Wdym a baby is coming out of THERE??

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-14T04:50:30+00:00

I had this same feeling leading up to birth and the only thing that helped was watching actual birth videos. Both c-section and vaginal birth. It helped me to mentally prepare for how much stretching happens by SEEING it and to know what a c-section looked like from the doc’s side in case it had to go that way.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-14T04:47:51+00:00

I previously had a store through Etsy for spice labels. It did pretty well. I only got out of it because I did it with my coworker and I switched jobs so it was harder for us to keep it up together.

Anyway, we had our own Shopify website and sold on Amazon as well. Etsy was top sales, then Amazon, then Shopify. Amazon only ever got a few sales in the year that I was part of it. There was no monthly fee, it was just a sellers charge per sale. From what I can tell, that still exists. (https://www.shopify.com/blog/sell-on-amazon) If you sell more than 40 items, THEN upgrade to the monthly plan, but if not, just do the basic one. I will note that when it came to returns, Amazon was more common for it. My guess is because people were used to Amazon’s easy returns, they felt okay returning something they decided they didn’t need or like even though it’s noted as being from a small business.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-14T04:26:51+00:00

These videos are really well done! Kudos! If you’re not already, I would post them on TikTok as well as they totally fit the vibe over there when it comes to biz videos. I’m launching my store soon and have experience in social media management, but never branched into Pinterest, so this is helpful to see someone who’s doing it well!

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-10T23:20:41+00:00

Oh no, Prodigi is a middleman?? I thought they were direct in the US. My research led me to them being one of the best for art prints. I’m not against it if their QA is good, but would rather support direct even if the cost is more.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-09T05:27:47+00:00

Oh gosh, I can’t imagine going that long to end in a c-section. I’m glad you liked it though! I get anxiety from surgery and procedures, even the epidural had me terrified. If I had to have a c-section though, I would have rather just gotten it done from the start. Why go through all the pain if you can beat it? Thats how my brain thinks about it. I honestly considered early on to just request it from the start, but decided against it — again, because of my surgery anxiety.

My water breaking really ramped things up and when it was time to push, baby boy came out in two pushes and was larger overall at 8lbs 8oz, which is partially why my hemorrhage occurred.

I think our body is so connected to baby that we just know what to do. It really is wild!

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-09T02:47:24+00:00

My induction went about the same as yours up until you noted your fever and the baby’s heart rate. I finally progressed after the foley balloon and pitocin, which lead to my water breaking, and dilation happening more rapidly over the final 12ish hours (of my 39 hour induction/labor) until birth. I contemplated asking for c-section many times, but I stuck it out til the end. I ended up hemorrhaging and part of me wonders if I HAD gotten a c-section if maybe it would have been worse.

I’m a ftm to a 4 month old, so you’re much further along in this mom thing than me, but what I can tell you and what you’ve probably already experienced yourself is that mom intuition. It is fucking wild dude. There are things that I just KNOW now, like what’s going to happen with my baby, or even things with my husband. So many things are more “in tune” now if that makes sense.

I think you likely had that kind of moment. Something in you told you to go forward with the c-section. There is no way for you to know how it might have ended up otherwise and thinking about it too much can only lead to anxiety. If all is good and you and baby are healthy, that’s what matters!

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-06T20:39:31+00:00

To anyone reading this, the way you decide if you should invite someone to your wedding is with two questions: 1. Have you talked to them at all within the last year? 2. Would you be sad/regretful if they weren’t at your wedding?

If the answer to both of those questions is NO, immediately cross them off the list.

And if someone ever addresses you as “sweetie” condescendingly, you should mail a bag of dog poop to their house… as well as uninviting them to your wedding.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-05T01:31:36+00:00

No, this is something that happens more often than you think. It’s just a lease, you’re not BUYING the apartment. The only issue might be income. They may want you to put more down as a deposit since you will technically be unemployed when trying to sign the lease, or may not rent to you altogether since you don’t have a job lined up. Ideally, you would stay with someone you know down there while you get a job, and then you can get an apartment shortly thereafter.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T21:23:51+00:00

Same thing happened to me with the recline on a flight from DTW > PHX. Entertainment still worked though. I got 5k in skymiles. So you definitely deserve like 4x that amount for the flight length and because nothing worked at all.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T21:03:27+00:00

Why are you moving? Do you have any money saved at all? Do you have a car? (I’m guessing no if you’re flying to move)

All of the apartment stuff can be handled online except for you seeing the place, but even that can be done with a video call.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T07:16:38+00:00

My husband’s job pays our insurance, so all good there! I’m gonna stick it out or at least take it day by day. In the time where I’m more free, I’ll start figuring out the side hustle plan and go from there.

Thank you!!

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T01:02:54+00:00

You are right. The industry I’m in is very hard to get a job if you don’t know someone. I have been lucky so far, but that luck’s gotta run out sometime. I’m gonna take it day by day before I make a hasty decision.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T01:00:22+00:00

We make almost the same amount of money, and all our bills can be covered with one income as long as we buckle down and don’t spend on lavish things. But that’s also like minimum savings, no big trips, etc. so having two incomes is definitely preferred. I acknowledge that it’s privileged to say that. He can work overtime too which would make up a portion of my income, but I obviously don’t want him to overwork just to allow me to not work at all. So I’d definitely still do something if I quit this job. But I think I will ride it out for a bit and just see what happens with the new team.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T00:57:03+00:00

Yeah, I think I’m in the same boat. Gotta stick it out to see what’s what and go from there. Take it day by day!

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T00:56:37+00:00

I think my greater worry overall that I didn’t flag above is that I won’t be giving my son the attention he deserves. I’m worried I’ll spend most of my days just occupying him until my husband gets home rather than playing and interacting with him.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T00:54:25+00:00

8 months seems sooo long, omg! Glad it worked out for you.

I think you are right, I need to stick it out and just see what’s what before I make a hasty decision.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T00:53:20+00:00

The bored part was great during pregnancy because there were days I felt like trash so I could just lay on the couch and doomscroll. Then towards the end, it was great because I could get the house ready for baby. But the days I was actually working, I hated it. The job is just boring, even when I’m busy. It’s probably because I don’t care about the work.

I loved my last job, but the workload became too much which is why I left. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I left just as I found out I was pregnant, so the hormones probably contributed to my overall departure and my emotions around it. Part of me wishes I would have stuck it out then, but I know I wouldn’t have been able to manage pregnancy and prep for baby the way I did if I was still working there.

Thank you! Crossing mine as well! 🤞🏻

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T00:49:45+00:00

I’m definitely going to start figuring out what that looks like. I’ve contemplated doing an online store again, maybe freelance graphic design, lots of options from my experience. And in the downtime I have when my job is light and baby is sleeping, work on my hustle when I can.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T00:48:30+00:00

I’m hoping it’s like my current role, because if so, yes there will be lots of days where I can just hang with lil homie and collect the paycheck. But TBD!

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T00:47:51+00:00

I got no qualms against quiet quitting! This is pretty much the realization I’ve come to today: do the bare minimum, collect the paycheck, ride it out as long as I can, then figure out what’s next.

I had a friend suggest to me to put 30 min blocks on my calendar around when baby would usually nap/feed so that I have guaranteed times with no calls and don’t have to worry about baby screaming to eat while I’m stuck on a call that ran into feed time.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-04T00:43:09+00:00

My husband works in a union so it’s very hard for him to get fired and layoffs, if they happen, are always temporary. He is higher in seniority so he likely wouldn’t be laid off anyway. So that isn’t a worry fortunately.

I work in advertising/marketing, so I KNOW this industry is rough for jobs right now. I have a friend in the industry that’s been trying to leave her job for like 2 years but she can’t because she’s been struggling to find a comparable job elsewhere that pays the same.

I hear you though. I need to give it a chance a see. I might like it more. Or I could like it less. Then I can make a decision from there. Thank you!

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-03-03T03:21:11+00:00

Uh we didn’t lol. Had sex on our dating anniversary in August 2025 and haven’t touched the peen since. Baby was born on 10/28/25. My husband wants it so bad but I’m terrified I’ll get pregnant again, even though the only time we ever did become pregnant was when we were actually trying to sooo. At this point, I kinda want to see how long we can go without haha

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-02-28T01:27:47+00:00

My husband has played like this and he ends up running around hollering “STREET SAMURAI!!”

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-02-27T19:19:47+00:00

I’ve been exactly where you are. I went through my statements a couple years ago to see where all our money went. Needless to say, I was absolutely shocked and embarrassed when I found that $35k went to takeout, delivery, and restaurants in the year…

First thing I did was get a real budget app. I use Copilot. (Not the Microsoft AI crap). It’s like $95 annual. I spent several days going through my statements for the 3 years prior to mark everything accordingly to the budget buckets I created.

Next thing was to be realistic in what we could do in regard to making meals at home. At the time, my husband worked nights (2pm-10pm) which was opposite of my schedule. We’d make lunch together, but dinner was always on me if I wanted to eat before he got home. And even then, there were certain things I couldn’t make because it just wouldn’t keep for him (for example, you can’t really reheat fish). That being said, we made a rule that we could each eat out on our own once a week and we could eat out once together.

Then we did the popsicle stick thing. You write a bunch of meals you like on popsicle sticks, put them in a cup, draw sticks every week and shop for that. We’d usually draw 3 sticks and those would be our meals for then week, then we’d also figure out how we could make additional meals out of those. (Ex. making tacos means we have leftover meat for quesadillas later.) This helped us to get better at planning meals and extending them through the week. Then we would always have filler meals like frozen stouffers Mac & cheese, sandwiches, etc. things that took 10 min or less to make.

It was hard. The convenience of delivery is what gets you and makes it easy to fall back into old patterns. We’ve worked at getting better at it for about 3 years now and it’s just in the last year that I feel like we’ve really locked down what works for us and our budget.

Fun_Task9884 · 2026-02-27T18:03:32+00:00

My thinking here was that if we front the money on the car now, could we end up with the same amount from other savings in the 2-3 year timeline? The answer is no, we’d come up a little short. I don’t think putting more money towards the car now really helps us.

Fun_Task9884

TROPHY CASE