry. submitted by /u/Tokyono to r/HobbyDrama [link] [comments]

Being a new parent is hard. Finding the right diaper for us was an added mind and wallet fuck. On the off chance this might help an overwhelmed mama like me, fantastic. Sample size: admittedly, it’s a small sample size of just 1 run of the mill baby. My daughter is an average peer and pooper (minus month 3 when she shit through absolutely everything for 2 straight weeks). Below is a review for size 1 diapers Huggies Price per diaper: can be as low as .22/ per diaper (snug and dry type). Compare to little smugglers type for .27/ per diaper. Pros: waistband in the back that helps with blowouts. The bigger diapers also come with an extra velcro piece around the waistband which I imagine is great for “helpful” babies who like to rip their diapers off. Can take A TON OF PEE. Great for overnights. Good quality. Lots of different types of diapers so you can pick which works for you. Cons: I wouldn’t label it expensive, but not inexpensive either. Amazon brand Mama Bear PPD: can be as low as .16/ diaper if you buy the super saver pack Pros: soooooo cheap. Come to your doorstep immediately. They come in big packs so you have lots on hand. Cons: they’re cheap because the quality is cheap. They do not hold a lot of pee, which essentially is the point of a diaper. My daughter goes through the night in 1 diaper, and she peed through her clothes and sleep sack with this diaper. She’s never done that with any other diaper. The blue stripe is also a little questionable/ doesn’t seem to indicate when pee is in the diaper well. Overall, probably wouldn’t recommend. Pampers PPD: can be as low as .20/ per diaper with the baby dry super saver pack. Pros: big name brand and not super expensive. Good quality. Holds a lot of pee. Can get them in big packs and basically available in any store. Cons: they’re scented and not advertised as scented. WHY. Also, no waistband at the top, which is basically asking for shit to fly right up the back for babies still on liquids only. Seventh generation PPD: can be as low as .31/ per diaper Pros: a “clean” diaper free of chemicals and such. Can hold a fair amount of mess. Cute lil prints! Waistband helpful for blowouts. Cons: more expensive and doesn’t have a blue stripe. Target brand Up & Up PPD: can be as low as .13/ diaper Pros: again, insanely cheap. Can get a huge pack for like $25. Great for babies who need constant changing. Has a waistband to reduce blowouts up the back. Cons: again, it’s cheap because they’re cheap. Cannot hold a ton of pee as a result. Safeway off brand/ Signature Select PPD: can be as low as .15/ per diaper. Pros: very low price point for a generally sturdy diaper. I never noticed any issues with leakage. Cons: not available anywhere but Safeway stores. Biggest pack size available is 112. Tabs are a bit weak and material feels cheap. I’m sure they aren’t the most comfortable diaper out there. Overall findings: For us, Huggies is our overall winner. Waistband is killer, price is reasonable, great for overnight, not cheaply made, good for sensitive skins, can be found basically anywhere. I have not tried Honest, Costco brand or Luvs, would love to read reviews of those. Please share your reviews or different experiences to help others! submitted by /u/Little_Yoghurt_7584 to r/BabyBumps [link] [comments]

I am not the OP, OOP is u/themightyfrontbutt. Some commonly used acronyms: MB - mom boss DB - dad boss NK - the kid being nannied, nanny kid original: Am I doing too much at work? EDIT: It’s important to mention I make $17/hr pre-tax I have a list of normal things that I need to complete each day or week like baby dishes, baby laundry, changing crib sheets, sanitizing toys, and keeping the diaper caddies full. All of that is standard infant care so not a problem for me. However MB has a list for me that she updates each week with things for me to do. Very often during naps (my only breaks) she’ll text me saying to “feel free to start working on the list”. Almost all of the things on the list are technically NK related but it seems like a bit of a stretch and feels more like busy work than anything else. Here are some of the repeated things from the past couple of weeks: sanitize baby tub seat (I do kinda get that but the seat sits in soapy water every other day and gets rinsed/fully dried after every bath so not really) lint roll and wipe down entire play pen (with natural “sanitizing” wipes that are so dry I have to use 100 of them) clean and refill humidifier (that is only used at night when I’m not there) organize NKs dresser and move small clothes into storage bin fold and put away the (MASSIVE) load of laundry from over the weekend reorganize the play shelves put baby related user manuals and documents into a book for future reference build/set up *insert baby contraption here * research options for insert topic here It’s just A LOT all of the time. There’s very rarely a time where I have everything done and I’m usually having to jump up during my break to do something after she texts. Is MB asking me to do too much or am I just starting to burn out? Update TLDR of original post for context: SAHM MB kept adding more and more duties to my list of things to do during almost non-existent nap times to the point where I was getting very little break if any during my 8 hr days I wasn’t going to give an update but so many people were in my comment section with varying opinions. I spoke with MB today during our performance review and let her know that I felt a bit micromanaged. I told her that with 6mo NK sleeping way less and being awake more, it was getting difficult to complete all of the tasks she kept piling on me. She agreed that the list has been getting longer and longer. She told me that she felt she needed to keep me “entertained” while NK is napping and also was passing things on to me that she should have been doing herself but never got the time (because she was with us all day). After a long and emotional talk, she admitted that she just can’t detach from NK and had feelings of jealousy towards me while I got to spend time with NK. She also told me she really values what I bring to her home and didn’t want to lose me but doesn’t need a nanny. Soooo I went to work today as a nanny and went home a household manager. We agreed that MB wanted to spend all day with her child and I didn’t mind doing the household tasks she had been forcing herself to do so that I had a reason to be with NK. We shortened my hours (but increased pay to make it the same amount) and although I’m not NK’s nanny anymore, I will still see him everyday and can sit in to play if I want to. Overall it was a very strange dynamic and I think this is ultimately for the better. Thank you to everyone who chimed in with their opinions and advice! Final Update TLDR: MB fired me for asking to be fairly compensated. She then turned the blame on me by saying I was a bad nanny despite repeatedly praising my performance up to and including during my performance review on Friday. She refuses to provide a reference. On to the next one. Well over the weekend, MB decided she wanted me for the full 40 hours with no increase in pay. She also gave me a full list of duties which included: scheduling appointments, car maintenance (gas, car wash, vacuuming), pet care (walks, feeding, play, grooming), packing up their house for a move, cleaning (dishes, family laundry, vacuuming, mopping, changing family sheets and towels, quick clean of bathrooms), all things Christmas, organizing everything under the sun, and childcare when MB is sick or has to go somewhere she cannot take NK. For $17/hr. I countered saying that I wasn’t willing to take on a significantly increased workload without compensation in the form of money or less hours. It didn’t make sense to do way more work for zero added benefits. I asked for a compromise of half days every Friday which is way less than I should’ve asked for. She responded saying that she had spoken to DB and they decided to terminate my contract, effective immediately, with severance pay. Their reasoning was that the list of duties was mostly things I was already responsible for under my nanny contract (not at all true) and they were not comfortable paying my rate for “only” household tasks. If we’re not a good fit anymore, then no harm no foul let’s move on. I asked if she would be willing to provide a positive reference over the next few weeks as I start looking for other opportunities. She said no and made it personal by saying that although I’m “a wonderful human with many talents” she “doesn’t think full time nannying is where (my) interests and abilities truly lie”. That was shocking to me because she was constantly praising my work and it broke my heart. After putting so much time and emotional energy into her and her child, that obviously stung. I’ve been doing this for 5 years, no one has ever had anything negative to say, and I know I’m good at my job. When I asked her why she hadn’t been honest sooner and to explain, she cited “lack of initiative and interest” and claimed that’s why she had “revoked childcare responsibilities and assigned household tasks instead” (also a blatant lie). I was constantly doing things that she didn’t ask but I’m afraid her helicopter parenting and micromanaging did me in. She thought that me not immediately responding to baby’s every screech/noise (because sometimes babies just DO THAT), sometimes sitting in silence (because I’d hate it if someone was constantly talking in my face all day), sometimes having an off day (because I’m HUMAN) or her texting me to do things (that were not my job) meant that I had no initiative or interest. She also said she had praised my performance in the past because she wanted to use positive reinforcement for behaviors she wanted to continue to see like I’m a dog or something. All of this to say, if you’re an MB, PLEASE treat your nanny like the human beings that they are. They are not robots and you are not entitled to their work. We do everything we can to make your lives run smoothly and if you’re not willing to be a good employer, then you don’t deserve the luxury services we provide. submitted by /u/asakurasol to r/BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]

Hello everyone! I'm pregnant, due with my first child in August, and looking into using cloth diapers with a diaper service in my city. Only problem is my partner is not good with poop and feels very very worried about the efficacy of cloth diapers v.s. the disposable kind. He has many questions: Do they leak more than disposable? Do you end up with more blowouts? I want to minimize his fears, but I also want to be honest with him because his gag reflex is strong when it comes to feces.... So please give us your honest review of cloth diapers - the good, the bad and the ugly. Thanks in advance! submitted by /u/iwantallthefruit to r/ZeroWaste [link] [comments]

I usually do an annual write up but here’s a bonus. NOTE: These are lyrics that somewhat defined the artists who in turn defined 2010-2019. These ARE NOT the best lines said by an artist nor their most memorable bars. Most of these lines also are from early in the decade/career as they seem fitting (self-fulfilling prophecy and shit). Also, this list is popularity over skill. Any of the relatively smaller artists mentioned are from my own bias of their skill and impact/notoriety in hip hop during the 2010s. I ask posters to tell me their favorite/memorable lines, and to try and put me onto an artist I perhaps never listened to. There are several of my favorites that I simply cannot put on here or are regulated to the honorable mentions. This is a thick list so I cannot do a proper write up for all entries. “Rap is the new rock ‘n’ roll! We the rock stars!” - Kanye West, BBC Radio 1 Interview The most defining line of rap this past decade is not from a song, but is from a Kanye rant. My feelings on Mr. West has changed over the years, and while I disagree with his recent statements, this quote from 2013 is still stands. Rap is the new rock. Rap is now the genre that is at the top. Rap is the genre full of the “bad influences” that middle America is too ignorant to actual look at. Rap is the genre with the bad words, the political statements, the party tracks, the nonsense, the soul, the spirit, the drug overdoses, the groupies, the strong women, the breakoffs into sub-genres, etc. After 40 years, Hip Hop music is the dominant genre and its influence is worldwide. We can’t be stopped. “If I die, I’m a legend,” – Drake, Legend I remember when Best I Never Had dropped its music video and my sister called me into the living room to watch it on MTV2. Halfway through, I asked her, “Isn’t that the wheelchair dude on that show you like?” Who fucking knew that Jimmy from Degrassi would turn into the biggest star of the 2010s. Love him, hate him, he’s broken records in sales/streaming and he made a lot of money in the meantime. When Drake said this bar in 2015, there was some arguments, but he’s right: If he died at that position, his fans would force the culture to see him as a legend. And despite my issues with him, I can name three) strong reasons that makes his statement true. A toast to the Champagne Papi. “Step on my neck and get blood on your Nike checks. I don't mind 'cause one day you'll respect - The good kid, m.A.A.d city” – Kendrick Lamar, good kid Despite other rappers being more popular than him in certain circles of entertainment, Kendrick Lamar has earned his position as the King of Hip Hop. From his rise under Dre to beating Drake in sales, Kendrick’s journey to the top was an amazing experience for listeners. In three fantastic albums, Kendrick cemented his legacy in the 2010s and until another rapper can outdo him, he holds the crown. (Plus, three great albums tends to throws you into GOAT talk). Put it this way: Kendrick Lamar is a better rapper than your favorite rapper. His “throwaway” album was great. His soundtrack album was great. And yes, MAAD city is the better song, but dammit, the song before it should get loved as well. “I can’t relate to my peers. I’d rather live outside. I’d rather chip my pride than lose my mind” – Frank Ocean, Siegfried “I’m a fucking walking paradox” – Tyler, the Creator, Yonkers “It hurt cuz I can’t keep a date or put personal time in, or reverse to the times when my face didn’t surprise you before I did the shit that earned me my term on that island” – Earl Sweatshirt, Faucet This applies to the previous three lines: At the start of the decade, Earl was rapping about sexual assault, Tyler was pissing every one off, and Frank was putting out projects at a steady rate. Oh yeah, they also were all form the same group, named “Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All” which is connected to “Golf Wang” “Flog Gnaw,” and had a few members appear in the beloved “Gucci Gucci” music video with Kreashawn (more about that in another thread). The changes from 2011 OF to the standalone acts of Tyler, Earl, and Frank are crazy to review. Others have, so I won’t, but man I’m glad to have witnessed these three artist grow in and out of their music. “I'm just playing, but all good jokes contain true shit, same rope you climb up on, they'll hang you with” – J. Cole, Fire Squad I consider Cole the amongst Drake and Kendrick as the “Three Musketeers” of 2010s rap, at least popularity wise. The trio laid down so many good tracks. J. Cole fits a lot of what people wanted from a rapper after the ringtone-rap era. But, once he started doing it, it’s like people didn’t want it anymore. Folks called him boring, but everyone knew he could spit. In comes 2014 FHD, and boy, Cole cemented his place in the Big 3, and he’s pretty good at ball, too. While 4 Your Eyez Only and KOD split some fans apart, I liked the albums. He has pushed his image as a bigger brother in rap, or at least, a middle child, so let’s see what he can do in 2020. “The kid that used to pitch bricks can't be pigeonholed” – Jay-Z, Family Feud In the third decade of his (studio album) career, Jay has blessed us with another classic in the form of 4:44, expressing the maturity of a former drug dealer turned rapper/businesscomma man. Fanboying aside, Jay has taken up the role hip-hop’s dad. One that lectures you about what’s right from wrong at the end of a sitcom. Shout out to Uncle Phil, Carl Winslow, Pops, and even Dre from black-ish.FuckPillCosby Jay also collaborates and give shout outs to rising rappers he deems fit for the mic. It was a bit of a rocky start with MCHG telling people to appreciate art, but it took a retrospective of Shawn Carter and several guest features to remind people that Hov’s still alive. “I’m beginning to feel like I’m a Rap god” – Eminem, Rap God Another legend in his third decade of rhyming. After the divisive Relapse in 2009, Eminem took on a different persona, or at least cut down on Slim Shady, until he wanted to promote a sequel. He has a “father of rap” role amongst the younger rappers of this generation, but it’s the dad whose jokes don’t always land well. For every Caterpillar verse or Chloraseptic Remix, there’s a Revival. He keeps doing those songs with [insert female pop vocalist] on the chorus that don’t land like they did on his first few albums, and yet, he’ll still give you a career just to destroy it in a rap beef. It’s like, we know he can spit, but he keeps releasing shit that proves otherwise. (I originally used a line from his 2011 BET Cypher, so go check that out ) “It's so different now, everything is so different now” – Logic, Till the End It’s like, we know he can spit, but he keeps releasing shit that proves otherwise. He keeps doing those songs with [“I’m biracial!”] on the chorus, but it don’t land like his first few mixtapes, yet, he’ll looks up recent Logic lyric . . . yet he’ll “suck a dick just to prove it ain’t that way”. . . Huh? I honestly Logic gets caught under pressure and the hate on social media gets to him. Here’s another white rapper that people say is killing mumble rappers and “saving rap.” Look, Logic and Em got skill, and they’ve proven so. If anything, their fanbase can be too much. White people really love white rappers, eh? “I'm underrated, don't fit on nobody's playlist, If I ain't in your top 10 then you're a racist” – Mac Miller, Here We Go And all types of people really respect Mac Miller. From frat rap to philosophical lines to rapping about pussy to introspective lines about his drug habits, Mac gained a lot of respect from his peers. I know I said I can’t write a lot for everyone, but I’ll be unfair for Mac: he helped me better understand my own issues in life, namely any possible issues with my mental health and my thought process on certain destructive behaviors. He wasn’t my favorite rapper, but I loved listening to his shit. This lovable goof sadly passed away in September 2018, and it was arguably the hardest a celebrity’s death hit me. Partly because he was around my age, partly because he influenced my train of thought, as corny as some internet thugs believe that sounds. Thus, I did NOT pick one of the many lines that talk about him overdosing or dying before he turns 27. He will be sorely missed, by family, friends, and peers. Mac Miller is another example of a beautiful character arc, as much as the road was rocky and the end sucked. I really do hope people don’t just see him as an ex-boyfriend of Ariana Grande. . . R.I.P Mac Miller. Don’t do drugs, kids. “Fuck it, mask off” – Future, Mask Off Don’t do drugs. Future’s influence on rap is something I probably cannot truly describe. From his cadence, to his subject matter, to his drug habits. He’s seen as a figurehead for toxic masculinity as well as someone hiding his some sad lines behind rattling hi-hats and neat beats. From autotuning his voice in the early years to collabing with Drake to give us a great time to be alive, to getting credited for being on Father Stretch My Hand pt 2, Future proved himself a staple in 2010s rap. It was hard to NOT hear him this past decade. . . Wait, that wasn’t Future on FSMH? He- . . .who? Desiigner? What? “This ain’t a fucking sing-a-long” – The Weeknd, Crew Love The Weeknd gave his song to Drake for Take Care, but everyone fucking knows this is a Weeknd song ft. Drake. The Trilogy was some of his best work, and there some type of beauty in his tracks. It’s an R&B dude, but his lyrics aren’t soft. He’s talking about railing chicks and cocaine and shit. None of that between-the-sheets beauty. He’s fucking women on that island they got in their kitchens. And yet, he managed to break into the MAIN-mainsteam, getting kid awards for his drug songs. When will they learn, this ain’t a fucking sing-a-long. “We don’t do the same drugs no more.” – Chance the Rapper, Same Drugs Originally, I picked the opening bars form Pusha Man off Acid Rap. It’s one of my favorite projects from the 2010s (Can you tell I post on r/hiphopheads? Wanna watch this video essay on Tyler, the Creator and then bump some Griselda?) but, I think Same Durgs is a great metaphor. Chance talks about living a different life than an old friend, but it applies to some of his listeners. Many of us loved 10 Days and Acid Rap. But Chance can’t be that forever. He grew up from the kid who got suspended for 2 weeks. For as much as I don’t like The Big Day, he sounds happier. Plus, I’m not forced to listen to him. “Mitch caught a body about a week ago” – Bobby Shurmda, Hot N---a So, Bobby wasn’t the first, nor the last, but he’s a great example of this distinct trend in rap. Guy puts out song and blows up for it. I’m talking this shit goes viral. Music video is him and the homies. He’s talking about girls, women, cars, clothes, . . . oh yeah, and his crimes. Cops pull up, and they lock him up. Exhibit A. Exhibit B. Exhibit C is just going to be a song and not lead to an album. Bobby took a plea deal and after gracing us with the Shmoney Dance, was held up in Riker’s for the rest of the 2010s. This line, and others, were used against him and his team. Fun fact: this was one of the things I remember before it got big. A few friends of friends were sharing the music video via FaceBook, and I never guessed it would’ve blown up more than the other rising rappers I watched. Also, shout out to Bobby for dancing better than the women in his Bobby Bitch Music video. “These bitches love Sosa.” – Chief Keef, Love Sosa This one I was late on. I didn’t hear Chief Keef until Mr. West put out the remix to Don’t Like. But you can bet your ass I heard his influence on rap this decade. Drill music was what all the kids wanted to hear. And I’ll admit, my best friend and I loved seeing kids our age making music. Joey dropped 1999, Chief Keef was half naked and toting guns, it was crazy seeing people who not only looked like me blowing up, but who were around my age. Keef’s attitude would help push rap into a sound for the mid 10s and is still being heard today. “Who put this shit together? I'm the glue” – Travis Scott, Sicko Mode La Flame provided a good spark for music this decade. I’d argue he has his own lane in rap, mostly centered around his sound, but the sound is gonna get tired one day. . . and that day ain’t tomorrow, that’s for sure. With three solid projects, including the long awaited Astroworld, Travis has achieved what many dreamed of: Being on pre-game playlists for both white AND black people. “Twenty-plus years of selling Johnson & Johnson/I started out as a baby-faced monster/No wonder there's diaper rash on my conscience/My teething ring was numbed by the nonsense” – Pusha T, Nosetalgia The past decade has given Push a chance to showcase that he is more than a duo-rapper. Good mixtapes, great albums, and a few nice slaps in the face of certain rappers. He raps about many topics, despite the memes about him only rapping about coke (although he still raps about it). Thank God for all the great music. Everything is Pusha T. “Influenced by Houston, hear it in my music/A trill n---a to the truest, show you how to do this” – ASAP Rocky, Palace He bes that pretty motherfucker, repping Harlem while experimenting with different sounds in his raps. Making strong strides at all points of the 2010s, Rocky proved his staying power in hip hop and in fashion. Although he got a cocky attitude, he isn’t afraid to shed light on what hurts him. Keep making music, Rocky, and I pray you find peace with all those around him who passed away. “I ain’t sorry” – Beyonce, Sorry AND “Okay, ladies, now let's get in formation, cuz I slay” – Beyonce, Formation Who wants that perfect love story anyway? Sucks when you eat some of your words as Queen B, BUT, Beyonce is more than a cheated-on wife of a rapper. She’s her own person, her own icon, and despite the terrorizing fanbase, she’s a role model to many fans and other artists. This decade saw a rise in people fighting back against bigotry, and while she’s no Harriet Tubman, Beyonce carries herself with some respect, enough to be a dominant figure in black culture and sisterhood. Mad about the double feature? Oh well. Queen B can’t trip up “Much cooler than the cool kids. Can you believe every night we do this?” – Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd, Powerglide The pre-games have never been the same. Two young brothers hit the scene mid 2010s and boy, has America loved ~Swae Lee~ these two. Perhaps not Black Beatles, but much more than “new age Kris Kross.” I must say though, bad bitches ARE a type. “Name a n---a that want some, I’ll out-rap his ass, out-trap his ass” – 2 Chainz, No Lie From Tity Boi to 2 Chainz, this dude managed to redebuted himself under a more advertisement friendly name (take notes, Mr. eXquire). And now, he don’t need Wayne pouring out his soul on a chorus to be remembered. I will say, revisit all his features from the past decade. I wanted to use one of them as a quote. “Came out of jail and went straight to the top” – Gucci Mane, I Get The Bag Gucci’s home and it’s over for your Gucci clones. As you can tell, loads of people on this list influenced the rap playground this past decade, with Gucci doing the same. East Atlanta Santa spent years in jail (hasn’t stopped him for rapping) and came out a new man, or at least, a man running up the charts. He definitely running now that his lean belly is gone. “Real n---a's dreams coming to fruition. Stumble but I never fall, leaning on my pistol” – Rick Ross, 3 Kings Fat jokes from the early 10s aside, Ross really played a good role in rap music. BMF was big, I remember Diddy comparing him to Biggie ( yep ) and he always came through with good tracks. . . but then he rapped about drugging women. And on a lesser note, “Reeboks, I just do it,” is a weird fuck up, man. I got a lot but want a lot more, yeah, we in the building, but I'm tryna take it to the top floor” – Big Sean, IDWFU A strong player in terms of popularity, Detroit’s biggest ass-man was able to give us quotables and showed some softer edges on tracks about family or being single. “One's for the money, two for the bitches, three to get ready cuz I feel I finally did it” – ScHoolboy Q, Blessed TDE is more tHan Kendrick. In fact, tHere’s many well versed rappers in the crew, and ScHoolboy Q managed to pusH Himself more into the spotligHt. Now, He needs drop a collab witH Rocky, because Hands of the WHeel is STILL my most played track. “Always be a real n---a, I never learned how to be nothin' but a real n---a” – The Game, 100 Can you believe Born 2 Rap is his last album? After all these years, and here it is: The Game’s last project. And still, people say he name drops too much, but at least he’s in on the joke. “Free the Carter, n---as need the Carter” – Lil Wayne, No Problems This is cheating, as this is a guest verse and NOT a Wayne song, but it is important. After bad business tactics and after putting an end to stuntin like his daddy, it took Wayne years to finally have Tha Carter V get released. Goes to show that sometimes, it’s really the ones close to you that fuck you over. Top ten hip hop betrayals of all time. . . “I ain't never need a man to take care of me” – Nicki Minaj, Truffle Butter Hot take: Nicki gets a lot of underserved hate, or at least, misdirected hate. She definitely deserves bad looks for some of her antics, or her support (lack of calling-out) of sexual deviant, but at the end of the day, she truly made some great songs. There’s a ton of pop shit, but let’s not undersell her role in the game. Also. . . obviously. . . That fucking verse on Kanye’s Monster. I made the argument in a Daily Discussion thread before but. . . HOT TAKE: Nicki’s verse on Monster is a top 5 verse of all time in rap, fuck you. While Wayne helped take her to the top, for her to stay relevant and to still sell records for the whole decade on her own is a great feat. “Ball so hard motherfuckers wanna fine me” – The Throne, N---as in Paris Yep, Jay and Kanye get a second line here. Watch the Throne is debated about being a classic or not. My take: Whether you like it or not, this album is iconic for its influence, or at least, how many people referenced watching the throne all these years after. Collab albums are not new. Collab albums with Jay Z are not new. Some are loved), some want to be forgotten) but, it’s not everyday when Kanye can team up with his big brother. Well, at least it’s not happening these days. But for the moment, it was dope watching the throne get in their zone. “Do it for the culture, They gon’ bite like vultures” – Quavo of Migos, T-Shirt Expecting a list of adlibs, right? Rap’s favorite triplet done flowed their way to the top. Constantly in people’s playlist, it took one rain drop, drop top, and the boys hit #1 on the charts, plus they’re hit day time television. Argue who’s the best, since it feels like the general consensus shifts around too much. It was Quavo when he was doing hooks and features, Offset when they hit #1, and now Takeoff for laying in the cut and always coming through. “You say no to ratchet pussy, Juicy J can’t” – Juicy J, Bandz A Make Her Dance Someone whose influence I think was overlooked a bit in the 10s. Three 6 Mafia’s legacy was proven this decade through samples, interpolates, and features. However, Juicy J shone in a lot of places, such as here, spitting one of my most quoted lyrics of the past few years. “Me to rap is like water to raves” – Danny Brown, XXX You know how people go out, party, drink, and turn their noses to water when water is gonna be the thing helping their asses? Yeah, that’s Danny. People hear the voice and instantly turn it off, but we need some straying from the norm. Also, his music ain’t that out there. It’s not like Death Grips. Plus, ignoring Danny means you’ll miss out on the best verse on 1Train. Yeah, I said it. “ “Man, why does every black actor gotta rap some?” I don't know, all I know is I'm the best one” – Childish Gambino, Bonfire He grew up past the mixtape era of strong puns and punchlines. He also survived a hard rating on some of his early works. Because the Internet was dope and good lord Awaken My Love was beautiful. A talented man who can seemingly do it all. To be a bit controversial, I see him as this generation’s Jamie Foxx. Sue me. “Push me to the edge, all my friends are dead” – Lil Uzi Vert, XO TOUR Llif3 A figure in emo rap for all teens to look up to, Uzi was one of the artists to help push the genre in the last half of the decade, to the point where old heads got all sensitive about mumble rap. Who knew rapping about depression, sex, and suicide would top the charts? “ Hopped up in my car Swag! then I drop my roof Swag! Wet like wonton soup. That's just how I do Swag!” – Lil B, Wonton Soup Yep. Closing this out with Lil B. The exit is over here This decade, the internet went mainstream. As in, no longer was it something to do when you’re bored with TV or the PS3/Xbox/Wii. This decade, every day we’re using the internet, with several different social media accounts, blogs, news, etc. Videos of incidents are seen in an instant. At the very beginning of the 2010s, a young Brandon was blowing up on everyone’s radar. He was on WorldStar cooking, he was putting curses on KD (which actually worked), he’s been beefing with rappers and athletes, he’s been pissing of Myke C-Town, he’s been posting on Reddit, he was feature on Lil Wayne mixtapes, he’s been dropping his own mixtapes like a maniac, hopping on songs with Mac & Gucci & 40, he’s been creating memes before your mom knew what a meme was, etc. Him and Budden did what would become the norm before the norm became what it is now. Crazy to think. But yes, Lil B is getting recognition for his work. Based God truly came out and showcased what meme culture would bec- What now? . . . whoa, whoa whoa. . . Jay Electronica dropping his album?! Woah Well, that’s the list. Tell me who I missed. Ask me why there’s no Post Malone. Post better lines than the ones mentioned here. Honorable Mentions: Kendrick’s Control Verse The real hot take here: Kendrick’s verse on Big Sean’s Control only an honorable mention? He called out his contemporaries and made it clear: He’s gunning for number one. It’s a good verse and it’s even better that he called people out by name, but most of the list are people he’s cool with. “My parents’ were making the best when they were naked in bed” – Joey Badass, I really want Joey to be better remembered. I really wanted to include him in the main list. He’s actually in my top 5 of the decade. “As a kid all I wanted was to kill a man” – Vince Staples, Nate “Don’t ever say that my music sounds like Ghost’s shit” – Action Bronson, Ron Simmons Here’s a link to that famous thread “I was good on my own, that’s the way it was” – Rihanna, Needed Me Looking at her resume, Rihanna has a strong career for 2010 alone. Dance songs, pop songs, a dancehall(ish) track, rappers as features, features as rappers. Call her a bad bitch, a savage, just remember the game needs her. At least, her fans are begging four another album after the four year drought, so we need her to drop one more time “Live fast, die young, Bad girls do it well,” – MIA, Bad Girls How the fuck y’all let this track NOT win video of the decade? “Is it homophobic to only hook up with straight n---as? You know like closet n---as, masc-type? Why don't you take that mask off? That's the thought I had last night” – Kevin Abstract of BrockHampton, Junky “Don’t” – Bryson Tiller, Don’t “Fuck your publication that say I'm a third wheel” – Flatbush Zombies, Palm Trees “Might move away one day but I'm always gonna belong to the streets” – Freddie Gibbs, Thuggin “By the beer, by ear, by boo what Yari saying?” – Isaiah Rashad, 4r Da Squaw “Such a lost boy, caught up in the darkest I had. What's the cost, boy? Losing everything that I had” – Kid Cudi, 4th Dimension The original sad boi, the original “emo rap”. Shout out to his comparison of himself to an orgasm. “K to the I to the N to the G/Claim you the hottest, but I disagree” – Denzel Curry, Ultimate Denzel is better than the memes from this track. “I don’t dance now, I make money moves” – Cardi B, Bodak Yellow Cardi made big moves in the second half of the decade, arguably enough to be above HMs. She’s more than the one hit wonder many detracts tried to pin her as. If she started a year earlier, she’d be up there. I really want her to strive in the 2020s as well. “Better recognize when I see you” – PARTYNEXTDOOR, Recognize Relevant “Kinda silly though, but I'm lyrical, Bet I put him in the dirt with the penny loafs” – A$AP Ferg, Work Remix “I bet I make you respect me, when you see the man dem are selling out Wembley” – Skepta, Shutdown “Me, I try to leave the best for later, But Pusha tried to put me on the respirator” – Pharrell, “They don't make 'em bar none, they don't make 'em real, they don't make it where I'm from, they don't take it here” – Nipsey Hussle, Victory Lap R.I.P. Nipsey EDIT: I dun fucked up, and totally forgot Young Thug, who played a big part in the decade more than half this damn list. Please, share your favorite Thugger lines, I personally like his feature on Sacrifices the most but that’s not his own track. Also, the obvious fuck up: Fuck Donald Trump. submitted by /u/MC_Fuzzy to r/hiphopheads [link] [comments]

I found out a couple weeks ago that some friends are pregnant with their first. I wrote this to help them prepare for it. FWIW, I have an almost 3 year old and a 4.5 month old. I hope this helps some dads to be, here! Feel free to add anything you think I missed (there are things I thought of after I emailed this to my buddy and told him later but did not put into this). After we've got some responses, I'll see how much of this we can add to the wiki here. Before Go to all baby appointments! This is probably a no brainer for you but some people don't realize it. Ultrasounds are cool! And it's really great to ask the ObGyn or midwife any and all questions you have! (ie, I asked before #1 was born when I'd be able to hear his hearbeat. The ObGyn said, "in just a minute, I have the doppler right here." "no, I mean with my ear against her belly." "oh, never, it's too loud in there and baby's heartbeat gets drowned out.") Go to some birth classes. But maybe not all of them. Depends how many you're encouraged to go to; KP advised ALL of them and they're tiring and tedious and mostly boring. I skipped the breastfeeding one, from the sounds of it, that was a good choice because it was a bunch of women trying to learn to breast feed dolls with at least one boob hanging out. L&D class was like 8 hours on a Saturday with like 30 couples. We went through the whole process. It was exhausting. I'm not sure it helped much because when you get to it, you listen to what the medical team is advising. Start planing to buy shit now (or starting at week 13) If you're going to do one, make a registry, do the showers, and see what people get you. Get your big ticket items (car seats, strollers, cribs, etc) onto something like camelcamelcamel or other pricewatch and buy the sales. I bought our stroller as an OpenBox deal on Amazon. Still paid $300 for it but that's better than the $500 retail. More on gear later. If you're going to get a doula, start meeting them now and find someone you like. My yoga studio has a "meet the doulas" event one night every month or so where they all give a spiel and then you can hang out and talk to them. We went but I had to chase our toddler around so I didn't get to sit in on the thing. We found a doula to be really helpful, mostly because it made it feel like there was a person on our team that wasn't a hospital employee and it gave me more comfort in being able to leave the room to run home for things as needed. In retrospect, a doula would have been probably even better with the first delivery than the second but live and learn. Pregnancy sucks. Did no one tell you that? Plenty of women say they loved being pregnant (Wife said she enjoyed being pregnant with our first, not so much the second as she had miserable heartburn every day. She carried a bag of tums with her at all times and called them her "after dinner mints".) and I have no doubt some do. I support that and their feelings. But you're beginning what will likely be one of or the most life changing choice you'll ever make and prior to that little bundle of giggles popping out, your partner gets to go through a roller coaster of hormones (I lucked out with wife, she's even keeled and that part wasn't bad) as well as body changes that are sure to wreak havoc on psyche. "I'm the heaviest I've ever been!" Well, yea, you've got a baby inside you, you've never had a baby inside you before. Really messed with wife when I put my boot on the scale at a visit and tipped the scales to something like 190. She was like "OMG, I've really packed it on in these weeks!" The med assistant gave me wry smile and wife turned to see me close and scrunched her nose and shook a fist. Fun stuff. Did I say pregnancy sucks? Libido will be all over the place. So will body comfort both physically and mentally. You just roll with it as you can. Near the end (and especially once the baby has come) your partner's breasts will probably be the largest, shapeliest, and most enticing they have ever been. And it may be entirely likely you're are not allowed to play with them, touch them, look at them, breath on them, or even think about them because they're sore and maybe leaking, and goddamnit I'm a cow now, MOOO. (Wife has said moo a couple times in the last couple weeks when I walk in and she's pumping; I think all the pumping is taking a toll on us both. It's a lot more work that breastfeeding but it allows me a wonderful amount of involvement with the baby which allows for more bonding and I feel way more connected to #2 than I did our first at this age). Of course, the above are not absolutes, all women are different and pregnancies are different. We had plenty of sexy time while pregnant with #1 and comparatively none with #2. Part of that was how hard the second pregnancy was and part of that was that we already had a kid and were doing parent things so were tired. So it goes. Plan some vacation now; especially if leave from work is not a concern. First trimester can be rough but things generally smooth out in the second. We went to Nicaragua and hiked an active volcano when wife was 4 months preg with #1. Do that shit now, it will be a while until you'll want (or have the energy) to travel and we're a lot less adventurous now that we're caring for kid and infant. No surprise there Start familiarizing yourself with the alphabet soup. FMLA, CFRA, PFL, SDL. Family Medical Leave Act; California Family Rights Act; Paid Family Leave; Short Term Disability Leave. These will require paperwork from medical offices to employers and to the state. Get these submitted as required and make use of those benefits. You can always do more work. One day your baby is crying for you and wants to be held and snuggled, the next he's telling you to get out of the chicken run, you don't go in there, and he'll put you in timeout. It's fucking hard but not so that you'd want to miss it. Know your employment contract/policies/etc as well as your boss's position on family life and work culture. Don't be guilted into anything that is less than the full amount you are entitled to. In the same vein as the above point, you won't believe (maybe you will) the amount of assholes who will tell you, "you won't be able to wait to get back to work!" or "why are you taking so much time?" or "You'll get sick of being home and come back early." No two ways about this: fuck those people. Know multiple routes to your hospital and how long it take to get there in the worst traffic. First babies are generally slow to come but it's a goddamn roller coaster of excitement when something like water breaking happens and you have to get up and go. Labor and Delivery By now you should have a car seat base installed into the car and a proper car seat in it, waiting for the moment. Leave this in the car, the hospital will likely not let you leave without it. Find a place to inspect the installation; some hospitals do it, so do fire departments. Google/call around or ask at your next ObGyn visit. You need a Go Bag. Or one each. This should include: personal care products phone chargers other distraction things (labor can be literally hours of just sitting waiting) list of mom's meds (or mental knowledge) known allergies! birth plan if you have one a change of clothes (as a dirty man, I think I brought a shirt, lol) clothes for baby to go home in (don't just bring NB size! A 0-3 onesie is a good idea too; never know how big that baby is going to be) lacrosse ball or whatever; hospital room accommodation for mom is alright, Dad is probably going to be on a pull out chair or couch. Comfortable, easy on/off, loose clothes for mom. You'll mostly be told what/where/how to do things once you're in the hospital. However, you have some choice too. Mom doesn't have to labor laying down on her back with her feet in stirrups. You can walk around, (depending on facility) use a bath tub, roll onto sides, hands and knees, etc. Pain management is important. Something I think helped with #2 is that instead of going straight for an epidural, wife elected for Nitrous Oxide. So as she felt a contraction coming, she'd hold the cup over her face and breath the N2O until about the peak of the contraction. Obviously not enough to knock her out but enough to take some of the edge off the contraction. (Apparently, this used to be really common, then much less so since the 80s? 90s? then has come back into favor after new research more recently. Epidural is an option. Talk to your ObGyn about this. TL;NotAHealthCareProvider is it numbs things drastically and therefore often requires IV synthetic oxytocin to be administered to advance the labor. More interferey, more possibility for complicationy. You'll likely be offered to cut the cord. I noped the fuck out of cutting #1's. When they asked me way before #2 came out, I said "no way". But when the time came I spoke up and told them I wanted to. I don't really remember it honestly. I mean, I do, but it isn't that significant in my mind. I'd recommend doing it, though. AFAIK, episiotomies are no longer recommended but that isn't to say tearing won't happen. It probably will. It will have to be stitched up. It comes in four grades. Vaginal wall, vaginal muscle, rectal muscle, rectal wall. I don't remember the grading numbers, 1-4 I think. First kid caused a 3, second a 2. Recovery from the 2 was much faster than the 3. Feeding the baby as soon and as much as possible is important. Gotta get that nasty poop (don't remember what it's called) out as it is related to jaundice problems. Jaundice is also apparently caused by a blood type (RH) mismatch, between mother and baby and we had this problem with #2. We spent like 24+ hours keeping him under blue lights and trying like hell to stuff his body full. Once he regained birthweight, all concerns related to the RH mismatch were gone and we were out of the dark. Breastfeeding can be hard for mother and baby at first. Use lactation consultants and get help. Mom's who breast feed have a lower risk of post partum depression Dads can get post partum depression too. Maybe google around and be aware of the risk factors and signs for both of you. Gear Car seats all have to meet the same safety standards. Get one that is light enough to be comfortable, is easy to get in and out, and fits in your car well. That last bit is more important for older kid carseats than infant because infant seats all seem to have the same base size. Crib: they're fucking expensive. We got ours from Pottery Barn, somewhere we would never shop, only because one of wife's friend's moms gave us $200 in gift cards for there for our wedding. I think we still paid like $400 for the crib after the cards applied. But #2 is using it now too so maybe that's not insane. Stroller, as mentioned above, it's expensive. We had a Graco or something that we bought because it would hold the infant seat and it was cheap. It fucking sucked and I hated walking/running with it and it didn't maneuver well. Then we went on a hike and borrowed a BOB. It's a great stroller. We bought our own. #1 still rides in it on evening walks while we carry his brother on our chest. And this weekend we snapped the adapter into it and put #2's car seat on it and went to the Farmer's Market. Again, if you're comfy with the idea, Amazon Warehouse/Open Box deals. I wanted a stroller with a swiveling front wheel that had the option to lock as well as an adjustable handle. I found the handle on our old stroller was too low and was uncomfortable for long periods of pushing. The adjustable height on the BOB handle is nice. I think the biggest thing here is to get a stroller that fits your lifestyle. A baby swing is handy. It's nice to have something that rocks them and plays music/white noise. We've got one that has a mobile as well. Given the time frame, I think you guys are welcome to ours. It's a little squeaky but wholly functional. A bouncing chair gets even more use, for us, with both kids. We have one like this. It worked really well for both kids and we use it ALL the time. Several times/day. Water proof mattress covers. covers, with an 's'. Because you want two of them. Make the crib twice: cover, sheet, cover, sheet. That way when the inevitable 2am blowout happens, you strip down the first two layers quick and go back to sleep. We changed and replaced too many sheets with #1 before we learned this one. A baby carrier. Ayayay. We've had like 4 of these things. Bjorn (meh); Baby Onya (used a lot but was never very comfortable for either of us); one other I can't remember, and now a Lille Baby which we both like and find very comfortable. Wife also got a Ribozo from our doula. It's a 15' long wrap. It works well for wife and #2 looks so cozy in it. Generally she uses that and I use the Lille but she sometimes uses the Lille. I haven't tried the Ribozo yet but don't think I will. Bottles. Holy crap there are so many. With #1 we ended up liking Tommee Tippee the best but #2 had trouble with them. We went to Dr. Brown's for him. They're expensive but seem to really help cutting down the sucked air. (getting him off formula really helped get rid of his fussiness too). If breastfeeding, this isn't really a concern A bottle warmer. In both our condo and here in our house, we leave a bottle warmer near the bed. At night we put a cooler with bottles next to the bed and warm them as needed throughout the night. It's basically a small hot plate that you add water to and it boils/steams the bottles. Works alright. Big swaddles. Not these stupid like 18-24"x 30" buggers that are everywhere. We got some this time around that are like 36x36" and they work way better. Baby Care You're going to want some things on hand so that you don't have to go get them at the 24hour CVS at 2am. I've done this. On multiple occasions (once from a hotel room in an hour or so south of Sacramento because we didn't bring things with us; it sucked) Tylenol. Children's tylenol has the same concentration as baby tylenol but is generally (no exaggeration) less total cost for twice the volume. Often the difference is the cap--baby tylenol has a cap that receives a syringe, children's often doesn't. So decant into the lid or a dosage cup and draw it with the syringe. "But children's tylenol doesn't come with a syringe?!" Go to the pharmacy window and ask for a liquid medicine dosing syringe. They have them for free. The thing to make sure is that the tylenol is 160mg/5ml. Ibuprofen. Kids can't have this until 6 months. At which point, get some and keep it on hand so you can cycle Tylenol/IB as needed. Baby gas drops. The drug is Simethicone. Get a couple bottles and keep on hand. Gripe water. It is natural gas remedy and supposed to help sooth the tummy. It's like fennel or some other herbacious shit. thermometer. We've got rectal, oral, and one that goes into ear. The first two have gotten lots of use. The aural, not much; wiggly kids are tough. Don't confuse which one goes in what hole. We recently bought an otoscope so we can see if it's worthwhile to head to the Ped/urgent care for ear problems. I think it was like $40 on Amazon; comparing that to copays, it seemed reasonable. Lanolin. For diaper rash (also chapped nipples). There are other options for diaper rash too. Lanolin seemed to do the best job with the least disgustingness. Coconut oil is nice for general use as well but not great for severe rash. Baking soda. This isn't a carry with everywhere thing, it's more for dealing with diaper rash at home. But a good amount into a bath really seems to soothe skin. I just dump a bunch in. If you get it from somewhere other than the grocery store it's super cheap. Q-tips for boogers and ear wax Put your pediatrician's number into both your phones under something like "PEDIATRICIAN" so it's easy to find. to couple with above, most places (especially down there) or insurance providers have an "advice nurse" who is a great, free resource to call with questions. It's kind of like triage in that they can help you decide if the kid needs to be seen by medical providers. Put this number into your phone too. Baby at home Sleep when the baby sleeps Read about sleep training and decide what you're going to do. It doesn't have to be concrete, but it helps to have a plan and start early. Co sleeping is done around the world but largely frowned on in America. New research is suggesting maybe America rethink that (saw that headline yesterday, I think). Do what's right for you. Generally, our babies slept better with us when young but we slept like shit with them in bed. We normally only brought them to bed when they needed comfort. Happiest Baby on the Block is a book or video or something that gets rave reviews. We watched the dude who created it in a KP class on infant care. Swaddling and "shhh-ing" really calm an angry baby. Youtube some swaddling techniques. There's kind of a standard version and a "frog" version. I only did the frog version with #1 a little bit near the end of his swaddling but it worked well. I use the standard (draw a straight edge of cloth--I use stretchy blanket, often--across the baby, right shoulder to left hip; draw the excess from below them up tight to the left shoulder; draw the remainder tight from left shoulder to right shoulder. Bam. Swaddled and happy White noise machines are recommended frequently to help kids sleep. We play little musics when he's in his chair or swing and have one of these for the crib but #2 doesn't seem to be into it whereas #1 would zone out on it and pass out. Reflux is a common issue with baby because they're lower esophogeal valve doesn't work like ours. It's also the reason they vomit when burping, I think. A folded tower underneath the own end of the crib mattress can really help to ease some fussiness if this is an issue. Gas pain is really common especially with bottle fed and formula babies and with all babies until the gut develops more (4+ months, I think). laying them on their back and "bicycling" their legs can be helpful, so can pushing but legs up to a squatty position when they are on the back. Once they're a bit older and can hold head up, laying them across the lap with hips hanging off one side and head off the other can be beneficial as well. People will want to touch your baby the same way they want to touch your dog--without asking. Think about how you want to handle this. the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends basically 0 screen time until 2 years. If the kid won't stop screaming and you've done everything and are losing your shit, put it down in it's crib and take a breather. It is safe in it's crib and you'll feel both a million times better and like an asshole for having been frustrated. Learn Infant, Child, and pregnant woman heimlich and CPR if you don't know it already Lock the poisons away now. Schedule time to give your partner a break and do the same for yourself. This is "me" time. A walk around the neighborhood, watching the ocean, circus time, a cup of coffee, walking through the shops downtown. Whatever. Just make plans to send one another away alone. You don't realize how much you worry about the kids until you're not with them. You'll hear a baby while out and go into high alarm then realize, "oh, that's not mine." Find a good baby sitter and plan dates. Between date expenses and the sitter it's fucking expensive. It's worth it. Read to your kid every night. We haven't started with #2 consistently yet but will soon. #1 gets his books every night. It's a wonderful time to expand their vocabulary, teach them, and also cuddle, bond, and relax. I think more than anything, trust yourselves and your instincts. All manner of things are said to make your life and baby easier, happier, healthier, smarter, etc. Most are just to make money for other people. submitted by /u/zataks to r/daddit [link] [comments]

I've been cloth diapering my daughter in Bum Genius 4.0's since she was about 1 month old. I have about 25 diapers. When I did the research (a lot of lurking here) when I was pregnant, I found the information totally overwhelming and went with the BumGenius on a friend's recommendation and reviews on google. They seemed the easiest to use. Unfortunately, I guess I read the wrong websites and was drying my diapers in the dryer all this time. To be honest, we don't really have an alternative as we live in a tiny one bedroom with no outdoor area to dry the diapers. The few times I tried to hang them to dry in here, they stayed wet for days, so not sure what I could have really done differently there. A few months ago, we started having pretty frequent leaks. I tested all the diapers for leaks and it turns out basically all of them have big patches where the PUL has worn out. I ordered some thirsties hemp inserts thinking that if we doubled up and changed more frequently it would prevent the leaks, but it really hasn't helped. Today I changed her diaper right before her nap and she had soaked through her clothes when I went to get her up. I'm also frustrated that it's very difficult to get clothes to fit her with the BumGenius diapers. They make her butt so big, I can barely squeeze her into pants, even up to 18 months (and then the legs are super long). This is especially true with the hemp inserts. I think they also might be throwing her balance off as she begins to stand unassisted and walk. I guess, I'm wondering if you have recommendations to start over or if it's just easier to make the switch to disposables at this point. I really hate disposables. I hate the way the smell, I hate the way they make the apartment smell, I feel like they cause her to get red. I just am not sure what to do. If we went with another type of diaper, are we just going to run into the same PUL problem with all diaper covers? Cost is a major consideration for us. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you! submitted by /u/nannytroubles to r/clothdiaps [link] [comments]

Greetings! We have recently launched our custom cloth pocket diapers on amazon.com and would love to host a small give away to help get our name out there. Here is our amazon link where you can check out our products: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CXQ3S70 And our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bearfootbaby/ If you'd like to participate just leave a comment and we will choose five people at random and send them a coupon code for 100% off of their purchase! All we ask in return is that you leave an honest and unbiased review of our diapers on amazon after receiving your package. Thanks for reading, and good luck! Edit: We can only ship to USA, Canada, and Mexico. THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!!! This post received more attention than we expected so we've decided to give away ten codes instead of five! Here are the winners: 1 zephyroats15 2 luckygoose123 3 itsmeeloise87 4 kisskase 5 sleeppants 6 Potato_Quesodilla 7 sunshineraindrop 8 OdysseyEclipse 9 sarabara82 10 Runnermommy Winners, check your inboxes for more details! Thanks everyone! submitted by /u/BearFootBaby to r/clothdiaps [link] [comments]