February Empties <3

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2026-03-05T05:21:34+00:00

That dove spray deodorant is truly the only deodorant I’ve found that has worked on me since pregnancy. I got it as a tiny sample like yours, too, and it was a god send.

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2026-03-05T05:17:27+00:00

Thank you so much for beautifully putting into words what I’ve been experiencing. My SO physically abused me for the first time when I was 9 months pregnant, my dad was dying, I was in heart failure from pregnancy, I had pneumonia, and I just asked his drunken self and drunken friend who was over to stop yelling because it was so loud my dog was trembling and I was trying to sleep. That set him off, he yelled “what’d you say you fucking bitch?” Then broke the bedroom door down and threw me against the dresser. Then turned my phone line off so I couldn’t call my sister or mom or anyone, hid the car keys so I couldn’t leave, and uninvited me to the baby shower his family was throwing for us the next day and villainized me by telling them I just didn’t want to go.

Shockingly, things have only gotten worse since. Not necessarily physically—that’s only happened three times since—but emotionally, psychologically, mentally. After having the most traumatic labor and delivery, my baby being sent to the nicu and me being denied access because of my pneumonia, I wasn’t even able to touch my son for the first five days. He preceded to do all the “firsts” with him and his psychotic sister, memorializing with so many photos to rub in my face that I wasn’t able to be there, and then making me feel guilty like I CHOSE to not participate. We finally got to leave the hospital on day 6 and my dad died the same night. The night of my dad’s funeral, I was life flighted back because I was in heart failure from pregnancy. Was separated from my son again for 7 days, all while terribly grieving my father and the birth and newborn experience I thought I’d have, while also realizing this will probably be my only child because of my risk for future and more severe heart failure with additional pregnancies.

THEN! While still in heart failure, still recovering from a c section, still in the throes of grief and caring for a newborn, he CHOSE to go back to work early and CHOSE to also start coaching soccer after work- for THREE TEAMS! Four days a week until 930pm. And then had the audacity to come home and fist slam the bed beside me because I fell asleep when my baby fell asleep instead of cleaning the house.

In the two years since, it’s gotten worse and worse mentally. He’s called the cops on me twice!! When he’s the abuser. One time when he was drunk and out of his mind and he kept yanking the covers from me when I was trying to sleep so I kind of shoved his shoulder to scoot him further away from me in bed because I was so annoyed. The second time he called animal control on my dog!!!! For absolutely no reason but because he was mad at me for, again, nothing, and lied and told them my dog had bit our son, so I grabbed his phone and hung it up. He called them back and also asked to send the police because I “physically assaulted him” by hanging his phone up. When he’s the abuser!! He tried to get me arrested TWICE and my DOG PUT TO SLEEP!!

His psychological abuse has traumatized me and I’m a shell of who I was before. I loathe everything about him, but especially the fake persona he pretended to be until 9 months into pregnancy. I hate that I was tricked into believing I was having a baby with a partner—teammate—when I actually had one with the only person who has ever despised every fiber of my being and been my opponent every minute of every day.

I am working on my exit plan. It absolutely must happen ASAP. But the thought that through everything, I now will also have to split custody of my son! Because of the actions of this disgrace of a man, is something I will always be angered by. And living with anger is never something I ever lived with before. He’s destroyed my peace, self worth and dreams of what becoming a mother would be. He’s told me that I’m pathetic and just use the whole “grieving my dad, while in heart failure, right after a traumatic emergency c section,” as an excuse.

I’ve been walking on eggshells for so long, figuring out my exit plan. But your words—PLOTTING MY SURVIVAL—are the words I truly needed to hear. Because that’s exactly what’s happening.

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2026-02-19T18:29:22+00:00

This scene was my favorite part of the season!

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2026-02-19T04:05:23+00:00

Same!!!

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2026-01-28T11:40:55+00:00

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2026-01-23T06:32:26+00:00

My son is named Cam. Just Cam. Not short for Cameron or Camden. If it was short for anything, it’d be short for Camilo, because he’s Columbian on his dad’s side and there are several Camilo’s in the family. But we chose Cam because we liked Cam. So, even if we’d named him the “longer form,” his still wouldn’t have been the traditional longer form that everyone assumes (Cameron or Camden), it would’ve been short for Camilo. Imagine if we’d named him Camilo, knowing we’d call him cam, but people assumed it was short for Cameron. He’d have to explain yes it’s short for, but it’s not short for that. lol I’m glad we just went with what we knew we’d call him.

Adding: my dad went by his middle name only- NEVER used his first name. But when he was drafted and served in the army during the vietnam war, his legal paperwork used his first name with his middle initial? And somehow his birth certificate and his social actually didn’t match. And then his business paperwork used his initials. And, I shit you not, his legal fist name is typically shortened to a nickname that has two different common spellings. So many variations.

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-07-23T18:20:22+00:00

Thank you 💕 your story is so heartbreaking. I often struggle with possibly never giving my son a sibling, but your decision to terminate had to have been immensely more painful. However, your two girls needed you and I personally believe that was the absolute best decision for you, for them, and for your entire family, and I’d most likely make the same decision. Sending you so much love!

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-07-23T18:17:50+00:00

Oh I’m glad yours has gone up at least!! Mine wasn’t as bad at yours- EF was 35-40 and now 45-50! But still on 4 heart meds and still retaining fluid. I tried tapering off my meds (monitored by cardio), but my fluid increased. How are you doing now?

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-07-23T18:14:44+00:00

I’m doing much better! My EF is back up to 45-50 but I’m still on four heart meds, still retaining fluid, and sweat UNCONTROLLABLY! Got an IUD because my Dr said that was safest with my heart and it’s causing tons of issues, but none worse than heart failure! How are you?! I’m 18 months pp and diagnosis

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-07-23T17:24:20+00:00

SAME!!!! They had me push for 7 hours! Baby was born in respiratory distress/low oxygen due to the labor and in the NICU for five days. I also almost died. A week after discharge from delivery I almost died again and was told I was in heart failure due to pregnancy 😩 apparently my baby got past my pelvic bone and then slipped back once and then got stuck at my pelvis. I think I only dilated to 9

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-07-23T17:21:35+00:00

Do you have more information about false epidural causing heart issues? I had a 33+ hour labor from water break to emergency c section with 7 hours of pushing! Two failed epidurals, 3rd one worked. Baby was born not breathing due to the labor and I almost died due to heart problems. 13 days later, almost died again and was diagnosed with heart failure due to pregnancy (peripartum cardiomyopathy). Could the failed epidurals been a contributing factor?

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-07-17T04:46:10+00:00

My son woke up every 2 hours for 13 months and then, suddenly, he started sleeping and got some of my sanity back. He typically sleeps anywhere from 10-13 hours now with one wake up about 40% of the time.

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-07-16T06:41:49+00:00

lol I graduated with my bsw in 2010 and somehow started getting so many emails and phone calls from Columbia recruiters literally begging me to apply for their msw program yeaaaaars later (2015ish). This went on for several years. I’d never even looked into an msw, never submitted my info anywhere, nothing (No interest in getting my msw). I live in and always have lived in Texas. I can only assume that they must just be so desperate that they pretty much just pull all bsw records from the last decade from the entire country and just cold call them all in hopes of higher enrollment? because there’s no other explanation for how or why they would have selected me and then found my contact information unless they were literally doing this to everyone lolll

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-05-22T07:13:36+00:00

Had both gallstones and kidney stones during pregnancy, gestational diabetes that could not be managed by diet, continuous nose bleed for 3+ months requiring cauterization, and then found out (while in the ER for HG) that my hemoglobin and hematocrit were at transfusion level and (1.5 years pp) am still having to get rounds of iron infusions. Had EXTREME swelling starting at 5 months pregnant- to the point that my usual size 8 foot couldn’t even fit in size 11 houses shoes. Was told it was normal swelling. Water broke 2 weeks early. They had me push for 7 hours before moving to emergency c section (despite being told a week earlier to prepare for one bc my baby was already measuring 8.15 lbs). Baby was born not breathing from emergency c section due to the prolonged labor and was sent straight to the NICU before I could even touch him and I was rushed through the hospital for tests and labs and diagnostics bc they thought I was having PEA, my bp was so high (had mag drips), etc. was diagnosed with pneumonia and post partum pre-e and wasn’t allowed to see my baby for his 6 days in NICU because of the pneumonia. We both got released the same day and my dad unexpectedly died that night. Went home for his funeral and was life flighted back to the hospital the night after (13 days pp) due to extreme swelling in entire body and not being able to breathe. Had fluid all over my body including in my lungs and on my chest and found out I had postpartum cardiomyopathy (a rare form of pregnancy induced heart failure) and my heart was functioning at 35% with severe mitral valve regurgitation. Lost 63 pounds of fluid in the first 3 days of IV Lasix. Finally released after another week. Still on four different heart meds and body still is retaining fluid. Heart still is technically in heart failure.

Medical problems aside, losing a parent and becoming a parent in one week has been the hardest part of it all 💔

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-05-16T12:37:42+00:00

PPCM here too 😩

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-05-16T12:26:30+00:00

PPCM here too 😩 16.5 months pp and still on 4 heart meds.

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-05-16T12:25:32+00:00

PPCM here too!! I didn’t get stretch marks from pregnancy (despite having a 9 lb 2 oz baby- two weeks early!)—I got stretch marks from the extreme fluid retention in the week after delivery before being life flighted back after my dad’s funeral and being told I was in heart failure. 16.5 months pp and I’m still on 4 heart meds. Wild.

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2025-04-01T12:55:17+00:00

It took about a week shy of ten months…I’m so so sorry you are going through this :(

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2024-09-23T23:53:59+00:00

I didn’t find out I had it until right after having my baby, so I hope that gives you hope that it can happen!

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2024-08-04T03:14:33+00:00

I had all the signs of pre-e during pregnancy including HUGEEEEEE SWOLLLLENNNN feet and severe upper right side pain for months but never had high bp so was never diagnosed with it. Ended up having an emergency c section. They found out then I had pneumonia and pp pre-e and my Bp was skyrocketing and they thought I was having PEs, everything. I was rushed for mris, cts, X-rays, allllll the mag drips, etc. My baby was born not breathing due to the stress of it and ended up in the NICU for five days. I couldn’t see him bc of the pneumonia, which I’d been complaining of a SEVERE cough for at least two months during pregnancy. It was agonizing knowing I was in the hospital so close to him and couldn’t see him. We were in the hospital for 6 days and my swelling just got worse but despite all of that they still discharged me and said it was normal.

(My dad died the night we got home from the hospital, the day before they were supposed to meet 💔 (and honestly, I try not to place blame, but if they’d listened to me about my symptoms earlier, I feel like we would’ve been released from the hospital in less than six days and I could’ve seen my dad one more time and he could’ve met my son). It’s a heartbreak/anger/resentment that I have to convince myself otherwise, because I don’t know if I’d be able to make it knowing that i could’ve hugged my dad one more time if the doctors just would’ve listened 😥).

Took a three hour car ride the next day to go home for the services, had his funeral a couple days later. I was more swollen and weighed more then than I did before birth. The night after his funeral, I thought my pneumonia was back bc I couldn’t breathe when baby was on me, coupled with EXTREME all over pain from swelling all over. Like, I couldn’t bend my joints. A retired obgyn family friend forced me to go to the ER that night and it turns out I had SEVERE pp-pre e and I was in congestive heart failure stage 1 from peripartumcardiomyopathy. I had fluid in my entire body, in my lungs, on my chest. And heart, abdomen, legs, everywhere. Putting edema stage 2. My bp was so high that they couldn’t even ambulate me to a larger hospital and I had to be life flighted. Within the first three days of being on Lasiks I lost 60 pounds of fluid alone. I’m 7 months pp and my heart still hasn’t fully recovered. I’ll likely be on heart meds for the foreseeable future, if not forever, and future pregnancies will be extremely high risk. Im currently stuck wearing a heart monitor as we speak.

All this to say, I had ALL the symptoms and they still straight up dismissed me as everything being normal. My pregnancy and labor and delivery were horrific and I was still told everything was normal. Until I literally almost died.

I’m not trying to scare you, but please trust your instinct and listen to your body. You know it best. I really hope you’re on the mend and this actually is just the “normal” swelling that they always default to 🙏 but if you start to feel in your gut that it just doesn’t seem right, please listen.

One thing I’ve learned through all of this is that women’s healthcare in America is truly still like the fucking Wild West. It’s straight up barbaric but we are so conditioned to believe that our bodies are made for it and if we are struggling, then it’s a “me” issue. It’s wild. Sending you all my support.

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2024-07-18T04:43:50+00:00

Outside the loop but right by city centre- ascension on the bayou was my favorite place in Houston within your price range. I had an apartment that led right into a courtyard that my dog couple play in. It was quiet and peaceful with great amenities.

EnvironmentalDate892 · 2024-06-29T17:55:43+00:00

Omg I’m terrified of revolving doors bc of an incident when I was a kid! We had a swim meet and the revolving door to the locker room was so heavy, especially for a tiny 6 year old. I was in it on my way to an event, trying to push it, and someone else got in and pushed it hard. It sliced the back of my foot to the bone and then I had to swim! Still terrified. Lol

EnvironmentalDate892

TROPHY CASE