u/pinkkzebraa

I’m returning from maternity leave in February, my baby will be over 1. I know my long maternity leave is a luxury and a privilege. I emailed my manager about applying for an FWA to a) transition back to work under my contracted hours to ease the transition for myself, baby, and my partner and b) to manage work with childcare needs. She basically said “you’re welcome to apply but you still have to be available 24/7” which, doesn’t make sense to me? Because it isn’t very different to not having an FWA. I had colleagues at work on set shifts or set nights/days for childcare reasons, but maybe something has changed? Can someone help me understand what my rights are? I know she has to balance the needs of other staff, totally get it, and I am not intending to demand to only work x,y,z shift, but I need some kind of accomodation so we can assure my partner knows what days to change to at their work. I was also going to ask for day shift only at least for a while, because my baby cosleeps and bf o/n and will not sleep without me. Is this reasonable?

What am I entitled to? Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!

I did something to the left side of my neck/shoulder, honestly probably just from picking up my 12kg baby 🥲. It feels like a pinched nerve maybe from some muscle spasm or tension, I feel the pain running along the left side of my neck down to my shoulders, and my neck is really stiff.
I’ve tried Panadol and (prescription) oxycodone but it’s not helping. I’ve tried heat to no relief. And I can’t take NSAIDs. The only thing that’s kind of helped was lying on my side with my left side up and my spouse pulling down my left arm to kind of provide gentle traction. But the pain returns as soon as they stop. And they are at work right now. They’ve also tried massaging some spots in my shoulder for me (we stay away from my neck because cervical hypermobility is a bit too scary for me) but it only helped temporarily. Anyone have any stretches or anything else they’ve used to help pain like this? I’m on day two of it and yesterday it ended up giving me a really bad migraine.

I’m not planning to go to the doctor unless I get any concerning nerve symptoms, but I will see my physio and/or remedial massage therapist if it doesn’t go away in a few days. Just desperate for relief now!

I have hEDS (diagnosed) and probably POTS (not officially diagnosed but I do meet the criteria). I take my baby to a 30 minute swimming class once a week. It’s a 32 C pool so it’s warm but not hot. Im in Australia so the temperature outside is nice right now, around 20-24C. I’m not swimming, I’m just kind of moving through the water supporting her to “swim”. I am absolutely flat out, non-functional exhausted to the point I’m falling asleep on the couch afterward every time. It’s horrible because I have to keep on parenting anyway.

I thought it could be triggering my POTS, maybe? But I’m drinking plenty of fluids before and after. I regularly work out doing HIIT and strength training (I have worked up to this, I avoid the postural exercises/heavily modify a lot of stuff, and my gym is kept very frosty) and it doesn’t have the same effect on me. If anything, it can be energising.

Anyone have the same happen to them and have any insight?

I have hEDS (diagnosed) and probably POTS (not officially diagnosed but I do meet the criteria). I take my baby to a 30 minute swimming class once a week. It’s a 32 F pool so it’s warm but not hot. I’m not swimming, I’m just kind of moving through the water supporting her to “swim”. I am absolutely flat out, non-functional exhausted to the point I’m falling asleep on the couch afterward every time. It’s horrible because I have to keep on parenting anyway.

I thought it could be triggering my POTS, maybe? But I’m drinking plenty of water before and after. I regularly work out doing HIIT and strength training (I have worked up to this, I avoid the postural exercises/heavily modify a lot of stuff, and my gym is kept very frosty) and it doesn’t have the same effect on me. If anything, it can be energising.

Anyone have the same happen to them and have any insight?

I have hEDS (diagnosed) and probably POTS (not officially diagnosed but I do meet the criteria). I take my baby to a 30 minute swimming class once a week. It’s a 32 F pool so it’s warm but not hot. I’m not swimming, I’m just kind of moving through the water supporting her to “swim”. I am absolutely flat out, non-functional exhausted to the point I’m falling asleep on the couch afterward every time. It’s horrible because I have to keep on parenting anyway.

I thought it could be a POTS thing maybe? But I’m drinking plenty of water before and after. I regularly work out doing HIIT and strength training (I have worked up to this, I avoid the postural exercises/heavily modify a lot of stuff, and my gym is kept very frosty) and it doesn’t have the same effect on me. If anything, it can be energising.

Anyone have the same happen to them and have any insight?

I’ve just started going to the gym for group classes, I have a one year old. I’m hypermobile with shitty knees (both have been broken) and just have become really unfit in the last few years and I guess having a baby gave me the shake up I need. I’m focused on getting stronger and increasing my cardiovascular health - I don’t have any weight loss goals and I’m not interested in maximising this.

That being said, I attend group fitness classes at the gym 2x/week - one is strength training and the other is HIIT. I would love to go more but unfortunately my mom obligations make that impossible for the moment. What can I do at home with minimal/no equipment to keep training? Things that are low impact on the knees, maybe some HIIT style workouts and general strength training workouts? Ideally I’d like to add 1-2 more days a week where I’m really focusing on cardio and strength even without going to the gym.
I already walk every day and do some general movement stuff like sun salutations and stretching. I have some resistance bands but no weights - I wondered if I could get creative with some stuff around the house 😅. Keen to hear any ideas anyone may have! Thanks in advance :)

My spouse has gotten crumbs from the NDIS on their plan review - not surprising but supremely disappointing after sinking so much time into FCAs and all the other paperwork. They have level II autism (and fibromyalgia but their rheumatologist was not willing to support them with documentation for this, so they don’t get any funding for it).
Their counsellor, who used to be a social worker, has said that their plan review was supposed to be a lot more collaborative and that they should have been eligible for a lot more support than they received. We don’t know enough about the system to advocate, and it’s also just exhausting! Is there an NDIS advocate or something they can access to help them advocate for more support? We are in Brisbane. They have an LAC but they have not functioned as an advocate. They don’t have funding for a support coordinator.

Me and my spouse are both disabled. We have a 10 month old baby. I have a connective tissue disorder that creates a lot of widespread issues, but is very dynamic. It makes it easy for me to injure myself and I have injured myself especially a lot lately. I also have chronic migraines that are pretty intractable. My worst day is being unable to move from the couch/bed or participate in parenting. My best day is doing 50/50 or better on domestic tasks with spouse, having energy to be romantic and social, etc. I have been having a lot more worst days recently, it’s just the season. My spouse is also disabled with fibromyalgia. I hate to play the game of “who’s more disabled” because I think it’s super unproductive, but my spouse is constantly telling me they HAVE to push through and not get their needs met because I’m “more disabled”It’s hard to argue sometimes, but it doesn’t feel good to accept their stance. They feel like our co-parenting is super unequal because I’m so disabled, and feel really hopeless about it. They don’t blame me for being disabled, they just wish things were different. I do, too. I don’t know how I can make them feel like we are team, which is what we both want to feel, without changing the facts that I often do need a lot of support. I also feel like they just push a lot more than I do, and are constantly suffering because they don’t ask for help. This is our constant source of conflict. We have the same conversations over and over. I want them to tell me what they need, but they don’t feel like they can rely on me for support, especially when I’m on a “worst” day. They are generally hopeless and I am generally hopeful re: our perspectives on our disabilities. I’m feeling really broken up about it to be honest. Anyone relate or have any advice?