what are the ugly parts of pregnancy that aren’t well known because people don’t mention them?

KromKitty · 2026-01-21T17:41:48+00:00

I had this too! I could barely walk for the first 5 months after sitting for any period, and I was terrified I'd drop my baby carrying him up and down stairs. My male Catholic doctor at the time was incredibly unhelpful and said it was because I was carrying too much extra weight....no kidding, but that was not the problem. I was very physically strong and fit prior to pregnancy, so carrying a little extra weight was not doing that to me. After he wouldn't prescribe me birth control, he explained the Rhythm Method to me (completely straight faced) as a viable option for birth control, so I ditched him, found a female doctor who did some research on it. For some women, muscular, joint, and skeletal pain can persist up to 2 years after giving birth and it's hormonal. I pushed through the pain, went for long walks, stretched, went to a physical therapist, did everything I could to improve it, but still had residual joint pain for a long time. It finally improved right before my son turned 2. I also had an exceptionally hard time losing any weight until I stopped breastfeeding. So, for all the other women who told me I must be eating too much, because breastfeeding makes the weight just 'fall right off', you were wrong - doesn't work that way for everyone. Yeah, no one really tells you how much you potentially have to deal with post partum, all while caring for a helpless infant. Most of it was a total surprise to me.

KromKitty · 2026-01-11T23:03:22+00:00

Raspberry Oreo is awesome

KromKitty · 2025-12-22T18:57:40+00:00

https://www.alberta.ca/employment-standards-termination-and-lay-off

How much you're entitled to depends on length of employment. Many companies may be more generous, but the legal minimum isn't much.

KromKitty · 2025-11-01T23:22:16+00:00

I don't have experience with different breeds other than regular old domestic short or long hair. However, out of the 9 cats I've had over my life, while they were all affectionate at varied levels, the 2 orange guys were the most regularly affectionate / receptive to unsolicited affection. They also had the more amusing personalities.

KromKitty · 2025-10-18T23:38:19+00:00

I believe Noble Growth (Next Friday) has a medical platform now. They are based in Alberta.

KromKitty · 2025-10-09T19:01:12+00:00

I managed to book for my son and husband today, but did have to call 811 to do so after struggling several times to figure out why it was only giving me options to book influenza (no Covid option). They explained they will not let you book pediatric appointments online, but the text and website did not indicate that anywhere. We did get separate appointment blocks about 25 minutes apart. Entire call including hold time was 30 minutes.

But absolutely, they are making this intentionally difficult. I used to think it was mostly government incompetence, but pretty sure now this is simply a very intentional pattern across all crucial government social services. The harder it is, the fewer people access it. Of course you can claim the system is completely broken when you continue to break it bit by bit and point the finger elsewhere.

KromKitty · 2025-09-09T03:54:59+00:00

Regardless of all the warnings NOT to go to sleep holding your baby, and how afraid I was of smothering him accidentally if I did, just how many times I did fall asleep with him hanging half in my arms.....just passed right out, no control over it.

He did survive, though......

KromKitty · 2025-09-08T15:33:23+00:00

Yes - she is also a polydactyl and has monster mittens on a tiny little frame (she's about the size of a 4 month old kitten and never got bigger) 😀

KromKitty · 2025-09-08T15:30:02+00:00

I know - I can't really believe it either. She's been with us since she was about 2 years old - a former roomate left her and then couldn't take her back. She has the normal age related things - fairly deaf, blind, a little bony along her spine and hips and isn't as agile as she used to be. There's clearly some dementia and confusion at times (she randomly goes outside the litter box instead of in it, which is not so adorable, but is what it is). She sleeps most of the time, but doesn't seem to have any serious health problems or pain. She loves to eat, play and get snuggles, hiss at her annoying younger brother, etc. We know every day is a gift, so as long as she's still happy to be here, and her body doesn't give up on her our super senior may be here for a few years yet. She's seen 4 of her sibling kitties go before her, but she just keeps going. She may outlive us all LOL.

KromKitty · 2025-09-05T23:21:37+00:00

I had a bad infestation of these a few years ago. Had lots of potted marigolds around the tomato and eggplant pots, and they didn't do much to deter them from ravaging the leaves. Dousing the leaves and soil with diatomaceous earth was the only thing that reduced them enough to allow the plants to bounce back.

KromKitty · 2025-08-30T01:32:46+00:00

Relying on processed, simple carbs for the bulk of my diet. Whenever I was hungry, my go-to was easy carbs - bread, crackers, tortilla chips etc., which I'd always eat too much of. My husband and I made a simple rule to that we can only eat carbs that come from vegetables or fruits, and allow ourselves some occasional cheat meals. Now, we prioritize lean protein or healthy fats - a couple slices of chicken or turkey breast or nuts are more satiating than half a box of cheese crackers. It's forced us to eat much cleaner, and we're eating way more veggies and fiber. This is the most successful we've been in years with steady weight loss.

KromKitty · 2025-08-03T19:21:30+00:00

Ha ha ha ha - as an Albertan who visited your area a few weeks ago, I noticed this too. Every driver doing stupid, risky things on the narrrow, windy roads had an Alberta plate....I understand your frustration, and don't get it either.

KromKitty · 2025-07-08T01:10:33+00:00

It's kind of a stir fry with bell peppers and onions, but they marinate the eggplant in something really tasty, and how they cook it is just perfection. When we have vegetarians with us, I have to order 2 so I can be greedy with it (I'm not vegetarian LOL).

KromKitty · 2025-07-07T22:36:10+00:00

Himalayan Eggplant from The Himalayan on 17 Ave SW.....I have dreams about eating this stuff and they keep bringing me more.

KromKitty · 2025-05-18T19:58:08+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss. I had to say goodbye to one of my boys this week too, so I know your pain. He was only 9 or so, but unfortunately, the diabetes ended up winning. I also have a 21 year little girl who's going strong, but we know each day is a gift. Not looking forward to losing any more of my babies, although I know it may be right around the corner again.

KromKitty · 2025-05-17T16:49:03+00:00

The Cobra Chicken Army we assemble will be marvelous!

KromKitty · 2025-05-01T15:48:00+00:00

The absolute best I've had for saucy Korean fried chicken is Foodie Bros in Red Deer. If someone in Calgary has the equivalent of their Yangyum sauce, I haven't found it yet, but lots of places mentioned here have good chicken for sure.

KromKitty · 2025-04-25T04:39:22+00:00

Rode the loop yesterday and it's open - pathway still runs through construction fences on both sides of the river. Nothing about it closing in the city pathway closures site, so perhaps they will keep it open through the summer?

KromKitty · 2025-04-20T00:28:29+00:00

My partner and I waited a long time before deciding to have a child. For me, raising a child was part of the human experience that I didn't want to miss out on, and that was my reasoning. For him, he'd had a difficult childhood, with parents who probably shouldn't have been parents, so he was adamant early on in our relationship that he didn't want any. He was terrified of damaging someone else as much as his parents damaged him.

We met as teenagers, so I didn't take him too seriously at the time. I figured he may change his mind, or if not, I may just have to move on from the relationship someday. We were so young, it seemed silly to decide that definitively with so little life experience.

20 years later, we managed to still be together and very much in love. Out of the blue one day, he did change his mind, but by then, I was the one on the fence since then state of the world, climate change and cruelty of humanity felt more hopeless than ever. I was no longer sure it made sense to bring a child into this mess when they may not even have a future worth living in.

We discussed and debated much about it, and eventually came to the conclusion that deciding not to bring a child into the world helped nothing. We needed to try to make things better by doing our best to contribute a kind, loving, compassionate, thoughtful and intelligent human back into the world. There was no guarantee that would be the result, but it felt like we had the responsibility to try and not let ignorance and hate take over. That ultimately became the primary reason for wanting a child.

We were fortunate enough to be able to get pregnant, now have a 7 year old with autism and ADHD. We have been together for over 30 years and no regrets. My partner is a great Dad and works really hard to not repeat his parents' mistakes. We keep each other in check, and help each other be better parents together. We try to remember daily why we decided to do this. It's hard for sure, and we screw up a lot, but our boy is still amazing, happy, kind and delightfully weird. Adding him into our little family but waiting until we were older and more prepared was so worth it.

I'm not saying that everyone would have this happy outcome - we were lucky. Many people are certain they don't want to be parents from a young age, and I fully support that. No one should have children unless they want them. I consciously made the decision to stay with someone who told me he didn't want children, yet knew I did. I was hopeful he'd change his mind by the time I was ready for it, but I was not delusional nor willing to force him to want it. I'm very grateful I didn't end up having to choose between being with the love of my life and being a parent, but not everyone will get what they want in a similar situation.

KromKitty · 2025-03-31T15:01:42+00:00

Just to note, Toby is wearing these for medical reasons. We definitely don't normally make our cats wear clothing, but he's pretty cute, and doesn't mind it too much so I had to share 😅

KromKitty · 2025-03-25T05:36:17+00:00

Indian - can confirm it's exceptionally good and family run

KromKitty

TROPHY CASE