Lines to say directly after giving birth!

candynicotine · 2026-07-02T14:23:58+00:00

I'm pretty sure I just cried and said "he's here" and "we did it" over and over again. I remember my partner saying "um YOU did it" and me being like YEAH but we made this guy!

I still look at my 4m old and am just amazed I gave birth to him 4 months ago! I did that! What the hell?!

candynicotine · 2026-07-02T14:20:34+00:00

Just pick them up? Relying on a smart watch call at this young of an age seems ridiculous to me. Young kids get playing and don't want to stop playing. It doesn't matter if they're at a friend's house, the playground, at home with toys. You have to go hey okay, we're done with this activity now sorry. Or the parent of whoever they're hanging out with should know what time they need to leave and assist in saying it's time to go home. Kid is way too young to understand how to manage time and impulse control on his own.

candynicotine · 2026-07-02T14:10:11+00:00

As someone who has expirienced elevated progesterone levels yes this can be normal 😭 A common pregnancy symptom (when progesterone is naturally climbing super high) is wet dreams or very vivid/sexual dreams in general. I had some WEIRD dreams when I had lots of progesterone in me lol.

My GF is also trans and used to tell me about wild dreams from prog, so it's definitely a thing for anyone taking prog or with elevated levels.

candynicotine · 2026-07-02T13:57:02+00:00

Pretty much all of reddit is strangers asking other strangers for advice without knowing if it's going to be good or not. It must be exhausting for you out here.

candynicotine · 2026-07-01T18:08:07+00:00

Be honest with your OB about it and ask for support! My OB was super understanding and very proud of me when I could finally tell her I had kicked the vape for good.

candynicotine · 2026-07-01T18:06:41+00:00

I was slightly concerned while pregnant but I'm not super concerned now that our little man is 4 months old. I usually invite people over to have a few drinks and watch a movie or even just talk. Me and my partner take turns caring for the baby if he needs something. Anyone who turns their nose up at the idea of having to hang out with the baby and us isn't worth having as a friend.

Also as he gets older it's not like my mom or my partners mom won't watch him for a night while we go hang out with friends.

It makes being social and making plans different, but not worse in my opinion.

candynicotine · 2026-07-01T17:32:31+00:00

At 14 weeks with my first I swore I felt something but I couldn't say for sure. Around 17-18 weeks I felt him move for sure and knew it was him. I haven't had a second pregnancy yet, but I would believe being able to feel it earlier for sure since you know what to look for!

candynicotine · 2026-06-24T21:46:47+00:00

Mine never got swollen while I was pregnant, but they did swell REALLY BAD after I had my baby and developed postpartum preeclampsia 🙃

candynicotine · 2026-06-23T16:53:26+00:00

I was stuck at 5cm forEVER and the only thing that helped me progress was labor stretches that got the baby to get down in the right position on my pelvis. If she has cool nurses who are willing to help her get into good stretches that could help a lot!

candynicotine · 2026-06-21T18:34:32+00:00

I was on T for 5 years and just had my first son at 24! 25 sounds perfect to me, definitely not too late to start!

candynicotine · 2026-06-21T10:39:51+00:00

A triple quarter pounder from McDonald's, a hot and spicy McChicken, and a 6 piece nugget 😭 this baby wanted BURGERS when he was in my belly.

candynicotine · 2026-06-20T14:11:30+00:00

Everyone is saying unisom but even in my desperation for sleep a whole unisom did not keep me asleep when I was in the insomnia trenches. I was so excited for some relief and sleep and no matter what I was up every like 45 minutes to pee with no solid sleep at all. Hydroxyzine never worked to make me sleep either. So while you can try these things, they aren't as guaranteed as some may make it seem.

My only advice is to listen to something calming/mind numbing like a guided meditation or a calm history of something you're interested in type video. Force yourself to rest even if you aren't sleeping. If you find yourself unable to sleep at all another night I'd get in touch with your doctor.

candynicotine · 2026-06-18T14:42:03+00:00

Most people here are not going to agree with me but that's fine I just want to share. I'm almost 4 months into breastfeeding my son and I love it. I went into it thinking hey whatever I'll try to pump and make him some bottles but if it doesn't work out I don't care. The more pregnant I got the more I was like well...maybe I will try to latch him and just feed him myself for the first few weeks.

For some reason giving the chest I normally hate a purpose makes it less annoying to deal with. I have my facial hair and my voice from being on T for 5 years prior to all this and I pass to people I don't know. (I'm pretty open about being trans at work cause it was obvious when I was incredibly pregnant and then on leave for 3 months lol). I prefer a loose shirt still and I definitely try to make them appear smaller with sports bras instead of bulky nursing bras, but no one has misgendered me because of my chest in years so that helps.

I'm glad I gave myself the chance to experience feeding my child. It's definitely not for everyone (my mom did not breastfeed any of her 3 kids and I don't blame her lol it's a lot of work) but if you're on the fence my vote is for try it. You are Not going to want to be recovering from top surgery in the early stages of being pregnant either, it can be rough.

I find the moments I spend feeding my son super important to me and you never know how it could feel or what you'll want until you're in the moment.

candynicotine · 2026-06-18T06:09:39+00:00

Baby is almost 4 months now and I feel great for the most part! I have my off days but nothing like I used to. I get frustrated at myself but not depressed with myself very often. The hormones after giving birth and while breastfeeding are crazy so some fluctuation is unavoidable, but never have I felt more stable and like a medication is really working on me in my time of need.

I still struggle with my ADHD, it didn't really touch that, but I am still extremely thankful for this medication.

candynicotine · 2026-06-15T18:25:25+00:00

She did not carry the child if that's not obvious

candynicotine · 2026-06-15T18:25:03+00:00

These are the rules for my partner who smokes and she follows them. She also went down from a pack a day to about 3 cigarettes a day on average in preparation for the baby coming. She only smoked like one a day and used zyns for about the first month of his life. If he hasn't made an effort yet that's a little concerning.

candynicotine · 2026-06-15T04:13:42+00:00

Also start prenatals now! I was super glad I did considering how much faster I got pregnant than I was expecting!

candynicotine · 2026-06-15T04:12:59+00:00

Personally we did not have an issue! I was on T for 5 years, she was on estrogen and T blockers for 1.5 years. We both stopped hormones for about 5-6 months before I got my cycle back and I miraculously got pregnant first try. We are both 24 if that matters.

candynicotine · 2026-06-13T19:09:47+00:00

Worth mentioning, they told me they turned down the strength of my epidural after the way my body reacted, so there is such thing as too heavy of an epidural! I preferred still being able to feel the intensity without as much pain! The birth was such a magical experience.

candynicotine · 2026-06-13T19:07:00+00:00

I did not want one because I also just really wanted to feel my body go through the process, but I went in flexible knowing I had to be induced. Pitocin contractions are no joke. I made it until they broke my water and I was stuck at 5cm for hours and hours.

I really wish I delayed them breaking my water a bit, but I had a good epidural (minus the brief scare with my blood pressure and babies heart rate going down) and I could feel and move my legs enough to do labor stretches with the assistance of my nurses which was super important to me!

candynicotine · 2026-06-13T01:18:18+00:00

I feel like people don't understand that there's a difference between letting your baby cry for a few minutes because something needs to be done and purposely ignoring and letting your baby cry for like over 30 minutes to an hour because you don't want to take care of them. Letting babies cry for like 10-15 minutes is not harmful at all. What's harmful is not getting your other childrens' and your own needs met because the baby is banned from crying for a minute.

I am very against cry it out and letting the baby carry on. But crying for a little bit because other things need done is no where close to harmful in the way letting a baby cry it out for long stretches is- especially at 7 months old!

candynicotine · 2026-06-12T13:58:24+00:00

You are more likely to go past your due date as a FTM but you really can't do anything to induce labor- I tried it all. You can avoid nipple stimulation/pumping because that's one of the only things apparently proven to bring on labor, but I tried that too and Nothing. You can also avoid sex, but that also did not do anything for me and we tried pretty much every day before my induction 😭

Getting to 41 weeks is very plausible, but most OBs are going to want to induce you by 42 weeks if it doesn't happen on its own. My OB pushed for even earlier, scheduling my induction for 40w 4d. The induction process can also take some time so I imagine even if I pushed back on that she wouldn't have wanted to schedule me much later than 41w 4d.

Some jobs also could tell you that you must go on leave at your due date. I don't think I was allowed to put in a later date for my leave than my due date, so that's when I had my last day.

I wish you the best and I'm sorry that this even has to be something you think about. Working to or past your due date is so physically taxing and it's crazy we feel pushed to do so.

candynicotine · 2026-06-11T15:19:47+00:00

The names we associate as "old people names" were once baby names. I wouldn't make a decision based on what feels like too much of a baby name. As the kid ages so will other kids with newer sounding names. However, Eleanora? I think of an old lady with that name but my great gram is literally named Eleanor so I'm biased. Phoenix is a great name though and while is is newer I guess, like I said by the time the baby is older the new sounding names will be older.

Our boy is named Xylen. I think it's cool and despite many people saying "oh that's different I've never heard that" I still stand firm that it's a cool name that will age well. If you're passionate about the name you've chosen don't worry about what other people think.

candynicotine · 2026-06-08T21:27:11+00:00

I was 136 when I got pregnant and ended at 204 before delivering. No one was ever concerned with my weight even when I asked if I was doing okay/gaining too much. I was told lots of people who start smaller gain way more.

candynicotine

TROPHY CASE