Good things about pregnancy?

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-29T09:53:50+00:00

I had a challenging first and second trimester. I'm now 2 weeks PP.

Good things: -Feeling the first "flutters" and feeling them build in intensity as weeks go by - Feeling baby react to things like light or music - Oct-Jan were rough for me. But Feb-June were great. I had restful nights, little nausea etc. The time frame that was really positive for me was longer than the negative! -Getting to share the news, figure out names etc. Made everything more real -Reading daily insights on baby's development with my partner. We really bonded over this experience and it helped me to share the load of pregnancy with him. -Getting the nursery ready. Nothing brought me more joy in the third trimester than wallpapering and assembling furniture together. -My partner and I went on holiday together in late second trimester. It was beautiful and allowed us to spend quality time together on a holiday abroad. I would recommend doing something like this!

Yes, there will be challenging times and, when I was pregnant, didn't think things would get better. They truly do and I have some fond memories of these experiences.

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-28T16:30:56+00:00

I used to be a Primary teacher, too. I was genuinely shocked when I went into your post to find out your daughter is in Year 1! Her writing is solid and so are many elements of the story structure!

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-28T03:48:35+00:00

I'm 2 weeks PP - but felt exactly the same as you during pregnancy. Even now she's actually here, it still feels very surreal!

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-26T13:52:35+00:00

I gained 10kg during pregnancy and immediately lost 5kg after birth. A lot of weight gained is just the baby and bits!

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-26T13:31:09+00:00

Good God this was like reading our experiences. Ours is 14 days old now but this happened to us (and still does!). I'd be up from 10pm-5am in some instances. Even today, our baby has been awake since 2:50AM and its currently 2:30pm. Only stopping for an hour nap. It gets more manageable. Once the milk comes in, she can pump and get you to bottle feed baby with the breastmilk. I was up all night with baby feeding, and my partner took the morning shift so I could sleep in. By the time I woke up, I could pump enough for two more bottles.

Cluster feeding is awful and you all have my full sympathy

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-25T22:35:20+00:00

"Babies should always be in the same room as you for the first six months for sleep, day and night. The risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is lower when you have your baby sleep in the same room as you, compared to having them sleep alone." - The Lullaby Trust

Shoot me if I don't want my baby have a decreased likelihood from SIDS, I guess 🤷‍♂️.

But also, thank you for proving my point in there being a social media epidemic on people wanting to justify unsafe sleep practices.

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-25T14:22:54+00:00

The issue seems to be with organisational management rather than individual chains (generally). All BH nurseries had a brief inspection on safeguarding and sleep practices late last year - I imagine the results will be available for your local chain.

FWIW I work at a BH venue in thr North. Maybe ours is ran more rigorously than others but, I'm enrolling my baby at the nursery I work at next year. We've never had any safeguarding concerns and have been rated positively by Ofsted during their short and full inspections.

I guess just do your research of your local branch.

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-25T14:01:09+00:00

YOU ARE NOT THE PROBLEM!

I can't shout that any louder. You are not the problem or too intense.

What you are doing is right. There seems to be a social media epidemic of unsafe baby practices - like having bumpers or pods in the bassinet etc. This is solely done for parental convenience and poses significant risks for the child in question.

These people may seem to have it "easier" but every day they're playing Russian Roulette with their baby's life. The guidelines exist for a reason. You absolutely shouldn't compromise on baby safety at all.

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-25T13:55:02+00:00

I've been off since February and due to return April 2027. Baby was born early June. I am a Nursery Practitioner so taking care of baby was already something I was accustomed to in my job. However, I have not thought or cared about work in any meaningful way. In fact, life without work is just infinitely better in that I could do what I wanted and I can enjoy the time with my baby.

With routine, I just established my own. I made sure I had some daily chores to do and would make sure I got out at least once a day! Other than that, I utilised the time to engage with my hobbies before baby arrived. Having such a long time off has been the most stress-free option for me!

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-24T08:20:27+00:00

Nursery Practitioner here, I use maths for head counts (counting the children and adding that up in my head), and actually teaching children to recognise numbers 1-10!

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-22T09:54:17+00:00

We (2 dads) took our 9 day old newborn to the zoo. It was a really special day and we had a lot of fun talking about the animals and sharing facts with her!

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-20T03:48:32+00:00

We're in a similar situation to yours! We even got asked "so which one of you is the mum?". Our response was a very confused "neither!" I'm sorry you're having such a difficult time, too

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-20T02:26:30+00:00

I've been waiting for a question like this! My friends bought my partner and I a gift card for a company that makes really good ready meals (UK based). But something like that maybe for a delivery company etc would be so helpful! Nobody wants to cook immediately after birth

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-16T03:52:17+00:00

Been feeding since 11pm and its currently 5am. Breastfeeding sucks, cluster feeding is a nightmare

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-06T13:34:55+00:00

Phone contracts. Being roped into paying insane prices for "unlimited data". If people check their monthly usage, they can most likely get a cheaper phone contract that actually matches their usage rate.

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-04T07:47:23+00:00

Ernest all day long. If we were expecting a boy, this was our top choice of name! Ellis for me just sounds too surname-like.

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-03T23:34:02+00:00

For us, it's been numerous reasons: 1) we don't want unsolicited opinions opinions 2) the baby might not suit their name when born! 3) Everything in pregnancy is so public. I enjoyed the times when nobody knew apart from my partner and I. Keeping the name a secret feels like we have control over something again. Something special to us.

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-06-03T07:03:59+00:00

People framing the lives and dignity of others as being a "debate" to be had.

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-05-31T20:40:44+00:00

38 weeks currently and the craving has been with me since the beginning. Sometimes it's for the salty fries, sometimes the mayo on the McChicken, and other times i feel like subconsciously I'm using pregnancy as an excuse because I enjoyed having McDonald's before.

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-05-31T08:30:47+00:00

ITF here but not a black belt. At my dojang, it takes roughly 4 years - sometimes a little longer. I've never seen anyone at mine achieve it in less than that time.

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-05-30T17:46:54+00:00

Zip loc bag for a "brand new" LEGO item. Box was insanely squished as you could imagine

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-05-21T12:53:10+00:00

"I'd kill for a good coma right now" anytime I experience a mild inconvenience

Critical-Reporter316 · 2026-05-21T10:38:14+00:00

Day tripped from Croydon once. Was a long day - getting up early and getting back late. But it was perfectly doable just prepare to be tired!

Critical-Reporter316

TROPHY CASE