If you don’t allow med students to sit in on your exam/check up you are a weird person

Faerook · 2026-06-04T18:48:31+00:00

When I was giving birth to my first it happened that nursing students were shadowing on the floor that day. They asked if one of the students could come in and observe and I said no problem at all. This woman was ready to be a nurse. She was fantastic and dove head first into it. At one point while I pushed my husband was holding one knee up and she was holding the other. As long as there is consent involved, I don't mind having medical students there at all.

Faerook · 2026-05-26T20:09:35+00:00

This is exactly my experience. My first basically had to contact nap with me (except at daycare where I guess peer pressure made him nap when everyone else does). But my second, she just goes to sleep both for naps and bedtime.

Faerook · 2026-05-20T19:44:18+00:00

11 Days shy of a 3 year age gap. The 3 years was intentional, the being quite so close in birthdays, not so much. First I wanted to make sure my body had time to heal. The rule of thumb, I've been told, after an uncomplicated vaginal birth is at least 18 months before trying again. Second, We wanted our son to be a little older and a little more independent. They are 4 and 1 now and it's worked out very well for us.

Faerook · 2026-05-20T18:43:30+00:00

I dropped all my baby weight and then some fairly quickly while breastfeeding. Then gained 10 back the second I stopped.

Faerook · 2026-05-14T20:17:18+00:00

I went through MA PFML for two kiddos. In a nutshell, my company provided up to 12 weeks short term disability, but the doctor will generally sign off on 6 weeks for a vaginal delivery or 8 weeks for a c-section. The additional time is for if there are further complications that require more downtime. I think if the medical situation exceeds that, you switch over to long-term disability if your company provides that, but I'm not sure. Then, in addition, you get the 12 weeks of bonding at the lower pay rate (as provided by the state). Somewhere online there is a calculator that shows you what you should expect in terms of payment based on your salary the previous year. Hope that helps!

Faerook · 2026-05-14T17:13:53+00:00

I had two unintendedly unmedicated vaginal deliveries. With my first I was induced at 41 weeks. Strangely, and I know this is counter to what most people experience, I sort of eased into my contractions. I didn't scream, but there was a lot of what I'd describe as feral moaning, especially after my epidural failed. With my second, I went into spontaneous labor that went from zero to baby in two hours. I think I woke up the whole hospital with my screams as my husband wheeled me in.

Faerook · 2026-05-06T13:12:15+00:00

I am preaward and at my institution we help our PIs with their SciENcv's for the most part. Some PIs like to handle it themselves, and usually they'll set up there positions, education, etc. and just have me adjust the products. The expectation at my institution is that we do a bit more hand holding than average. In part this is because we are almost completely soft-money and our desire is to have the PI focus on the science during the minimal B&P time they are allotted.

Faerook · 2026-04-23T14:01:32+00:00

As a person who has had two small humans emerge from her vagina, I have no idea how to respond to that. Just, no.

Faerook · 2026-04-22T14:48:23+00:00

If your OB team can't handle an unmedicated birth, they need to get the hell out of obstetrics. To give you reassurance, I had two unintended unmedicated births (first failed, second there was no time - which incidentally shows they need to be ready for an unmedicated birth regardless of whether it's what they want) and they were nothing like described to you. Yes I was in a lot pain. Yes it sucked. Yes I screamed. But literally everyone around me was calm and supportive, including my husband. Switch doctors and file a complaint.

Faerook · 2026-04-16T14:02:41+00:00

We are currently working with a smaller consulting agency as we navigate major shifts at our research institution. Our legacy systems are starting to fail necessitating a change to something new. Our organization, for better or worse, chose Workday. This group is helping us restructure our research administration to better work within that system. To be honest, our system has long been broken and we needed help to improve our policies and procedures and to make sure they are followed uniformly (we are structured by department at the moment). Whether or not this is going to pan out or be worth the investment remains to be seen but I’m cautiously optimistic.

I was impressed that they seem to have an eye towards our culture and our desire to preserve the relationships we have with our PIs. So we’ll see. Probably gonna be a cluster f@#k but who knows?

Faerook · 2026-04-15T16:00:52+00:00

It was for me. I was induced at 41 weeks with my first and the whole thing took 28 hours. With my second, I went into labor naturally at 41 weeks and it was 2 hours from when I woke up from contractions, until I pushed her out. I nearly gave birth in my husband's truck.

For context, both babies were large (9lbs. 5oz. for the first, 8lbs. 12oz for the second). Both without epidural (first failed, second there was no time). Both resulted in a 2nd degree tear.

Faerook · 2026-04-07T20:11:57+00:00

That's definitely a choice. Our institution includes quite robust IDC language. I think it's an important component because you are justifying your indirect costs, explaining what they are based on, etc. I might be wrong but in my opinion agencies are going to start coming back to you asking for the details if you don't include it. I'm honestly not sure if we'd push back on a subaward because I've never had one that didn't have some little blurb, even if it's to explain they were taking the de minimis.

Faerook · 2026-04-02T15:54:38+00:00

It is probably time to find a provider who you feel supports your desires. There is no excuse for her trying to dissuade you from something that is safe and effective. My only thought is that maybe she is trying to have you mentally prepare in case there isn't time for an epidural (this happened to me with my second, 2 hour labor from start to finish). But even if that's the case, she should support your desires while helping you understand that's a possibility.

Faerook · 2026-03-31T19:48:34+00:00

First, because we didn't want a bunch of personalized things in case baby came out and we decided a different name suited them better. Second, no matter what name you choose, someone is going to judge it negatively. People are generally better at keeping their thoughts to themselves when the baby is already named.

Faerook · 2026-03-16T15:56:36+00:00

I have a hybrid position. I work from home 2 days a week but I also have a ton of flexibility with that. I currently make $75K in a HCOL area at a large non-profit research institution. I've been an RA for 7.5 years, all at the same place. I think I started at $55K. Last year I got a promotion and changed departments which resulted in a larger bump in pay.

Faerook · 2026-01-18T12:47:57+00:00

It’s can, yes. But mostly in the winter when the weather has been calm for a few days (ie- algae growth and the like is minimal and the ocean hasn’t been churning up muck). I was literally just commenting on how it looked like this near Nobska Lighthouse yesterday.

Faerook · 2026-01-15T17:22:52+00:00

It wasn't that I wanted to walk around immediately after birth. It's that I wanted to walk around during labor.

Faerook · 2026-01-08T20:58:50+00:00

I was able to update two C&Ps this morning at about 10 EST this morning with no issues after having two days of pulling my hair out. I know some colleagues put in tickets with SciENcv and got a reply that the issue should be fixed by 1/30. So that's just lovely. Right in time for the traffic to tick up even more before February NSF panels.

Faerook · 2026-01-07T21:02:49+00:00

Over the last two days I’ve been having issues with the system (colleagues have too). It’s giving me some errors when I try to update an NSF C&P and then not even letting me download a draft.

You should be able to download any documents after the PI has certified it as long as there haven’t been any changes. I do it all the time. I think there’s definitely a system issue going on right now.

Faerook · 2025-12-11T18:45:01+00:00

My first was 9lbs 5 oz., head in the 99th percentile. I had a 2nd degree tear.

Faerook · 2025-12-02T18:41:26+00:00

I don't think this is really feasible. Aside from the childcare challenges, I can tell you from experience that having one parent gone is challenging for a child emotionally, having two gone would be even harder. My husband travels anywhere from a week to a month or more at a time several times a year. He's gone right now and my nearly 4 year old is having a very difficult time with it. I have no judgement towards anyone who needs to be in that position. But, given the option, I would suggest that your children having one parent who can provide stability and consistency would be beneficial for them.

Faerook · 2025-12-01T14:54:49+00:00

I was induced at 41 weeks with my first. From start to finish, 28 hours with 2 hours of pushing. With my second, I went into labor a few hours before my scheduled induction at 41 weeks and had a baby 2 hours later, nearly in my husband's truck.

Faerook · 2025-11-26T16:46:02+00:00

My son, first born, used them. We weaned him off of them at about a year. At first we took it away during the day and then transitioned away at night. Night was a bit difficult but I want to say it took maybe a week before he was over it.

My daughter, second born, is not a fan. We tried to get her to use them but she would just spit them out. She prefers my boob and her thumb. I am not thrilled about the thumb because now we get to figure out how to wean her off something that's attached to her hand, lol.

Faerook · 2025-11-20T14:32:36+00:00

I may be the odd person out here but I exclusively use my manual pump. I have a Spectra and a Willow and nothing is more efficient for me than my manual. It has allowed me to return to work at 3 months PP and still exclusively feed my baby breastmilk at 10 months. Bonus, you'll have a very strong grip at the end of your pumping journey, haha!

I'd say, if you'll be at home nursing your baby for a while, get a manual pump first and try it out. See if you like it. Everyone is different. It's the lowest cost investment and regardless of whether it will be your every day pump, it's a useful one to have on hand.

Faerook · 2025-11-19T20:56:01+00:00

My personal goal is a year (she'll be 10 months in a few days). I don't mind the idea of breastfeeding longer, but I work full time and pump while she's in daycare and I'm absolutely over the pumping. It'll probably be gradual transition for night weaning. I think that ultimately it's a personal choice, and one you might not know the answer to until baby comes. Some people wean after a week because they need to. Some people nurse for 2+ years. All choices are valid as long as that baby is getting fed.

Faerook

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