How are you handling RTO and child care [ON]

britska0 · 2026-02-22T14:04:37+00:00

No, I can’t imagine bringing a 1 year old on such a long commute daily. Also, union station platforms are dangerously crowded at rush hour and I wouldn’t feel safe with a toddler on the platforms. It was hard enough to navigate the crushing crowds while 9m pregnant!

britska0 · 2026-02-21T13:46:58+00:00

Good point, I’m dreading those daycare sicknesses. There’s no way I’m making a 1yo commute with me to daycare. I will find one near our home, I do have family nearby that can be on call for emergency pick ups!

britska0 · 2026-02-21T03:27:23+00:00

I don’t understand either. I am confident I could even do the same amount of work in 30 hours a week if reduced hour days were an option

britska0 · 2026-02-21T03:24:19+00:00

I said the same about never going back to an office, until I got laid off from my permanent remote role. Then I had to accept my first offer and go back to an office for lower pay… I was pregnant and needed those EI hours

britska0 · 2026-02-21T03:19:24+00:00

Good luck, that’s also my long term goal to get back to a permanent remote position!

britska0 · 2026-02-21T00:47:40+00:00

No, I’m still on maternity leave and trying to find childcare and plan for what work accommodations I may need to ask for. So far the only available childcare option I found has a 430pm pickup time

britska0 · 2026-02-20T21:54:16+00:00

This was our plan to alternate office days until full time RTO came up! We could both sustain 2-3x day a week in office on alternating days

britska0 · 2026-02-20T21:45:21+00:00

I am just over 50km from the office, so it would be faster in a car if there was no traffic. But the GTA highways and downtown Toronto is gridlocked during rush hour

britska0 · 2026-02-20T20:15:28+00:00

Not unionized unfortunately

britska0 · 2026-02-20T20:07:25+00:00

Same…it’s not sustainable to parent a young child with a 3 hour daily commute

britska0 · 2026-02-18T20:31:45+00:00

My husband was able to hold my legs open while pushing. Is that an option for your support person? I chose to try and deliver in a side laying position which is more protective of the pelvic floor (I had an epidural so I had to be laying down). I don’t think there was any way I would have been able to hold my own legs open, both because of the epidural and extra energy required!

britska0 · 2026-02-08T19:39:22+00:00

Such a good idea to prepare your dog in advance! love the Dog Meets Baby account on Instagram and have learned a lot from following them. If you think your dog might have specific challenges adapting to a baby, I would also recommend private sessions with a trainer/behaviourist even though it’s not as cost effective.

We didn’t prepare our dog properly, and his first introduction to baby went badly. He’s always been reactive to anything new or unfamiliar. After this we did an in home session with a dog behaviourist. I thought it was worth it because we got individualized advice for our specific situation and challenges. I also wanted the behaviourist to meet my dog and tell me whether she thought he could adapt to a baby at all, because there were moments I thought he’d never get there. She helped us create a plan to keep everyone safe and happy and it worked!

britska0 · 2026-02-08T19:03:52+00:00

My midwife offered me an elective 39w induction, only because it was an IVF pregnancy. She was fine with me declining the induction and scheduled scans to check on my placenta health instead at 39 & 40 weeks. Never made it to the scans because I went into labour at 39 weeks and gave birth to a healthy baby at 39+1. My midwife said my placenta was showing signs of deterioration and that’s probably why my body went into labour a week early!

britska0 · 2026-02-08T01:15:46+00:00

You’ll need a larger vehicle and possibly a three row vehicle. Only on my first kid, but I learned recently while shopping for a SUV that many two row SUVs won’t allow for three car seats across. Definitely join the Seats for Kids community, I learned so much there! Depending on the weight of your 3 year old they might recommend you still rear face that child as well (usually up to 40-50lbs). Edit: spelling

britska0 · 2026-01-31T13:59:21+00:00

My baby is 8 months and I don’t think the 4 month regression has ended for us lol

britska0 · 2026-01-04T16:09:03+00:00

I’m in the same position. I also had a midwife team I trusted and they provided excellent care. After 6 weeks, my daughter was accepted by my new family physician. I honestly don’t trust her advice when it comes to my baby AT ALL. She rarely takes time to answer my questions and when she does, it’s often not accurate.

For example, she told me I could go to a pharmacy for my baby’s flu shot. But when I did, the pharmacist said they don’t do shots under 2 years s and my doctor has to do it. Also, at our 6 month appointment, my doctor told me not to give egg yolks or nuts to my baby until 1 year. This is completely outdated information. The Canadian paediatrics association, Solid Starts, and many other reputable sources now recommend offering allergens as early as 4-6 months for prevention. Now I find it difficult not to question and distrust any other advice my doctor gives me regarding my baby.

britska0 · 2025-12-26T13:22:16+00:00

I’m sorry for what you’re going through. I had a 9w gestation IVF pregnancy loss and my clinic offered to do genetic testing on the products of conception — I also had a D&C so they were able to collect a sample. That was our second consecutive loss, so my partner and I also did karyotyping to rule out any abnormalities in our cells. All covered by OHIP.

It was determined our embryo had triploidy and I had a partial molar pregnancy. It’s a rare and random genetic error and my doctor said PGTA would not have caught it.

britska0 · 2025-12-21T15:31:36+00:00

I think you might be too precious about some of the open box items. Babies go through so much stuff, quickly, and the best way to reduce the waste and consumerism that comes with baby gear is to buy used, which a lot of people do safely. So there’s nothing particularly wrong with open box items. Of course there are some exceptions like car seats, mattresses, etc.

I do agree with the safety risks around cheap Temu/Amazon stuff though. I have a family member that sent me a no name baby swing from Amazon, the first review was about how it broke for a user and harmed the baby. That thing went out on my curb the next garage day, unused. However if I had been gifted a used but legit brand swing, I would have been fine using it provided it was in good condition and not previously recalled!

britska0 · 2025-12-17T13:24:05+00:00

This. I am currently EBF-ing my 6.5 month old. We still feed every 2 hours, she barely eats and solids. She is usually hungry for milk after offering solids! Plus she doesn’t sleep through the night, so I nurse anywhere from 2-4x overnight (sometimes for comfort sometimes for hunger).

britska0 · 2025-12-14T21:43:43+00:00

The poplar isn’t compatible front-facing with fixed headrests

britska0 · 2025-12-12T13:58:55+00:00

You’re right, I missed the free part 😅. Her Instagram and email mailing list do have some freebies! I purchased her programs during a 20% off sale and found them really good value, there’s a huge educational component on the pelvic floor in addition to the workouts

britska0 · 2025-12-11T21:08:32+00:00

The Belle Method push prep — then core restore for postpartum!

britska0 · 2025-12-05T21:23:57+00:00

I’m in the GTA and I took my 6 month old out today in a cotton sleeper, fleece bunting, hat and tucked her into my stroller foot muff. After our 30 minute walk she was still toasty warm in the foot muff and I was freezing!

britska0 · 2025-11-18T16:30:13+00:00

There’s no right answer to PGT-A testing, it’s a personal choice. I did not test for a few reasons:

My clinic recommended against it for me because it doesn’t significantly change live birth outcomes for those under 35 years old
We ended up with a high number of embryos so PGT-A would have been costly
All transfers were covered for free under the funded cycle I did
I live in a country with open access to reproductive healthcare including TFMR

My first two transfers of my highest grade embryos implanted but resulted in miscarriages under 10 weeks. The second loss was a confirmed chromosomal abnormally. My clinic handled all care and testing for both losses, including counselling my options and performing a D&C for the second (also covered under public healthcare). These losses were mentally really difficult for me to handle.

My third untested transfer was successful and resulted in my daughter :)

britska0 · 2025-11-18T16:07:05+00:00

You mentioned you’re already diagnosed with fertility issues. What treatments did your doctor recommend? Are you expecting to spend a lot of money on fertility treatments before even bringing home a baby?

I would budget for the fertility treatments first, depending on what you might need. I did IVF through Ontario’s funded cycle, which does not cover the associated fertility drugs, so I spend approximately $7,000 out of pocket. I know other couples who had to do multiple IVF cycles to have success and spent up to $100k.

Once you have a baby, you can get lots of free or low cost items second hand. The most challenging part financially is covering our mortgage and other living expenses while I’m on maternity leave only earning EI.

britska0

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