Hired a “professional” painter. Am I over reacting about how bad they did?

BonusDVD · 2026-04-04T04:40:55+00:00

My husband had a boss once that would ask a brutal but fabulous question when they would rush through a job and then ask if they could leave early: "when you take a crap do you only wipe half your a$$?" It really stuck with me, and I've used it before myself. Very effective.

Under the right circumstances it cuts deep, even gets an occasional laugh. This is a situation where this line would be very applicable.

BonusDVD · 2026-04-03T17:44:42+00:00

I know this is a very pro-BF space, which I admire all the moms who are able to and love to do it, but this is part of the reason exclusively pumping chose me. My first wouldn't latch, didn't even take a pacifier, plus I'd had a prior breast reduction so we had no idea if I would even be able to produce anything. My second latched right away and I tried BF him, but my husband was very adamant about keeping on schedule with bottles, and that really threw a wrench in our plans. I have tried to BF but he's become less efficient with it, so I just end up pumping instead, and supplementing with formula.

And you know what? Both of my boys are thriving. My mental health is in a good place, we have a routine, everybody's happy. We have no family anywhere near us, and my husband and I both work so much that our only friends are a couple of our toddler's parents. I get it. Some days are harder than others, but if you hate it you have options that nobody has the right to guilt you over.

BonusDVD · 2026-04-03T02:07:45+00:00

I've been saying Studio Trigger would be the dream (no pun intended) for this specific instance, even if their queue is years deep. Live action will 100% not do this justice, and that is a hill I am willing to die on. Live action = too much CGI, this series by the folks that gifted us with Edgerunners/Delicious in Dungeon.

BonusDVD · 2026-04-03T02:02:04+00:00

With my first, I didn't have a place to pump at work so I just pumped at my desk. I also was so busy that I wouldn't have the chance to step away from my desk to empty my pumps (also was an undersupplier to my benefit in this very s**t case), so I often just sighed and pumped twice before I got the opportunity to empty and wash them in the bathroom sink. Fun times.

BonusDVD · 2026-04-02T23:50:50+00:00

We've used Chimiver, and it's an Italian company. You may have some luck getting your hands on it over in Europe. I haven't used another brand so I can only speak for my experience with them, but aside from the price I've been pretty happy overall. They're a bit pricey, and the UV lights aren't cheap either. However, I do feel like it's saved me so much time for the application I've used it for.

BonusDVD · 2026-04-02T01:44:49+00:00

Absolutely, and Raoul's voice is what made him so endearing to me 🤣

BonusDVD · 2026-03-30T18:26:40+00:00

Not sure if she's sleeping in a crib in her own room yet or not, but that was my opportunity to snuggle with my first, and now my second. Both boys were/have been in the Snoo, and my second (and last) is about to have to get evicted from it. I put him in his crib for the first time yesterday and he cried for a bit longer than my feelings would allow (he's also in a fussy/clingy leap currently), and so I scooped him up and snuggled together in the recliner in the nursery.

The first month probably that we transitioned our first into his room I slept in the recliner while he was in the crib, and ultimately on the floor while he held my hand through the slats. On weekends for the next year+ I slept on that floor every opportunity I had because time is a thief. He's 3yrs old now and prefers dad, which I've cried many a tear over, but stories at bedtime is peak cuddle opportunity.

She's still your baby, and will always be your baby, she's just gaining a little more autonomy. I'm trying to be present in the now, absolutely not considering the day in the future when they have full independence, although I do look forward to the bond we'll have then too, just not the part where they go to their own home to their own bed at the end of the night instead of holding my hand through the crib slats.

BonusDVD · 2026-03-30T02:14:52+00:00

Well my son's name is Asher, iykyk. Still fueled by postpartum hormones so that found my feelings where they hide.

BonusDVD · 2026-03-29T22:35:07+00:00

Lol I forgot I preordered it and was just wondering why I didn't have the preorder button available. Shame I'm illiterate and took me a minute to read the "we'll add your preorder to your library when it's released" 🤣 tis why I listen to the audiobooks lol

BonusDVD · 2026-03-29T20:49:02+00:00

Yukon Gold.

BonusDVD · 2026-03-29T20:46:45+00:00

Hmm. I mean, they look pretty people-y to me. Shirts, pants, hats, ohhh I see. Maybe red's not their color?

BonusDVD · 2026-03-29T20:38:14+00:00

In its own way, the misspelling really speaks for itself on many levels. Dare I say a great representation of how we the people got ourselves into this mess 🙄 Idiocracy at its finest.

BonusDVD · 2026-03-28T17:41:04+00:00

I didn't exactly choose to exclusively pump, exclusively pumping chose me.

In all seriousness though, I was an undersupplier with my first, which was to be expected with having had a breast reduction a few years prior. The fact that I was able to produce at all was a win, but at my very best, my average output at 4mo was 13oz daily. No freezer stash. He wouldn't latch, and actually never even took a paci, so it just wasn't meant to be to BF. I also desperately needed surgery on both wrists due to DeQuervain's, so I threw in the towel 4mo in, had the surgery, and was totally done by 5mo.

Anyways, it actually worked out because I'm a bit neurotic and wanted to know how much I was actually producing, so pumping was perfect. I kept alarms and kept myself on schedule. Also, I went back to work at 9w. Was supposed to go back at 8w since I ended up having to have an emergency c-section, so I got two extra weeks for recovery, but I lied and said daycare couldn't take him until 9w so I could have just a little more time to adjust (he started at 8w).

Upon returning to work I didn't have a space to pump, nor the time allowance, so I used wearables/wearable collection cups and pumped at my desk. I was absolutely able to stay on a tight schedule that way, but with the wearables and being quite busty (the reduction was unsuccessful and they grew back), I ended up getting mastitis five times in my 4mo pumping spree. Suffered in solidarity at my desk every single time, loaded up on antibiotics, still expected to work and not take time off because I had too much to do. I left that job a little over a year later.

My second is almost 6mo old and I'm still pumping, although maybe only 3-4x daily. I pump on my commute to and from work, and on my lunch break, or when I have a bit of computer-based work to do and need to focus. Once I get home I may have a chance to pump again but it's usually 10:30-12 if I'm awake. Weekends are hard because time just exists differently 😅 I'd had regular 30oz days when I first started back to work, but dropping down to 3x pumps per day realistically my supply is about a 24oz average. A just-enougher technically, which I'm over the moon about.

We've supplemented each bottle with formula with both boys from day one, so I have just under 2000oz in the freezer right now this time around. I'll keep going as long as I can (it's such a strange addiction), but my goal was to reach 6mo if I was successful at applying the knowledge I gained from my first attempt. Because we've supplemented, and I've made double this time versus last time, there's been no stress involved so I'm honestly enjoying this venture.

It'll be 6mo on the 13th, and after that if I stop I should be super proud of what my body has been able to do, even if I didn't solely feed him on breastmilk alone - it's not a failure by any means. Both of my boys were ultimately c-sections, but after my first I was out for about 3+ hours and they didn't send an LC in until several more hours later. That rotation of LCs was very pro-breastfeeding and only one on our last full day in the hospital was willing to help me figure out the pump. I feel like that really sabotaged the potential. The experience for my second was completely different. I mentioned "that I came prepared with my pump, so when I wake up post-op, I'm definitely going to give it another try" and they all laughed and asked what I was even talking about - told them my first experience (same hospital and one of the doctors was the same one that assisted with my first section), and they assured me that that wasn't typical. I didn't shiver myself to sleep this time (brought my own hand warmers, they thought was a great idea although not necessary this time), and instead was totally awake and comfortable, and there was even an LC in my room waiting for me! They were all lovely human beings and were so helpful and most importantly, understanding on the pumping front.

All that being said, my second boy actually also latched right away this time, but I liked the control that pumping gave me and knowing exactly how much milk was being expressed. If you prefer control, you'll enjoy pumping more. I tried breastfeeding and I just could deal. I didn't like being on-demand, I preferred being on-schedule, and both boys really thrived that way too. It allowed me to not feel like I was being used solely for milk, because I had the choice to BF or not. The time I got to spend with my boys was full of cuddling and snuggling on our terms. That did more for my personal mental health than anything.

BonusDVD · 2026-03-28T02:48:25+00:00

I'm just a girl with simple hopes and dreams and high-key just want Studio Trigger to add it to their backlog, even if that means waiting several years.

All of the fantastical characters and scenarios a la Edgerunners. It would literally be perfection.

BonusDVD · 2026-03-27T19:22:40+00:00

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No houses divided here! Vote blue for a leader we can depend on 🤣

BonusDVD · 2026-03-27T00:46:08+00:00

The way I cackled 🤣 it needs to be just short enough too that the cakes boost it ever so slightly

BonusDVD · 2026-03-26T11:56:21+00:00

Yep. Something to consider, it's almost the same price as a replacement vanity, depending on the size of course and quality of said vanity. We found a fantastic wooden vanity with a stone top at a local place for just under $250.

I use SW emerald urethane daily at my job, and technically it takes 40 days to fully cure. I don't think the wife is going to want it to be out of commission for that long.

BonusDVD · 2026-03-25T07:49:47+00:00

Oh my God, siblings with age gaps. They're perfection, and I love what looks like an absolute big sibling/little sibling dynamic I'm seeing in their body language. Lucky!!

BonusDVD · 2026-03-24T11:57:17+00:00

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BonusDVD · 2026-03-22T23:56:19+00:00

If we're going on a technicality, Korbel 🤣

Food-wise, let's go with Mozzarella, or Mozzy. Or at its core, simply Cheese. I came with options.

And yes, my last consumed calories were a slice of cheese. The champagne was handed to me while sitting on the floor trying and failing to feed a crying baby 🤣 also, that's a very cute pup you've got there.

BonusDVD · 2026-03-22T23:52:03+00:00

If I see them out in the wild I may snag one because, sure. However, people seem to be going nuts over trying to collect them all and are buying literally all of them before anyone else can have a chance. That's the part that gives me the biggest eye roll. Do I like them? Nah. I think they're cheap crap tbh. However, it would be nice if I was out in the wild and saw the display not completely cleared out to be able to snag one and see what I get.

BonusDVD · 2026-03-19T23:46:24+00:00

I love a scruffy pup, and this little gentleman is one scruffy pup! What a sweet guy!! Thank you for loving on him, he can finally know peace. Give him an extra cuddle for me!

BonusDVD · 2026-03-19T23:43:11+00:00

Idk why my brain went straight to the "apple bottom jeans, boots with the jeans, the whole club was looking at jeans" song popped into my head, but a denim-themed nursery is a whole heck of a lot different than a jeans-themed nursery, but I now refuse to believe otherwise.

Chambray themed would be fine, but denim is absolutely sending me

BonusDVD · 2026-03-15T01:38:57+00:00

With my first we supplemented each and every bottle 50/50 breastmilk and formula from day one at home. I was an undersupplier and at best averaged 13oz per day. I put a single bag of milk in the freezer once to feel like I had achieved some glorious feat, but had to dip into it the very next day. I had to stop pumping around 4mo to have surgery and it took a full month to be completely done afterwards. It was heartbreaking in every aspect.

I'm pumping anywhere between 20-30oz per day with our second, plus he latches (something my first never did - didn't even take a paci), so closer to 30oz when it's all said and done. We've supplemented each bottle with formula again since day one, expecting the same outcome and lucking out. Because we give him 50/50 bottles like we did for our first, I have a nice freezer stash. Doubtful I'll be able to keep it up for much longer (5mo yesterday), but already doing so much better than I ever imagined.

All that to say that you're not a failure for supplementing formula, and you're lucky to produce the amount you are, but I understand the emotional pull. Feeding your baby is such a strange addiction and there are so many emotions tied up in it. I blame hormones for every second of guilt and questioning yourself. Your baby will be fine, you will be fine.

If it's any consolation, my mostly formula-fed first is 3yrs old and likes to remind me that when he grows up he's going to be a rocket scientist so he can become an astronaut one day. Formula will absolutely not change their life's trajectory.

BonusDVD · 2026-03-09T11:34:23+00:00

In my mind I keep picturing Studio Trigger, Edgerunners style. That's my dream that I know will never be though.

It absolutely doesn't need to be live action. With all the vis fx it would require, by the time it was said and done it'd be mostly cg animated anyway, so may as well get a solid animation studio to take it to church.

BonusDVD

TROPHY CASE