First-time mum here, due in a few weeks. I’m curious if the topponcino is something you used every day or more of an occasional use.
Also, what item or practice would you recommend for newborn stage? Thanks!
My partner and I have been in Australia for almost 10 years. Almost 18months ago we applied for 186, coming from a sponsor 482 visa - we are still waiting, no case officer assigned yet and we are about to have a baby. This means I’m not eligible for Paid Parental Leave from the Gov as Services Australia told we than a) visa must be granted before baby is born b) there’s a waiting period of 104weeks.
This is incredibly stressful, we have been here for so long, working, paying taxes for nearly a decade and still missing out because of visa processing times.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? We have a migration agent but to me they are useless - is there anything I’m missing out? Or anything I can do to find out more about my visa application or gov support I may be eligible for?
Thanks
My partner and I have been in Australia for almost 10 years. Almost 18months ago we applied for 186, coming from a sponsor 482 visa - we are still waiting, no case officer assigned yet and we are about to have a baby. This means I’m not eligible for Paid Parental Leave from the Gov as Services Australia told we than a) visa must be granted before baby is born b) there’s a waiting period of 104weeks.
This is incredibly stressful, we have been here for so long, working, paying taxes for nearly a decade and still missing out because of visa processing times.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? We have a migration agent but to me they are useless - is there anything I’m missing out? Or anything I can do to find out more about my visa application or gov support I may be eligible for?
Thanks
I’m 34w and sleep is becoming challenging, I keep waking up and in the morning I am exhausted- most of my days are at the desk working at my laptop and I’m noticing that my eyes feel blurry and I’m struggling to focus - since yesterday I also feel this “I’m about to pass out” feeling and I have low blood pressure. No headache or other symptoms but is making me anxious because I’m alone most of the time.
Has anyone else experienced this? What do you do to feel better?
I'm 33w and starting to think about hand expressing before birth but freaks me out a bit
My boobs have changed so much - I have very visible veins and feel so different from before. Haven’t seen a lactation yet and I’m a bit nervous
For other’s experience does it help with spontaneous labor and milk production? I’m also looking at it as a peace of mind in case I can’t breastfeed right away I have some colostrum as a back up - not sure, keen to learn from the community experience TY
A few days ago I made my first Reddit post asking this community about induction, epidurals, and planned C-sections.
unfortunately I had to delete the account and create a new one, which means I lost the ability to reply to everyone individually.
So first of all: thank you. 🙏
Many of you took the time to share deeply personal experiences with a complete stranger. Some stories were beautiful, some were difficult, some were traumatic, some were empowering, and many were a mix of all of the above.
It takes courage to be vulnerable, and I genuinely appreciate every single person who commented.
📖 For anyone who finds this thread in the future, here's my unofficial TL;DR:
✨ There was no clear winner between spontaneous labour, induction, or planned C-section.
✨ The exact same intervention could be described as someone's best birth experience and someone else's worst.
✨ People who had experienced multiple types of birth often had the most balanced and nuanced perspectives.
✨ Almost everyone agreed that birth rarely goes exactly according to plan.
✨ The most common advice wasn't "choose X" or "don't choose Y."
It was:
stay informed, stay flexible, and make decisions with the information you have at the time.
One thing surprised me more than anything else:
💭 Almost nobody talked about pain.
Going into the post, I thought the conversation would revolve around how painful labour is, how painful induction is, or how painful recovery is.
Instead, people kept talking about things like:
As someone who's pregnant and constantly hearing scary stories about labour pain, that was a really interesting takeaway.
📚 Bonus: I also came away with a growing reading/listening list from all your recommendations. The same resources kept coming up over and over again:
Thank you again for making my first Reddit post such a thoughtful and supportive experience.
❓One final question here:
What's one thing about labour, delivery, or the first 24 hours postpartum that nobody prepared you for?