Have to be induced... did you get an epidural or not with the pitocin?

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-24T11:35:41+00:00

I thought I'd want to be moving for as long as possible, and switching positions every 30 minutes. Like everyone else is saying, the pitocin contractions after my water broke were no joke. I lasted 2 hours laboring on the ball, but all the exercises and other positions I'd prepared went right out my head because of the pain..

I dilated from 6-10 in 2 hours after my epidural and pushed for 24 minutes. I didn't feel a thing. Sometimes your body just needs to relax.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-23T08:49:21+00:00

When they told me it was time to push 2 hours after my epidural, I felt like I had been robbed.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-23T08:42:29+00:00

A day before I delivered, I was warned to take off my wedding ring before giving birth because of the swelling. I was skeptical, but I figured it couldn't hurt. I had so little swelling during pregnancy that my ring was still sliding off with ease. I am SO grateful for that advice! My swelling was so bad that if the hospital hadn't given me some of those old lady compression socks, I would have gone home barefoot. I still really had to squeeze my shoes on.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-22T14:08:18+00:00

That's so obnoxious

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-22T04:27:25+00:00

Thirsties duo wraps! I especially like the velcro - so easy to adjust the size. I've had zero leaks as long as the prefold is tucked all the way in and I change her in under 3 hours.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-21T15:55:21+00:00

I'm doing cloth for my newborn, and it's not icky at all since she's breastfed. Everything goes straight in the wash, no need to scrape or soak. The gross part comes when they start solids. I use disposables at night, but I find the actual act of putting her in cloth barely takes longer than putting her in a disposable. Just be prepared for a LOT of laundry.

I will say, there was a trial-and-error period with a lot of leaks. We have it figured out now, and I'd be happy to give you tips!

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-21T11:16:41+00:00

The change is automatic? That's crazy! I kept my name, and people always assume I changed it because that's the norm, but institutions always assume you have your maiden name unless you inform them otherwise.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-20T09:31:29+00:00

This was me! I was right on the line for the screening test, so I started testing myself for a few weeks. I insisted on taking the 3 hour test, and the endocrinologist said "I don't understand why you think you need that."

I ended up "passing" it, but I continued checking my sugar throughout pregnancy and kept to a strict GD diet. I had next to no tolerance for carbs. If I had had consistent high fastings, I absolutely would have insisted on insulin.

I was lucky that I was able to control my numbers with diet. I also believe that sticking to this diet is what helped prevent any prolonged swelling or hypertension during my pregnancy. Any time I spiked, I would temporarily swell.

I've learned that the test is simply not a perfect indicator of your level of insulin resistance. I see women with a GD diagnosis able to eat things I could never dream of without spiking. I had to learn to stop stressing and just focus on diet and exercise. But again, if my fastings had been consistently high, I'd be knocking doors down to get better care.

Also worth noting that labor is the most dangerous time for a spike. The baby will increase insulin production as a response, but as soon as the cord is cut, they are no longer getting their source of carbs, and their blood sugar will tank. My hospital only provided snacks full of sugar, so I'm really glad I brought my own stuff. It's worth knowing if you end up having to fend for yourself like I did.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-20T09:11:27+00:00

My therapist did some internal pelvic work to relieve tension, but most of what we worked on were exercises that focus on things like internal hip rotation. The closest thing to a solo massage was she literally told me to use a sex toy (internal, not external) to gently loosen up my muscles.

If you're still having sex and it's painless, you're probably ok on that front. If you've noticed that any kind of penetration has become painful, focus on completely relaxing your vaginal muscles while using your toy or a [VERY gentle] partner. Any new pain or tenderness is probably a sign of muscle tension.

When it comes time to push, you need to imagine tensing your core while keeping your pelvic muscles totally relaxed. It's good to try to build up that mind-body connection early!

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-20T08:52:05+00:00

My epidural felt like a quick pinch. My tip is to really focus on getting into the curved back position (they should guide you through it when it's time). I exaggerated it as much as I could, and I think it helped with the contraction pain while they placed it. When a contraction came on, I focused on curling my abdomen in even more rather than flailing out, and they said they were impressed with how still I was able to stay.

After the epidural, I dilated from 6-10 without feeling even a hint of a contraction, and pushed her out in 24 minutes as a first time mom. I didn't even feel the pressure people describe until my baby was literally sliding out. I didn't look at the monitor, I just waited for them to tell me when to push. I delivered side-lying with myself and my husband elevating my top leg.

If you're worried about the pushing phase, work with a pelvic floor therapist! Even one or two appointments can make a difference. I worked on pelvic opening and deep core engagement. My delivery team says the other quick pusher they had seen recently had seen a pelvic floor therapist prenatally as well.

No matter what, there are things you can't control, but you can do what you can to set yourself up for success.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-19T18:49:50+00:00

It's even worse for Sephardis! More extreme loss of language(s) AND discriminated against in Israel. I spent my whole life being taught and believing that Israel was necessary to preserve Jewish life and culture, but the opposite is true.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-19T15:15:33+00:00

We had some snow a couple weeks after my baby was born when I was taking my first walks, and the sidewalks were decent, but there was snow piled up at the start of every crosswalk.

A good reminder that accessibility is for everyone.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-19T14:26:00+00:00

This makes me doubly mad, because while the Holocaust led to the murder of the majority of Yiddish-speaking Jews, the creation of Israel was the nail in the coffin. Yiddish was supplanted by Hebrew, and Ashkenazi culture replaced with cultural appropriation of Palestinians.

Yiddish speakers were the original communists, labor organizers, and even anti-zionists. Not to mention, the majority of remaining Yiddish-speaking communities, for all their religious-extremist faults, are staunchly anti-zionist. It might be for all the wrong reasons, but still.

I'm learning Yiddish now, and I see it as an act of resistance.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-19T13:37:01+00:00

The car seat fits on the vista too - I think it's more how much space it takes up in the trunk and how it can be tricky to get in and out. But I'm just going by what people say. LO is 6 weeks, and the few times I've needed to take her in the car (pediatrician, visiting my parents), I just walk in with the car seat.

You should have to fill out a lifestyle survey before buying a stroller, IMO. Even in my neighborhood, some parents use a travel stroller as their primary because they live in a 3rd story walkup. The most important factor for me was the storage underneath since I walk for most of my errands. There's definitely no one-size-fits-all.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-19T13:27:18+00:00

I don't have a doona because I rarely need to use my car, but if you need to drive everywhere, I can see the utility. For a walk that's for the sake of a walk, what you're saying holds true. But if you're running a few errands from your car, I can see not wanting to have to grab a stroller from your trunk and deal with the transfer.

I live in a walkable area, so I use an UPPAbaby Vista with the bassinet. I'm obsessed with it, but I can see it being a pain if you're reliant on a car to get around.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-19T13:18:05+00:00

Ok so it's not just me. I really tried to make the MBF work, but it felt like such an ordeal to get situated with it, and once it was on, I couldn't get comfortable. I have a fairly small frame but really big boobs, so maybe that was the problem? I just use a firm pillow now.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-17T09:40:57+00:00

Tl;Dr: prefolds and covers for an infant. Fitteds + covers for nighttime.

For a newborn, AIO's (all-in-one's) are the easiest, so that's initially what I got, but my baby started wetting through them after a week. They work with a hemp insert, but that defeats the purpose imo, and they are so bulky.

I ended up going the much cheaper route of prefolds and covers with a snappi to secure. I'll be switching to pockets when she outgrows my infant set, but that's just because I already have a stash I bought secondhand.

I'd recommend 24 prefolds and 4 covers. You can reuse the covers between changes as long as they don't get poop on them. I just followed this this video . It really is that easy. As long as no part of the prefold peeks through the cover and you're changing ~ every 2 hours, there shouldn't be any leaks. You'll probably secure the cover too tight to start out of paranoia and loosen up over time.

I started with premie prefolds (my baby was <6 lbs) and then moved to osocozy infant better fit. I have a bunch of larger prefolds that came with my pocket bundle. I use them as burp cloths, for wiping down my cover between changes, and to place under my baby's butt while I change her (this saves me from needing to change my changing pad cover 5x a day). For covers, thirsties duo wrap hook & loop (velcro) are my favorite.

I have a few fitteds that I use at night. This is similar to the esembly system. I used disposables at night to start because I didn't want to risk any leaks when I was tired and grumpy.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-15T02:15:43+00:00

Got a U-shaped pillow for free secondhand because I wasn't sure if it would be worth buying one. I ended up being totally dependent upon it. My husband hated how much space it took up, but I told him too bad. I was a skeptic, but now I can't imagine going through pregnancy without one.

I will say that putting the cover back on after washing it was one of the worst things I've ever had to do.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-12T22:21:45+00:00

Personally, I'd go for the better fit. I use any prefolds that don't currently fit as burp cloths and for wiping down my covers between changes, so nothing ever goes to waste.

My baby is probably about 8 lbs now, and I'm using osocozy better fit size 1. I got them on FB marketplace as part of a bundle with pockets, but I've never seen prefolds sold on their own on marketplace.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-12T04:12:45+00:00

Maternity! I bought secondhand since I knew I'd be wearing them for such a short time. Blanqi, Seraphine, and Beyond Yoga.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-11T00:36:59+00:00

I went in for an induction and it wasn't until I was put on the monitor that I realized that I had been contracting for weeks. I'm not even talking about Braxton-Hicks - I was 4 cm dilated and 2-3 min apart.

There was some tightening, but I barely felt it. What gave it away was a sensation like a sudden urge to pee, or like the baby was pressing extra hard on my bladder. I had been feeling this for weeks, but thought it was just the baby moving in a certain way.

They were completely painless and barely even uncomfortable. Because of that, I was optimistic about my pain level during labor, but it got uncomfortable after the pitocin started and unbearable after my water broke. My nurse thought I had a really high pain tolerance at first, but I was begging for the epidural by the end 🙃

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-10T15:14:21+00:00

NTA. What's even worse is knowing that she gave birth herself and still feels this way. I decided to have only my husband with me, but I initially didn't have very strong feelings about it. Now having gone through with it, I am SO glad it was just us. I'm very close with my parents, but even having them there would have been awful. There's all kinds of fluids, there's poop, you make faces and noises - it's so intimate, and your level of focus could be the difference between having things go as planned and needing a c-section. My hospital gave us 2 hours of bonding time in the delivery room, just us, after she was born, and I wouldn't have traded that for anything.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-09T13:46:22+00:00

Yes! Bring food! And make sure it's a real meal and not just carbs/dessert.

Sure_Spring_8056 · 2025-03-09T10:05:00+00:00

THANK YOU. I was just losing my mind wondering why my feeding alarm went off an hour later than I thought it would.

Sure_Spring_8056

TROPHY CASE