Being a first-time parent to a newborn baby is no easy task, and navigating the world of sleepless nights and caring around the clock for your little one can be exhausting.
And for one mum on Reddit, the stresses of motherhood have been made worse by the neighbour who lives in the flat next to hers, who constantly complains about the noise of her baby boy's crying.
Sharing her story anonymously, the woman explained she gave birth to her son just seven weeks ago, and he's been having a tough time because of "multiple allergens", so cries a lot because he's often "in pain".
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While one of her neighbours has children of her own and is "super supportive", the woman living in the flat next to hers isn't so kind - and has even threatened to lodge noise complaints with the police.
The mum, from the UK, said: "I had my son seven weeks ago. He's really sick due to multiple allergens, and we're still trying to figure out some of them. The majority of my time is spent trying to soothe him while he's in pain. So, basically, he cries. A lot.
"We live in an apartment complex, and so our neighbours hear him a lot. It's a given - cheap apartment, paper-thin walls.
"On one side I have a single mother with three kids. She's understanding and super supportive, often offers to babysit so I can sleep.
"On the other side, I have a young woman who is much less understanding. Every day she will bang on the door to complain, and she's even called the police twice before they had a chat with her. She insinuated she would call social services over it, although not sure if she ever did."
The mum insisted she's tried talking to her neighbour about why her son cries so much, and while she understands that it's "disruptive", there's nothing she can do to make it stop.
But after the woman's actions escalated and she started "banging on the walls", the mum took matters into her own hands - and gifted her a pair of earplugs to get her to "stop bullying" her.
She added: "I've tried to explain that babies cry, and even divulged his medical issues a bit. I get where she's coming from - he screams all day and all night. It's disruptive. But I can't make him stop, so there's really no use giving me s**t over it.
"Anyway, she's been getting persistent recently - blaring music when he's sleeping (which I think is counterproductive?) and banging on the walls and things.
"Three days ago I bought earplugs, knocked on her door and gave them to her, with the comment of, 'Use these and stop bullying a sick child and his struggling mother.'
"She was shocked, I walked back into my apartment."
The mum has since heard "minimal banging" from her neighbour, but "feels really guilty" about the way she handled things.
Commenters on the Reddit post were split though, as most people could see how the situation would negatively impact both sides of the argument.
One said: "Man I feel you, it's a baby - but the neighbour has a point too. It's not her baby, her sleep is constantly getting interrupted and she must be sleep-deprived."
As another added: "New mum here. I get that you can’t control your baby. You can’t always get them to stop crying. I get it. But I also get how annoying it is to have to listen to a baby that you didn’t sign up for."
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