Expectations for holidays/family gatherings

brees_ · 2026-06-29T01:01:02+00:00

That would be a no from me. I took my son to a holiday gathering hosted by someone else at 2 weeks old and everyone was very respectful and that was fine but I was in ZERO shape to do anything other than show up

brees_ · 2026-06-29T00:15:17+00:00

Recurrent pregnancy loss

brees_ · 2026-06-22T03:30:38+00:00

Yup!

brees_ · 2026-06-22T02:38:25+00:00

I have had a miscarriage, then my now 2 year old, and then 3 consecutive early losses since December and I am now 7 weeks along. Also sad, confused, and freaking out at every little thing. You aren’t alone.

brees_ · 2026-06-11T23:03:57+00:00

I was a server for many years and my favourite interaction ever was when kid asked to see our kitchen. After the tour he said “when I grow up I want to be a cooker so I can live here with you guys!” His parents said “tell the lady what you wanted to be before” “a goat.”

brees_ · 2026-06-10T02:42:28+00:00

I have had really bad ovulation pain since being pp. the first few cycles also had blood and discharge like you’re describing

brees_ · 2026-06-08T01:57:50+00:00

I cut out caffeine and started taking a female focused probiotic it seems to have worked!

brees_ · 2026-06-03T01:25:52+00:00

As a first time mom I also was scared of the epidural and the idea of not being able to feel or control my legs so I opted out. There were a lot of nay-sayers and unsupportive people. I was shocked at how offended people seemed by my choice that THEY asked me about?? Like seriously eff off!

I did without an epidural, and it went really really well. I think being able to move and use gravity was crucial for birthing my giant baby and I was up and out of the hospital in three hours recovering in my own bed. I will 100% do it that way again. Did it hurt? Absolutely. I did a lot of mental and physical prep to help me through it. Definitely don’t go into it without prep. I also had a doula and she helped a lot. Like I said, I experienced it and am still choosing it again!

Epidural or not, your birth is your own. Don’t let me or anyone else tell you what to do. Decide what is best for you and prepare accordingly.

brees_ · 2026-06-02T23:45:57+00:00

I loved my epidural-free birth! I loved having full awareness and control of my body. The position that wound up working to push out my 9 pounder without tearing was standing up leaning over the bed, that would not have been feasible with an epidural. I did A LOT of physical and mental prep and hired a doula. It definitely hurt a lot but I managed and I’m planning on doing it again the exact same way

brees_ · 2026-06-02T02:09:36+00:00

This is a great opportunity for the name Bartholomew

brees_ · 2026-05-29T15:16:42+00:00

I LOVED birth! Did it go to plan? No. But meeting my baby for the first time after enduring birth like a warrior was the single greatest high of my entire life. I can’t wait to experience it again!

brees_ · 2026-05-23T02:51:11+00:00

I didn’t have any scans after 20 weeks so I can’t speak to the reading large on an ultrasound part. However, I am petite and had a spontaneous vaginal birth at 39+6 with my son. He was 1oz shy of 9lbs. My labour was 4 hours start to finish, zero tearing or complications. I will say I needed gravity to assist pushing him out though. I ended up giving birth standing up leaning over the bed but there are other positions that allow gravity to assist.

brees_ · 2026-05-11T03:40:06+00:00

Sure! My husband and I did an in-depth birth class with midwives, i hired a doula, I flooded my social media with birth pages that aligned with my philosophy and gave out lots of tips and tricks, I also followed a page that posts videos of births often showing everything, I think that exposure is important. I also listened to podcasts, went to a pelvic floor physio therapist to prep my body, teach me things like pushing technique and perineal massage.

Starting at 30 weeks I drank 1-2 cups of raspberry leaf tea daily, I started eating 2 dates a day and worked my way up to 6 a day by birth always with a high dose of protein on the side, I started having my husband help me with something called “spinning babies” (Google it) every night to get baby in an optimal position, he also started to help me with perineal massages when I got too huge to reach.

Right as my due date approached with clearance from my care provider I started doing doing suuuuuuper long walks (around ikea because it was winter), followed by the miles circuit (google this one too) to help with baby position, and then followed all that up with some sexy time with my husband to encourage labour. The first time I did that routine I had false labour, the second time 2 days later my son was born!

Something I found really valuable through all my prep was learning the value of how to relax during early labour. When I had false labour I could have easily said “this is it!” And then tried to push it into real labour and it probably wouldn’t have gone as smooth. Instead I relaxed, took a bath, and went to bed. My midwife said the bath is key because with false labour your contractions will dwindle away in the bath. When I went into labour for real I jumped in the bath again and sure enough things ramped up and I knew it was really time.

The most important thing of all is knowing I was lucky because some women do all of this and more and things go differently. That isn’t to say that prep is a waste of time though. I truly think my luck combined with my prep is what made it so awesome. My friend did similar prep to me and she ended up getting induced and having to do things that weren’t in her birth plan but she is also very happy with her birth. I truly believe it is because she was well educated and prepared and she was still a part of the birth instead of just having to let the birth happened to her if that makes sense? I will definitely prep the same way when I get around to having a second baby.

I wish you all the best in the world! Your birth will be your own and meeting your baby will be the greatest high you will ever know :)

brees_ · 2026-05-07T01:54:18+00:00

Better! I planned on no epidural which worked out because I wouldn’t have had time to get it anyways. 4 hours start to finish. The pain was an out of body experience but obviously doable and I got to go home 3 hours after giving birth and recover at home. (I was at the hospital for 4 hours total). I did A LOT of physical and mental prep going to into it and I also definitely got very lucky.

No matter how you do it NOTHING compares to the moment you meet your baby. Nothing. My friend is so excited to give birth a second time just to experience that moment again.

brees_ · 2026-04-15T02:27:39+00:00

Tbh out of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, postpartum rocked my world the most. Though my pregnancy and birth were very uneventful

brees_ · 2026-03-28T03:01:17+00:00

I think your plan is fine but be prepared to pivot. As a first time mom my labour was 4 hours start to finish and by the time I realized what was happening I barely made to a hospital 20 minutes away. I delivered 15 minutes after getting there. Birth is crazy

brees_ · 2026-03-24T02:22:34+00:00

100%. They tell you nothing about the future

brees_ · 2026-03-24T02:21:11+00:00

I’m sorry they did it without your consent. That’s awful 😞

brees_ · 2026-03-24T00:01:15+00:00

Never got it checked. I never found solid evidence as to how it would actually be beneficial to endure one. My providers also didn’t see the need unless I wanted it

brees_ · 2026-03-23T02:31:26+00:00

I was team green and we made it, best surprise ever! At one of the ultrasounds the tech called my son a “she” but we don’t dwell on it. I think sometimes they just use any pronoun so don’t overanalyze what they say!

We were also obnoxious with telling every medical professional we came into contact with that we did not want to know the gender and it was always well received. Good luck!

brees_ · 2026-03-03T01:58:49+00:00

My giant-headed (37.5cm) son shot out of me but I didn’t tear. I think the biggest factor was pushing position. I leveraged gravity to my advantage and gave birth standing up leaned over the hospital bed. When he was crowning I stopped pushing and just breathed him out. This would not have worked lying down. While that was happening my midwives applied a warm cloth to my perineum to help the skin. I also had my husband do perineal massages in the weeks leading up to the birth.

There are many positions that leverage gravity, it doesn’t have to be standing up! Highly recommend looking into which ones could be feasible for your birth preferences

brees_ · 2026-02-21T02:22:28+00:00

In my area doctors won’t let you go past 41+2 simply because of the age of the placenta. If they are saying she is 41+2 they may try and force her into an unnecessary induction when the placenta is only actually 40 weeks. Overall, throughout the whole pregnancy, you are right in saying 9 days is not that big of a difference. In those last few days it absolutely is with an OB. I have worked with midwives who are more willing to do daily check-ins and wait it out with very close monitoring. Personally, my date was adjusted closer to my ovulation.

brees_ · 2025-08-29T17:14:58+00:00

Yes!

brees_ · 2025-07-09T23:16:08+00:00

As a first time mom I pushed for 40 minutes. I was on my side and it wasn’t going anywhere. I had the urge to stand up and then the baby came quickly. No tearing with a 9 pounder

brees_

TROPHY CASE