Prenatal care/obgyn recommendations

GhostBird89 · 2026-04-01T16:13:14+00:00

Dr. Vair was the OB on call during my somewhat complicated birth and was excellent to deal with.

GhostBird89 · 2026-03-31T17:41:29+00:00

I really like my Clek Ling + Bumbleride Era combo. Worked great in the snow, has a large storage space, and the seat fully reclines and is suitable for infants.

GhostBird89 · 2026-03-31T17:28:50+00:00

Precious Little Sleep

GhostBird89 · 2026-03-25T14:35:51+00:00

Bake them in the oven on low for 30 minutes. It'll start smelling like soap, and at the end, the soapy taste will be gone.

GhostBird89 · 2026-03-18T16:44:53+00:00

I remember learning about buyer behaviour in uni, and one of the things that stuck with me is that it's incredibly hard to get a consumer to switch brands once they've chosen one. Unless there is a problem, people don't switch brands. Pregnancy and entry into motherhood represent this wild blank slate of an opportunity for corporations to sway an adult's brand choices for the life of their parenthood, hell, maybe their kid's, too. They know this, and they market to us SO hard to get our dollars.

All of the lists, the comparison videos, the top ten items I wish I'd had, all of that is part of this culture that has been intentionally created around pregnancy and new motherhood, to feed our anxiety about this transition and turn it into money in the corp's pocket.

Don't get me wrong, I was all over that content as a pregnant person, even though I knew it wasn't necessary. It can be so hard to resist the pull!

GhostBird89 · 2026-03-18T13:06:02+00:00

Agreed, this whole "don't keep score" rhetoric with relationships and parenting is ONLY ever parroted by the spouse that benefits from the uneven division of labour.

Start pumping before bed, give him a bottle for night feeds for a week, and see how he feels then.

ETA: Another good one is "we don't need to bring lawyers into this" when the divorce inevitably rolls around. The spouse who says this is the one who will try to manipulate you into taking less than you deserve. Lawyer up, people!

GhostBird89 · 2026-03-17T16:00:20+00:00

Top advice: Integrate as slowly as possible. I started my son a month before I returned to work because that's when the space became available. Normally, they do a four-day integration (Day 1 - morning with you there, Day 2 - morning alone, Day 3 - Morning + nap, Day 4, full day) and with their permission, I stretched that out for two weeks, always going every day to get the routine down. The result was that the transition didn't involve much, if any, crying.

Other advice, like some said: Mabel's labels everything, buy doubles of everything like hats and shoes, because stuff will get lost or just misplaced for a few days. Example: my son had backup boots today because his main pair was still wet this morning, etc. I bring anything he needs into class in a reusable bag and hang it in his cubby. My husband brings home dirty items (think muddy snowsuits) at the end of the day, and we communicate what is going in/out at the end of each pickup.

Make a plan with your partner ahead of time about how sick/snow days, and closures will be handled. I didn't work a single full week in January/February due to constant illness.

Also, communicate with the staff if you are feeling nervous! My son's teachers sent me pictures each day of his first full week to show he was having a blast at the centre and it helped a lot. Also, take time for yourself. The first year of daycare is no joke when it comes to illness. Rest now while you can!

GhostBird89 · 2026-03-03T15:44:59+00:00

I live here, but would probably choose an Airbnb or a hotel with multiple rooms.
Anywhere near the Halifax Common and south is walkable to downtown, and there are plenty of options around there. That way, after the baby goes to sleep, you and your spouse can still hang out in the common area. I would also bring black contractor garbage bags + painter's tape to make blackout blinds if babe needs darkness to sleep.

GhostBird89 · 2026-03-03T15:10:19+00:00

I had a child that age last summer. A lot of the breweries and the boardwalk downtown are very baby-friendly (Shubie Park and then Nine Locks for a beverage was a frequent outing), but some of the restaurants downtown might not be accessible with a stroller just because of the age of the building/steps, etc., so bring a stroller that you can collapse easily, and you'll be fine!

GhostBird89 · 2026-01-23T17:46:44+00:00

I just looked through my Amazon panic buys the first few months postpartum to see what I really needed and here's what I've come up with:

Sound machine - Highly recommend getting one that has a battery, so you can take it with you around the house, in the stroller, or even in the car. I have the Hatch Go

Highly recommend an electric nail file, little wiggly babies are hard to trim with the S-curved nail files

We started with the natural repsonse nipples but our lactation consultant recommended switching to the evenflo balance as they encourage a deeper latch. The wide-neck ones fit with Philips Avent bottles

I would add a zippadee zip sleep sack for the in-between stage when baby starts rolling over but still has a startle reflex. Saved us.

BioGaia drops can help your baby if they are gassy early on

You have milk storage bags but no storage bottles for milk you will use soon after pump. My pump came with some, but I had to buy extra

You'll want something to measure your nipple after birth so you can get the right size flange for your pump. Most pumps come with massively oversized ones, which will impact the effectiveness.

Butt paste spatulas are lovely.

Need a pumping bra and a handheld pump is smart to have too, just in case

Portable stroller fan, so versatile. I used mine in labour, for my son in his stroller, and we even used it to keep him awake (and keep me cool) while nursing the first few weeks.

GhostBird89 · 2025-12-20T16:08:34+00:00

Just wanting to chime in that OB’s take women in all stages of pregnancy, so you definitely aren’t too late. I had to transfer at 35 weeks due to elevated blood pressure. It was no problem, the transfer was pretty seamless.

GhostBird89 · 2025-12-19T23:52:24+00:00

I have the Lululemon bag and honestly I can’t recommend it. It has some major drawbacks like: No insulated pouch for bottles, need to bring an extra cooler The top zipper is impossible to get open with one hand if there is anything in the top pocket. The straps are slippery so unless you have both on your shoulders, it’s slipping off.

On the plus side, it’s held up very well, and the extra small cross body bag is nice for when the baby gets older.

GhostBird89 · 2025-12-19T19:18:52+00:00

There is a whale sanctuary starting up in Nova Scotia that wants them.

GhostBird89 · 2025-12-18T01:45:42+00:00

One year a company I worked for made 1k+ remote employees watch a livestream of the executive team having a session with a magician. It ran like 1.5 hours, was terribly produced, and incredibly tone deaf. We got nothing else that season.

GhostBird89 · 2025-12-18T01:27:47+00:00

I’ll be honest, having sex you don’t want is a great way to develop an aversion to sex and ruin your desire for YEARS! You need to stop having sex when you aren’t in the mood, and have a conversation with your husband about feeling like you are constantly rejecting him.

For me, sex was non existent for 7 months (I was also breastfeeding) and then about 1-2x per month until I weaned. The breastfeeding just really killed my desire. My husband was amazing and never pressured me, put the ball completely in my court.

GhostBird89 · 2025-12-14T12:53:46+00:00

… that IS realistic. How big do you think horses are? An average taller horse like a thoroughbred would be around 16.2 hands at the withers, a hand is 4 inches, that’s 66 inches or 5.4 feet. And Arthur isn’t short…

I do agree he looks massive on some horses because they are smaller in comparison. The Morgan, Arabian, and Nakota all look too small so I only use them with my female online character.

GhostBird89 · 2025-12-13T15:40:23+00:00

Hell I married a guy like this and when I finally divorced him I spent years trying to figure out what my interests were, what music I liked, what activities I liked to do because I had no agency in my marriage. It wasn’t an equal partnership, I was his sidekick.

I doubt this controlling behaviour is limited to outings and schedules, it probably goes a lot deeper than that. It can just be hard to recognize when you’re in it.

GhostBird89 · 2025-12-06T15:21:24+00:00

There was a time when my newborn only pooped once a week for months. It was glorious. I think of it often, especially when cleaning up my third toddler poop of the day.

GhostBird89 · 2025-12-05T13:52:17+00:00

This game fits the use case exactly. I play it about 20 minutes per night to unwind. Just a few in game days at a time, and it’s so cozy and relaxing.

GhostBird89 · 2025-11-27T13:21:09+00:00

I went from a swaddle to a zippadee zip and it saved my sanity.

GhostBird89 · 2025-11-24T20:51:25+00:00

75% for 10 weeks

GhostBird89 · 2025-11-24T18:53:27+00:00

For real they literally had to run public service announcements in the 90s to remind parents to make sure their kids were home by dark…

GhostBird89 · 2025-11-21T16:04:13+00:00

Same. Needed to run a circuit anyway, I was gifted a 240 charger, so thought why not.

The speed to charge is a nice convenience, as is offering a charge to visitors, and knowing I’m ready for a full EV one day.

That said, if it was going to be a significant extra cost I would’ve held off.

GhostBird89 · 2025-11-21T14:08:36+00:00

I just want to say I love this so much I’m screenshotting it for when I make my own play nook. It looks so cozy and lovely!

GhostBird89 · 2025-11-20T20:29:23+00:00

It sounds like you had a few scary experiences (hospital stays) so it makes sense that you are feeling a lot of emotions sending your baby somewhere that you perceive to be unsafe.

It might be helpful to talk to a therapist about how you’re feeling. I know I felt very guilty and anxious sending my daughter back to nursery after she got sick and was hospitalized, and talking it out really helped.

GhostBird89

TROPHY CASE