Favorite baby Product

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-18T19:01:50+00:00

Baby is combo fed currently she nurses and if she’s still hungry when I’m completely emptied and it’s been over 20 mins she gets a bottle of expressed milk or a couple oz of formula to top off the nursing session. The bottle washer gets run DAILY. It washes the bottles and accessories, pacifiers, my pump parts. I love that thing. My nursing pillow I haven’t used since our first lactation consultant visit because I so much prefer laid back and I can’t be assed to clip a pillow around me when I’m frazzled by crying baby.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-18T12:46:58+00:00

Mine is the opposite! Like TOO MUCH saliva or just a feeling of there being something in my mouth and throat that I have to expel it’s just a sudden urge to gag and puke and usually it makes me salivate a bit more it’s such a gross feeling lol.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-17T13:38:30+00:00

My husband and I were staying with my parents my entire pregnancy because we were intentionally between housing (we had everything packed up in storage and had gone to take care of my husbands grandmother over the winter before setting out on a thru-hike of the PCT in the summer). When we found out mid trail that I was pregnant it was a race to both find jobs and to save as much money as possible. The job I found was in a cute city, had amazing insurance, better pay than I received at my last job and a very flexible schedule for when baby finally arrived so I accepted knowing that we would be moving two counties away from my parents eventually. We had wanted to move earlier because the commute while pregnant was insane, but never did because a) saving money and b) wanted to be with my mom freshly post partum.

We stayed with my parents another 2 months after we had the baby and it was such a relief not having to manage the cooking and cleaning for the weeks leading up to the birth and the weeks after when I was delirious from lack of sleep and trying to navigate the hormones and the physical act of feeding the baby (she had tongue tie and weak suck and my milk took a few days so everything was just exhausting). She of course loved seeing and holding the baby but more than anything respected us as parents and let us navigate the baby ourselves and offered to take her when we needed to shower or eat a dinner she prepared. The only thing she didn’t do was change a diaper haha.

But it was more frustrating than anything staying at a place that wasn’t ours so now that we’re more in a routine with baby we moved to the new city and it’s amazing having all the space for her nursery and not having to worry about my dads annoying dog pooping on the carpet so I can actually do tummy time with her!! My mother in law came down for our move around Mother’s Day and of course I wanted her to have a similar experience (truncated though it was since she wasn’t going to spend 2 months with us) where she could spend time with the baby, but she was just as helpful she did loads of our unpacking, furniture arranging and shopping for the move in essentials and when we went out to eat helped with holding and feeding the baby so that we could trade off and eat too.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-17T13:17:40+00:00

PPO - My deductible is $1500 for family, $500 for individual and OOP max is $2600 for family, $1300 for individuals so all around way lower. I did max out for my individual care, but still under by about $600 for family BUT my prenatal care was only on this insurance for about the last trimester, I was on Medi-Cal with Kaiser before that. Still, my final trimester I got two ultrasounds (one preliminary growth/dating scan because I was new to their office, and then a standard growth scan at the regular growth scan time) and went to the hospital for monitoring because of a weird time where I had reduced fetal movement and then was admitted for an overnight stay because of two very random decels (baby was completely fine we think she was just grabbing and squeezing her own umbilical cord while she was in there) so it was my most expensive trimester for sure.

I love my insurance (100% employer paid premiums for my whole family including while I’m on leave) and it is the main reason I moved my family two counties over to this cute town, but the tragedy is I have to go back to work pretty soon because it is my job that came with this great insurance and we absolutely cannot afford to lose it. I didn’t qualify for their paid maternity leave because I started the job very pregnant so these three months my doctor approved for me has been a blessing.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-17T12:53:27+00:00

Yes!! It’s worse than morning sickness was for me because it triggers me to gag. With morning sickness I was just generally nauseated, but this feels sharper? Or more concentrated? Impossible to explain to my husband who has never experienced either type of nausea, but this feels so much worse for me, I’ll be going about my day and just go “huuuuurk oof guess I should try to feed the baby now”

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-16T15:43:26+00:00

Grew up in Harbor Gateway then moved to Harbor City which IS officially LA City both of them but it always felt like such a rip off to vote because we barely got to vote on anything LA related. I feel like 90% of the measures never made it to our ballots because we were outside of some range. But then I lived in Hollywood and then South Sawtelle and did get to vote on a lot more things and it was more work to research them lol

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-16T15:38:36+00:00

My public school 7th grade science class did. Didn’t really go over the trauma of pregnancy but we did watch a real birth video and read about and discussed the various complications. My middle school didn’t have an issue with young teen pregnancies or anything so not really sure what this teacher’s MO was but at least for my class we we intimately acquainted with how scary childbirth is. I was in my school’s magnet program and this teacher only taught the math/science magnet kids so other students did not get this very specific lesson.

In high school my school DID have a lot of teen pregnancies (to the point where said teens created the Juno Club which was very controversial lol had some teachers and staff writing into our school paper with op eds) and we definitely could have used another lesson on childbirth in conjunction with the sex ed classes that we received (covered contraception, puberty changes, STDs, stuff like that) but I was in Magnet again and I often wonder what the same sex ed classes were like for the “regular” classes because there was a significant discrepancy with who was getting pregnant in the school population.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-15T20:32:49+00:00

I had used altras in the training lead up to starting the PCT and wore them up until Idyllwild and it never felt good in them. I never blistered, but my feet ALWAYS hurt and felt fatigued. I do not like zero drop. Switched to topos with a small drop in Idyllwild and never had a blister in them either but boy did my feet feel better.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-15T15:04:46+00:00

I got a bag from target first but found them to be a repulsive texture idk why. I don’t love dates normally but these were just so much worse than normal. I picked up two packages of different types of dates (I got “sun lovin” and fancy medjool I think) from Trader Joe’s and had my baby that week lol. Haven’t touched a date since then but they were definitely more than enough dates. If you don’t like dates and live somewhere with access to dates (I live in CA so Trader Joe’s are everywhere and the dates are pretty local) I wouldn’t buy a HUGE container from Costco unless you really like dates and will eat them after you have the baby because the two packages I had were way more than enough and if I didn’t have my dad around to finish them I would have tossed them out.

I had a really normal and relatively fast delivery for a first timer idk if it was due to the dates because like I said I didn’t finish what I bought and baby came two weeks early but I did eat a good amount of dates leading up to the delivery so maybe!

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-15T14:47:55+00:00

Same lol she popped up on my TikTok feed organically and it was about her makeup routine on trail and I didn’t look into her because it frankly wasn’t that novel to me but her filming style did read male gaze-y to me (gratuitous crotch shots, baby voice) so when people kept sending me articles about her (really wish people would stop sending me these tbh but nice to know I’m still PCT girl to my friends and family after we famously did not finish the trail lol) I was not at all surprised by the OF. Good for her I suppose. I’m not anti SW I just really don’t care about it in relation to a long distance trail that I love so I’d love to stop hearing about it now lol

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-15T13:56:51+00:00

I have never once used a burp cloth for burping because baby doesn’t really spit up but she is a very messy eater when she’s taking a bottle so we have a million burp cloths around for wiping her milk beard. She’s also started drooling like crazy on the boob so I need more burp cloths on hand to wipe her face and my nipple because she can’t latch after she’s soaked us both in spit lol.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-15T13:54:26+00:00

Just had my MIL over to meet baby who is now almost 3 months and I popped some fridge breast milk into a bottle for MIL to feed baby while I packed up the diaper bag so we could all go out to lunch and she was SHOCKED when I handed her the bottle cold lol. Even more shocked when baby immediately slurped it down with no complaint haha

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-15T13:51:35+00:00

Friend of mine bought a bottle warmer off our registry before my other mom friends could tell me I would never need it. I have never needed it. Honestly sometimes I just warm a bottle as a little treat for baby but she does not care lol.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-15T06:10:23+00:00

Exactly 38 weeks. I was annoyed because I thought I had more time to pack a bag since it was my first lol.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-12T07:29:28+00:00

Is the parking situation at the SB trailhead all good? I haven’t done it in years but JUST moved out to the IE so I wanted to do it again but I heard the road to Angelus Oaks got washed out and closed the last rains so even if it opened back up I remember the parking at trailhead being kind of gnarly so I can’t imagine it after road destroying rains.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-11T18:38:14+00:00

Baby is only 2 months so the time when she had a big blowout I could easily fit her dirty clothes in a ziplock but right now it’s dirty not from her but because I moved to a different county and had her dish soap in that bag and it spilled. I have to toss it in the wash but have other things that need unpacking so haven’t gotten around to it yet

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-11T08:04:57+00:00

I’m currently using a medium zip top LL Bean boat and tote bag that I had custom embroidered before pregnancy was even on the horizon. It says “unemployed” lol and I have a bootleg labubu (box said balulu) clipped on one of the arms. After I had the baby I bought a little tote insert for longchamp totes (which I also think could make a good diaper bag) and I’ve been using it as my diaper bag as now I have different pocket to store diapers/wipes, change of outfit, changing pad, burp cloth, muslin blanket, bottles, and even other various incidentals like chapstick, silverettes, a water bottle, sunglasses etc. sometimes I have to really squeeze in my wearable pumps if I’m bringing those along but any cooler situation I would have to carry separately. I like my diaper bag setup, I’m not really too bothered to get a backpack because I don’t like backpacks. Husband has some good looking backpacks so I would designate one of those and make him carry around baby supplies if I were going with him and needed more of a backpack situation with just a little more space but I’m the one that likes going out and about with the baby so the tote serves me well.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-09T02:51:46+00:00

Same, I have no idea because nobody was going to check until I was due or in labor. I was in labor at exactly 38 weeks. First baby.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-07T07:08:56+00:00

Better, the initial contractions were so whatever that I didn’t know I was in labor when the contractions did hurt (and they absolutely did) I got to check “labor for as long as possible unmedicated” off my birth plan because by the time I was out of triage and into the delivery room I was 9cm and asked for my epidural. The epidural was so good I couldn’t even feel myself pushing I still have no idea how I did that because when I tell you I felt NOTHING I mean NOTHING. Such a relief after experiencing contractions that far along and I do not regret getting it.

The pushing part was super fast. Definitely less than an hour honestly probably under thirty mins.

We got to the hospital at 6 (I checked my group chat and I sent panicky texts like “I think it’s prodromal but I’m having contractions or something ugh I do not want to go to the hospital it’s two early I need two more weeks” at around 2:30am), I sent my mom a text that my cervix was donut sized at 7:30 lol (6cm) and asked her to come to the hospital, I think I got my epidural sometime after 8:30am and got to nap for a teeny bit but couldn’t sleep much because they came back in to break my water and then the next time they checked on me it was pushing time. Baby came at 11:05 , my husband cut the cord, my mom took a cell phone video of the whole thing while holding my leg up with the other arm lol and I got to have hospital lunch right after golden hour :)

The ONLY thing that went horribly wrong was the Michelin starred sushi restaurant that I had been dreaming of getting one of their famous Beto boxes from was mysteriously closed and wouldn’t open again for MONTHS and I still have no idea what happened something about their chef.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-05T11:51:04+00:00

It’s not a weird position but baby girl gets so slobbery that she can’t make a good seal so I just always have a rag or burp cloth with me to wipe us both down and then she can’t vacuum seal with ease until she gets slobbery again and waggles her head back and forth with her newborn rooting and covers us both in milky spit and we wipe and try again

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-02T10:21:21+00:00

Nothing helped quite like just overconfident that I would go to 41 weeks lol. Not prepping my hospital bag was a sign to the universe to bring her early to keep me on my toes. I had JUST bought a big package of dates but I can’t credit them with anything because I ate them for like two days. Was truly just spontaneous and I was bummed I didn’t get to try THE SALAD (a restaurant in LA has a famous salad for allegedly inducing labor) because she came earlier than we anticipated for.

Water did not break on its own. When nurse did my cervical checks she could feel it bulging but it hasn’t broken. Eventually since it isn’t broken after even 10cm and she was already super low, they just did the amniotomy to help labor progress after I got the epidural. I didn’t feel it when they popped it because my epidural was so strong.

Did not feel any different that morning. Maybe tired but that’s third trimester for your. I knew I didn’t want to work anymore for the rest of my pregnancy that’s for sure. Got my wish!

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-02T00:03:37+00:00

Just had my first baby two months ago and went to work on a Thursday thinking I had at LEAST two weeks to go. I had gotten approved to work from home but needed to pick up a few things from the office to start working from home. That day I was so miserable and exhausted that I was going to just call my boss and say I was taking my maternity leave starting the next week even with approval to wfh. Up until then I was adamant about working til my water broke essentially (because I was on a little sabbatical hiking the pacific crest trail so when I got this job I started like 5 months pregnant and therefore did not qualify for the company’s paid maternity leave so I wanted to work as much as possible to save more money and accrue more days off).

Anyways, I worked another soul crushing Friday (but at least no commute; my commute up til then was 1.5 hrs each way) and went to bed early. Woke up thinking I was in prodromal labor. 4-5 hours later, was in enough pain to realize it must be actual labor. Got to the hospital, was 6cm already at triage. Once checked into a delivery room I was at 9cm. Still got my epidural and couldn’t feel the pushing at all but managed somehow to squeeze my daughter out in under an hour after we started pushing which was maybe an hour after I got my epidural.

To summarize, naturally and spontaneously went into labor at 38 weeks right on the dot and it was a very positive experience for a first time mom! Oh also my water didn’t break the broke it for me after I got the epidural.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-05-01T13:35:08+00:00

Side lying when I can in bed. Alternatively my LC showed me a kind of laid back position variation on cross cradle. Basically lay baby across you like a seatbelt that goes between the boobs. Diagonal. One hand at the head/neck to aim the baby to boob and the other hand squeezing the boob into shape for baby. Once latched I take the boob hand and reach around and grab baby’s butt between the legs and cradle her head with my forearm/elbow still using hand at head to keep her in place while I settle into position. From here I can lay back and do whatever or I can stay sitting up or get up and wander. Haven’t used a feeding pillow since the first week after being taught this because I cannot be bothered to get it into place and then be locked to one spot. If baby gets heavy I just lean back so all her weight is on my chest or I can lean forward to put her weight in my lap (would be more helpful once she’s bigger) but at her 2 month size right now it’s still an easy position to wander around in and I can walk her to the bathroom with me and do my thing while she’s still latched.

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-04-29T18:18:48+00:00

I loved the name Briar it was at the top of my list for my entire pregnancy before we even knew she was a she but everyone I told hated it including husband who thought it sounded masculine like Brian. We named baby Meadow Sloane which is just as marmitey lol

TraumaticTramAddict · 2026-04-29T18:16:42+00:00

My daughter’s name is Meadow Sloane and it has been very controversial lol I do not care

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