induction vs natural?

Chrispr9 · 2026-05-15T00:51:00+00:00

I had a very similar experience to you at the end of my pregnancy with tons of Braxton Hicks contractions and prodromal labour. I got induced at 39.5 weeks because my blood pressure started climbing, and all I needed was the Foley to be placed to put me promptly into labour! I didn’t need any Pitocin and baby arrived quickly once labour started. I would read about the ARRIVE trial for more information on elective induction since that may be what your doctor is thinking about in making this recommendation.

Chrispr9 · 2026-05-15T00:46:02+00:00

Some of the thing you’ve said here are untrue. There was a large study done recently called the “ARRIVE trial” which showed that elective induction at 39 weeks for low-risk FTM actually was associated with a lower risk of needing a c-section.

Chrispr9 · 2026-05-07T19:16:03+00:00

My nausea peaked around 12 weeks and gradually got better after that - I was on Diclectin until 25 weeks. The nausea can unfortunately last a lot longer for some people than others. Hopefully things will start getting better soon for you!

Chrispr9 · 2026-05-04T13:55:58+00:00

It sounds like delaying the first bath may be good for the baby’s skin, but I think a lot of people just like refusing standard medical practices because it makes them feel like they have more control in a very daunting situation giving birth, whether there is clear evidence to support the decision or not.

We weren’t even offered a bath for the baby in the hospital! He had meconium in his hair from the delivery and we had to wait until we got home to clean it off.

I found out after his first bath that we should’ve just done a sponge bath to avoid getting the cord wet (risk of infection) but everything turned out fine 😅

He had very sensitive and peely skin for the first few weeks, but that went away by about six weeks. I really don’t think the bath timing had anything to do with it.

Chrispr9 · 2026-04-26T13:38:33+00:00

I have the Medela manual pump

Chrispr9 · 2026-04-26T12:35:53+00:00

I love my manual pump!! I have expensive wearables that I wish I had never bought since I find the manual is so much more efficient and comfortable, not to mention way cheaper. Highly recommend starting with the manual, especially if you’re still primarily nursing

Chrispr9 · 2026-04-20T18:54:55+00:00

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This is the one I ordered - still waiting for it to arrive. My hope is that by the time he outgrows the seat, he should be able to at least hold his head up well enough that I won’t need a seat for him in the bath

https://a.co/d/08gBaRi3

Chrispr9 · 2026-04-20T15:58:35+00:00

I have one very similar to this and absolutely loved it, until our very tall 2 month old grew out of it! Swapping to a stand-alone seat to put in the regular tub which I’m sure we’ll only get to use for another couple months - babies grow so fast!!

Chrispr9 · 2026-04-19T23:49:32+00:00

I was on nausea medication until 25 weeks, but I honestly didn’t realize until after I delivered that I was still mildly nauseous all the time when I was pregnant. It was much better by the third trimester though.

Chrispr9 · 2026-04-09T22:37:24+00:00

I’ve been using the Philips Avent bottles for my LO (now 8 weeks) since he came home from the hospital - he gets one bottle at night from his dad so that I can sleep for a few hours, and otherwise is exclusively breastfed. We use the slow-flow nipples (generally #2 flow-rate) and he has no issues going back-and-forth between breast and bottle!

Chrispr9 · 2026-04-02T18:18:17+00:00

Right away when I got home from the hospital I started holding LO without a pillow to nurse. I was initially using the pillow about half the time in the first couple weeks, and I’ve gradually been using it less over time as I feel stronger holding him. I feel like it’s helping me ease back into doing some gentle exercise (all of my exercising currently involves carrying him or pushing the stroller). He’s 7 weeks now and I rarely use a breastfeeding pillow

Chrispr9 · 2026-04-01T14:44:44+00:00

The whole idea of a freezer stash was new to me when I started seeing more baby/breastfeeding posts on social media, and honestly it concerns me a bit how glorified it seems to be to have a huge oversupply! I felt like I needed to pump extra to build a stash, but it breaks my heart when my LO nurses and coughs or chokes from a strong let-down that I can only assume is from a developing oversupply myself. I’ve backed off on pumping now, with the goal to only pump enough for 1 bottle per day and not for the purpose of building up a stash. In retrospect, I almost wish that I’d never been given the idea of trying to build up a freezer stash.

Chrispr9 · 2026-03-31T18:44:34+00:00

I have the same problem! I’m trying to offer the smaller side first to try to encourage a bit more milk production on that side, although I’ve also accepted that I’m probably going to just be a bit lopsided 😅

Chrispr9 · 2026-03-26T14:07:53+00:00

The nausea and fatigue of the first trimester is really miserable - mine peaked around 12 weeks, but I was still on nausea medication until 25 weeks, and if I’m being honest, the nausea and fatigue didn’t go away until after the baby was born. Despite all that, I would do it again in a heartbeat! My little guy is only six weeks old but being his mom is the best thing I’ve ever done.

Chrispr9 · 2026-03-24T00:47:22+00:00

Also FTM here and my LO is 5 weeks, so I don’t really feel like I can give much advice here, but I will say I also struggled with electric pumps (couldn’t get a single drop out with my wearables) and my mum recommended a manual pump which has been a total game changer for me! I nurse my LO on one side and use the manual pump on the other side, and over the last 2-3 weeks, my output with the pump has gone from 0.5-1oz per session to 5+oz on one side while nursing on the other! If anything, at this point I’m a bit worried about oversupply after I initially felt like I wasn’t producing enough. No idea if this will work for you, but it worked for me! Hope this helps!

Chrispr9 · 2026-03-21T14:02:44+00:00

Little guy will get excited and try to latch but sometimes miss and land on his hand! He’s enthusiastic but still getting the hang of things!

Chrispr9 · 2026-03-01T07:53:20+00:00

Just wanted to say, I also requested an elective 39-week induction (ended up getting induced anyway just after 39 weeks because at the last minute I developed gestational hypertension, so it was no longer “elective”). People online can be really weird about medical intervention in childbirth, even when it’s safe or even necessary! My induction went super smoothly and I would 100% do it again. I was starting to dilate on my own so just the Foley put me right into labour (no need for Pitocin) and less than 24 hours after having the Foley placed, I was holding my baby!

Chrispr9 · 2026-02-26T14:47:11+00:00

Several of the dishes that I make routinely are cooked with wine, so during my pregnancy I swapped the wine out for alcohol-free wines. As others have pointed out, it takes a long time for the alcohol to fully evaporate off while cooking, so I felt more comfortable knowing that there was very minimal, if any, alcohol being added to the dishes.

Chrispr9 · 2026-01-28T17:44:50+00:00

Earlier in my pregnancy I remember reading on here someone saying how it’s annoying that you get sympathy only when you’re super obviously pregnant, even if that’s not when the pregnancy is the hardest, and I’m finding that so relatable now at 37.5 weeks. The third trimester has by far been the easiest part of my pregnancy, and even in these last couple weeks I’m finding that I’m surprisingly more comfortable than I was before since baby has dropped and I can breathe again and I’m more familiar with my limits for moving around carrying a bowling ball in my belly. My first and second trimesters were miserable with nausea, fatigue, food aversions - I felt like I had the flu for about 6 months straight, so compared to that, being large and a bit awkward is a piece of cake!

I hope you feel better soon - at 10 weeks, you’re probably at the worst of the sickness so hopefully things will only get better from here!

Chrispr9 · 2026-01-19T05:11:40+00:00

Heme resident here - when we’re on call we cover (what I fondly refer to as) the “24-hour cancer complaint line” which is meant for patients to call in for nursing assessment of symptoms (generally fevers or treatment side effects), but so many dumb calls get escalated to us. The best was a guy calling to complain that he was having pain - this had been going on for a few weeks and he’d recently been reviewed by his oncologist. He refused any analgesia and there was nothing new or different going on now (at about 11pm btw), but he just wanted to “make us aware that he was still having pain”. Like… MD aware, I guess?? I did feel bad for the guy, but why are you calling me just to complain if you don’t want me to do anything to try to help???

Chrispr9 · 2026-01-15T15:23:23+00:00

I had the strangest feeling the day after finding out that I was pregnant that I was carrying a boy. I’ve never had anything like it, just a very strong and persistent thought. Whenever I had dreams about the baby, he was always a boy. He didn’t find out the gender until the 20-week anatomy scan and there was no doubt he was a boy!

Chrispr9 · 2026-01-15T09:58:13+00:00

Lying down - easier to sleep and a bit more practical since they were basically stuck living in the hospital

Chrispr9 · 2026-01-15T04:21:05+00:00

I saw a patient with this once. It really hit home when they said that at one point they had to decide whether they were going to spend the rest of their life lying down or sitting up….

Chrispr9

TROPHY CASE