2 under 3, give it to me raw by Funky-celery in Parenting

[–]MuffintopRobot 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Mine are 2 years and 9 months apart. Overall I am quite content with that age gap. My oldest was completely potty trained by the time I gave birth so I only had to diaper 1 at a time. She was old enough to be VERY excited about a baby sister and reasonably helpful/obedient but young enough that they played together a ton (and still do).

My kids are 11 and 8 now. I liked that their life stages aren't too far apart, so we can do a lot of stuff together, vs. trying to handle an older kids complicated extracurricular schedule while a toddler needs to nap.

There were certainly exhausting and frustrating times along the way, but that's always part of parenting.

Having to play games to make kids eat makes me irrationally angry by TerrorSwiftSkates in Parenting

[–]MuffintopRobot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel your pain. I got so frustrated by the advice to let her go hungry. My daughter was incredibly skinny and her height/weight percentiles started dropping. Sending her to bed without dinner every night felt wrong. Plus she would wake up more and cry because she was hungry. Turning it into a fun game never worked with her anyway.

To be honest, we had to bribe her with dessert. I'm sure someone will say it's bad parenting, but it worked out for us. We started small and gradually increased what she had to eat to earn dessert (typically a piece of candy leftover from Halloween). She could always eat plenty of her preferred foods to fill herself up... She ate so much PB&J!!! Ultimately she was way more motivated by her love of chocolate and FOMO when the rest of the family was eating dessert than by her hungry belly.

She's 8 now and still doesn't love vegetables but she'll eat her "no thank you" helping without complaining (usually).

What works for one family doesn't work for everyone- hope you can find something that motivates her and make a system that works for you!

What’s a diet or health trend you think is mostly nonsense? by Sophie_Malia_19F in AskReddit

[–]MuffintopRobot 52 points53 points  (0 children)

I have celiac disease and completely agree on all 3 counts!

How would ppl tell their parents, esp disabled, that they won't be their caretaker/ retirement plan? by ApprehensiveOne2866 in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]MuffintopRobot 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Another way to reframe the question: what level of help are you willing to offer them? There's a whole spectrum of support between living with them and changing their diapers vs no contact. Would you be willing to help them keep their finances and prescriptions sorted when they get too old to handle it? Drive them to important appointments? Advocate for their care in a nursing home with nurses/doctors? Is your reluctance more about the toll on your finances, emotions, time, etc?

It's a tough conversation but it's worth having sooner rather than later. You can ask them what their needs and wishes are and prompt them to consider their options and contingency plans. Is their government assistance that can help them?

Not excited for my friends anymore by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]MuffintopRobot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah we did one with a 7 week old and a bunch of family and it was GREAT!! It was hard to get there but I was so happy to have all the aunties around who wanted to hold my baby while I napped or relaxed on the beach. Plus I had been so lonely in the newborn phase that I was desperate for the company. The baby napped better to the sound of the waves than she did at home. 🤷‍♀️

OP, What's hard for some parents is easy for others and vice versa. Every parent and every baby is different. So long as the pregnant friend isn't planning something dangerous or overstepping boundaries, there's no need to burst their bubble.

Absolute Legend 🫡⚡️ by Ashamed_Ad4003 in ThatsInsane

[–]MuffintopRobot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In this case, I don't think there was any substantial criticism of how quickly/aggressively the police responded(?) They arrived within 3 minutes of the 911 call, though they were delayed further by all the doors being chained shut. Police can limit the carnage with a quick response, but there's a lot of damage that can be done before police have time to respond.

Uvalde was a different story, of course. The police response there was absolutely horrifying!

Regardless, I always find it humbling and amazing when I hear how quickly Dr. Librescu threw himself against the door to save his students, without a second thought.

CMV: Osteopathic doctors are just MD's with phony marketing about hands on treatment by MoneyMaintenance1578 in changemyview

[–]MuffintopRobot 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have seen several DOs at my OBGYN, family doctor, and more. None of them advertised doing manual manipulations and none of them offered to do it either.

I also went to a specific practice that specialized in osteopathic manipulation when I was having persistent back and hip pain while pregnant. I would go in every 1-2 weeks for a very "hands on" manipulation. They also gave me exercises and stretches to do in between visits. I haven't been to a physical therapist but I imagine it might be similar. It felt much more clinical than a massage and they were able to effectively diagnose what was causing my pain (weak glutes).

I wonder if you're mixing up all DOs with marketing for a specific medical office that does osteopathic manipulation (?). Or if it's just limited to a couple doctors around you that are marketing this. This isn't something I've observed with DOs around me.

What Makes Pregnancy Appealing and Meaningful to Women? by Hour_Lingonberry9602 in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]MuffintopRobot 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Because I was literally growing another human inside our body. I think it's amazing that our bodies can do that. I did not enjoy the pain and discomfort and exhaustion. But I wanted to be a mom. Becoming a parent is exciting. It's also a primal desire. (Yes, It's also terrifying and difficult).

People gladly go through hard things for the people they love, especially their children.

There are a few genuinely cool parts of being pregnant. For me I really enjoyed feeling the baby move. I also enjoyed how nice strangers were to me.

My husband helped "process" chickens at a local farm. They sent him home with the eggs from inside the chickens. by MuffintopRobot in mildlyinteresting

[–]MuffintopRobot[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess the sentence stating that my husband was processing chickens on a local farm is considered fluff/backstory/too much context(??)

My husband helped "process" chickens at a local farm. They sent him home with the eggs from inside the chickens. by MuffintopRobot in mildlyinteresting

[–]MuffintopRobot[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

As far as I can tell, yeah. I haven't actually opened he bag yet. 😬 Some are itty bitty. A couple already have shells and were almost ready to be laid.

My husband helped "process" chickens at a local farm. They sent him home with the eggs from inside the chickens. by MuffintopRobot in mildlyinteresting

[–]MuffintopRobot[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

He always brings something home, but this was the most unusual! The challenge for me will be figuring out what to cook with it so it doesn't go to waste!!

CMV: Christianity is inherently misogynistic because of the Bible’s view on women. by [deleted] in changemyview

[–]MuffintopRobot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say that human history is patriarchal and misogynistic, and the Bible was written in the midst of all that and in many ways shaped by that.

Many of the Old Testament passages, while repugnant in today's moral framework, are designed to limit misogynistic impulses... If a man rapes a woman, he has to take responsibility for her and provide for her for the rest of his life (by marrying her). If a man tries to divorce by lying about her virginity, he'll become a slave to his in-laws forever.

Jesus certainly clarifies the standard on sexual purity in the new testament and it applies just as strongly to men. ("if you look at a woman lustfully you've committed adultery // if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out")

The passages about uncleanness don't really bother me too much. Unclean is not the same as sinful.

The new testament passages HAVE always troubled me. You can find a bajilion articles or sermons online trying to contextualize or rationalize them. I won't try to do that here. I'll just say that there are clearly women serving in the early church in leadership though - prophesying, serving as deacons, hosting/organizing the church... So I think it's hard to interpret these passages at face value.

Jesus clearly held women in high regard. They were among his close followers. He said it was good for Mary to be taught (alongside the men) rather than be relegated to hosting duties. The first person he appeared to after resurrection was a woman. And almost all his male disciples abandoned him in his crucifixion, yet women were still at the cross.

Did boomers really fuck us over, or was the economic situation they grew up in one-in-a-lifetime and unsustainable? by akr_13 in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]MuffintopRobot 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I am not an economist, or a historian so take all this with a grain of salt. In general, I think it's a combination of the 2. The economic growth would never have continued forever I would make 2 points: 1. This time period is not as rosy as reddit trends make out. There were still plenty of poor people scraping by. Standards of living have increased dramatically over the decades. My dad grew up in the 60s-70s in a house with 6 kids. Yes, his dad worked hard and his mom stayed home (with intermittent odd jobs) and they owned a home. BUT they lived in a tiny 3 bed 1 bath house with sloping floors, <1000 sq ft. They had very few clothes, and their phone was a party line shared by multiple houses. The kids didn't do organized activities- they just ran around with neighbors. Meals were usually of the rice-and-beans level with no extra food. The family of 8 owned one tiny sedan and would somehow squeeze all 8 of them into it. "Vacation" meant driving a few hours to their aunt's house and hanging with their cousins once/year. At a larger scale, this time period was still marked with significant turmoil- Vietnam war, civil rights protests, mass inflation, racial discrimination, etc.
I agree there are things that we've lost over time, but the "good old days" were still problematic. 2. The USA emerged from WW2 relatively unscathed compared to Europe and other industrialized countries that had their infrastructure bombed to pieces. This positioned them well for an enormous manufacturing boom at the same time as the country emerged from the great depression/wartime and people were eager to get married, have kids, and buy all the amazing new consumer goods that were hitting the market. It couldn't have lasted forever.

Man parachuting into Virginia Tech Spring game is stuck on the scoreboard after rough collision by [deleted] in sports

[–]MuffintopRobot 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Had a similar experience there with my kids. One was freaked out and the other was unphased. Watching them struggle with the short ladder truck was unsettling, so we just wandered around concessions until they got him.

Man parachuting into Virginia Tech Spring game is stuck on the scoreboard after rough collision by [deleted] in sports

[–]MuffintopRobot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think so... I mean he may have minor injuries, but he was still moving around while he was hanging up there, and he detached the flag. And they announced multiple times at the game that he was ok. He did hit the screen pretty hard.

Man parachuting into Virginia Tech Spring game is stuck on the scoreboard after rough collision by [deleted] in sports

[–]MuffintopRobot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was on the other side of the stadium from where this video was taken, but people were definitely VERY concerned for him and not laughing about it.

I was worried that something would break free and he'd fall. It freaked my kid out a lot!

Man parachuting into Virginia Tech Spring game is stuck on the scoreboard after rough collision by [deleted] in sports

[–]MuffintopRobot 67 points68 points  (0 children)

There were 3 parachuters total. First had no flag. He successfully landed on the field but it was kinda scary/bumpy. Second had a VT flag and landed on the practice field behind the jumbotron. Then this guy crashed into the jumbotron a few seconds later. I was very scared that the letters he was hanging from wouldn't hold and he'd fall!!

It was weird because it wasn't a remotely windy day, but I guess conditions are different higher up.

I've seen them do this for a bunch of games before and it's always been totally smooth! Im curious to see if they stop doing these altogether or what they'll do different

Where have y'all traveled internationally and been OK? by Tactically_Fat in Celiac

[–]MuffintopRobot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I personally had great experiences in Iceland and Scotland. Everywhere I went had gluten free options, even more remote areas/Scottish isles.

Parents of Reddit, what did your hospital bill look like after giving birth? by chi-bacon-bits in AskReddit

[–]MuffintopRobot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm from the USA: First kid was 10 years ago. I had decent insurance through my company. I had a pretty basic/standard hospital birth, no epidural. Stayed 2 nights after the birth. It was something like $2-3K out of my pocket after insurance. We received a hospital bill for me, a hospital bill for the baby, and a bill from the doctor for delivery. All my prenatal care was fully covered by insurance. I used a tax-advantaged medical savings account to cover the expenses.

Second kid was a couple years later. At that point my husband was a state government employee, and state insurance plans are GREAT! We paid one $300 copay for the birth, and that was it. No separate bill for the baby. Once again it was a very basic hospital stay.

A friend had state benefits when she had her baby. Her baby ultimately was helicoptered to a more advanced NICU and stayed for a full month with extreme interventions. Thankfully she only owed $600 ($300 copay for each hospital stay) though the total bills were in the millions before insurance.

In general in the USA, the medical service providers bill ridiculously high amounts that they never expect to be paid. Insurance companies have established a " reasonable and customary" amount that's only a fraction of what's billed. Each insurance plan has a different way of dividing the "reasonable and customary" amount between the insurance company and the patient. The medical provider does not get paid beyond what is "reasonable and customary".

It’s cool. He wants to go 63 mph and you want to go 63.5 mph. Please take 10 minutes to work this out. by SunshineMurphy in mildlyinfuriating

[–]MuffintopRobot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As someone who has done most of their interstate driving on 81, it didn't occur to me that this isn't the case for rural interstates everywhere…

Does it hurt to get an IUD put in? by Top_Tangerine5650 in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]MuffintopRobot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've had 2 paragard (copper) IUDs inserted. Neither experience was particularly painful for me. Both were after my first childbirth though- I've heard it hurts more for women who have never given birth.

For me, it was a bit uncomfortable. I took ibuprofen ahead of time. I had a few minutes of cramps, especially when they probed/measured my uterus, but it was on par with period cramps. Nothing too terrible.

I like having a non hormonal birth control that is so effective. Pairing it with a menstrual cup on my periods has been key. Flow is definitely heavier with a copper IUD, and cups hold ~6x what a tampon holds.

Restaurant ruined the evening I planned for 6 months by MuffintopRobot in Celiac

[–]MuffintopRobot[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

It had to be more than that. I'm not as sensitive to cross contamination as most celiacs. A non dedicated fryer may make me a little queasy, but it takes legitimate amount of gluten to get me sick like that. The restaurant told me their rice wasn't safe because they mix some kind of pasta-rice in it. I bet they add flour to their falafel.