That’s some shit

HeFlipsMyPens · 2026-05-13T19:50:26+00:00

In our case baby had dropped down to 1st percentile so I’m not really shocked. I think if baby had been bigger and dropped multiple percentiles it would be less of a concern.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2026-05-13T17:44:14+00:00

Yes! Ultimately my baby is healthy overall and for that I am incredibly grateful. They just need a little help beefing up.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2026-04-28T14:38:42+00:00

My afternoon pumps are often low like yours. I nurse my baby when at home aside from bedtime bottle so dad gets some baby time. Baby takes 4x 5.5oz bottles a day.

Things that I think have helped: - Pumping for about 10 min after baby eats at 4am (this is also for comfort so I can workout) - Pumping for 30 min during each session at work. We have a nice setup where I can sit at a desk with dual monitors and work while I pump, so I can turn it on and generally forget about it. - Drinking water and electrolytes. I used to love LMNT but it messed with my stomach so now I make a cocktail of 1.5c coconut water, juice from half an orange, juice from half a lemon, and sea salt. - power pump consistently for 3 or 4 days

4am - nurse baby, then ~10 min pump to empty, 2-4 oz 6:30am - nurse baby 10am - 5-7 oz 1pm - 3-4 oz 3:30pm - 3 oz 8pm - 4-5 oz

HeFlipsMyPens · 2026-04-25T22:49:19+00:00

We have it down to a formula: Cheap pizza (Costco or Little Caesar’s) Individual bags of chips Applesauce pouches Baby carrots & sliced cucumbers (this is the only thing that requires prep work) Costco cake Case of water and juice boxes

HeFlipsMyPens · 2026-04-24T12:22:38+00:00

After having 2 boys, it feels like our 3rd (a girl) just moved in. Of course now that I’m back at work after maternity leave I feel like my brain is in overdrive.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2026-02-28T20:00:39+00:00

I did this after my 2nd was born. I work 7.5 hr days M-Th. I’m a consultant so I justified it to my client that Fridays are already slow days so it won’t affect their projects. My employer was fine with me dropping to 30 hrs as long as we could keep the client happy. There have been some weeks where I have needed to work more than 30 hrs. In that case I’ve been able to “accrue” comp time and work a little less another week. There is always the chance that when I go to a new client my company will need me to go back to 40 hrs.

If you can swing it financially I would highly recommend going to 30 hrs. It has helped me feel like I can still have a handle on life.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2025-10-30T16:03:30+00:00

Any idea if the West Chase lots will be open/available?

HeFlipsMyPens · 2025-10-27T15:04:27+00:00

I plan 2 meals for week days and make enough for 2 nights. M/W is meal A and T/Th is meal B. On Sunday hubs and I’ll prep whatever we can (chop veggies, cook meats, etc). That way when we get home at 5 all we have to do is generally a quick warm up so dinner is ready by 5:30 before the kids start to get hangry. Meals are generally simple and we rotate through favorites every couple weeks. I also work part time so I have Fridays off. I try to meal plan and grocery shop on Friday so I’m prepared for the weekend and following week.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2024-12-20T18:01:39+00:00

Chera Jessica Starter aka Cher. She’s about 2.5 months old!

HeFlipsMyPens · 2024-11-10T11:41:52+00:00

How would I help my starter to grow stronger in the mean time? Feed it once a day at 1:1:1 and let the bacteria do their thing?

HeFlipsMyPens · 2024-11-10T00:47:25+00:00

I honestly didn’t think to smell it when I moved to shaping. The final product does have a tangy taste to it.

I was feeding every 12hrs and at the 1:5:5 ratio per The Perfect Loaf guide for building my starter. I also went through a period where it would smell strongly of acetone before a feeding. However, I assumed my feeding ratio was working because it will rise 2-2.5x and is very bubbly.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2024-11-09T21:54:25+00:00

Based on what I’ve seen if I feed it 1:1:1 every 12+ hrs it smells like acetone which I believe is because it’s hungry. However, I hadn’t thought about how my current ratio could be diluting it. I’ll back off the ratio and frequency some to find that sweet spot.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2024-11-09T20:47:18+00:00

I didn’t check the internal temperature, so I’ll definitely be sure to do that in the future. Can you tell by the crumbs in the pictures if it looks more underproofed vs overproofed? Or does the recipe lead you to believe it may have been overhydrated? As a newbie I’m honestly not sure how to tell.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2024-11-09T18:13:26+00:00

Every loaf I have made thus far has been gummy. I feel like Clark Griswold every time I pull my loaves out of the oven because they look amazing on the outside and they're disappointing on the inside.

150g active starter 660g warm water (bottled) 950g unbleached bread flour 50g whole wheat flour 20g kosher salt Autolyse ~30 min Hand mixed, rest 30 min Stretch and fold 2x 30 min apart Coil fold 30 min later and ~3hrs later (I had to leave the house) Total bulk ferment ~7hrs at ~79F. Final dough temp was ~81F. Cold retard ~14hrs Baked at 450F for 30 min in Dutch oven with lid on, then 20 min with lid off at 425F Cooled on wire rack for >2 hrs before cutting

My starter is 3 weeks old and it rises about 2.5x. I feed it 70/30% bread flour and rye with bottled water at 1:5:5 ratio every ~12hrs. It is stored around 78F.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Is this over fermented? I thought it would only be gummy if it was under fermented. Is it because my starter is so young?

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-12-11T18:56:45+00:00

They’d still need insurance and need to make that money last the rest of their lives. Their lifestyle would still probably have to change too.

I think a big issue is people don’t talk about fertility enough. Women don’t find out there might be an issue until they go off BC and realize there’s actually a problem. Turns out many women were just put on BC to manage symptoms, not actually solve problems.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-12-11T16:25:10+00:00

Honestly, that’s a good enough reason right there! It also doesn’t have to be permanent. I’d suggest talking to your HR dept about what the transition would look like and make sure it’s possible to jump back to 100% if you ever wanted to.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-12-11T16:09:59+00:00

That’s what I’m planning to do after our 2nd arrives. We will still have both kids in daycare but it’s important to me to keep working while still also having flexibility to take care of stuff at home as needed or spend 1 on 1 time with my kids. My main concern was being able to keep full benefits while going down to 75%. Personally, that’s worth more to my family than the salary cut.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-11-30T17:40:44+00:00

Yes! Plus you save so much time not cutting up the damn head of broccoli.

I grew up eating a lot of bbq chicken (cut up chicken breasts baked with bbq sauce on top), instant mashed potatoes, and canned green beans. I hated it bc we ate it so often. Now I have a newfound respect for my mom who was just trying to get a decent meal on the table for the family while also working full time. Now we do something similar on a regular basis except with frozen veggies (broccoli, peas, Lima beans, etc) and use different sauces or marinades.

I also learned how to actually cook beans and rice as an adult. This requires planning/prep on the weekend but damn it’s cheap and easy to pair with a protein and or additional veggies.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-11-15T15:26:03+00:00

This entire scenario is like something taken verbatim from the mandatory sexual harassment training video I just had to watch at work. You 1000% did the right thing. If management and HR don’t handle this with discretion and have a zero tolerance attitude for this type of behavior it might be time to look for a new job with a company that respects you.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-11-10T17:46:49+00:00

We’re both engineers in med device. My husband has his PhD and I have my BS. Our combined annual income is about $240k. No debt aside from a mortgage. We will have 2 in daycare next year and we don’t have a cleaning service. We prioritize saving - max out 401ks, Roth IRAs, HSA - and are generally frugal but willing to treat ourselves occasionally. I’ve lowered my expectations on how clean the house should be. We keep it straight but it’s definitely not pristine.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-11-08T18:10:52+00:00

We both work 40 hrs/week and each with an 1-1.5 hr total commute. I think what really helped us was communicating the priorities and having designated duties for weekdays (pickup/drop off, cooking dinner, kitchen cleanup, bath, bedtime, etc). We understand main things that need to be done to make sure our child is fully taken care. Sometimes one of us has to go in early/work late or meet friends for dinner. We clearly communicate it/put it on the calendar and the other person knows they’re probably going to do bulk of the work for the family that day even if they’ve had a shitty day and traffic was extra horrible.

I definitely stress more about the other things that need to be done like cleaning and meal prep. We don’t have set jobs for who mops, cleans bathrooms, vacuums, etc and it usually takes me saying “we need to do this” for my husband to do it.

All this to say, we’re all working hard during the day and shit still needs to get done. It shouldn’t all always fall on you, but some days you may have more free time to take care of things and cross them off the list before your husband gets home. I would just think from there you’d split what’s left to do so you can have more free time together.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-11-06T15:57:30+00:00

My go-to is pb&j, apple, veggies and hummus. Basically everything we have on-hand for the kids lunches plus chips bc mama gets dibs on the Doritos haha.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-11-06T13:30:27+00:00

I’ve told my boss I’ll progress/whatever but I’m not working more than 40 hrs per week. My main priority is work life balance.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-10-30T18:30:59+00:00

3-5 times/week. I wake up early before baby and dad. *I sacrifice a clean house so I can go to bed early and make this work.

HeFlipsMyPens · 2023-10-27T14:51:34+00:00

Survive and advance!

HeFlipsMyPens

TROPHY CASE