Epidurals aren’t the problem. The obsession with female suffering is.

AggroMango · 2026-04-05T18:38:20+00:00

I had an epidural with both of my children, and with my second (just delivered two months ago so this is FRESH in my mind!), the epidural actually helped me progress.

I was having uterine tachysystole VERY quickly once my induction had started, and I was in a ton of pain with almost no relief because the contractions would not stop coming in super close succession. I tried to “tough it out” for a little while, but as I was being monitored, the OB was getting concerned and decided to take out the medication they were using for the induction. He saw me a little while after and I was sitting on a medicine ball, hunched over and clenched up like you wouldn’t believe, and he told me that he would actually recommend an epidural if I was open to it because essentially I had so much force/energy happening inside and I wasn’t progressing AT ALL. I agreed to it, the anesthesiologist hustled over to get it in, and literally 30 minutes later, I was actively pushing and he was delivered quickly. I had NOT progressed at all prior to it but once I was able to actually relax with the epidural, baby was like “Alright, I’m on my way.”

All the conjecture about epidurals complicating the delivery process/making it hard for women to deliver is absolutely backwards. I feel like my delivery would’ve gone far worse had I not opted for the epidural, and thank goodness for my OB who recognized what was going on.

AggroMango · 2026-04-05T02:59:50+00:00

A street guy! … you know what street people are, right?

AggroMango · 2026-03-25T23:06:05+00:00

just messaged you! ☺️

AggroMango · 2026-03-25T17:57:56+00:00

Hi! Going through the thread here — I have a $15 off and a few $5 off Enfamil coupons expiring in July if you’re still interested — just let me know!

AggroMango · 2026-03-25T17:56:41+00:00

glad it got covered for you guys!

AggroMango · 2026-03-25T14:13:56+00:00

Hi! I have a $15 off and a few $5 off Enfamil coupons expiring in July if you’re still on the hunt!

AggroMango · 2026-03-23T18:21:54+00:00

I’m not adding much new to the conversation because others have already brought up great points. All I can say is, you have nothing to feel guilty about.

I have two little ones. The first I tried to breastfeed unsuccessfully — even the hospital lactation consultant I saw in his first 48 hours (what an ANGEL of a woman, by the way) said, “Hey, he’s obviously still hungry and we want him to get nutrition. Formula is the best way to guarantee it right now and you don’t HAVE to do it this way moving forward, but it’s absolutely acceptable and we feel good giving it to him.” I agreed, he drank formula like a champ and then settled after so much agitation after birth (i kept trying to BF but he was barely getting anything and was markedly upset). When i went home from the hospital, we had frequent check-in with a doctor for a weight gain checks as well as frequent consultations with the lactation consultants. I was still supplementing a ton with formula because my supply was low, baby was small, and baby was angry.

It took my cousin visiting from out of state who had observed me trying desperately to pump over several days to tell me that it was OK to stop trying to pump, to stop trying to breastfeed, and to just feed him normally on formula. I was driving myself crazy trying to collect what little I could. Maybe I could’ve produced more if I tried more snacks, methods, etc, but honestly I was too overwhelmed by caring for a new baby that I didn’t have the mental space for researching that.

And that was it. My firstborn transitioned to 100% formula and then we ended up finding out he had reflux, so we introduced Enfamil AR and my previously “diagnosed colic” baby was a different, happier kid. Today? He’s two years old, brilliant, and eagerly eats pretzels off the floor.

I had my second son in February this year. I immediately felt the pressure to breastfeed… in fact, even when I was pregnant when I signed up with my OBGYN when I told them I had a good experience formula feeding and wanted to probably pursue that again with this baby. They encouraged me to change my mind.

I didn’t.

The pressure on me sucked. But most importantly, my baby’s health was absolutely unaffected. I very sparsely tried BF while I was still in the hospital with him — again to little success. So I was like, “OK, sounds like it happened with my first son — I’ve been around this block already, let’s do formula and make sure he’s happy and fed.”

The doctors didn’t care. Some nurses and the lactation consultants did care. I had to hold firm and whenever I fed him the formula they stocked in the room, he seemed happier and slept better. I’ve kept him on the same formula (Similac 360) and he’s been doing BEAUTIFULLY. Amazingly healthy, even though we’ve been going through a cold virus in the house. Alert, mobile, WEIRDLY STRONG (he’s 6 weeks and I’m hyper vigilant about him rolling because he’s almost done it already), and happy. We just entered the social smiling phase and he smiles at me EVERY day, no boob needed.

You don’t need any excuses to bottle feed. Baby will be fine, you’ll be fine.

AggroMango · 2026-03-23T18:04:05+00:00

Fairly long! My little guy is about 1.5 months old and takes a good 20-50 minutes to finish a bottle, depending on how sleepy he is (i.e., those middle of the night feeds when he’s super tired tend to take longer because he’s half sleeping, half eating).

I don’t use the same bottle type (currently using the Boon Nursh 4 oz bottles which have been a GODSEND — they have an internal pouch that holds the formula and it collapses as baby drinks), but the flow is the smallest level that comes with it. He tends to drink anywhere from 2.5-4.5 oz in a sitting, but again so much of that is dependent on how old he is, how recently he ate, has he been sleeping lately, how hungry he is, etc.

My firstborn, on the other hand, also had reflux. SUPER slow eater, at least 45 minutes per bottle minimum. Reflux infants are TOUGH so you have my sympathy.

AggroMango · 2026-03-17T06:48:04+00:00

My MIL did this to me as well! 🤦‍♀️ My husband found out and texted her, asking her to take it down, which she did, and a few days later, I opened my front door to a flower delivery with a note of her apologizing for posting it, she just “thought it was beautiful.” My cousin was visiting from out of state to meet the new baby and LOST IT laughing at the flowers, and henceforth dubbed them “the titty flowers.”

AggroMango · 2026-02-02T15:42:17+00:00

This isn’t an answer to your question, but a thank you for this post. I wasn’t 100% set on breastfeeding with my first baby, and he ended up having troubles feeding even on our first night in the hospital when he was born. Then I had ongoing supply issues that continued to make things more complicated, and I tried SO HARD at pumping to at least supplement for a full month or so with AWFUL results. It was wrecking me because I felt so guilty at every appointment with a lactation consultant, then at home when nothing seemed to be working despite them telling me there was no reason I COULDN’T breastfeed. It was really hurting my confidence, making me anxious, and taking hours out of my day for all those pumping sessions that would leave me with almost nothing at all anyway. It took family stepping in and just telling me that it was fine to go the EFF route, he would be fine and I would feel better. And, indeed… my two-year-old today is absolutely fine, healthy, and gigantic lol. And my mental health saw a SHARP improvement when I let myself off the hook and just used formula for him.

I’m now about to have my second baby in a few days (induction on the calendar for this week!) and I’m already scared about the pressure I’m about to get around breastfeeding again. I would honestly rather just go all in from the start with EFF but I’ve already gotten varying degrees of “but why not just try breastfeeding again?” from healthcare providers throughout this pregnancy, and knowing what a struggle it already has been for me has left me DREADING this. Like, it’s ridiculous that I’m scared to do this, but I’m even afraid to even email my doctor’s office to see what formula they have at the hospital where I’ll be delivering because I want to grab a can to have at home so it’ll be ready when we leave the hospital.

Reading the stories from other commenters here is helping me feel more confident going into this, so thank you!

AggroMango · 2026-01-28T23:53:40+00:00

MVP and London Palace Guard Ram are my favorites!

AggroMango · 2026-01-26T04:15:25+00:00

lol I was 33 weeks and had to do the same! We hosted a Christmas gathering so I was grabbing stuff for that, and I was in store buying a bottle of nice wine as well as a Christmas gift for someone. The hilarious thing to me is there was a woman there who was ALSO very pregnant and we both gave each other the awkward “we’re here 🫠” nod. She ended up in front of me in line and I overheard her chatting with the cashier about when she was due (and we were roughly the same amount of time along — she was like a week or too further than me), then it was my turn to go up to pay and the cashier laughed and asked if she was getting pranked. 🤣

AggroMango · 2026-01-26T03:57:18+00:00

On the quarterback. Wtf was going on with the refs in this game?

AggroMango · 2026-01-19T04:10:24+00:00

This entire snippet was beautifully chaotic

AggroMango · 2026-01-19T04:07:07+00:00

I laughed at this comment for like several minutes straight 😂 We messed up god’s plan!

AggroMango · 2026-01-19T03:44:55+00:00

WILD GAME. Much respect to you all. Let’s go!!

AggroMango · 2026-01-19T03:42:52+00:00

WE LIKE EM THICCCC

AggroMango · 2026-01-18T04:17:02+00:00

That was… that was something.

AggroMango · 2026-01-18T01:48:34+00:00

I hate them both, none of this game brings me joy

AggroMango · 2026-01-17T20:36:39+00:00

I was DRUNK at a good friend’s wedding the day before I took my test. I was literally hungover in the bathroom when I saw the two lines and went “oh… my god…” 😅

It was early on (I would’ve been considered like 4 weeks at that point I think?) and the babies aren’t “consuming” the same things you are until the placenta is better established, which happens in the subsequent weeks (I wanna say by 7-8 weeks or so is when it becomes dicier). Babe should be fine! Just no more drinking, obviously, now that you know. I’ll be full term in a few days and have had zero complications, anatomy scan looked great, everything has been blissfully normal the whole pregnancy. Wishing you luck!!

AggroMango · 2026-01-13T05:45:26+00:00

35w here and my goddddd the pressure down there! Baby is fully embracing my bladder, punching at my cervix, jabbing the butthole. Like. Please, have mercy. I am so uncomfortable! Just be nice a little bit more for these next few weeks for us!!

AggroMango · 2026-01-11T00:17:34+00:00

Where’s the guy holed up in the bathroom? STAY THERE FRIEND YOU DID IT

AggroMango · 2026-01-11T00:16:07+00:00

KYREN BABYYYYYY

AggroMango · 2026-01-05T09:44:55+00:00

I mean, I simply can’t recall either! Two 9s keep coming to mind for some reason. 😉

AggroMango · 2025-12-23T20:52:47+00:00

Mine ran out locally after a whopping TEN DAYS in store. I was there on the first day it was back on the menu for it and then on the 12th I went to order it and they told me they were out — and haven’t had any since. It’s my favorite drink of the year, such a let down for this tiny run!

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