u/Kat_the_Hylian

Has anyone here tried Naked Whey protein? It's the cleanest I can find, and I've been dying to get protein powder with real cane sugar instead of stevia (I pretended to like it for so long but I just can't do it anymore). It also has no lecithin in it which is what I've been looking for as well. Does it taste any good? I'll be honest I have a bit of a sweet tooth and I'm hoping that with the small amount of sugar it has that it won't taste too bitter lol. It's hard to find good protein powders that also actually taste good and don't taste like chalk.

I'm hoping I'm coming to the right place, because I feel like you all can understand where I'm coming from, and would much rather NOT go to any generic sub that will tell me to just get over my fear and refusal to see an OBGYN for anything, even for pregnancy etc. Hope I can talk about pregnancy and birth here.
Long post, sorry!

31F and my husband and I have been wanting to start a family soon. Still never been to a gyno and have never had a pap, and everything in my reproductive area is fine and normal. I take very good care of my overall health in general, eat clean, and exercise regularly (I don't over-exercise either).

I am certain I have hypermobility (I don't think it's to the point of EDS though), and that is the one and only thing I fear that might make my pregnancies and births a bit difficult. My skin and joints are already very loose and stretchy and I know pregnancy makes those even more so. It can also make connective tissues and functions within the reproductive system very loose. Apparently we are at higher risk of placenta previa among other horrendous things such as incompetent cervix, where the cervix dilates much too soon in the pregnancy which can cause miscarriages.

I've done a lot of reading and have both learned and unlearned many of the fears I used to have about pregnancy and birth. After I finally decided "hey, I actually want to do this. Pregnancy and especially birth sounds amazing now that I've gotten over the fearmongering and the way Hollywood portrays birth as terrifying and traumatizing. It really can be a transcendent experience," I then began to learn more about my hypermobility and suddenly I'm a little concerned again. I want ANYTHING but to have a c-section and be poked and prodded because of total placental coverage or anything else.

I mean, my mom and all my sisters who have had kids never had any major issues with their pregnancies and their births, so I'm hoping genetics are a positive factor here and it'll turn out that I won't have major issues with anything. None of us are stiff individuals and we all have pretty good joint mobility, and again, none of my sisters had any *major* issues with their pregnancies and births. But I still can't help but worry slightly.

I'm wondering and hoping that the fact that I do weightbearing exercises and also do ballet (which has been the biggest help in keeping my loose joints relatively strong) might help reduce those risks that I worry about like placenta previa and incompetent cervix etc. I've been pretty athletic my entire life, and I'm also very thin and frail. No I don't have an ED, I've just always been really thin. I wonder if being physically active has had any positive effect on my reproductive system. Apparently, weak pelvic floor muscles are common among those with hypermobility but fortunately I have never had that problem.

I'm coming here for this because I DO NOT want to get poked and prodded among all the other horrible stuff, because I know you all would understand where I'm coming from. I know I would actually *need* a c-section if I end up with total placental coverage because that's one of the few situations where a c-section is actually life saving and necessary. Most of them are not needed.

I am however, aware that placenta previa is often over-diagnosed which leads to further unnecessary intervention, because a lot of times it resolves on its own. I've also heard of the risks that come with ultrasounds, such as harm to the baby and, again, over-diagnosing and fearmongering. I especially don't want to do that shitty transvaginal ultrasound because obviously that one goes inside you and I ain't having that. But unfortunately that's supposedly the only way they can tell if you have an incompetent cervix and/or placenta previa.

I've been so excited and looking forward to pregnancy and the birth process (I know not a lot can say that lol but again, lots of reading and learning and unlearning eased all my fears and opened my eyes to how broken the medical system is and how much they sabotage the natural birth process), but those risks are the *only* thing I still worry about due to my hypermobility.

I HATE the medical system, I hate doctors and nurses, all of it. I have not been to a doctor in years because I'm always afraid that no matter what I come in for, they'll just focus on my vagina instead. There is a birthing center in town I have looked into instead of a hospital (I want at least my 2nd birth to be homebirth), so I'm hoping that will be the better option. I know you can decline any prenatal exams and tests. But of course I'm afraid I'm going to be told by anyone else to just do all the tests "just in case." The ONE thing that has me confident enough that I won't have those risks is because I've been physically active my whole life, but I know that doesn't always guarantee it. I'd love to hear some of your guys' input. Thanks for sticking around for this.

I'm wondering if once a bald cap has already been applied once and it's trimmed and colored and everything, can it be applied again or is it a one and done deal? I'm also wondering if I should just order 1 bald cap and it'll be fine or if I should get two so I have one to practice with and the other one to wear for my cosplay.

So we had our lawn guys come by and spray some pest control stuff on our lawn, then I noticed he went into my garden to do the same. At first I thought "oh cool that was nice of him, he didn't need to do that." But then I remembered almost all my plants attract TONS of bees and other pollinators. Will that kill them? I didn't think of it until after the fact and now I'm worried about my bees :(