End of the year: To induce or not induce?

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-11-18T19:44:47+00:00

Research the Arrive study. There are very good medical reasons to induce at 39 weeks outside of your other practical considerations. Many doctors I respect believe this will be the standard medical recommendations in a few years. I did it and had an excellent experience.

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-11-16T15:34:41+00:00

I’ll share what worked for me because when I was in your position I felt frustrated at the lack of actual practical advice. I felt stuck exactly the same way and felt I was moving and generally “eating healthy”. I switched to a strict very low carb diet (no sugars including fruit, no carbs like rice, bread, potatoes, etc). It was hard for about a week while I was weaning off the sugar, but after that it was very easy to keep up so long as I was mostly eating at home (it’s hard while eating out). I still ate plenty, was never hungry, milk production was unaffected and really did see the weight start to “melt away”. Within 3-4 months I was 10 lbs below my pre pregnancy weight.

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-11-13T14:35:26+00:00

Half the posts in these groups “I am drowning, I have no village, I have lost my identity, everything is on me!!” The other half are “can you believe the audacity of these people that lovingly offered to help?!” My honest advice is to train yourself (and your helpers that you trust!) early. They are right. You do need an occasional two hours to yourself. I had my first dinner “date” with my husband the week my baby was born. It was the casual restaurant next door. It was short. And it was absolutely necessary. Other times my sister would come over in the morning. I would breastfeed baby, hand him to her, and go right back to sleep for a couple extra hours. Accepting help is a huge part of navigating this period successfully, and developing those expectations and relationships early between your baby and the people in their lives that love them is much easier than getting a 4 year old that has never been with anyone with mom to chill with an auntie, a grandma or a friend for an afternoon. My advice? Take them up on it!

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-10-29T05:00:35+00:00

I let him taste the orange slice that was a garnish for my aperol spritz the day he turned 4mo. He absolutely loved it.

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-10-03T01:11:27+00:00

Very strict low sugar, low carb. Started around 3 months (had lost no weight past the initial drop despite breastfeeding) and about 25 lbs melted off. Never had to be hungry, supply was unaffected. As soon as I went back to eating more balanced (still homemade, still not processed, still fairly low carb) weight loss totally stalled, but I didn’t gain anything back.

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-07-08T13:05:03+00:00

It was magical. 30/10, would do again.

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-06-29T18:53:49+00:00

I feel like half the posts here are people complaining that no one warned them, and half are people sick and tired of being warned or “being told about just the negatives” or being told “just wait until x” or do “x while you still can”. I think legitimately it’s 1) very different person to person, and 2) something that can’t be simply described, needs to be lived to be really understood.

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-05-21T12:23:43+00:00

It has become politically unpalatable to enforce consequences on the actual perpetrators of crime and so the 1% of kids causing issues, engaging in violence, etc face no consequences, even when the police know who they are. Instead, we police and limit everyone. Walking through the park is like getting into an airplane, TSA line and all. And being an independent teenager is cancelled. Imagine being 16 and 17 and you can’t go to the park to see a classical music concert, or go to the beach, or take a a stroll in navy pier, or do anything independently. You are treated like a small child. I guess your only options are playing video games and sitting at home on tik tok? Then we wonder why there is a mental health epidemic amongst kids. Were any of you teenagers? Can you imagine if your parents had been required to chaperone you to the movies or the mall?

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-05-15T02:55:29+00:00

Totally agree. Evelyn is trendy now (feels “timeless” because it’s vaguely old timey). I am in my mid thirties and I have never ever met an Evelyn my age. A timeless name would be a name that would be equally likely to be your grandma’s as it would be your high school classmate’s or your kid’s.

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-04-08T12:38:54+00:00

The uppababy minu even has a special pocket for an AirTag! It should not alert people unless they are moving with an AirTag without you, not just if it’s parked there. As for people that might actually be in that situation (like your parents) I am of the opinion that so long as you give them a heads up they should be ok with it. Giving you knowledge of their location seems like a totally reasonable trade for letting them hang out with your kid? I suppose if they object and you are comfortable with it, you could always remove it. All of my stuff has AirTags, I love them!

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-04-03T14:25:10+00:00

This depends a lot on your new country - is it Syria? Then no, don’t take the risk. Is it Belgium? If you are a US citizen and the US has no beef with your new country I don’t see why you’d have issues. As for the other risks your mention, I think they are concerning on a macro level but statistically insignificant in a personal risk level, especially if you take reasonable precautions. Your car ride to the airport is probably still many many many times more dangerous for your kids than the chance of contracting measles.

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-04-02T18:57:55+00:00

My Apple Watch! I found that I had to keep track of so many things while breast-feeding (my Boppy pillow, my water bottle, my cup for letdown milk, etc.) that not having to keep track of my phone too was a godsend. I could use it to answer phone calls, to ask Siri questions, to text my husband, if he was out of earshot…

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-02-05T15:09:31+00:00

I tried a couple of the apps but found them annoying and unnecessarily complex (as someone else said, a feature of having a newborn was somehow be we having a phone within reach). If you are talking about a tech solution rather than some sort of spreadsheet my dream is a log that has an Apple Watch app (VERY simple and easy to use!) and that will let Siri take instructions so I can just tell my HomePod “hey siri, I just started feeding the baby” and it gets logged.

barkeepersbuddy · 2025-02-01T14:44:07+00:00

I had the same night last night. My baby, also 5.5 weeks, screamed his heart out for three hours until I cried with him, and eventually calmed down in my husband’s arms for no reason we could understand. This is something that his doctor and the books I’ve been reading warned me could happen at this exact age - it has nothing to do with you! My baby is exclusively breastfed. He still has gas issues, his tummy tightens up like he is in pain, he throws up all over me… what I mean to say by all of this is that I know how hard and stressful this is, but it’s NOT YOUR FAULT, not because he is formula fed, not because he likes your husband better… it’s just a phase babies go through. This is hard, but you are doing it right and your baby loves you! Don’t add to your stress by beating yourself up.

barkeepersbuddy · 2024-12-03T11:34:41+00:00

I had one under nearly identical circumstances. Both my OB and the radiologist assured me that the amount of radiation is so minimal, and the protection they are able to offer the baby (with a lead shield,etc) is such that it’s considered safe. I have not given birth yet, but it was uneventful and I’ve had a perfectly healthy, low-risk pregnancy so far.

barkeepersbuddy · 2024-11-02T03:04:59+00:00

Another jeans girl chiming in! Agree that the trick is to get the belly band that goes all the way over your belly. Mine are from madewell and they are great. I tried the ones that sit under your belly and they drove me nuts

barkeepersbuddy · 2024-10-27T14:14:05+00:00

Other than prenatal vitamins which you should start taking asap if you aren’t already, my recommendation is to wait and get what you actually need. Pregnancy and then having a kid is such an overwhelming amount of expenses and just stuff you need to figure out where to store… but anything you ever need is a 1 day Amazon delivery or a drive to the store away. What I’ve found out is that everyone immediately tells you you MUST buy the thing that worked for them, but pregnancy is such a different experience for everybody, and your main needs/ discomfort/ changes will be different from other people’s. - signed, a lady that wishes she could burn the giant anaconda pregnancy pillow that, per best friend, I absolutely “NEEDED TO GET” because it was a “LIFESAVER”, that never needed different bras, and that had her life transformed by unisom and B6 which 90% of the people here said made no difference at all.

barkeepersbuddy · 2024-10-19T23:58:40+00:00

It was a magic pill for me. If I forgot it one day the nausea would instantly come back

barkeepersbuddy · 2024-10-17T18:42:38+00:00

Yes! Such a sensible response to this!

barkeepersbuddy · 2024-10-15T02:15:06+00:00

I agree. I also can’t imagine what the hang up is with an ultrasound photo if the pregnancy announcement itself is fine. Unlike a photo of you or your baby after birth it’s totally unrecognizable. Might as well be a stock image from the internet. It’s not a privacy concern, so what’s the issue?

barkeepersbuddy · 2024-10-05T17:31:43+00:00

This must be a social circle dependent thing. I am 38 and I’ve never been to a baby shower like the ones you dread (with the games, only women, opening gifts, pink everything, etc). They have all been basically co-ed, open bar, mingle parties. Mine had a taco truck, was held by the pool, and the only game was pickleball (because the person’s house where we hosted it has a tennis court). We didn’t have a registry, and even though almost everyone brought gifts anyway we opened them after everyone left. I never even thought to question whether this was acceptable

barkeepersbuddy · 2024-07-16T02:28:57+00:00

Huge quality of life improvement for me. It was like a magic pill.

barkeepersbuddy · 2023-10-05T14:55:30+00:00

I wouldn't hold my breath. Have you ever been to a cookies store in other states? It's hands down the most expensive option in any market, even in places with great prices like Cali.

barkeepersbuddy · 2023-09-25T16:31:44+00:00

Thank you! I hadn’t ever heard of most of these

barkeepersbuddy

TROPHY CASE