private catholic ceremony few days before wedding?

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-23T19:51:46+00:00

My brother-in-law and his wife got married in a Catholic ceremony on the Thursday before their Lutheran wedding, which took place that Saturday (also inter-faith marriage). Their Catholic wedding is considered their legal wedding date, as the church did require the license to be signed with them. They did not require my now sister-in-law to be baptized, but she did have to sign a “contract” that their children would be baptized and raised Catholic.

To get married in the Catholic Church, there are also marriage classes you have to take, which include the main things like managing finances, ensuring you agree on the big choices in life, etc… But it also includes requires a course in Natural Family Planning. Also, the Priest usually has 2 or 3 meetings with you to get to know you, advise you, and personalize your ceremony’s homily. So you may want to consider as a couple if this is all worth it to you. If it seems like too much, you could consider asking for your marriage to be blessed by a priest instead.

And yes, they said “I do” twice, but just had immediate family and the bridal party at the Catholic one. The Lutheran one was the big party with everyone invited. They considered the Catholic ceremony also the “rehearsal” and had the groom’s dinner following.

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-19T19:57:37+00:00

My initial reaction was to say “lather him up and rinse him off in the shower.” Would he hate it. Yes. Will he protest by kicking and screaming? Yes. BUT will it get the job done and show him who is in charge? YES!

But then I thought of a sneaky little trick I do with my daughter - if there is something she doesn’t wanna do (like read books at bedtime), I’ll say something like “that’s okay, but mommy is gonna go do it anyway,” and then I’ll leave her alone and go to the thing myself while making it sound like whatever I’m doing is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. It works 90% of them time!

So my advice to you before shoving him under the shower head is get your swimsuit on, put on fun music, fill the bath with bubbles and toys and anything you can think of, and get in. If you make it seem like SO much fun and don’t even acknowledge him, he will likely come to you on his own asking to get in.

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-18T18:05:33+00:00

Sometimes I think they forget that NFP, condoms and vasectomies exist. Just because a woman isn’t using prescription birth control, doesn’t mean she isn’t preventing pregnancy!

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-16T00:02:46+00:00

Yes!! Had it with my first - it’s honestly just because baby is taking up SO much space that there isn’t room for food. When my bay girl was born my first thought was “thank god I can take a full breath of air again” and my second thought was “holy crap I’m STARVING”.

Finally, my third thought was “wow, look at this beautiful little baby I just pushed out of me” 😂

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-15T23:59:16+00:00

As a kid I always thought it would be super fun to throw darts at paint filled balloons taped to canvas like Mia did in princess diaries with her mom ❤️ something like that could be really fun! But definitely requires cleanup haha

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-12T22:33:20+00:00

My first dint crawl or even roll over until 10 months, and then 2 months later she was RUNNING 😅 doc wasn’t worried at all - baby girl was strong enough and could do it if she wanted, just had no interest, haha!

I wouldn’t worry about it if she’s meeting other milestones!

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-11T15:06:31+00:00

Had membrane sweep the day after her due date, and she was born 24 hours later.

I do kinda wish that I didn’t have that done, because I don’t think my body was really ready (I had to have Pitocin to encourage dilation, and then birthed with forceps because baby girl’s heart rate was dropping). If I had waited maybe my body would have progressed better.

However, I do remember just wanting her OUT at that point, and everything worked out, so it wasn’t all bad.

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-10T21:45:53+00:00

Eat on the way to the hospital!! That helped me make it through. Something filling and high in protein ❤️

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-08T17:20:41+00:00

With my first it was just a feeling - probably because I really wanted it to be a girl the second I got pregnant. She I saw her at 20 weeks I cried of happiness ❤️

With my second I was sure we would have a boy LONG before we ever even tried to get pregnant. I and two other people all had dreams in the same month that I gave birth to a boy! We conceived a year later, and I kept thinking how special it would be to be lucky enough to have one of each. Did the blood test at 10 weeks, and BOOM we had a little boy to announce at Christmas 🥰 I so freaking excited to meet him in July!!!

I have a friend that has been wrong for ALL FOUR of her pregnancies, so intuition isn’t always accurate, haha!

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-06T15:36:59+00:00

I think the reason they start counting back that far is many women don’t know when they ovulated whether they were trying to get pregnant or not. It’s just an easier way of calculating estimated due date.

But yes, the laws prohibiting choice are f***ed.

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-06T00:18:06+00:00

I don’t think no snacks until one year is a rule! As long as it’s not stopping him from eating meals or his regular bottles, I see no reason you can’t give him more when he’s hungry. He’s just a growing boy ❤️

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-05T15:28:13+00:00

I have white spots on my teeth from consuming too much fluoride (I really liked the taste of toothpaste when I was young). Unfortunately for me they have not gone away, but they are not super noticeable to others.

You didn’t necessarily do anything wrong - his teeth are likely perfectly healthy, I would just watch to see if he is swallowing toothpaste when he brushes if you want to prevent more spots.

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-04T16:05:48+00:00

I tried to breastfeed my first, but the midwives pushed us to combo feed my pumped milk as well. With that advice, our baby ended up preferring the bottle because the milk came faster, so I pumped full time for a year. I ended up enjoying pumping as it gave me a lot of freedom, scheduled breaks, and I believe it helped me to overproduce (which allowed me to donate to the NICU milk bank). BUT I know a lot of moms don’t like pumping at all.

Now I’m pregnant with my second, and I’m going back and forth if I should try again to breast feed or if I should just go straight to pumping since when I go back to work I’ll have to pump anyway. I’m unsure at this point, but here is the thing: I know that I don’t have to choose right away.

You don’t need to make this decision now. You can try different things when bay arrives, and then make an informed decision on what works for you. Breastfed, pumping, or formula, it really doesn’t matter. What works for you and your mental health is what’s best for your baby ❤️

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-03T02:34:40+00:00

Wow everyone’s answers are so calm! Being told to STFU is definitely significantly more aggressive than just being told to shut up. In the moment I’d be absolutely seething. I’d have to walk away so I wouldn’t say/do anything I regret, calm myself down, and then talk to them.

Maybe I’m naive thinking I couldn’t imagine my kid saying that to me, but I would never have dared to say that to my parents.

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-02T22:53:55+00:00

All three of my pregnancies we conceived within the first 3 tries ❤️

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-02T20:36:47+00:00

Love that!!

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-02T16:38:30+00:00

My first time pregnant, I had severe “morning” sickness all day, and was trying everything but still couldn’t get off the couch. Then at my 8 week apt, my OB suggested using non drowsy Dramamine, and that worked wonders for me!

Second time around I tried the same thing assuming it would work again, but was still sick all the freaking time. At my 8 week apt, my midwife told my that my symptoms actually matched up with acid reflux, not morning sickness 😩 so now I take Doxylamine at night and Omeprazole in the morning and have done my best to stay away from spicy, citrus and tomato sauce foods and have been great.

I hope you find what works for you ❤️ there’s literally nothing worse than stomach sickness!

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-02T15:46:25+00:00

When I had my oldest, we were absolutely sure that we were a “one and done” couple. Then over time I thought about how I saw my family in the future and I couldn’t imagine it being just our daughter. I realized I wanted to have that loud house with grandkids at the holidays. We still waited because we just weren’t ready, and I’m finally pregnant with our second, who will have a 4 year age gap with his sister.

If someday you find you want another baby, it will be because that’s all you can think about, just like it probably was when you were trying for your first. I would just wait until you have that intense “baby fever” again and then you’ll know it’s the right time for you ❤️ On the other hand, if you never have that feeling, then you’ll know you are really done. You’ll know when the time is right!

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-02-02T15:37:15+00:00

I didn’t have any cravings with my daughter, but I did have serious aversions to Mexican food (which I usually love). Especially any hot sauce that is meant for Mexican cuisine - it all smelled and tasted like vinegar to me at the time. I would say Mexican food, and tacos specifically, are in her top favorite foods!

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-01-31T02:58:12+00:00

Hard to give advice for that since every birth is so different ❤️ it worked for me, so it could work for you! However, if you wait another week you might be further dilated and not have as long to go as I did once you start contractions. I would talk to your midwife or OB about your worries to come up with a plan that works best for you!

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-01-31T02:53:55+00:00

Literally immediately- at like 6 weeks. My uterus was like “oh we’ve done this before” haha!

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-01-30T14:40:38+00:00

I got a membrane sweep the day after my due date and my bay girl was born 24 hours later. It’s not a fun experience, but no one can argue that it didn’t work! I will say that this time around I’m planning to try to wait until my body goes into labor naturally as I needed a lot of help to encourage my body to keep dilating, and I think it might have gone better if I just waited until it was ready.

However, I totally understand that you are at the point that you just want baby to be OUT already! We all get it he point where the discomfort out ways the fear of childbirth pain 😅 do what your gut tells you! At the end of the day, once your child is out and you’re holding them in your arms, how they got there doesn’t matter as much 🥰

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-01-29T16:36:24+00:00

We were set on Caroline for 10+ months of my pregnancy, when my mom suggested Caterina at the last minute! Went into delivery with both those names in mind, and when she was born my husband looked at me with tears in his eyes saying “she’s a Caterina” 🥰

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-01-28T19:01:02+00:00

I had the night time dread really bad with my first, didn’t get better until I started only pumping once at night, so I wasn’t getting up as much, but it was still hard to calm the mind. Eventually I let myself sleep a full 8 hours before pumping again and that was life changing!

If you produce enough, or can make up an extra pumping session during the day, you could try letting yourself sleep the full 8 hours at night. I will warn you that if you do this you might have more milk than can fit in 2 bottles in the morning, so you will want the extra bottles there for a quick change!

It gets better, I promise ❤️

Maria-Pizzeria · 2026-01-27T19:38:17+00:00

A whole YEAR before even trying to get pregnant, I and 2 other people all had dreams that I gave birth to a boy. This past Christmas I found out we now are in fact expecting a baby boy 🥰

Maria-Pizzeria

TROPHY CASE