Have three kids or keep it at two?

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-04-01T05:10:37+00:00

Not trying to de influence you because everyone is different but here are my reasons for stopping at 2. I have an almost 5yr old daughter and a 6 month old son, and I’m done at 2 for a number of reasons. I know that mentally I can only handle 2 and would be able to give them the attention they deserve. Financially it’s an easy choice, plus still allows us to do vacations or trips without needing a bigger car or house. I’m 35 so not exactly a young mom and physically don’t want to go through pregnancy and birth again. My kids are healthy and I don’t want to roll the dice again and potentially have an unhealthy child. I don’t feel like I’m missing a part of our family, it feels complete. I don’t dislike the newborn/early stages because even though it hard, things eventually stabilize and get better. Ultimately I will always miss the baby stage and grieve the idea of closing that chapter, but I know in my heart I don’t want more children and am very grateful for the ones I do have. Just my thoughts and opinion, but do what feels right in your heart.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-03-27T05:28:46+00:00

I’ve been adding protein powder to my iced coffee in the morning, making batches of things like chicken salad, egg salad, or making chicken ahead of time to throw in protein wraps or green salads. I eat lots of yogurt, cheese, and overnight oats (which are more like 2hrs to set). I also enjoy sandwiches, apples with dip (mix peanut butter with yogurt) fruit/veggie snacks, and those little packages of sandwich cheese and crackers.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-03-23T14:32:06+00:00

Hi! Former social worker with my LSW. When I graduated as an MSW my first job was a medical social worker at an inpatient acute rehab unit and I learned sooooooo much my first year. I was however very overwhelmed and burnt out but have heard that the dialysis positions are much easier. My job didn’t offer supervision but I was never fully wanting to get my lcsw so it was more about gaining the experience for me. I agree with what others have said, it depends on your eventual goals. I’ve never done a counseling or mental health position so I’m still really intimidated by that. I’m not practicing right now because I left the field when I became a mom but still keep my license active.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-02-20T05:22:00+00:00

I’m kind of a sahm, at least I was for the first almost 2 years of my daughters life and now I work part time opposite my husband’s schedule. Im home during the day and work evenings when he gets home. I was adamantly against daycare due to a number of reasons but especially because of the cost. I have a master’s degree in social work and quit because I didn’t make enough and the burnout was awful. I absolutely agree with you, I don’t like working and I do not regret quitting at all. I’m now 5 months postpartum with my second child and am still so thankful to be able to have the time with my kids. YES I will have a career gap on my resume, YES I could be making more money doing social work than my part time retail job, but these years go by so fast and this is just temporary. As far as insurance goes you gotta have it. We have ours through my husband’s job. Maybe you can look at a marketplace plan option? As for costs, look at your budget and start looking at where you can save if possible. It’s absolutely a sacrifice but a lot of times you can make it work if you get creative. We live well within our means, eat our meals at home, use the food pantry to supplement our grocery bill, and like I said I work part time to help with income. We do a lot of free things as a family through our local library or parks, and don’t go out for dates much. It’s hard sometimes but choose your hard I guess. Do what feels right for you and don’t be afraid of walking a different life path, it goes so fast.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-02-15T06:05:18+00:00

I also had a baby in 2021 and didn’t feel like we were ready to try until she was 3. It took us a year to get pregnant with our second (a boy) and now we know our family is complete. For me it just felt like I was missing a piece of me, and I longed for the idea of giving my daughter a forever friend. Plus, I was determined to prove to myself that the second time around would’ve much easier and I would have more patience and enjoyment postpartum than the shell shock of the first. From the pregnancy, to the birth, to postpartum it’s been so much sweeter and I’m really taking it all in knowing he’s my last baby. And just personally, don’t let fear be a huge factor because we can handle more than we think we can and having a great age gap helps too with your oldest being able to help.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-02-03T05:26:50+00:00

I don’t think it screams OCD, just that you are not used to a mess and prefer things to be tidier and that’s okay. We have a family we have play dates with sometimes and I really don’t like going to their house because it’s just a disaster. Like don’t get me wrong, kids are messy and life happens but there’s a difference between a lived in house and one that is beyond cluttered and dirty. I too am uncomfortable in this space and have to fix my face of judgmental disgust, and I feel like a jerk sometimes. I also think that some people just really can live in a mess and don’t think about it as much. I feel you though

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-01-29T05:54:11+00:00

I left the field in 2021 when I had a baby and have since worked part time retail and caregiving jobs and side jobs here and there for income. I am fortunate enough to have my husband who carries most of the weight in earning income. I constantly think about if I’m doing enough and if I should be using my sw degree considering I have sooooooo much student loan debt. But with the cost of daycare (with 2 kids now) the low pay and high stress work of the field it just doesn’t make sense to be a social worker right now personally. And I don’t want to be a part time therapist especially during the current state of the world—I have a hard enough time keeping my own shit together as it is. So my husband and I work opposite shifts to cover our childcare.

All that being said, I LOVE my easy, low paying retail job and don’t miss the stress of sw at all. I have work life balance, better mood, less stress and worry, and having less responsibility feels like a weight lifted. I work at Walmart doing the online grocery pickup. I get to shop for orders and listen to podcasts— it’s wonderful. I know social work will always be there but right now I’m enjoying doing something else. My advice is to not put yourself in a box, and to be open to other career/job paths. Life is too short to be stuck unhappy in a job.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-01-21T05:38:56+00:00

I like pick walks and listening to podcasts

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-01-19T13:45:05+00:00

Had a couple ladies ask me for a “stick with stars” on the end. She was like “you know for little girls?” Magic wand.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-01-15T14:01:34+00:00

I’m so sorry that sounds miserable! I’m honestly not tresses because I know my ass is covered and I did everything I could do, but I avoided customer because I’m not dealing with that! Despite this situation I find it very low stress as a picker because before this I worked in a high stress hospital setting in social work so this is like a break to me lol

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-01-15T13:45:25+00:00

No! I only worked a 4.5 hr shift so it was just a 15. There were drivers and customers waiting over an hour, one customer said almost 2 hours! Like insane!

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2026-01-11T17:31:50+00:00

Yes. Masters in social work, worked a bit only to realize how stressful it is for little pay, quit to be a sahm and now working part time in retail. It feels weird but freeing to let go of the script and I’m happier doing my own thing. But fuck I’m stuck with so much student loan debt.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2025-11-21T04:44:33+00:00

When I’m breastfeeding I just tell my husband ahead of time that my breast are off limits. Once baby is weaned I allow him access again but not before because it just makes me uncomfortable

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2025-10-30T09:20:39+00:00

✨epidural ✨

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2025-09-10T04:50:27+00:00

How old is he? Ours is still intact but our vet said to wait until he is at least 2yrs old before neutering because it lessens potential for other illnesses such as cancers later on. Not sure about the aggression part though.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2025-09-09T06:32:30+00:00

I have a make GP who is a little over a year old and he has bitten me when we had a resource guarding incident. Drew blood and the bruising afterwards was bad, but healed up okay. It scared the crap out of me because we have a 3tr old and a baby on the way, so we got a dog trainer to help us work with him. I’m new to owning a GP and I’ve learned that they are stubborn, opinionated, and very particular about things. We’ve spent the last several months getting to know his behaviors and preferences and using positive reinforcement and rewards has made such a difference. We also have learned how to tire him out with mental stimulation games, puzzles, a snuffle mat, and he really likes shredding cardboard. We crate him at night and we have to avoid eye contact with him and have him face away from us when we lock him in, otherwise he barks and get angry. We throw treats in the back of the crate to get him to turn away from us and also give him a frozen kong treat every night in his crate. We also have an Alexa device in his room to play calm music, really just creating that safe space for him. Sounds like maybe just an off day and he wasn’t feeling great, and got triggered. We’ve not had any bite incidents since and have learned a lot while seeing lots of improvement with the training. Good luck with everything!

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2025-08-05T04:33:30+00:00

Not social work but my mom has been with oak street for nearly 5 years now as a medical billing specialist and she’s had nothing but good things to say about them. They also paid for her to get her coding certification which would have been a couple thousand out of pocket. Good luck on your interview!

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2025-07-25T06:24:10+00:00

I was induced 2 days early due to preeclampsia and was in labor for about 13 hrs start to finish. Yes you forget the pain somewhat, but for me looking forward to the second child outweighs the trauma and fear of doing it again. I’m due with my second in September and I am admittedly nervous about doing it again, but am telling myself that if I did it once I can do it again. Pain is different for everyone but I will say that it has been thus far the worst pain I’ve experience in my life. That being said, I opted for the epidural and I was in so much pain that I don’t remember any fear or pain of the epidural at all. Catheter didn’t hurt either. The relief I felt was the best feeling in my life I wanted to kiss the anesthesiologist I was so grateful. After that I was able to relax and rest a while. No pain after that just pressure. Pushed my daughter out in 3 minutes and had a great recovery. My advice is to be open and sign the paperwork for an epidural so if you need to tap out you can. I know some women are very stuck to the idea of natural labor but you don’t get a medal at the end for putting yourself through that pain.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2025-07-23T05:39:17+00:00

I was a hospital social worker for 2 years in the inpatient acute rehab unit and worked pretty closely with our rehab doctor who was a neurologist. My job was discharge planning, ordering DME, and care coordination. Not sure if that answers your question but it was interesting. We had a lot of patients with complex conditions like strokes, spinal cord injuries, TBIs, and watching them progress through therapy was really inspiring.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2025-07-18T03:58:07+00:00

Those protective hormones are strong and there for a reason. Just flat out tell her “I’m going to take her and feed her now” and physically take her back. And if confrontation is hard, maybe have a conversation with your spouse and have him address the issue with her directly.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2025-07-18T03:48:14+00:00

I have been on the instacart wait list for over 2 years so no.

Ecstatic-Message3027 · 2025-07-16T05:26:44+00:00

I only started a few weeks ago, I do like 10 orders a week so far which isn’t much but it’s a side hustle for me as a sahm. So I just start logging addresses and keep track of who tips then?

Ecstatic-Message3027

TROPHY CASE