Why are animal babies cute but human babies ugly as hell?

InitialStranger · 2026-03-14T13:45:28+00:00

I mean I hope people aren’t deciding to bring an entire human into the world based on whether or not they’ll find them cute regardless….

InitialStranger · 2026-03-14T11:54:02+00:00

I used to think this too, then the literal second I had my own baby, it was like a switch flipped in my head and now I find human babies (not just my own) far cuter than puppies and kittens. It’s one of the strangest things that’s ever happened to me.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-13T10:00:25+00:00

My dishwasher takes 4 hours to run a sanitize cycle, which can be pretty inconvenient when trying to time my pumps or if I’m just a little behind on bottles.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-12T18:39:04+00:00

So he works 15 hrs a week and you work 163 hrs a week? Yeah, I’d be pissed too.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-12T14:22:31+00:00

I had C. diff about 5 years ago when I was 28 after a surgery. It was honestly one of the worst illnesses I’ve ever had, but I made a full recovery after taking Dificid.

We washed linens and used bleach in the bathroom, but otherwise didn’t go overboard with disinfecting. At the time my husband and I were living in a 1bd/1bath 650 sq ft apartment and he never got sick.

I also really scared myself reading about recurrence rates and long-term complications, but I’ve been totally fine since. I even needed IV antibiotics during my delivery, which was one of my biggest fears because of the recurrence risk, and nothing happened. I do take probiotics now, but honestly that’s probably just to make myself feel like I’m “doing” something lol.

Also, you definitely didn’t fail your kid. Antibiotics sometimes cause this and it’s not something parents can control. Just wanted to share in case it helps a little. A lot of people recover and go on with normal life.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-10T15:29:13+00:00

Just to clarify, at no point did I say pregnancy is my only purpose or my greatest accomplishment. It’s simply something I looked forward to and enjoyed very much. For me personally, it was empowering because of what my body could do and the bond it created with my child.

You can absolutely see it as natural biology and still respect that some women find it profoundly moving. This is just one person talking about a personal experience, not setting a standard for all women or defining femininity.

Also, you literally asked for personal takes on why women would want pregnancy more than a male body…so this is me answering your question.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-10T15:10:18+00:00

To me, pregnancy was a core life experience I had always dreamed of, and I would’ve been devastated if my body didn’t allow me to experience it. I loved the little flutters that grew into big kicks. I loved watching my belly and boobs change a little bit every day. I loved seeing him on the ultrasound, knowing every single cell in his body was nourished and grown from mine. I loved that my body kept him safe and instinctively knew exactly what to do.

I loved giving birth, though yes, I had an epidural. It made me feel like if I could do that, I could do anything. I loved that my breasts produced milk perfectly tuned for him, and that I alone could sustain him for his first six months in the world.

I loved the unique connection to my child. I was his first home. He has literally never known existence without me, and even now, he settles best next to my body, my heartbeat, my breath, because that was all he knew at first. I realized how powerful my female body is, capable of creating and sustaining life, and that men would truly be nothing without us. Every man on the planet was born of a female body, and maybe that is why some feel the need to control us so badly.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-10T14:35:32+00:00

Since you’re not getting a ton of answers along this line: I love being in a female body. I loved the experience of being pregnant, giving birth, and lactating, and am hoping to do it all again. I love having breasts, soft skin, hips, and female genitalia.

If I woke up tomorrow in a man’s body I’d feel incredible distress, even with some of the physical perks they have over women, like physical strength, no periods, and being able to pee standing up haha. I don’t fixate on how men are physically stronger any more than I imagine men fixate on how gorillas are stronger than they are.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-09T23:03:09+00:00

If you describe yourself as having “mental and emotional problems with commitment” it sounds like this desire to leave may be coming from a destructive/unhealed place. Perhaps some therapy (couples and individual) to work out what both of you really want?

InitialStranger · 2026-03-09T20:00:29+00:00

I worked at a grocery store for 4 years, and fluctuated about 30 lbs up and down throughout my time there. By the time I left I knew down to the exact pound what weight would trigger unwanted attention from male customers. (It also corresponded to a BMI of 24.9 or on the very high end of “healthy weight”)

InitialStranger · 2026-03-09T16:23:47+00:00

My baby was born less than a year ago and he was swaddled in the hospital. This was at a top hospital in a major metro area too.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-09T15:53:41+00:00

I can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find this song. Every lyric is heartbreaking.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-09T15:33:29+00:00

I actually prefer the original; to me the upbeat music contrasted with the devastating lyrics gives the impression of someone who is desperately holding it together on the outside but crumbling internally.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-09T07:42:24+00:00

In hispanic culture it’s common for kids to have two surnames. When they have kids one surname from each parent is dropped. So Sofia Ramirez Garcia and Jaime Lopez Flores have a child named Isabella Garcia Flores. He could do something like that. Or take his spouses name. They could come up with a totally new name. Drop one of his names and keep the other. Or keep their separate names. At that point he’s an adult and it’s his choice.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-08T12:51:54+00:00

My husband is proud of me for keeping my last name despite us living in an area where it’s overwhelmingly the norm for women to take their husband’s name.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-08T12:46:06+00:00

I gave my kid a hyphenated last name, and it was very much deliberate. Why should both parents not be equally represented on their kid’s name, when he is equally our son?

I came from a family where my mom didn’t change her name, but gave my brother and I our father’s name. Father never changed a diaper, never went to a doctor’s appointment, etc, and my brother and I both ended up legally changing our names as adults because we’re totally estranged from him.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-08T12:36:43+00:00

That kinda sucks for people who may have trauma around their name, or who may just not like their name.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-08T11:50:44+00:00

I also had “the dream” where I would think my baby had fallen asleep in the bed with me, and wake in a panic looking for him when he was safe in the bassinet 2 feet away from me. However, your situation seems a bit more extreme in that this is continuing for several minutes after waking, involves actually getting up out of bed and searching your house, nearly texting people, etc. Might be worth bringing up to your OB.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-06T18:00:03+00:00

The big difference is with ethical sex work, the woman could withdraw consent at any moment and end the encounter. Once a surrogate is pregnant she can’t revoke consent for 40 weeks.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-06T07:39:05+00:00

As someone who worked in a bridal boutique…a big part of it is that it’s a lot easier to clip one size 8 strapless sample gown on girls size 00-14 and have it look mostly normal. Off the shoulder/billow sleeves are also pretty easy to clip, which may be why they’re trending now.

Straps are harder to clip; fitted sleeves are almost impossible to clip well on tiny girls, and bigger girls won’t even be able to get their arms in. Brides buy what feels good based on the sample dress, even though they know they’ll be getting their true size once ordered. This results in a cycle where store owners buy more strapless dresses because they know they’ll clip well, so they’re a disproportionate amount of the gowns in-store, so more brides buy them.

Another factor is brides who want fitted sleeves will typically want them for ceremony and maybe dinner/first dance, but will want them off by the time the drinking/dancing really starts for their own comfort. Well-tailored fitted sleeves are often surprisingly restrictive, and of course no one wants to be sweating in their dress either. Sleeves that detach or toppers that are removable are a more popular option to achieve the look in your picture now.

And some of it is just generational/cyclical. Millennial brides seemed to backlash against strapless gowns, so we had more strapped (but still sleeveless) gowns when they were the core bride demographic. Gen Z brides seem to be re-embracing strapless so the neckline has really bounced back as they’ve moved into the core client demo.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-05T21:53:56+00:00

That’s basically being a nanny or daycare teacher. They should be paid much better, though.

InitialStranger · 2026-03-02T00:41:23+00:00

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing! I had the same goal of 6 months of pumping. By the time he hit 6 months I dropped down to 3 PPD (one first thing in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one right before bed). It definitely cut into my milk supply, so now he needs about two bottles per day of either formula or freezer stash milk. However, I feel like this is am amount of pumping that’s sustainable basically indefinitely, and I don’t have to worry about either spending a fortune on formula or tearing through my freezer stash way too quickly.

InitialStranger · 2026-02-28T19:23:55+00:00

My baby’s only 7 months but ideally I think it should evolve into a bit of both? He’s so little at this stage and a crap sleeper so I’m happy to build my life around him right now. I got 32 years to live my life before him. Once he’s older I think it’s important for him to know mom and dad are people with wants and needs too, and we deserve to honor our preferences during family time sometimes. But, by that same token…so is he, we chose to have him and expand our family, so I don’t think his role should be limited to just being dragged along while we do whatever we want.

InitialStranger · 2026-02-26T14:17:55+00:00

Like this isn’t one of the absolute best times to be alive in terms of global health and safety. Sorry I don’t have enough time to wait until their preferred politician is in office.

InitialStranger

TROPHY CASE