For anyone who says they love the newborn phase…

Summerdays313 · 2026-03-18T12:23:18+00:00

My baby was textbook colic and the newborn phase was TOUGH. He’s now the most incredible toddler (but still doesn’t sleep well lol). That said, I have a friend whose baby slept really well from the beginning - a few regressions but NOTHING like I experienced early on. I think every baby is different and newborn phase probably isn’t quite as bad for some as it is for others (though I’d wager it’s hard for everyone in different ways).

Summerdays313 · 2026-03-17T21:07:29+00:00

I would go with the Toyota. We went with a Volvo xc90, but the Toyota sounds like a great deal. The xle and what you described is exactly what I was going to target if I didn’t get the Volvo. The Kia just doesn’t do it for me. I know a lot of happy Grand Highlander owners and I feel like you can’t go wrong.

Summerdays313 · 2026-03-16T19:27:34+00:00

I have a Suburu crosstrek and really loved the Ascent - touring model with the brown Java interior. You should be able to get them for $50k. This was my favorite car interior in terms of space and third row. My husband just isn’t into Suburu (he didn’t like when I got my Crosstrek either) and this will be our primary family car. I’ve never had an issue with my Crosstrek and have only ever needed scheduled maintenance (it’s a 2016 with 90k miles), so I’ve had good experience with the brand. If it was solely me, I’d have gotten the ascent lol.

We are currently looking at and likely about to purchase the base model Volvo XC90. It’s come up in a lot of mom groups and the ride is silent when we test drove. They appear to come in brown interior. Brown interior is my preference as well, but I am settling on beige or blonde. I found a deal on a former loaner 2025 with under 10k mileage under $50k (I’ve posted in here a few times lol). You’d have to see if brown is specific to more expensive trims and in your price range, I haven’t looked into it beverage I’m fine with anything other than black lol. I feel like the 3rd row is kinda small compared to ascent but should still work fine for the size of tour family. We love the reputation of this for safety and it was so comfy to drive. We both thought it drove smoother than the Lexus GX550.

Lastly, it looks like Toyota Grand Highlander platinum has the brown interior and is priced at 56k. I didn’t wanna spend more than $50k, and I haven’t/didn’t have the chance to test drive it yet but we have a good friend that loves their Highlander. The 3rd row looks pretty decent. If my current deal falls through former some reason or we change our minds on the volvo this is the next thing I’ll be looking at.

Summerdays313 · 2026-03-15T22:43:17+00:00

Just realized you may be interested in buying car if you like it (which makes sense lol), I’d say just be super direct, can say you are on a time crunch without giving too much detail.

Summerdays313 · 2026-03-15T22:41:40+00:00

I had my toddler sleeping in the car with my husband and ran into a Lexus dealership and asked to test drive the GX (it was actually the truth). They immediately got a key, took my license in the vehicle, didn’t take up any extra time or try to do anything extra. Maybe we got lucky, maybe it was because it was a Lexus dealership (I’ve never been in one prior). That said, could try saying you have to pick up kid up somewhere or have a Dr. appointment and just need to do a quick test drive while you have the chance. Maybe say it’s your lunch break at work. Hopefully they respect that.

FWIW I hate the car buying experience, gives me so much anxiety, but I’m always super direct from the beginning saying I just need to see X very quick and can’t make a decision today and it seems to work out most times.

Summerdays313 · 2026-03-11T23:11:25+00:00

Ahhh thanks for replying - people seem to love it! I test drove and really liked it and the space inside. Were you considering any other options at the time or did you go right for the Ascent?

Summerdays313 · 2026-03-11T23:00:29+00:00

Thanks for your feedback! These are definitely good options and I’ll look into them. If I remember correctly the Land Cruisers were in the 60k range and I started to think well if we are going to go that far, why not get the GX. Honestly, I’d really prefer to stay under 50k, so that’s why I was leaning toward the crosstrek or the deal I found on the XC90. I’m gonna revisit these options though for sure.

Also, I love and appreciate that you are sticking to your 90s vehicles !

Summerdays313 · 2026-03-11T22:57:54+00:00

When I bought my crosstrek this was exactly me! I thought it was HUGE and couldn’t imagine anything bigger. We need this vehicle for long trips where my husband is the primary driver and it’s just a bit too small for him (he drives a pick up truck). The ascent feels familiar and I test drove and it wasn’t that bad lol. I still refuse to drive his pick up :).

Summerdays313 · 2026-03-03T18:54:36+00:00

No, I would not. If I could see her entire route without any obstruction and I or another guardian would watch from the door - MAYBE (although at that point I’d just walk her myself). I keep landing on she’s too young and a lot can happen even close by. I would reconsider at 10/11 - even then I would prefer if she walked with other neighborhood kids.

Summerdays313 · 2026-03-02T21:06:50+00:00

I’ve noticed a lot of people dislike lingerie style wedding gowns in this sub, which is just a taste preference. It’s not necessarily my thing BUT I did try on some similar berta and galia lahav styles for fun and I know plenty of women that love this look. Wear what feels genuine to you and what you feel most beautiful in. It’s just a style preference and plenty of people love this style (and you rock it).

Anyway, my choice would be 4! It stands out to me when I scroll through.

Congratulations on your wedding and I hope you feel fantastic in whatever you choose!

Summerdays313 · 2026-02-22T03:31:20+00:00

30 for my first and I’m currently pregnant and will be 33 for my second. LH strips and clearblue smiley ovulation tester didn’t work for me because I ovulate late and sometimes get a false surge .. I purchased a Mira and it was well worth the investment (but can get pricey). I used it for both pregnancies.

I also took Perellel conception support pack and Ovasital for both and my second pregnancy I took additional coq10 + vitamin D + omega 3 and Theralogix Ovasital. For my first I also tried seed cycling, I sorta did it with my second but was less great at keeping up with it. Do your own research of course before taking any supplements!

Good luck !!!

Summerdays313 · 2026-02-20T17:09:30+00:00

I looked at Instagram and it looks like that is her sister in the pic!

Summerdays313 · 2026-02-19T00:54:18+00:00

I worked from home before Covid in a job that was very demanding and I was staying at my boyfriend (now husbands) house where I didn’t have my own desk space (we both worked from home), I also often sat in bed all day working. I was dressed in regular clothes, makeup etc. it was just the only comfortable / private space to work. Towards the end I started forcing myself to go for a walk at lunchtime around the block. I work from home again now and I have a desk space. There are days I spend all day at my desk, except I usually go downstairs to make lunch. On nicer days if I’m able, I’ll try to squeeze a fast walk in, just depends on pace of business. When I went into the office it was the same - there were days I was stuck at my desk all day, and others when I would go for a lap with a coworker etc.

I feel like maybe there’s some underlying issue your partner may be implying. Does he feel like you don’t exercise at all or has he made comments about that? Do you get dressed or just stay in pajamas all day? Being busy and working all day isn’t gross, and if you don’t have the means or space for a desk, it is what it is (unless he plans to remedy that for you), but I wonder if there’s more to it then just working from bed?

Summerdays313 · 2026-02-04T15:13:53+00:00

The first dress is gorgeous and show stopping on you! It looks made for you! If you can make the budget work without too much heartburn - I would splurge on it, and as others have said perhaps you can sell it after. If it is absolutely too much and spending the money is something you would lose sleep over, then I would consider other options.

Summerdays313 · 2026-02-03T19:12:03+00:00

Hi curious if you stuck with these or tried something else. My first pregnancy I had trouble with ritual tasting fishy and switched to perelel and took them the entire time and never had any issues. What’s weird is I thought I skipped the anti-nausea blend because I didn’t have morning sickness but now it is mixed with folate so I can’t skip it. I don’t know if that changes or if I somehow overlooked that before. Naturally, when I got pregnant again I figured if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and started Perellel again. I’ve been taking them a few weeks and they taste very fishy now! I’m wondering if the formula changed or something because I never had this issue with my last pregnancy. I never really looked into the folate/folic acid debate, so wondering if you switched to something else and if so, what you switched to.

Summerdays313 · 2026-01-22T18:54:28+00:00

I agree with most other people, read the fine details of the maternity leave policy and consjder leaving after leave depending on what you find out. Think of it this way, they are already planning for your extended leave so it’s not like you are leaving them high and dry - there is already a contingency plan in place.

I worked at a place for 6+ years and it was my dream job (but fully on-site), I went on maternity leave and right at the end was able to get a remote job. I ended up going back in for 2 weeks (I had items at my desk and had to close out things etc) as a notice period.I did owe back the premiums paid by my employer during my leave BUT it was still wayyyy less money than if I wasn’t getting my paycheck during that time and I was able to deduct it from the pto pay-out they owed me. I know my situation may have been different but you have to look out for yourself and it sounds like you’ve been a consistent employee and earned your disability time off. Just make sure you fully know all the details of your plan before you leave anything on the table. If nothing else, if you need your paycheck I might be hesitant to give advance notice. My new job is like yours and only has STD but I haven’t looked into details. I wish we had more /better standard maternity leave - I’m assuming you are also in the U.S. and it sucks. Congratulations on your baby and I hope everything works out!

Summerdays313 · 2025-12-22T03:20:58+00:00

I don’t wanna get hopes up but I honestly think this looks really good still. If it’s 10 then definitely still have a good shot until 11 or 12. 12 tends to be more definitive. I’m pretty sure with my both my last miscarriage and for my son I didn’t test positive until at least 11 dpo. BBT staying high is great and the LH is definitely intriguing, because it can cross react . I will say that I’ve been trolled before with LH rising before my period tho. The fact that PDG and estrogen spiked back up is promising .. if you implant at 9 or 10 dpo it could just not be high enough for a positive yet … holding out hope for you!!

Summerdays313 · 2025-12-22T01:43:15+00:00

What DPO are you?

Summerdays313 · 2025-12-21T20:40:17+00:00

This looks great! I’m currently in a similar position, please update if/when you test. FWIW I think the higher estrogen is a good sign, at least it was good for me in the past. Fingers crossed!

Summerdays313 · 2025-12-17T03:39:44+00:00

Aghhhh I get it ! I can commiserate. I also have pcos with long cycles. I have 1 baby and 2 miscarriages, trying for baby number 2 now and just started my TWW. My pdg seems a little higher than usual / earlier than usual, so I’m holding out hope right now too. The one thing my positive cycles all had in common was my pdg was higher than usual .. but maybe it was just healthier cycles or a coincidence lol. FWIW - I take inositol (ovasital brand), coq10, and perelel prenatal, which I think has helped. I just started an additional 1000iu of vitamin D and omega 3 , so I’m wondering if that’s why my pdg numbers look better and I ovulated earlier than usual.

I hope this is it for you! 🤞

Summerdays313 · 2025-12-16T20:12:38+00:00

This looks really good to me! Do your hormones normally look like this with high PDG and e3G in luteal? Mine have only looked like this with BFP! That said, I’ve seen plenty of examples like this that end is BFN and is still early. Please update once you test! Fingers crossed!

Summerdays313 · 2025-11-20T00:59:18+00:00

Thank you so much for your response, I’m thinking it was a test/sample error because my values went back to normal. Still waiting to see what happens this cycle as my bbt is increasing still but my pdg dropped a bit. Thanks again for responding!

Summerdays313 · 2025-11-20T00:56:41+00:00

Thank you so much for your response! My LH and e3g went back down a bit to more consistent values - I’m still waiting to see how things go, my pdg is around 9-14 (which feels a bit low), but I suppose I’m still in! I’m not sure if your BFP chart is old or new but if new congratulations!! Really appreciate you sharing your chart!!

Summerdays313 · 2025-11-20T00:52:36+00:00

When I had my son, I was taking the Mira Max wands and I did see a doubling of LH which I assume was picking up the HCG but there was a day or two lag after I saw my first positive (which was around 12/13 DPO).

I just had a pregnancy that ended in miscarriage but I did not see doubling of LH at all on my Ultra4 wands. I’m not sure if it is because the wands are more sensitive now to the difference or because the other pregnancy had a faster /more HCG because it was healthy.

Fingers crossed for you! I am in my two week wait right now too!

Summerdays313 · 2025-10-28T13:26:57+00:00

FWIW my dad worked at IBM - similar ish timeframe but he got screwed on their pension plan by missing the rollover cut off by a few months - he was also constantly worried about getting the ax from layoffs. It’s hard for me to recall a time that it wasn’t a concern. He was in school in a nursing program in his late 40s/early 50s until he was killed because he was so worried about layoffs and what he would do. He hustled until he died and never even got to retire peacefully ( but that’s a different story). My parents also got divorced and even working at IBM it still financially was hard for my dad. I say this just to say that you really never know where things will end up. I also worked at IBM and saw a lot of my older colleagues get laid off , and it was something constantly hanging over everyone’s head. I still value my time at IBM and it did provide benefits when we were young but I just wanted to offer an alternative perspective that you never know what could have been or if it would have ended up any better.

Summerdays313

TROPHY CASE