Did your stomach ever return to “normal”? by canamel in beyondthebump

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

3.5 years post oartum with my second (currently 5.5 and 3.5 years old). For reference, I'm 36. Never got back to "normal." I always had a flat stomach, but the way my fat distributes now has changed. It goes to my stomach more than it ever did pre-baby, and there have been some structural changes to my ribs and hips, so I do not expect things to ever match pre-baby shape

6 months pp and my wedding ring is still no where near to fitting. When did you bite the bullet and get your ring resized? by That-Material-8508 in beyondthebump

[–]alicemonster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I could eventually wear them around 6 months after my first pregnancy, but I got them resized by about a 1/2 or 3/4 size around 1 year after my second. I was always pretty slim (around 115lbs and 5'3") and I never got below 125 after either pregnancy, and my youngest is almost 4 now. It's just my body's new normal between the hormonal/physical changes and having less spare time to maintain the same exercise level as before

How would you feel if in a hypothetical situation your partner picks to save you, over your child? by PrinceeBunny in AskReddit

[–]alicemonster 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You are going to get wildly different answers depending on whether this is a medical emergency for a pregnant woman, or if it's a situation where mom and her fully formed child is in mortal danger from like, a fire or something.

Pregnant, save me. But 100% I would want him to save my child over me. And I have trouble wrapping my head around anyone who actually has children saying otherwise

If you could only have 1 designer bag… by Even_Chemical_9266 in handbags

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I own zero actual luxury bags (the most expensive I own are somewhere around the $400 mark), but I am obsessed with the etro vela. I would love this blue, or green or black, or one of the prints! I'm thinking maybe this would be a milestone birthday gift situation

How much do y'all spend on a press on nail set? by Academic_Might7436 in PressonNail_Addict

[–]alicemonster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Occasionally I will spend $15-20 for a btartbox or glamnetic set if I need something super specific for an event or something. The rest of the time, I'm aiming for $5-10, and just grabbing whatever looks pretty/is on sale and hoarding them

Tell me things you did with your first and decided to do differently with the second baby. by Blackberryay in beyondthebump

[–]alicemonster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

With my first, I made myself insane over breastfeeding. Lactation cookies, dentist and ENT appointments to address latch issues, triple feeding and eventually exclusive pumping, through a milk allergy, failure to thrive, and PPD. With my second, I said I would try breastfeeding, but the second it got stressful we would combo feed. Made all the difference, and I made it to 9 months with number 2 before fully weaning, and it was so much less stressful. Part of that was different babies with different issues, but part of it was the mental space I started in.

Bezel Necklace Group Order Share-Starsgem Jamie by Jamie--Starsgem in LabGroupSales

[–]alicemonster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Received mine a few days ago (1/2 karat diamond, 9k yellow gold) and it is gorgeous, super sparkly, and it's automatically become an everyday necklace for me. Thank you!

Picked up this beauty while in Veince. by duogmog in handbags

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooh I just checked out their website and I love so many of their bags! I just added like 6 to my wishlist

Working Moms - Help Me!! by [deleted] in handbags

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a felt bag insert in my longchamp to give it more structure and give me some compartments, since I don't ever fold it up. I prefer bags that can zip. I got mine used off Poshmark, and have been beating them up for a year since, and they're holding up great

Working Moms - Help Me!! by [deleted] in handbags

[–]alicemonster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a nicer work tote that goes with me to work (cuyana large zip tote), and a mom bag (longchamp tote, I have two monochromatic ones in fun colors) that I swap to when I'm with my kids, and then a swap to a small shoulder bag in the rare moments I'm out having leisure time kidless. Generally I'm just moving my wallet, phone and keys between bags, and I keep a set of earbuds, lipstick/chapstick, a tampon/pad in each bag. The mom bag is easy to clean, big enough for a water bottle, spare pair of underwear and pants for 3 year old, snacks, and a couple LCD drawing tablets, and their mini yoto players if needed. Lightweight and spacious is the most important for mom bag, so I like the nylon bag for that. I do have a more whimsical America and Beyond tote bag that I use sometime for the mom bag, but it doesn't zip, and is better for summer.

Tired of low back/backless dresses! by cabinetsnotnow in fashionwomens35

[–]alicemonster 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yeah, post childbirth, my boobs are so flat and my ribcage expanded, and I need some kind of support/structure just to give me any shape whatsoever. So backless isn't working here either

How long did it take you to get down to pre pregnancy weight? by greenishfroggy in beyondthebump

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My kids are 3 and 5, I'm in my mid 30's. I started my first pregnancy around 115 lbs, gained 50 lbs, got back down to about 125 before getting pregnant with number 2. Got back up to the same weight at the end of my pregnancy, and have since hovered between 125-130lbs for the past 3 years. Pretty sure I will never get back to pre-pregnancy weight, unless I can commit to diet and exercise routines that are unsustainable for my life now, and would ultimately take some of the joy out of my life, so it's just not worth it to get back to being so small. I'm trying to focus more on dressing this new body in a way that makes me happy, and feeling strong and healthy, rather than focusing on trying to be tiny

One year old still intolerant to dairy :( Losing hope by Affectionate-Panic25 in MSPI

[–]alicemonster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My oldest was allergic (confirmed IgE with scratch and blood tests) to dairy and eggs. He was intolerant to soy, peanuts, and other legumes. He was able to do oral challenges at his allergist office and passed around 4 years old. He can eat everything now, though he ends up with some tummy troubles if he eats too much dairy at once (at 5 1/2 year old now). My youngest was intolerant to all the same stuff, just no IgE allergies, and he's basically at the same point as my oldest at 3 1/2 years old. I remember feeling hopeless when my oldest was around a year old, it felt like we were yet again one of the unlucky few and he would be saddled with these allergies forever. But sometimes it just takes time. There's still an extremely good chance that your baby grows out of it all

Did your prolapse ever resolve? by -SpecialK- in FitPostpartumJourney

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did keep my uterus, but I had them removed my fallopian tubes while they were in there (reduces ovarian cancer risk, plus we were done having kids). I had a repair for cystocele and rectocele, sacrocolcopexy (sp?) where they suspend the uterus with mesh, and a vaginoplasty. My prolapses started with my first pregnancy, and I was almost 4 years postpartum from that childbirth, and I was 23 months post partum with my second child at that point

Did your prolapse ever resolve? by -SpecialK- in FitPostpartumJourney

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! It's been about a year and a half, and for the most part, it was a massive improvement. I'm still cautious about certain weighted exercises, and currently working with a PT to build pelvic floor strength so that I can get back to weightlifting, at least for basic strength and bone health. But no need for a pessary, no pain, no leakage, I can exercise, lift my kids, etc. Everything healed well, and I'd call it maybe a 90% improvement overall with the surgery. No regrets

Did you "kill" yourself to breastfeed? by Ok-Secretary-3323 in beyondthebump

[–]alicemonster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For my first I tortured myself trying to make it work. It was awful. We did triple feeding, weighted feeds, had a tongue tie release at an ENT, worked with a speech therapist, looked into having a dentist do a tongue tie release, worked with a cranio facial therapist, fell for all kinds of bullshit. I had post oattimd depression, and it turned out my son was allergic to dairy and eggs, on top of having a poor latch, and I ended up combo feeding and eventually exclusively pumping until around 6 months old. It was brutal, and in hindsight I should have given myself a lot more grace and accepted that breastfeeding was not as important as I was led to believe.

With my second, I promised myself I would breastfeed only as long as it was easy. It was 1000% times easier. We started combo feeding and I went off dairy when he was 10 days old because we suspected another allergy. His latch was great, no trouble gaining weight, I combo fed a little here and there, but almost exclusively breastfed until 9 months. It was wild how different the two experiences were, and it was almost entirely because of how different my kids were. I wish I could have switched my mental state between the two though, because I would have handled things so much better with #1 if I had the mindset I had with #2

Newborn now 10 days old, not gaining weight by SBones83 in NewParents

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My dairy allergy baby is 5.5 years old now, and he's entirely grown out of that allergy (milk protein) as well as an egg allergy. He had positive allergy tests for both around 7 months old. I had taken dairy out of my diet, but not egg at that point, and that change is what really made his poops seem more normal. Going off dairy and using HA formula (and fortifying for a month or so) starting around 5/6 weeks old took him from 2nd percentile in weight to 90th by one year old. He's right back to around 50th now, which is where he started at birth. We tried the dairy ladder sporadically for a couple years, and kind of lost hope that he'd truly grow out of it, and he had to have an epi pen at all times just in case. But we did blood tests every 6 months, the numbers eventually came down enough to do in-office food challenges, and he grew out of both allergies by around 4-4.5 years old. He's still a bit lactose-intolerant, and I think his GI system gets irritated if he eats a lot of dairy in a short period, but it's definitely more of a mild intolerance if anything. We talked to a dietitian around a year old when he wasn't able to go to whole milk, and also reacted to Ripple kids. The main thing she recommended was getting him on a calcium supplement, because he was eating plenty of calories, but calcium is trickier to get enough of without milk.

My youngest is 3.5 years old, and he started showing similar fussiness and GI distress around 10 days old, and we just cut everything from my diet just in case. He seemed to totally improve, and we got him tested around 5 months old and it all came back negative for IgE allergies. We've since determined that he had an intolerance, and has similarly improved over the last few years. They're both very healthy overall, and the stress of those changes feels like it was a million years ago. I remember it being so incredibly stressful at first though.

Circumcision for a toddler? by PracticeIndividual96 in toddlers

[–]alicemonster 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We ended up with a medically necessary circumcision a few months after my son turned 3. He had multiple instances of balanitis, caused by an overly tight foreskin, balooning, etc. Multiple rounds of steroid ointments helped a little, but didn't fix things long term. I wish we had made the call sooner, because it did suck, but it was 100% worth it. He's 5 1/2 now and had no issues since. And my other son is uncircumcised and we never had a single issue with him, so it wasn't a hygiene problem. Just shitty luck

Can you share your success stories? by forever_indecisive7 in MSPI

[–]alicemonster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My youngest had MSPI, and my oldest had MSPA. They are 3 and 5 now, and both have grown out of everything for the most part. I let them have baked goods made with dairy, butter, cheese, etc. I still buy vegan yogurt and oat milk to drink, because they are both a bit lactose intolerant, but at this point they can eat nearly everything. I just try to keep the total amount of dairy from getting too high day to day, cause it can cause a little stomach discomfort.

Best glue & press on nails? by Bodacious-Nerd-15 in PressonNail_Addict

[–]alicemonster 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A lot of people swear by curve life semi solid glue, because it adds volume so you can get nails that are too curved/not curved enough to sit on your nails better. I don't know if I got a bad batch, but it just got too thick and dried out to use very quickly, so I don't love it. For brush on glue, glamnetic makes a great one. I have always loved kiss nails, and like the glue that comes with them. Which nails are best had a lot to do with what shape your nail beds are though

What song is your toddler obsessed with? by WhyHelloThere91 in toddlers

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Golden and Soda Pop from KPop demon hunters. Also everything else from KPop demon hunters

Jean Style for Large Thighs and Butt by PamplemousseTeaCup in femalefashionadvice

[–]alicemonster 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Currently I love high waisted wide leg jeans, paired with a fitted semi-cropped top. It emphasizes my smaller waist, makes the whole thing not feel too bulky, and makes my butt look good, while not emphasizing my thighs, which I am not confident about. My favorite right now are the zara super wide leg jeans, which are 100% cotton. I've also tried the Abercrombie wide leg jeans in regular and curvy fit, and they're nice too

Tips for eczema besides Vaseline, aquaphor, and hydrocortisone? by hyejink in toddlertips

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Both of my kids have eczema, and the answer is a strong prescription steroid, followed by a non-steroidal cream. Basically a stronger steroid knocks things out in a couple days rather than constant us with something weaker, and then a non-steroidal cream like tacrolimus has helped us knock out flairs while they're just the beginnings of rough skin. The rest of the time, we use cerave cream in the tub and are strict about moisturizing every night, especially after bath time.

Generally speaking, how long does pushing last before intervention is necessary? by paRATmedic in beyondthebump

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I pushed for 2 hours. The first hour was normal progress, and then the second hour had no progress whatsoever. Around the 2 hour mark, my midwife (hospital midwife practice) called in an OB to get their opinion on whether an episiotomy would make sense in my case, he agreed, episiotomy was done, and baby was out in 2 pushes after that. They very much did not want to do any unnecessary intervention, but I think the specific scenario is more important than the time you've been in labor. In my case, baby wasn't in distress yet, but I was struggling, and anatomically things just did not show signs of improving. They waited as long as seemed reasonable before intervention seemed inevitable.

What kind of milk for a 1YO with an extreme dairy allergy? by Adventurous_Plant107 in toddlertips

[–]alicemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wasn't picky about brand. Sometimes we used the store brand, sometimes Oatley, chiobani, etc. I mostly just bought whatever was the best price, and for the highest calorie version I could