A mom says new parents are raising "high maintenance babies" by splashing out on baby toys and exclusively breastfeeding - and insists "anyone can have a low maintenance baby" if they "let go of mom guilt."

Self-confessed "chill mom" Aubrey Matthesius, 27, believes tots end up high maintenance - meaning they demand a lot of attention - due to parents over-complicated routines, schedules and being "overly anxious" and about their children."

She insists it's possible for anyone to raise a "low maintenance" baby instead - by not over-spending on baby toys, not constantly holding the baby to prevent unhealthy attachment issues and simplifying nighttime routines."

Aubrey encourages parents to choose the "old fashioned" way of raising their children adopted by older generations - by ditching co-sleeping and 'mom guilt'."

Mom-of-one Aubrey began sleep training her son, Joel, at four months old to make sure he could doze off independently and says it's "not a bad thing". "

She says her little boy is "extremely chilled" because she ditched bottle warmers and wipe warmers, stripped back her "mom guilt" didn't over complicate things and simplified her routine."

Aubrey, a content creator and stay-at-home mom, from Phoenix, Arizona, US, said: "I've watched on TikTok for many years moms with attachment style parenting. "

"They just look so anxious and exhausted, and everything is a big deal. "

"I was looking at this and thinking 'I don't know if I want to have babies if this is what it takes'."

"I was talking to the older ladies in my life about how they raised babies. "

"They said we didn't overcomplicate; we just did it the old-fashioned way. "

"I thought 'that's what I want to be'."

"I called myself the low maintenance mom because that's how it should be if you want a chill motherhood journey."

"It doesn't have to be life and death and super stressful or overwhelming."

"You don't have to be a slave to motherhood."

After giving birth to son Joel in December 2023, Aubrey put into practice all she had learned from the older women in her life - including her mother-in-law, Leanne, 50, and women in the church.

Sleep training her son from four months, Aubrey began "simplifying" her day-to-day life to help avoid stress. "

"A lot of the philosophy is if you do things the night before like cleaning the playroom when the baby goes to bed," she said. "

"Pack the car the night before. "

"There's so many steps that have to happen to leave the house with a baby. "

"High maintenance is getting up in the morning stressed. "

"I wake up and I'm ready to go. "

"Low maintenance does not mean low standards."

"I simplify the nighttime routine and don't always do the same thing."

"Have a baby and go with the flow - they'll adjust."

"The high-maintenance moms are controlling and the babies become so attached to the mom."

"No one can watch the baby for them if they exclusively breast-feed. "

"If you introduce the bottle, someone can feed the baby, and you can leave the home."

"Things like that that make picky babies."

Sharing her top tips for mom's online, Aubrey firmly advises against co-sleeping.

She said: "Just don't mess with it. "

"Once they get in your bed they won't get out. "

"You also don't need everything the baby market is marketing to you like a bottle warmer or wipe warmers. "

"Let go of mom guilt. "

"Mom guilt can control you and keep you from thinking sanely. "

"Sleep training is not a bad thing, it's got a bad name over the years and studies have come out showing it's not damaging. "

"I can prove it. "

"My kid is loving life and loves me. "

"Finally, listen to the older women in your life. "

"They did it they old fashioned way, they know what they're talking about."

After scrolling on social media following her birth, Aubrey was shocked watching other moms' routines.

She said: "I would see these girls with bedtime routines that were two hours long and I was like 'I can't do this'."

"The older women in my life said 'sweetheart let go of the whole social media thing and listen to me - put them in the bathtub and put them to bed'."

"There's mom guilt on social media put on so many women and it's like you're a bad mom if you don't co-sleep or put your baby in your room for so many months. "

"It's literally a culture of breastmilk and sourdough. "

"Just do what is best for your baby."

Aubrey also credits husband, Ashley, 28, a pastor, for helping her leave Joel for the first time.

"Because I had a strong husband, he pushed me out of the mom guilt phase," she said. "

"In the postpartum phase I was a mess, I didn't want to leave my baby. "

"He called a babysitter when I didn't know and said 'you're going on a date with me tonight and you're leaving the baby behind'. "

"When we submitted to a low maintenance lifestyle we thrived."

Aubrey has received a mixed response to her parenting style online.

She said: "It's funny, the girls that are Gen Z and my age are really excited about this. "

"I'd say the millennials say 'what is wrong with you?' and 'you're the worst', 'you're a terrible mom you need to co-sleep with your baby'."

"Those girls that are encouraged by this and realise can be a low maintenance mom if they want to, that's all that matters to me. "

"I've had hundreds and hundreds of girls in my DMs saying 'I was pregnant and didn't think I could do this, I was so scared, thank you for showing me another way'."

AUBREY'S TOP TIPS FOR RAISING LOW MAINTENANCE BABIES:
No co-sleeping
Don't buy everything on the baby market
Let go of mom guilt
Start sleep training your baby
Listen and take advice from older women in your life