u/cantbelieveit2026

FTM 8 weeks in and work is fucking brutal for me right now—full-on all-nighters, high stress every day, etc., and I feel like I’m barely treading water and have no time to process all the big changes. Every doctor’s appt feels like time I can’t spare.

Need some solidarity from other people with a lot on their plate right now, whether you’re a corporate girlie, blue collar, SAHM, caregiver… what do you have on your plate? How are you coping?

Stay strong ladies!

I’m in my first trimester with my first. I’ve learned through research that there is basically nothing to prevent stretch marks, and it is strongly genetic. My mother had profound stretch marks, skin laxity, crepey skin, cellulite, etc. after pregnancy, and I’m now terrified of the same.

Can anyone share some success stories of having such issues and being able to fix them postpartum with surgical or non-surgical treatments, and what you did?

(I know in an ideal world I would be more sanguine about this and not care about my stomach skin and appearance. That is not where I’m at right now. So—respectfully—I’m not interested in those takes at the moment, or being told I’ll come to feel that way once baby is here.)

Was diagnosed with a large SCH at 6 weeks and a few days, after consistent spotting since becoming pregnant and then one day of heavy bleeding/clots.

Doctor recommended exercise restrictions (no heavy lifting/vigorous cardio) until bleeding resolves, but then made it sound—though was a little squishy about this!—like heavy lifting would have no effect on miscarriage risk and was just to reduce the mental stress to me of the possibility of more bleeding.

I don’t really care about the mental stress of bleeding—for me, the mental stress of exercise restriction will be just as high if not higher—but I of course do care about miscarriage risk.

Anyone else been in a similar situation? What did your doctor recommend? What do you make of the seemingly very limited data about SCH and exercise restriction?

I am BARELY pregnant—only 6 weeks, meaning (for those unfamiliar w pregnancy dating) it’s only been about 3 weeks since implantation. Already I have gone from a 28” underbust and 31” bust to 28” and 35”. In three weeks.

I don’t remotely fit a single non-sports bra I own, but I also don’t want to buy all new expensive bras given that for all I know, in another three weeks I’ll be another size. The suggestions I’ve gotten from pregnancy subs are sports bras, nursing bras, or other soft bras that can accommodate changing sizes. But those don’t suit my lifestyle and/or don’t provide the support/shape I’m looking for.

Any suggestions for supportive-enough bras that are a good value/wont break the bank? They don’t have to last forever! Just have to be good for now. How have other people dealt with this?

Alrighty, I’m not even 6 weeks and already I’m busting out of my bras. I don’t want to buy all new bras at $50+ dollars a pop when they might only last me a few months tops, but I also know that’s what a good bra usually costs (at least if you have a larger chest).

Where are we shopping for our temporary bra collection?

FTM (hopefully) and my appointment is not until mid-August and I haven’t had any labs/blood draws yet. It feels very surreal and anxious just sitting around waiting without having seen a doctor. When’s your first appointment?

I found out recently I’m pregnant, and i couldn’t be more excited. Everything is good: I have a very supportive partner, I want to be a parent, and the timing is good.

BUT—in spite of all the reasons to be really excited—I feel very alienated by pregnancy and baby culture, for lack of a better word. I don’t look at babies and ooh and aah. The thought of comparison shopping a million baby purchases with a short useful life seems very tedious to me. I find all the mom influencer content kind of banal. I started a pregnancy book the other day, and got about 15 pages in before dumping it.

I’m feeling guilty that I don’t have this urge to do all these things that people seem to find so much anticipatory joy in! Just wondering if there are folks out there farther along who felt this way.