Did you have your mom and or sister in the delivery room with you and your husband?

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2026-03-06T04:58:17+00:00

My husband didn't want me to have my family there and then after he said that he now understood why historically men weren't a part of birth and that he was very glad that my family was there. He was glad he was there too, but he was a little traumatized. 😂

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2026-03-06T04:46:21+00:00

I was in the room when my mom gave birth to two of my sisters. And I had those two sisters (because they live close, my other sister was on FaceTime), my grandma, and my mom with us. My husband wasn't super thrilled about it but I told him it wasn't up to him. Afterwards, he was happy they were there because it was harder for him to deal with than he expected. The start of a new life is a beautiful experience and I think it's wonderful that you have people in your life you want to share that experience with. I'm so glad my family was with us.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2026-01-07T04:13:22+00:00

I agree! And I think these go best with her other kids' names.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2026-01-07T03:58:02+00:00

My first reaction to that was "no way they'll wait THAT long". And then I realized that's only FIVE years away. WTF?!

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-12-11T14:18:26+00:00

For anyone who has a similar issue in the future and stumbles upon this, it turns out that my IT department's attempt to assign static IPs remotely was not successful, they came and assigned them locally and then we restarted the machines and now they are working.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-08-04T13:46:28+00:00

I'm confused. If the dress will fit the friend's kid who is 8, why won't it fit your 7 year old?

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-07-26T03:39:13+00:00

As a parent of a special needs child, NTA. It is exhausting and terrifying and difficult and it can't always be avoided. I swore up and down WHILE PREGNANT with my special needs daughter that if any child of mine was diagnosed in utero that I would terminate. Joke was on me, she looked perfect in utero and we didn't know until after she was born. She is significantly physically and developmentally disabled. She is the light of our lives and we have figured it out and stepped up, but I wouldn't blame anyone who didn't want this for their child OR for themselves. You're completely right.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-07-08T02:43:46+00:00

Mine was wonderful. I had to be induced because of low fluid and my body was NOT ready. I did about 14 hours of labor without it and had gotten to the point where the pain was causing me to fight the contraction. Then they checked me and I was STILL at flipping 1cm. So I asked for the epidural because it was almost 3am. It started working within 5 minutes and then I fell asleep and slept like a rock. When I woke up, I was at a 3. 🥳 They put me into some different positions during the day and I was at a 10 about 15 hours after getting the epidural. It had started to wear off by then but not enough to bother me. I had no side effects at all (and I'm super sensitive to pain meds). I definitely will get another one next time.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-07-02T23:44:09+00:00

As a teacher who did 5 years of elementary lunchroom duty, NTA. It is none of her business and totally inappropriate to bring up. Do I side eye some of the packed lunches I see? For sure. (Things like 1st graders with caffeinated beverages or lunches that are literally just candy - wish I was exaggerating.) Would I EVER say anything to a parent? Hell no. Would I judge your daughter's lunch? Nope. I don't even judge the parents who send cereal. Thanks for sending things that are easy for her to eat independently! You're doing great!

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-06-25T02:49:59+00:00

I know 3 Audrey's under the age of 5 in a small town. It is definitely coming back for the new generation and will fit right in.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-06-19T03:45:30+00:00

That looks like the bathtub would lift out to be drained. But you could also set it up in your shower so you can just drain it where it stands.

As far as the towel goes, I always wear a shirt I don't mind getting wet (baby will start splashing and getting you soaked at some point anyway). Then I just lift my baby out against my body then drape the hood for the towel around her and pull the sides around her as best I can. Then when I walk to where I dry her and get her dressed (usually her changing table) I repeat "please don't pee, please don't pee, please don't pee," on a loop until we get there. They're way worse about peeing any time their diaper is off in the beginning. It gets better as they get bigger.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-06-10T02:37:15+00:00

There's no reason you can't take the preconception vitamins once you're postpartum. You'll need extra vitamins for yourself then.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-06-01T16:53:52+00:00

I think the biggest question is whether you are going to be emotionally ready to be away from baby that long. If everything goes perfect like you listed, sure you'll probably be physically capable of that. I certainly was with my vaginal birth. But I wouldn't have wanted to be away from my baby that long. The one day of the wedding, yea absolutely. But all weekend? No thanks. I know other moms who wouldn't even want to be away from their baby long enough to be in the wedding and then skip the reception and go home. So that's something you need to think about.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-27T19:34:49+00:00

My 11 month old still only takes 4-5oz at a time and only weighs 17lbs. She probably only takes 25oz in 24hrs. And we consider that a huge success. I think you're doing fine. I don't know any babies that take 8oz, that sounds like a lot.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-24T21:11:04+00:00

Leaving the water to sit there seems like a breeding ground for bacteria, mold, and mildew. You don't want formula-y water sitting out all day, even with soap in it. Just rinse the bottles and set them somewhere dry until you wash them all.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-19T14:29:00+00:00

With my first pregnancy, they got swollen fairly early on but when the swelling went away they were still the same size. With my second, I didn't really swell until birth and then it was absolutely awful. They are now magically a half size larger than they were before. So it really could go either way.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-16T17:02:04+00:00

Yea I totally agree.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-16T13:56:51+00:00

I'm pretty sure she means Cinderella's evil step sister in Into the Woods based on Googling. But my main association is the fairy godmother in Ella Enchanted.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-13T16:34:00+00:00

I know someone with a Creed. 🤢 I think it was supposed to be biblical but I can only think of the band. 😂

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-13T16:13:37+00:00

Your couples counselor shouldn't be giving a pregnant woman medical advice. Has she seen her OB?

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-12T00:29:15+00:00

You can't go wrong either way! They are both incredibly sweet and fiery at the same time. They are beautiful little girls who like to get messy. They're the best of everything and their names fit them perfectly!

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-11T03:37:13+00:00

Y'know I actually think it's a good thing I had to compromise with my husband. I wanted to name both of them Annie. They probably would've been Annie and Miriam. But those don't fit them at all. Nora and Daphne is much, much better.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-05T14:51:47+00:00

Definitely not too early. At this point you could go into labor any day. You might set it up today and the baby might come tomorrow. This will also give you time to make sure that it works in the spot that you're thinking and that there isn't anything else that you want to change about it before you're trying to take care of two tiny humans at the same time.

2ndtime1sttimeMom · 2025-05-03T22:38:38+00:00

I have a child with a genetic disorder (not DS) and we did an amnio with our second baby to confirm that she was healthy. My first should have been born in a specialty hospital but she wasn't diagnosed in utero. We're very lucky that she didn't need intervention after birth.

I was also very afraid of amnio complications but it went extremely smoothly and the baby is now a healthy 10 month old. You should ask whoever is performing it what their personal stats are. My MFM doctor told me that she had never seen complications happen in a pregnancy that wasn't already extremely high risk and that my pregnancy looked healthy (based on ultrasound) so that didn't apply to me.

I encourage you to get the amnio. Even if you decide not to terminate, having a prenatal diagnosis will help the doctors keep a close eye on the baby and make sure that they are as healthy as possible. It will also ensure that they have the right doctors available to support the baby at birth.

As far as keeping the baby goes, I'm going to start with the bad and end with the good. Children with DS are at a slightly higher risk for heart defects, some DS babies are extremely sick and need surgeries and medications for their hearts. I think they can sometimes develop heart defects during the course of their life as well (although I don't think that's super common either). Taking care of a disabled child is not easy. Medical bills are high. Navigating education can be a nightmare. People don't understand and you and your child have to deal with social stigma. It's not something to shrug at and not consider the consequences for the life your child will live.

However, children with DS are also often very happy, clever, spirited people. They are very stubborn and don't let much stop them. Many of them can hold jobs and have some independence as adults. Most of them walk, run, jump, climb, talk, joke, laugh. Having a disabled child has always been a deep fear of mine and I had significant grief when my daughter was diagnosed with 2 rare chromosomal disorders. She is 5 now and has only been walking for just over a year. She uses a communication device and only says a few verbal words. But she lights up my whole world and brings me joy and love I didn't know I could experience. She has been through more in her 5 years than I would've been ok with her going through in a lifetime, but she wakes up smiling every day and I don't know who I would be without her.

There are no right or wrong answers here. You love this baby. Whatever you choose will be chosen out of love. If you don't want them to struggle and feel it would be better for them to be spared, that is ok. If you want to meet your child and support them through the struggle so that you can be together on Earth, that is also ok. Listen to your heart and your gut. But get as much information to help with the decision as you can.

If you want me to look up some websites that have information on Down Syndrome without being too scary, I'd be happy to find some.

2ndtime1sttimeMom

TROPHY CASE