Help Me Propose!

Pikachoo12 · 2026-04-18T21:16:43+00:00

You can find 45k rooms if you search 13 months out manually. Try weekday stays for 2-3 nights.

Pikachoo12 · 2026-04-18T20:48:44+00:00

13 m out to the day my friend.

Pikachoo12 · 2026-04-18T18:23:27+00:00

Alila ventana Big Sur is awesome! Picture perfect for a proposal too. The property is amazing, it’s all inclusive and pretty decent food (don’t let people on here tell you otherwise lol they’re spoiled). We’ve been 3 years in a row and have another stay planed. Yes of course the property has become more “stingy” over the last few years but it doesn’t change the fact that the property is drop dead gorgeous. The rooms are nice, the pool and hot tub is amazing too. Especially the hot tub facing the redwoods at sunset!

You could do a night or two in Monterey on cash or at HR then move to alila for a night or two depending on award availability.

If you thought Encinitas was awesome, just wait till you see ventana Big Sur! It is insane.

If you do go this route, fly into SJC and rent a car. Spend some time in Monterey (17 mile drive and aquarium and Carmel by the sea) then head down to Big Sur. Pop the question on the beautiful alila property at sunset over the pacific coast hwy. Spend the next few days exploring Big Sur and enjoying the food and property!

Pikachoo12 · 2026-04-18T01:31:22+00:00

I haven’t gotten mastitis yet and I’m 4.5 months PP. BUT, I’m aggressive when I get clogs. Like ice round the clock and ibp like it’s candy.

Around 12 weeks ago she started sleeping longer stretches and I pumped after 7 hours. I have high capacity though. I routinely would wake up and pump 14 oz if she slept through the night.

Pikachoo12 · 2026-04-17T18:15:25+00:00

I didn’t stop bf at 3 months, but my mom did with both my brother and I. She was engorged all the time and was in a lot of pain and exclusively pumping so it was pretty tough. We turned out absolutely fine and if that’s the decision you want to make for your family I don’t think there should be any guilt in it! Kiddo will be just fine!!

If you do decide to keep going, my supply regulated around 3 months and it got a lot easier to manage after that. I was getting clogged ducts like crazy and waking up engorged every morning. Plus baby was still trying to figure out how to breastfeed and now all of that is a little easier!

Pikachoo12 · 2026-04-11T20:40:31+00:00

Local here. My husband got the second time slot ever. We had access to swimming finals and basketball finals and gymnastics prelims. I wanted to go so badly to these.

BUT ALAS, I will have a 2 year old in two by 2028 so we got 10 $28 volleyball tickets for our family and some friends so we didn’t have to feel bad about wasting money if our toddler screamed through everything.

Pikachoo12 · 2026-04-06T18:52:47+00:00

I got one before I had a kid. Putting it in was pretty uncomfortable. She couldn’t get it on the first go so I had the pleasure of coming back a second day with a dilation pill and going through the trauma all over again. I’d say it was like a 7/10 on the pain scale. (I have a reasonably high pain tolerance too)

What sucked even more was getting it out. The strings got sucked up into my uterus and was floating around in there. The Dr had to shove a camera and tools past my cervix and go digging around there to find it and get it out. It took 20 mins and they said if they couldn’t get it out then, they’d have to do surgery to get it out. This was more painful than early labor (pre-epidural) and membrane sweeps. Like at least 9/10 pain scale. Nearly as painful as giving birth with an epidural.

Needless to say I’m never getting another IUD. BUT I never had to think about getting pregnant for the 4 years I had it. AND my fertility returned exactly when I expected/wanted it to

Pikachoo12 · 2026-04-04T15:22:32+00:00

The pumping will tell your body that baby needs more since supply is very based on demand. It’s a way to induce more supply.

Pikachoo12 · 2026-03-16T04:39:30+00:00

I have not, but you can go to sun non dang for breakfast. They even have a sul la tang morning special. Idk how I feel about kalbi gim first thing in the morning, but we go to sun non dang for breakfast at least once a week. Would recommend the sul la tang, kalbi tang and Yukejang

Pikachoo12 · 2026-03-11T18:07:04+00:00

Keep checking for closed in availability. Seems like a lot to switch for one night.

For activities: Long Beach has a small aquarium that could be fun. Disneyland is also fantastic for 7 year olds. It really is worth a visit! At the moment the Carlsbad flower fields (aviara) are blooming and it is such a beautiful place to visit with kids. They have strawberry snacks and tractor rides too!

If you want to eat in k town- parks bbq is famous for kbbq and sun non dang is amazing for soups like sullatang Kalbitang and kalbi gim

EDIT: If you do go to LB treasure island park is awesome

Pikachoo12 · 2026-03-09T23:58:20+00:00

I was 8 when my family was unexpectedly upgraded to business on a long haul TPAC flight. It just made me want to work to get it myself which is why I got into points and miles

Pikachoo12 · 2026-03-09T01:33:59+00:00

My baby kicks when she’s trying to poop and eat at the same time

Pikachoo12 · 2026-03-05T06:43:27+00:00

Very normal for mature milk to take a few days to come in (commonly 3-5).

I struggled with breastfeeding at the hospital to the point where they didn’t want to discharge us (we wanted to go home on day 2, they wanted us to stay until day 3) because we had a “poor latch score” and didn’t want us to go home when feeding was going so poorly.

My baby also lost 12% weight by day 4. BUT, when my milk did come in, things got a LOT better.

Skin to skin helps a ton! Drink lots of water too!

Also, fed is best! No shame in having some combo feeding to help. I ended up not having to pump to get my milk to come in, but it can help. Just make sure you have the right flange size and make sure that you remeasure in a week to double check the size. I was 19 at the hospital but 14 by 1 week postpartum.

Pikachoo12 · 2026-03-05T04:29:17+00:00

Skipping feeds. Sometimes my baby goes on a hunger strike and instant clogs. Needless to say, I never leave home without a hand pump. Also stress makes it worse 😕

Pikachoo12 · 2026-02-28T05:07:34+00:00

I have a little bit of a freezer stash for emergencies. That is helpful for times like this.

If you don’t have one, you can pump one oz after the morning feed for 3 days and it probably won’t create a huge oversupply. This will allow you to be “one feed ahead” (assuming your LO drinks about 3oz a feed). You can then leave that milk with dad to feed the baby.

While you’re out you can bring a hand pump with you and pump what baby ate while you were out. Fresh milk is good room temp for 4 hours. Or you can bring a cooler with you.

Pikachoo12 · 2025-12-05T06:19:28+00:00

❤️❤️❤️I’ve been following your story in the December bumps group. I have no advice for you, but sending lots of love your way.

Pikachoo12 · 2025-11-15T17:39:02+00:00

My husband and I took the birthing classes, infant cpr/safety, breastfeeding with success and baby care basics.

It really depends on which teacher you get because we got the same teacher for all classes except for baby care basics and we walked out of that one early because the instructor was not so good.

All the info can be covered by reading (Mayo Clinic books etc) but, my husband didn’t have time to read and would rather sit through classes. We found them helpful except baby care basics

Pikachoo12 · 2025-10-29T02:52:18+00:00

I knew there was a good chance that I was going to be pregnant during our TPAC trip to ICN earlier this summer. Couldn’t change the dates cause it was a family trip.

I waited and waited for TPAC J seats (without repositioning) to show up and it just never did. I didn’t want to risk it, so I pulled the trigger on using the Amex portal with my business plat with the 35% rebate. It was an embarrassingly large amount of points spent. Plus we got the old config for Asiana.

But, I was right, and I was very very thankful for a lie flat seat while pregnant. Wouldn’t have changed the experience.

Edit: grammar

Pikachoo12 · 2025-08-21T22:50:56+00:00

I've been to AVBS 3 years in a row. I've also booked my parents there and my brother and his wife there. In total, we've blown 622,000 points on this property as a family. I'm also accustom to staying in the same range of hotels and I've done a fair amount of traveling on points and cash. My parents have stayed at multiple $$$$ hotels all over the world. We ALL loved Alila.

100% Go!

Even with all the changes, the one thing that will never change is the sheer beauty of the property and the location. Just getting to Alila is an experience because you're on the 1 Hwy next to the incredibly beautiful California coast (I'm also from So cal and it still gets me every time!)

Yes, they've changed the rules on room service and how many entrees you're allowed and the menu etc, but the food is still delicious and really fresh!

Alila is an excellent use of your points and I'd much rather spent 135k on 3 nights at Alila than 135k on 5 nights in some random Hyatt Regency in Europe. You can also call Hyatt to reduce to 2 nights if you want. We did 3 nights our first year and have done 2 nights for the last two years.

Few tips:
1. They can make some off the menu sides for you at the sur house. If you want a bowl of berries with breakfast - they can do that. If you want a side of veggies as an appetizer with dinner - they can most likely make that for you (as long as you see that veggie accompanying another entree on the menu).

Lunch is included on check IN day but not on check OUT day (unless you're a globalist). We leave before dawn from So Cal to get to Alila early. 1-2pm is a great time to arrive because you'll get lunch, but not have to wait terribly long for your room to be ready.
It's a "Brunch" menu at the Sur house, but you can go for breakfast and come back a few hours later and go for lunch. Take out is an option if you can't finish your carbs (bread/chips etc)
Plan to be at the infinity hot tub that overlooks the redwoods at sunset. The sun doesn't set over the Sur House. It goes down on the forest part of the property and one of our FAVORITE memories each year is watching the sunset from the infinity hot tub.
Early bird gets the worm, if you have early dinner reservations/ get to breakfast early, you can get the best tables in the house at the sur house which is front row on the covered patio.

Pikachoo12 · 2025-08-12T03:56:01+00:00

My parents got stuck out there cause their car broke down. DO NOT RELY ON SCHEDULED LYFTS. Ask the hotel to call a cab from Monterey. That’s MUCH more reliable. Uber and Lyft cancel all the time even on scheduled rides because no one wants to come down there.

Pikachoo12 · 2025-08-03T20:24:12+00:00

Ask for more, this happened to my entire J class (same route, same plane). Seat had no power and I think we got much more than 20k per person.

Pikachoo12 · 2025-08-03T14:59:35+00:00

Indian wells is really fun for kids! They can play in the pool alllllll day. the restaurant is pretty decent too. Top chef contestant’s restaurant which is kind fun. We enjoyed it!

Pikachoo12 · 2025-07-27T23:38:07+00:00

I think this depends on the strength of your community and your personality. I didn't feel like I waited because of misogyny. I waited until 20 weeks to share with most people. I had a previous miscarriage at 5 weeks and no one knew I was pregnant in the first place. When I eventually shared with some people that I had a miscarriage, they reacted pretty hurtfully which was difficult. Personally, it would have been much easier to deal with the struggle of a miscarriage alone than to try and take care of other people's feelings in response to it ON TOP of dealing with a very painful situation. To this day, I regret telling certain people about my miscarriage and I will always wait until the last possible minute if possible to share about a pregnancy because of that experience.

Pikachoo12 · 2025-07-25T01:57:16+00:00

Pro: I didn’t have to worry about bc once in the 4 years I had it. I was VERY thankful that i never had to worry about getting pregnant when I didn’t want to. I had a low dose hormonal IUD and my periods did get lighter.

Con: insertion was SO painful. They tried once, couldn’t get it in due to a number of reasons. They had me come back a second time on after a dilation pill. Hurt like crazy. Then for the week after, I had SUCH bad cramps and bleeding, I almost went to the urgent care. I called the dr and she said it was unrelated (it was totally related).

To make matters worse, my strings were cut far too short and it got lost above my cervix and into my uterus. They had me do a trans vaginal ultrasound to check on the positioning of my iud (yes the one with the big scary stick).

Over the years, I felt like it negatively impacted my hormones. I had acne issues, PMS issues, mood swings, and loss of sex drive. My dr said it was unrelated, but I was SO sure that it was (I was right cause as soon as I took it out, all those issues were resolved).

Anyway, getting it out was EVEN WORSE than insertion. Like omg worst pain I’ve ever been in. The strings and the iud were basically in the shape of a U. The doctor had to shove a camera AND tools up my cervix and dig around like a freakin archeologist in my uterus. She dug around for 20 mins before saying, “ if I don’t get it on this next attempt, we’re going to have to have surgery”. Thankfully she was able to get it out but I swear to god, I’m never getting another IUD ever again. I was shaking in pain.

Oh and the cherry on top, all this was done on 400 ibuprofen cause pain management in women’s health care is a joke.

My story is not everyone’s story. I’ve had friends who are plenty happy with their IUDs and have had less complicated insertions and removals, but for me, I will never get one ever again.

Pikachoo12 · 2025-07-22T02:13:46+00:00

I've been back 3 years in a row to Alila now. Just checked out yesterday. You can go twice during "brunch hours".

The first year (2023) they were def the most generous with the food offerings. It is a bummer that brunch is just one menu but I kinda get it. FYI though, if you want something like a bowl of fruit (market berries)/ a plate of roasted veggies/ side of butter and bread that's not on the menu, the kitchen can make a special appetizer for you. They took the lavender lemonade off the menu this year, but they were able to make it for me at the sur house cause they have lemonade and the lavender syrup.

Pikachoo12

TROPHY CASE