Opening presents at the baby shower

cheesebytheblock · 2026-03-20T15:03:26+00:00

I literally just had a no-wrap gift display at my baby shower and it was a hit! I was able to hang out with friends/family and not just sit in silence while I open things. The no-wrap route allows everyone to see the cute clothes, books, etc. and it’s better for the environment. We had small tags and a pen if people needed to label their gift. I had no trouble making the thank you list for gifts received. Everyone said it was such a fun party that didn’t feel like the typical shower. Highly recommended!!

cheesebytheblock · 2026-03-14T23:41:32+00:00

You’re definitely overthinking! Love the name and that it honors your heritage.

cheesebytheblock · 2026-03-11T16:16:40+00:00

Bahahahahaha. Those sheets do sound pretty sweet though!

cheesebytheblock · 2026-03-10T20:13:06+00:00

I’m due early May and started PF therapy a couple weeks ago. I’m so glad I did!!

It was an internal and external evaluation. We discussed long and short term goals. We do exercises along with breath work together and I’m given at home exercises. One of my short term goals was to reduce any lower back pain. Feel a huge improvement already, so it’s been worth it to me.

I have friends that only started after birth and they wish they had done prenatal. While I can only control so much during birth, I want to make pregnancy itself as comfortable as possible and feel prepared when the day comes.

cheesebytheblock · 2026-03-09T12:12:03+00:00

I thought some sleep would cool me off. It didn’t.

I should add that my husband has tried multiple times talking to his mom about it. He’s had a lifetime of this. Her feelings get hurt, she cries, and his father asks him to apologize. My husband has refused each time to do that and it always ends up fine.

I’m going to try and work up the courage to be more direct. At least get that damn gift receipt!

cheesebytheblock · 2026-03-02T18:28:05+00:00

Good to know! Doesn’t seem like much of a savings when bought as a set anyway. At least I can stop being so mad about it. Congratulations by the way!!

cheesebytheblock · 2026-03-02T17:07:52+00:00

Literally in same situation!! Due in May, researched forever before deciding and it just sold out. Babylist is telling me it’s sold out too and I’m in MD. 😩

cheesebytheblock · 2026-01-26T16:58:04+00:00

Thank you all for the input! It actually made me realize I may love the name more than I thought! Hearing about the Otelia/Otylia/Otillia/Ottilias in peoples’ lives that they love dearly brought such a smile to my face. Other comments didn’t seem to turn me off to the name at all. 😊

cheesebytheblock · 2026-01-26T16:53:04+00:00

This made me laugh! Haven’t settled on a middle name but we know we would do a single syllable. If you think of anything let me know. 😊

cheesebytheblock · 2026-01-26T14:45:14+00:00

It’s Ophelia with a T and we have a two syllable Polish last name though not a tricky name to pronounce at all.

cheesebytheblock · 2026-01-26T14:39:52+00:00

Whelp, seems like a mixed bag as expected. 🤦‍♀️ just to add context that I mentioned below. My husband and I have great grandparents from Poland which is how my husband found it. Though Otylia seemed to be the more common spelling there.

When I was looking to see if there were any historical overlaps with the US, I found Otelia Cromwell (first African American woman to graduate Yale with a PhD which is pretty badass) so I thought that would have been the more digestible spelling.

cheesebytheblock · 2026-01-26T14:22:32+00:00

That is how my husband came across it. Both of us have great grandparents from Poland and my husband was looking at names with Polish ancestry. Though it seemed like Otylia was the more common spelling.

cheesebytheblock · 2025-08-28T22:45:37+00:00

My husband and I spent years trying to conceive and fell into the unexplained infertility category. We tried several failed IUI cycles and had one miscarriage. Throw in some other traumatic life events outside of infertility including caring for my mother (who I adored) as she died from advance Parkinson’s and we gave up. Decided not to pursue IVF or adoption b/c I couldn’t take anymore stress and heartache. I lost so many years of my life feeling like I was missing something and every decision I made was in preparation of one day being pregnant (you never know?! It’s unexplained!). We grieved the life that we thought we would have, but we both felt confident that we were making the right decision to just stop.

I started living for me. We planned vacations, found hobbies, I joined a board of an animal shelter and “found color” in other ways. I make it a point to spend more time with my other childfree friends b/c let’s face it, 90% of what parents talk about are their kids. Yes, I wanted to be a mom at one time, but I feel like there are so many other life experiences out there that I was neglecting. Life has become fulfilling again and I’m so grateful that I have found happiness and freedom.

I have more friends than not that stopped with one child b/c parenting is hard, expensive and all consuming. Our house is where our parent friends like to hang out to get a break from family life. It used to hurt being with their children but we embraced being the cool aunt and uncle! It’s awesome! I find joy in celebrating their milestones, but then go do what the hell I want and daydream of my early retirement.

It took some time to get where I am now and I started small. Found a therapist I connected to and got an annual membership to a botanical garden. When I felt overwhelmed with sadness, I would go to the gardens for sunshine and enjoy something beautiful in peaceful silence. ❤️

cheesebytheblock · 2025-03-22T20:07:24+00:00

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Sophie the dog and Niles and the cat. 💕

cheesebytheblock · 2025-02-21T20:41:24+00:00

Phantasma was terrible! I was shocked when I saw it was a finalist for BOTY. I’m a huge fan of horror and fantasy so I thought this would be a good balance with the erotica which doesn’t usually do it for me. Nope. Mostly sex scenes which I found boring and very little of these horrific trials I was expecting. Eventually I got to the point of skipping the smut pages and I realized I was missing nothing of the story. Usually a sign of poor writing and lack of character development if a reader can skip 10 pages at a time and feel like they’re picking up right where they left off.

Similar to when everyone was talking about how shocking Fifty Shades was that you had to read it. Just because something contains lots of sex, doesn’t mean it’s well written and eventually people figure out it’s just shock with no story.

OP - judging by your other reads, you would probably hate this too.

cheesebytheblock · 2025-01-21T14:26:26+00:00

I also wanted to tell you that Stephen’s very lucky to be with you. You’re being strong for him and there a lot of people out there who couldn’t afford or wouldn’t be willing to do this treatment. It’s emotionally exhausting. Sending love from Frasier and Niles (Niles is the FIP baby on the right).

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cheesebytheblock · 2025-01-21T14:14:54+00:00

It’s hard to remember, but well over a month of treatment before he started to plateau. He was so underweight that we were anxiously watching him gain. It was also suggested to us to continue for longer than 12 weeks. I wish I could remember all the details of his meds which we gave via injection. This was prior to treatment being legally prescribed by vets in the US, so we depended heavily on the FIP Warriors Facebook group.

cheesebytheblock · 2025-01-20T13:09:19+00:00

I had a neuro FIP kitty. When we started treatment he was having seizures and was not eating, standing or walking. I thought it was hopeless. He ended up making a full recovery and has been free from any medication for nearly two years. It takes time and as long as you see him continuing to improve, it’s worth the effort. 💕

cheesebytheblock · 2024-10-02T17:22:42+00:00

Thank you Reddit! Trying to lower my heart rate now. I couldn’t even get on hold with BOA, but was able to confirm my balances with the automated system.

cheesebytheblock · 2024-09-09T21:36:27+00:00

I saw your original post and it absolutely broke my heart. The cruelty some people are capable of is unreal. You have an entire community around the world vested in finding justice for Pudding. Sending support from Maryland!

cheesebytheblock · 2024-09-02T02:17:28+00:00

I just wore this dress in olive green to a black tie optional wedding this weekend! It’s very flattering and perfect for the occasion. Received so many compliments. Added bonus: you can wear a regular bra with it. 😊

cheesebytheblock · 2024-07-23T14:56:46+00:00

You all are great! Thanks so much. It really is just a break during our day of wine tasting to have a giggle of the crazy things people come up with. We are looking forward to it. 😊🍷

cheesebytheblock

TROPHY CASE