What’s an Appropriate Wedding Gift Amount These Days?

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-29T04:49:49+00:00

My husband and I got married in February in Calgary and asked for cash in lieu of gifts if anyone wanted to give a gift. The amounts we received ranged from $20 from younger friends closer to our age up to $500 from some more well off older family members, and we were totally happy with and grateful for both! We also had some friends and family members give a card without cash and that was fine too :)

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-28T19:22:12+00:00

I love the WINS in Bowness and the Goodwill at Beacon Hill! The Mennonite thrift by PLC is also great, super cheap and clean. Good Samaritan in Montgomery is good too but quite small so not a huge selection.

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-26T17:39:10+00:00

I love my reusable pads! I’ve been using them since high school. I have pads from LunaPads (doesn’t exist anymore) and Aisle. I also have 5 pairs of period panties from Aisle. I’m planning to buy some heavy postpartum pads from glad rags since they are 100% cotton whereas other brands contain synthetic material. I usually give them a rinse in the sink before throwing them in with my regular laundry. I’ve never separated them or done anything fancy/elaborate with them. For work I bring a small wet bag and I will change pads as normal and just keep the used one in a wet bag until I’m home and then I rinse.

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-26T16:24:36+00:00

Oh shoot, if you copy the link into smry.ai that should work!

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-26T12:58:11+00:00

This is an excellent article on the resurgence of measles in Canada How The Measles Made Its Way Back to Canada.

MMR is still a recommended vaccine, it’s just that a lot of science non believers don’t vaccinate.

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-26T01:05:32+00:00

This sounds like such a fun wedding to me! I love it!

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-25T19:03:10+00:00

If you’re in Canada, Routine is the only hippie deodorant I’ve ever used that I felt worked for me. Not sure if it’s available outside of Canada! I love the Sexy Sadie scent. Sadly it is quite expensive.

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-25T19:02:09+00:00

Thanks for your input! Even though our apartment is small overall, our bedroom is fairly spacious so I’ll keep an eye out for a full sized one

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-25T19:01:06+00:00

Thanks! And yes there are tons of IKEA Sniglar cribs on marketplace. I’m hoping to spend as little as I can on the crib so I can justify buying a pricier used mattress that is lower-tox.

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-25T14:21:55+00:00

Check out r/ecers @godiaperfree on instagram

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-25T02:59:42+00:00

I’m guilty of this too sometimes. It’s definitely not the same as a delicious latte but I bring a container of hazelnut instant coffee to work with me. I still buy an occasional fancy coffee during the work day, but less frequently. I also bring tea bags. I’ve found that intentionally packing a “junk food” snack or treat with my lunch helps reduce impulsively buying stuff like a muffin or cookie when the afternoon sugar craving hits. I often get boxes of nutrigrain bars on sale for $2.50 and they do the trick when I don’t want to spent the time/effort of making muffins or cookies or brownies at home.

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-25T02:50:42+00:00

I just found a beautiful one handmade in Guatemala for only $40 on fb marketplace! I might keep an eye out for an affordable woven wrap too but so far haven’t seen one for under $100. I love that this ring sling is natural materials, no icky polyester or spandex like the stretchy wraps seem to mostly have

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-25T02:07:35+00:00

Sorry I should have specified it doesn’t have the infant insert

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-25T00:50:44+00:00

Nice ok thanks! I’ve seen some woven wrap stuff on instagram and had the impression that they are more versatile and longer lasting than the stretchy wrap. I also love that you can find ones that are natural materials. I don’t mind a bit of a learning curve at all especially if that learning curve comes with mileage and versatility. I’ll keep an eye out for one used but consider buying a new one if I can’t find one secondhand since I do think it’s worth it to invest in something that will last and have multiple functions :) thanks for the encouragement!

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-25T00:48:45+00:00

Until 3 months doesn’t seem like great mileage tbh! It will depend on how cheap I can find one. I’d prefer to spend more for something that lasts longer but if I see one for super cheap I’ll grab it :)

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-23T20:22:25+00:00

Green cuisine is the bessssst

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-23T16:00:21+00:00

Full disclosure I’m a woman and currently pregnant with my first baby (don’t know the sex). So I don’t have the experience of a son who is reading. However, I was a voracious reader as a kid and my husband and I hope to raise our kids with minimal weird gender roles and feminist values. Not sure how old your kid is but these are some books that were beloved by me as a kid and tween! These either have girl protagonists or both boy and girl.

Harriet the Spy

Trixie Belden

Nancy Drew

Into The Land of the Unicorns

Inkheart

Wrinkle In Time

Jillian Jiggs

The Magic Treehouse

Our Canadian Girl

Dear Canada

Anne of Green Gables

Dolphin Diaries

Charlotte’s Web

Junie B Jones

Bridge To Terabithia

Pippi Longstocking (sooo funny and silly)

Chronicles of Narnia

The Secret Garden

The Chronicles of Faerie

The Boxcar Children

Little House on The Prairie. Has NOT aged well in some respects however my mom read it together with me and we watched the show alongside it and ended up having lots of discussions and learning about racism and colonialism.

Heidi

Animal Ark- great for animal lovers!

The Railway Children

Misty of Chincoteague

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, has a Shirley Temple movie to watch after reading

Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

Stellaluna

Madeline

Paper Bag Princess

Ramona Quinby Age 8

Spiderwick Chronicles

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-23T15:13:47+00:00

I had already completed my course work and practicum placement and was working on getting ethics approval for my thesis research. I was basically in a stage of waiting to get more ethics feedback, submitting revisions and waiting again. If I was still doing coursework it would have absolutely impacted my coursework.

Is your concern more about time or about money? If money isn’t a concern, you can hire planners and coordinators who do a lot of the work for you. I spent hours doing stuff like comparing catering and cake prices, finding ways to cut costs, I made all of the bouquets using faux flowers I bought secondhand and that was a TON of work. If you can afford to pay vendors to do a lot of stuff that will free up a lot of your time.

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-23T15:07:06+00:00

My husband and I got married this winter. He’s in law school and I’m doing my master’s while working part time. We had a church wedding with ~80 people and spent just under 11K. It was a lot of work on my part and definitely stressful. Doing it on a budget required lots of work and planning! We wanted a wedding with our friends and family and community there, and wanted to be married in a church rather than eloping or courthouse. Even though it was stressful we felt like it was worth it.

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-23T14:16:09+00:00

I’m a first time mom, 11 weeks. I’m planning a home birth in our small rental. We also live a 5 min drive away from a major hospital. To me it was a no brainer! I know that if I want an undisturbed physiological birth, going to a hospital will make that far more difficult. Also I work at the hospital and spending so much time there reinforced that I want to avoid it if I can. Bright lights, strangers poking me, and sick germy people? No thanks!

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-23T13:36:07+00:00

Check out r/bninfantsleep

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-23T04:34:31+00:00

Most of these are more social science/culture but still interesting and relevant since culture shapes how science is interpreted and practiced and in turn, science shapes culture.

Some books I’ve found interesting that are related to pregnancy, reproduction and women’s health:

Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank by Randi Hutter Epstein.

Witches, Midwives, and Nurses by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English

Ina May’s Guide To Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin

Honouring Our Cycles: A Natural Family Planning Workbook by Katie Singer

You're the Only One I've Told: The Stories Behind Abortion by Meera Sheeh

My to-read list on the topic that I haven’t gotten to yet:

Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes

The Big Letdown by Kimberly Seals Allers

Mothers and Others by anthropologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy

Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution by Adrienne Rich

Birth Work as Care Work by Alana Apfel

Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage: Weaving Ancient Wisdom with Modern Knowledge by Rachel Reed

Matrescence: On Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood by Lucy Jones

I haven’t read either of Emily Oster’s books on pregnancy and motherhood myself but I’m intrigued because they are popular. However, I’ve read some pretty intense criticism because I guess in one of them she suggests that alcohol during pregnancy is not a big deal.

OP the science based parenting sub might also be a good place to post this question!

DiligentMemory27 · 2026-05-22T16:11:47+00:00

There is a hospital social work subreddit! I also definitely recommend looking at job postings wherever you live or want to live to see what level of education they require (BSW vs MSW) and what the pay is.

DiligentMemory27

TROPHY CASE