... so if I get a c-section (and my tubes removed while they're in the area), I'm gonna make him stand on the surgery side of the curtain and see all my insides on the outside. If he's too squeamish to get minor surgery on himself, I'm gonna make him watch up-close as I get major surgery.
Too squeamish my cetacean-esque behind.
I have a yellow lab that is just under 15 years old. He was originally my husbands. We had him go through surgery for larpar if you are familiar to save his life in I believe Feb of this year. It impacted his breathing and we were able to fix this breathing. Our dog is extremely important to my husband (and me as well, but I stick in there more for my husband).
The surgery did not fix his mobility issues and we haven’t tried the monthly shots that are an option- but we have tried like 6 combos of pain pills. He’s unable to get up by himself at all. We have a help um up harness that we lift him with whenever he needs to get up. My issue with trying the monthly shots that should help with mobility is that historically I do all the pet care and I could not handle getting him into my car to take him to the vet once per month while this pregnant and while he can hardly go up our dog ramp or get up by himself.
To add- we have a very small home. Our dog is not physically capable of taking a walk anymore so we help him up from our dining room carpet to out back and then back in the house and that’s his routine. He doesn’t seem distressed or unhappy (he seems happy enough).
Our dining room carpet is pretty much covered in dog poop because he’s completely fecally incontinent and he probably poops on this rug where he is lying 3 times to 4 times per day. He can’t control holding it at all and can’t plan to go outside even though we take him out a lot.
I don’t know that I can morally push for putting down a dog that my husband loves and seems happy outside for the mobility and bathroom issues. But I also practically cannot figure out how this situation will continue after I give birth. Additionally- I am trying so hard to get our house ready for our baby and having our dog poop all day on the rug where our kitchen table is- which is the same room as our living room- is really causing me to struggle.
Typically if we are not in the same room as him he will bark all day. I feel like it’s sad to imagine moving him to a side room permanently but that’s an option I’m considering.
My husband has considered putting him down but I don’t feel confident that life is moving that way and need to prepare some options.
Would love to hear your feedback on how to make this manageable especially as my gross factor increases (which I think is due to hormones/the baby coming- but I also know this situation is gross in general).
Any tips to lose a little weight in a healthy way? My obgyn flagged I’ve gained a lot and doesn’t want me to gain 50lbs by the end. Is weight loss possible? I don’t want to eat less, I want to eat healthier but is it possible to lower it by now? I’m very stressed and upset about it, most people have gained way less than me.
Looking for guidance on where to start with big picture info like trusted, basic books, general broad strokes kind of resources. Not currently pregnant, but want to start trying this year.
For some context, me (30) and my husband (33) have somewhat recently (over the last year or so) decided we want to start a family after previously thinking we didn’t want to. For me this has a lot to do with cutting ties and healing from being raised by a narcissistic mom who really groomed me to not want children of my own. So I definitely have some big feelings about this and it still feels like a sort of scary/new revelation.
Besides not having a relationship with my mom, I also did not grow up around babies. I have very little extended family, not many friends with kids etc. so I feel like there is soo much basic “common sense” knowledge for most people that I don’t know the first thing about. I feel like I’m starting from scratch and don’t know where to begin in a way that will be helpful and empowering and not completely overwhelming.
😖
A little over 37 weeks and I want my boy here!!! I’m eager and impatient so I’m wondering if any of you had very frequent sex last few weeks of pregnancy which may or may not have resulted in an early labor? Please let me know, I do know it might be a myth but this is my first pregnancy and more sex never hurt anyone 😂
hg has left me couch/bed bound for the past 3 months. ive gained so much weight and now can only fit into large t shirts and extra stretchy cotton pants. where have you bought cute, affordable, and most importantly, comfy maternity clothes?
my style oscillates between androgynous leisurewear and feminine, cottony dresses and skirts.
ill also need to buy new office clothes. currently wfh thanks to pregnancy accommodations but ill have to return to hybrid work in a month (hopefully will feel better by then).
thank you for any help!
(im in california fwiw)
I spent my whole pregnancy reading books, taking classes, and thinking I was prepared. Then I had my baby and realized there was SO much nobody told me. Not to scare anyone — just to make sure you have the info I didn't.
I'm putting together some notes for a friend who's due in a few months, and I want to give her the real scoop — not the breezy "rest when the baby rests" stuff.
What's ONE thing you wish someone had told you about the early postpartum period?
For me, it was the night sweats. I woke up drenched every night for two weeks and genuinely thought something was wrong. Nobody told me my body was just shedding pregnancy fluid!
Also: the hair loss at 4 months. Clumps. Everywhere.
Let's hear yours — I want to make sure she goes in with eyes wide open.
Specifically with the spouse/partner. I’m 10w2d. My emotions are on 11. We aren’t arguing non stop, not even everyday. But when he critiques me or calls me out, I get a visceral rage. I was not like this before. I was more like shut down, process, then discuss, solution. Now Im so angry I can’t have any productive conversation. Please help.
Hi everyone, I’m currently 39+1 weeks pregnant with my second baby. My son was a big baby and there were some complications with his birth. They have obviously been monitoring my current pregnancy throughout and have been measuring baby at scans and measuring my bump at appointments. At 36 and 37 weeks I had several appointments at the hospital and no one was clear with me what these appointments were for at first. I then had a growth scan and they said baby was likely going to be huge again if they let me go to my due date, so they booked me in for an induction for today. They told me to call the hospital at 7:30 this morning so i did and they said i should have been told to call at 8:30 so i rang back at 8:30 as requested and they took my phone number and said they’d call me with a time to come in. I got a call at about 1:00 this afternoon saying they were overrun and would have to push me back to tomorrow. This isn’t a major problem while yes it’s frustrating and I want to meet my baby I also completely understand that other people with more important issues in their pregnancies take priority. My main issue is the fact that I’ve sorted childcare for my 2 year old and I don’t want to be away from him for too long but equally don’t want to bring him home for them to call me and tell me to come in and then I have to leave him again. And the fact that they were the ones who had concerns with me and wanted to induce me and then told me they couldn’t do it today. I’m also slightly panicked by the fact that they originally tried to book me in for tomorrow but they said they were full so couldn’t book me in, hence why i was booked for today. So I’m just worried that the same thing will happen tomorrow.
Essentially, my plan is to call them up at the time they’ve told me to and ask them to tell me whether or not they have space available for me and if not then I will just say I’m happy to just wait to go into labour naturally as they clearly don’t think these concerns are enough to induce me. If they can’t do it tomorrow I obviously want my little boy home with his mummy and daddy until I go naturally. Would this be a problem and be seen as a bad thing with the hospital? It’s just hard not knowing for definite and being kept waiting when I have a toddler who I obviously am missing but I want to know for definite what is happening before I make plans to bring him home again. Thank you for reading and I hope it all made sense 😅
I am about 11 weeks and the past week I wake up multiple times throughout the night absolutely starving. I’ve tried different snacks like protein bars, banana, bread, crackers but they don’t hold me for more than an hour. Has anyone else experienced this? I need something to sustain me for at least a few hours so I can get some sleep while I still can 🥲
First pregnancy and just got to 32 weeks and these past three days I’ve been EXHAUSTED! My sleep also hasn’t been great, which isn’t helping. I try to nap during the day, but even that doesn’t seem to help with the exhaustion. I am taking iron supplements because my OB said I was anemic and pretty low in my iron levels. Usually I can get things done throughout the day and have some energy to do thing but these past few days have been ROUGH! The last time I felt this exhausted was during my first trimester. My appetite also hasn’t been the best, so I’ve had to do more grazing and being mindful of what I eat.
What has everyone’s experience during this last stretch been like?
(TW: brief miscarriage mention)
EDIT, I’m in North Texas in the USA - forgot to mention this! I figure maybe that matters since it seems a lot of things are so different from place to place.
This is a bit lengthy but I’m going to condense it somewhat, hopefully… lol so please bear with me.
In Jan 2025, I (42F) switched to a new OBGYN, Dr. K, with the intention to begin TTC. My reason for switching is because I wanted a doc a little closer to where I live, and one with admitting privileges to one of the hospitals near me which have nicer facilities. My former doc has admitting privileges at only one hospital and they are not a great facility, especially their L&D dept.
Anyhoo, I got established with him last Jan, then got my IUD removed in Feb 2025 a month later, and we began immediately TTC.
June 2025 we conceived but it ended in anembryonic pregnancy (“blighted ovum”) at 10wks. My cycle came back Oct 2025 and we resumed TTC. In Mar 2026, I asked my OBGYN about medicated cycles (Clomid or letrozole) to help, and he had me do bloodwork that cycle, confirming I was ovulating. So then he sent me for a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) to see if I had any blocked tubes, none, ok next step - he referred me to a fertility clinic.
We did a round of IUI and agreed that if it wasn’t successful, we’d just go for IVF next instead of doing multiple cycles of IUI.
We were successful, yay! One round!
Prenatal care has been done via the fertility clinic, and then they “graduated” us at 9w1d to return to my regular OB, Dr. K…
I called Dr. K’s office to get scheduled so I can get the NIPT and any other necessary diagnostics & routine appts on the calendar, and he is out until end of July. 😭😭😭😭😭
As I am at “advanced maternal age” plus morbidly obese (267lbs, 5ft6in), I am considered on paper at least to be high-risk, especially for chromosomal abnormalities. So, I want to get the bloodwork done ASAP. Dr. K’s staff said I could see the other doctor at that practice in the interim (Dr. R), BUT that their system (or network?) would likely not allow me to transfer BACK to Dr. K upon his return due to their internal continuity of care policies (I figure the policy is also possibly to prevent doctors from “poaching” each others’ patients too, who knows lol).
Soooooo here I am, tomorrow I’ll be 10w, high risk, scared, and have been seeking a new OB. After scrolling through hundreds of OB’s listed in my insurance app, cross referencing patient ratings sites and looking for reviews or mentions of specific things such as experience with high risk pregnancies, overweight/obese patients, advanced maternal age, etc. and have called so many offices to see if they’re accepting new patients, I’ve come across ONE finally!!
Her office is 35 min the other direction from the docs I’ve been seeing, but she has admitting privileges in one of the 2 hospitals I prefer, and this one is even closer than the one where Dr. K delivers. I just hope we “mesh,” and that she’s the kind of doctor who doesn’t do “routine” episiotomies and also allows for “walking epidurals,” and birthing in different positions (assuming this is all even possible when it comes time for delivery, of course there are any number of things that could prevent any or all of these things and be completely out of anyone’s control!) I’ve requested an appt, soonest I could get is the 13th so I’ll be 11w by then, which is fine.
I’m also not on any of my usual medications since pregnancy began, including my ADHD med if you can’t tell 😂 I am a chronic overthinker and get very anxious about all potential outcomes of all sorts of situations even when I’m ON my meds, it’s nearly unbearable without them!
Anyhoo, rant over, I just need to breathe.
Anyone else ever run into a similar situation and feeling like they’re left hanging but it’s not anybody’s fault so ya just yell into the void and try to stay hydrated?! Let’s breathe together and calmly sip our water. 🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠 We can do this. Breathe breathe breathe. Wooooosahhh…
(Mention of loss) A little rant… I am a 26f mom. I only have one baby and since having her I have this overwhelming fear of getting pregnant AGAIN. It’s so bad that even though I’m on birth control, I’m using protection and taking every precaution. I. STILL. DONT. WANT. SEX.
Like I do but I don’t. Yeah I’m getting counseling and thankfully my fiancé is very patient, and understanding.
I didn’t have a traumatic pregnancy/birth. It just sucked. I was sick the majority of my first trimester and I feel like it’d suck with a toddler. I also lost my job after telling my supervisors I was pregnant, the constant fear of miscarriage because I was high risk, and tye third trimester sucked too. I bled randomly, even just having sex would make me gush blood. The iron infusions made me sick, specially on hot hot days.
I also felt like I had not much support where/when I needed it, but had it when I didn’t if that makes sense? Like I was completely dependent on people in my third trimester but seemed to have people wanting to help me when I didn’t need it, like in the first and second trimester. Now I can’t imagine going back to that, with a toddler and being stuck again.
I wasn’t scared to give birth, the birth wasn’t great but wasn’t terrible either. Definitely didn’t go as expected as I wanted a vaginal, but got a C-section. Postpartum I think was probably the most brutal for me. Depression, rage, the pain and I felt sick whenever trying to shower or wash up. Breastfeeding was brutal too.
I just can’t imagine all of this, plus having a toddler. I know people do it but I genuinely don’t think I could do it again. I’d be a mess. My kid has lots of cousins anyway.
Thanks for staying through my tedtalk🤘🏼
I just recently found out i’m pregnant with my second and the only thing I want is a Cotton Candy Alani but I obviously can’t have one 😭. So i’m posting this in hopes that someone knows of a similar tasting drink that I can have 🙏
Moms of Reddit, please help! Expecting our first in early September and trying to get things ordered for the nursery. We have a small house so maximizing storage space is essential. All this to say - does one need a true changing table? Can I just put the changer thing on top of a regular dresser or is this not safe? It seems buying a premade one will limit size options when I have a very large wall I can put it on. Help!!
I am having our fourth and possibly last baby in September. I went into labour on my due date with my first and it ended with a c-section due to fetal distress and meconium. I also never progressed past 4cm. I was told to have another c-section at 40+5 with my second because I never went into labour and they didn't want a uterine rupture. Then I was taken in for a c-section with my 3rd at 39w for the same reason as my second. My body never went into labour after that first time. Anyone else never go into labour? Will I never get to have that experience again?
I’m currently 8w1d pregnant with my first. I started to have constant extreme nausea at exactly 6 weeks. For the last 2 weeks I have done nothing but lay on the couch, throw up, and sleep.
I have been preparing for the worst with people saying weeks 8-10 are the worst. However, I woke up yesterday feeling okay. Slightly nauseous of course but nothing too bad and continued with my day as usual. Around dinner time I did have a pretty bad wave of nausea but that passed without any issues. Today however, I woke up, felt kind of nauseous so I ate a few pretzels (the only thing I’ve been able to keep down), and have felt FINE all day. A few moments of nausea and my breasts are definitely still sore. I have been able to get so many things done today that I haven’t had the energy to do in weeks.
Is it too early to be hopeful this is the end of the nausea? Should I be concerned something is wrong? I have my first ultrasound this coming week.
this is my very first pregnancy. I’m only four weeks. But I have this feeling that something’s wrong. I’ve obviously never done this before I set my first appointment up for eight weeks. But I can’t help feeling like I’m doing all of this for nothing. I’m not spotting or anything. It literally just is like a horrible feeling in my stomach that this isn’t gonna last. Has anyone else had this experience? Is this just first pregnancy jitters?
FTM over here… hoping to avoid purchasing a standalone bassinet given the limited time baby will be able to use it, so I’m considering either using a pack-n-play (maybe Graco?) to use as a bassinet or going for a convertible crib (like the Babyletto Pogo 8-in-1 Convertible Crib) that starts as a bassinet on wheels…. Any thoughts or experiences with either? If you went pack-n-play and liked it, which one did you go with? I feel like there are a million different versions (from Graco alone even) and I’m getting analysis paralysis😩
There are sooo many options for postpartum underwear/pads! How did you choose and which did you like? Should I wear regular underwear and buy big pads or is incontinent underwear good for postpartum?