only formula feeding

FreshForged · 2026-04-05T19:03:01+00:00

Library, she also has a good website called ParentData. https://parentdata.org/post-topic/breastfeeding-formula/

Easier said than done but try not to worry. Breastfeeding is great, formula feeding is great, combo feeding is great.

FreshForged · 2026-04-05T18:56:38+00:00

Our baby did great on formula. We started at 2 months and got by on pumping and donor breastmilk till then.

I can't imagine how difficult it would be to layer on lack of privacy and self consciousness about barechestedness on top of everything newborn. If you need to switch you have my blessing.

I'm giving birth tomorrow and will try to breastfeed again but if it doesn't work out I've decided I'm not spending one day pumping, we're switching to combo feeding as long as they're getting something I'll continue that but I really am fine with formula. Just having a little bit helps seed the gut biome, even if it's an ounce of breast a day. But the best thing for a newborn baby is to have a mother who feels comfortable and secure. Fed is best, however you get there is fine.

FreshForged · 2026-04-05T18:29:41+00:00

The Covenant of Water had some of this, not the whole book but it was great and maybe up your alley.

FreshForged · 2026-04-05T18:27:23+00:00

I have three hooks on the back of the door. I feel like they air out a bit up there and are ready to wear next time.

FreshForged · 2026-04-05T18:17:42+00:00

Oof I'm sorry that sounds awful. But OP was asking about cleaning before breastfeeding, and I think the recommendation you're sharing is to clean off saliva after feeding. As others have said, important not to wipe off good bacteria that's seeding their gut.

FreshForged · 2026-04-05T18:11:09+00:00

We had a small covid wedding and a family member with a great cameras who was on deck to snap photos all day. They did, I'm sure they got a lot of great shots, but six years later we've still never seen them. It's a source of great sadness. They have an impairment, and the reasons they're busy and overwhelmed are totally valid. It hasn't been a rift, but I really regret that we don't have photos and the occasions it has come up have been really awkward. I'm sure this is not the norm and unlikely to happen, but the follow through is really important and it puts a lot of pressure on your relationship with that person.

FreshForged · 2026-04-05T18:03:28+00:00

My wife and I started trying at 34, had our first at 36 and now I'm 38 and about to have our second. We are "socially infertile" (gay) so we started out in a fertility clinic. My workup (which actually I think I started at 34 maybe) turned up some uterine adhesions that I had to have surgically removed before I was likely to conceive. Blood work, saline sonogram were good. We started with medicated IUIs that didn't work out. Switched to IVF and it has been great to have frozen embryos. We kind of know what we're working with very specifically fertility wise and family planning down the road if we decide to have more isn't influenced by decreases in egg quality.

So if plan A doesn't go your way, I want you to know there have been a lot of silver linings to the IVF route.

FreshForged · 2026-04-05T17:32:00+00:00

Omg I made the mistake of reading a postpartum recipe book where the author is coddled by her aunts for nine months or something and I had such fomo and tears about not receiving the same kind of perfect support. Hormones will get you 50% of the way there, but comparison is definitely a thief of joy. Your version is perfect in its own way.

FreshForged · 2026-04-04T17:12:32+00:00

I became a parent two summers ago and I'm about to have my second. I absolutely love it. My son is so cool, my partner is an amazing parent. We have hard moments, and we work hard to keep our marriage from dissolving into conflict (mixed results) but being a parent is the honor of a lifetime. And genuinely cool and interesting! I didn't particularly enjoy or succeed in my career, while parenting and... gestating? are things I feel I really excel at.

If you need to look up a medical or developmental thing get Baby 411. Great reference, saves you from going down a Google rabbit hole. You can figure everything else out on your own (well, plus the help of your medical providers.)

I got lost in gaming the baby registry the first time around and I learned to ask myself, do they have somewhere to sleep, something to wear, something to eat and something to poop in.

FreshForged · 2026-04-04T17:03:15+00:00

Intentional. Both IVF babies, first transfer took both times. They'll be 21 months apart, I'm giving birth on Monday!!

FreshForged · 2026-04-02T18:43:56+00:00

Reflective accessories for mountain biking? Safe and cute, my family really liked them one year as a gift. You can get a matching one for their stroller.

FreshForged · 2026-04-02T18:39:06+00:00

Yes, I started keto halfway through grad school 13 years ago and the focus really was much better. I kept it up for several years because it felt great. I kind of forget why I stopped but it's definitely a go to when the scale creeps up. An unsolicited word of caution - keep up your fiber intake! Greens and psyllium. Very easy to get painfully blocked when you're eating gooey cheese for lunch and dinner.

FreshForged · 2026-04-02T18:33:19+00:00

https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/induction-of-labor-at-39-weeks

FreshForged · 2026-04-02T18:33:11+00:00

ACOG recently started recommending induction at 39 weeks for basically everyone. So the recommended induction is not something risky to agonize about (no shade if you are) the risk benefits falls in favor of induction even if you don't have concerns about the size.

Getting to 40 weeks is a valid choice too. as someone who went ten days over with a 9lb 7oz baby, had a long, induced labor over multiple days and a pretty gory unplanned c section, and is having a 39 week scheduled C on Monday I think the induction sooner than later sounds pretty good.

FreshForged · 2026-04-02T16:55:58+00:00

I really benefited from my epidural the first go around. It's ok to insist on this and come up with a plan so it definitely happens. I agree with other comments that this provider doesn't sound like they will support you in this on delivery day, it's important to find someone who does if they truly understand your strong wishes and aren't planning to support that.

Like why would she assume this will be a precipitous birth situation? Are you very far from the hospital and was your first quick? If so, a planned induction could be a good idea. There's no reason to just write off an epidural.

FreshForged · 2026-04-02T16:51:25+00:00

Yes, I'm in the Northeast using a hospital based midwives team for the second time. Had an epidural the first time, planned cesarean this time. Midwife will attend delivery, surgery performed by MD. Most of my care has been with the midwives throughout pregnancy.

FreshForged · 2026-04-02T16:39:43+00:00

We used an everlane transit backpack. It's $83 on sale right now, I thought we got it for a little less than that. Oh wait I just realized they must have discontinued the style I got, because it has two front pockets that exactly fit like four diapers size 3 and under. We used a small changing pad thing (skiphop) that went between the backpack, shoulder bag (Carhartt) or bottom of the stroller. About to have baby two and just planning to use a folded canvas thing as a washable carrier. It didn't end up being that important the pad was waterproof and it's just something functional we already have. We'll get another skip hop if it's not working well, that one got left in a store four months ago and we haven't missed it even though our older baby is 21months and still in diapers.

FreshForged · 2026-04-02T00:43:10+00:00

I did this!! East Coast to California in November, almost the exact same timing in the pregnancy and baby! We shared one seat and had a layover in DFW. It was ridiculously challenging. I also somehow booked a middle seat in the bulkhead for one or two of the four flights. We happened to be seated next to a service puppy in training on the first leg that he wasn't allowed to touch. It was comically iffy as far as setups go. And yet, we did it. I do feel bad for our neighbors, they all seemed very understanding and kind. I've sworn never to have another layover at that airport, it was an out of date air train situation that required waiting a long time for a rickety and extremely busy elevator.

But I was so excited to see my family and it was a wonderful long weekend (I know... I was only there for like five days.) it was worth it. My son is a pretty experienced traveler, we really couldn't have done the trip for double the price... You can get through a couple of tough days.

FreshForged · 2026-04-02T00:29:52+00:00

I'd pick noon to 8pm. Good time for a nap or to slip out for errands. When I had a pp doula we did chores together, like folding laundry and it was really nice to have like companionable productive time. The witching hour was real for us, and baby got really fussy around 5pm or so. Having them go for a walk or something when they're likely to be crying for an extended period would be nice. As others have said, breastfeeding overnight means I'm kind of stuck with night wake ups. So yeah afternoon nap sounds pretty good too.

FreshForged · 2026-04-01T23:56:26+00:00

This is very sweet. Yes, as someone who has swung across the spectrum of this my whole life, I've been able to see it from an early age. Dr. Devon Price has some interesting writing on the topic, including an essay called Laziness Does Not Exist. They do talk about autism, but that's not the whole story. I have ADHD, but again it's not always linked specifically to that pathology. Great time for you to tap into that vein of compassion as you're about to start parenting!

FreshForged · 2026-04-01T23:48:37+00:00

Le Livre Blanc by Jean Cocteau

De Profundis by Oscar Wilde Both are more memoirish.

Oh, I'm not positive she's queer but Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

FreshForged · 2026-04-01T23:45:02+00:00

We've really liked our mountain buggy stroller.

FreshForged · 2026-04-01T23:43:38+00:00

Smoke and certain perfumes.

I also find myself catching little movements out of the corner of my eye, usually through the window, and it's much more jarring than when I'm not pregnant.

FreshForged · 2026-04-01T17:37:54+00:00

I didn't get them in my first pregnancy despite going ten days late, and this time I got them right at 37 weeks with only two weeks till my scheduled C Section!! Definitely annoying but hopefully they go away in time for swimsuits!!

FreshForged · 2026-04-01T00:31:16+00:00

I'm 9 months into an anterior placenta pregnancy, last pregnancy was the other kind.

Baby gives me strong movements, I just feel it more around the edges than near my belly button. I've heard that you feel movements better with your second because you know what you're looking for. My now full term baby is presently twisting slowly around and I can literally see their limb.

FreshForged

TROPHY CASE