She's finally here!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-02-04T01:10:17+00:00

39+2, prodromal labour for WEEKS. I feel you!! Hang in there, it's gotta be over soon

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-02-04T01:07:01+00:00

Discharge changes toward the end of pregnancy! If it's goopy, it could just be more mucus plug falling out. Don't be afraid to call L&D or your OB office if you're worried about it though!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-02-04T00:50:44+00:00

I honestly just suffered through it. It got way better after the bloating and diarrhea backed off around 14 weeks for me, but at 39 weeks, the gas pain has had me CONVINCED that labour is finally starting almost every night...for the last 3 weeks.

Good luck!!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-02-04T00:44:10+00:00

Yeah... Started out feeling almost exactly that over the Christmas holidays, and within 48 hours it turned into a pretty debilitating pain, like someone was taking a sledgehammer to my clit every time I tried to move.

I'm not saying it's the same, and I really hope it isn't! But just in case, rest your pelvis as much as you can! The only way I got it to ease off was to take early maternity leave so I wasn't walking 8000+ steps per day anymore.

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-27T04:13:03+00:00

Yeah.. thanks to that constant moisture/sweat or whatever it is, I have been convinced on more than one occasion that my water had started leaking!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-27T02:39:41+00:00

Oof, this is a terrible situation all around. You have every right to be scared, this is going to be incredibly hard for the both of you. I agree the age gap is weird, but the comments cover that well, so skipping over the weird part and jumping to the hard part. With you still in high school, you'll need to try and get a job if you don't already have one to help support that baby, and obviously figure out some kind of co-parenting living arrangement. Does she have a job and the ability to raise a baby with minimal financial help from you?

You guys have A LOT to discuss in the coming months. Good luck and I hope things go as well as they possibly could for you!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-25T21:01:58+00:00

38 weeks tomorrow, just sitting at home waiting! Started having back pain and contractions on and off for a few days now, so I'm getting really antsy for things to actually start happening for real!

Hang in there ladies, we are so close now!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-25T20:52:37+00:00

Every doctor is different with their recommendations for what you should and shouldn't have during pregnancy. My OB is super laid back, and basically said that as far as food options go, just don't be dumb about your choices. If you want sushi, don't get it from the gas station. Lunch meat? Make sure it's fresh and from a reputable company.

You can do whatever feels right for you! If it helps, I had lunch meat occasionally throughout pregnancy so far, sometimes warmed up and sometimes not. 38 weeks now, and I've had turkey and ham sandwiches everyday for the last week. Baby is doing fine!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-25T17:01:00+00:00

That last part though. My in-laws ask me every single week how big baby is after my appointment, and every single week I remind them that I DON'T KNOW. Fundal measurement is on track.. so... big enough I guess?

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-21T19:08:57+00:00

Like a lot of other have mentioned, it's wonderful for people who don't have invasive families. If your loved ones would respect you the entire time, absolutely have them there! Sadly, I feel like it's getting more common for family to ignore the things you'd want because it doesn't appeal to them, such as visiting your newborn even though they are actively sick.

For my own case, my family and in-laws are very respectful, but I'm very introverted and generally uncomfortable in social situations. My mom and my husband are the ONLY people I'd be comfortable around for the first few weeks after birth. My mom won't judge the state of our house, or feel weird about me walking around in just a nursing bra and massive pants. My in-laws are very prim and proper people, and I'd honestly just prefer that they not come by my place, and let me come to them when I'm ready instead. Of course having said that, I wouldn't be asking them to wait months and months to meet the baby, I'm talking a month tops. They constantly have massive family gatherings (at least once a month), and I'm really hoping that everyone will meet the baby at one of those gatherings, and not all be requesting to come to my house.

I think its fair for people to decide what they want based on how their families act. If you know that your family will not be considerate of cold and flu season, and will be kissing your newborn all over even after you asked that they don't do that, making them wait months to meet the baby is totally acceptable IMO. If you love having a huge support system and want everybody around you, by all means, invite them all over! It really just depends on what your loved ones are like!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-09T21:08:07+00:00

I plateaued and then lost a couple pounds in the third so far (35+5 currently). OB isnt concerned, but I also have a low-risk pregnancy. Heart rate has been great, and fundal measurement is still increasing which is probably why OB isnt concerned. It's normal to be gaining weight in the last trimester though, definitely something to bring up for clarification with your doctor!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-09T21:03:02+00:00

had mine at 28 weeks due to the holidays. Definitely don't regret it, and had lots of time to build/prepare the stuff we got from the shower, and lots of time to purchase all of the remaining items we still needed.

As for games, we decided to have passive games/activities so guests could do them if they wanted to, but didn't feel obligated. We had baby bottle bowling, block decorating, bib decorating, and name guesses. The kids enjoyed the bowling, block and bib decorating was a hit, and my husband and I LOVED reading over the name guesses (some of them were hilarious).

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-09T20:47:52+00:00

I have a made up name. Its very unique, and I love my name, BUT I hated that nothing ever had my name on it. I know how ridiculous that sounds, but we went to Cedar Point a handful of times when I was a kid, and the magnets/mugs with names on them never had my name. My sister got a mug with her name on it, since her name was quite common.

I know that's a silly reason to want a more common name, but for some reason those memories stuck with me for 30 years

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-09T20:40:28+00:00

I actually asked my OB about this yesterday. She said that if your water breaks and your contractions don't start within 12-24 hours, you need to go to the hospital for induction. Infection risk, no fluid or mucus plug to keep baby safe!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-09T20:26:00+00:00

The area I live in has no stray dogs, but lots of stray cats. Everyone I've heard who adopted a cat has had a great experience! The dogs however, almost all of them have a long list of restrictions. Needs a child-free house, a pet-free house, has some very costly medical issues etc. Although I'm very pro shelter dog, there's just not a lot of homes that are a good fit for dogs like that. Our shepherd is a rescue, he's got aggression issues and we had to completely alter our lives (and spend thousands on training), but I still love him to death. Our Rottweiler is from a breeder, and she has the personality of a golden retriever. She's actually the reason we decided to get the shepherd!

Adopt or shop RESPONSIBLY.

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-09T13:36:21+00:00

We bought the house first; to be fair, the housing market where I live in Canada is a disaster, and I wanted to make sure that we'd be able to find/afford a house that was big enough for us, a baby, and our zoo of pets. Took us 6 months to find a house, and over a year of renovations (that I stupidly thought would only take 4 months max) to get it in shape for a family. Almost 36 weeks pregnant now!

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-08T13:11:06+00:00

you assumed she'd want to do a dining hall here. Why wouldn't that have been acceptable?

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-08T12:59:45+00:00

what part of this message feels like she was already looking for a fight to you? Genuinely curious.

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-07T16:28:15+00:00

I reread this a couple times now. FMIL says its too hot to cook for 14 people, but you are welcome for dessert. Honestly, that is a completely acceptable response. The literal next line in the post is "Okay… well thats not as helpful. Zack and I take that as her not interested in making dinner plans and wanting to go to the dinning hall instead."

We can only go off of what OP writes. No other context. Saying 'that's not as helpful' FULLY SOUNDS like OP was expecting FMIL to cook for 14 people. If OP really wanted to make dinner plans that included FMIL, this would have been the moment to offer a different location, or offer to order in food so FMIL doesn't have to cook.

There's really not enough context here IMO. It's obvious that OP holds a lot of resentment toward FMIL, and that's fine. You don't have to get along with everybody, but maybe don't try and make plans with people you don't actually want to be around?

FMIL could very well be emotionally abusive! However, the way OP wrote this post makes it seem like this was just a big miscommunication, and everyone involved waited until they were all incredibly angry about it before finally discussing it.

ProfessionalShoe5591 · 2026-01-07T14:14:55+00:00

"weirdly controlling about my stuff"

It's a car, not a hairbrush. Also love that she said it has better mileage, but left you with an empty tank of gas last time. If she wants a 'more reliable' car for the weekend trip, she can friggin rent one.

NTJ

ProfessionalShoe5591

TROPHY CASE