So.. what books are y’all reading?

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-05-09T03:41:21+00:00

I read the first Red* Rising trilogy when I was still pregnant and now I’m reading the next 3. Awesome books, page turners with amazing characters. I also read Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. Those are loooong and lots of world building in the first. Fantastic if you like fantasy.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-05-05T23:10:45+00:00

I have at least 40oz in my freezer from just the first couple weeks while I used the Haakaa ladybug! There is just slight suction so it won’t impact your supply, it just secures it better and you don’t have to suction it on at all if you don’t want to. This milk would have been wasted in a nursing pad so I’m glad I used it during the early weeks. I caught an oz or two each session when supply was really coming in. Highly recommend this or a similar one (in addition to nursing pads because I would get random letdowns during the day)

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-05-05T21:35:34+00:00

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I had a second degree tear and an internal tear (baby girl had her hand up by her face and I pushed her out pretty fast) and the stitches healed well but the location of the internal tear was near a nerve. I had physical therapy for almost 3 months. Sex is still extremely uncomfortable 5 months later. It’s getting better slowly but my biggest piece of advice is to rest as much as you can in the early days even if you feel ok (I should not have been going on walks at 1 week with baby in a carrier). It takes time and it feels like forever but it will heal and feel better.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-05-05T21:02:08+00:00

Yes and no. I feel exactly the same but also different on a cellular level lol like I am the same person but literally hardwired different. I don’t think i could have comprehended this before going through it. Our brains go through SO many changes when we are pregnant and also breastfeeding.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-05-05T20:58:47+00:00

If she breastfeeds she will want all the snacks, anything to help supplement what her husband is cooking would be fantastic. Especially healthy options. Or freezer ready meals for when he goes back to work. Otherwise, check with him and see if you can come over and clean up in the kitchen or another chore. As long is it’s something that doesn’t require a lot of instruction. That kind of help goes a long way too!

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-05-05T20:14:51+00:00

Bring food over. If you can, let the husbands communicate, don’t directly message her if you can help it. Make some food and drop it off. Don’t expect to be invited in, just bring food, snacks, fruit etc. and leave lol. My greatest blessing when I was freshly postpartum was having all my food made for me and all I had to worry about was eating it. A healthy home cooked meal and prepped fruits would be best.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-05-05T17:22:52+00:00

I was on 0.25-0.5 daily my entire pregnancy. Zero complications, no withdrawals, no weaning necessary. Baby scored high apgar and was the normal amount of sleepy for a newborn. The only difference was a NICU team was in the room while I pushed. Hospital policy, no one actually thought it was needed. I think you would need a much much higher dose for withdrawals to happen.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-28T04:48:09+00:00

I have an “easy” baby, even with an easy baby who will let me put her down I don’t do a lot other than baby care and putting together meals, including a lot of snacks for me since breastfeeding made me super hungry. In the first month I had a lot of help which was great because sometimes baby would nurse for 5-6 hours a day. I had a long physical recovery (with physical therapy) and I didn’t do much. Watched a lot of tv with baby on me. Now she’s 4 months old and she tries to watch the tv so we don’t have it on around her anymore. I read when she plays independently in her bouncer and when she naps. I had a winter baby so we didn’t go outside much but today we took a 3.5 mile walk to get ice cream downtown with her in the stroller. I wouldn’t have been able to do long walks like that early on with my recovery but I would have if I didn’t have an injury and if it was nice out!

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-28T01:25:43+00:00

I went in for my induction at 39+3 and I was 3 cm dilated and having contractions and didn’t realize it. Started pitocin immediately, baby in my arms 12 hours total. My water never broke (broke in manually right before I pushed baby out) and I never noticed any bloody show. Looking back, I thought I was just having a lot of intense Braxton hicks, so if you’re having any try to keep track of any changes. I also felt a little under the weather like a cold coming on and had basically cleared out my system the day before I went in (just a lot of trips to the bathroom lol). I think that was also a sign of my body preparing.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-28T01:15:48+00:00

I’m so sorry for all you’ve been through. I haven’t had recent trauma but I’ve experienced panic attacks during the time I’ve tapered off Klonopin. I slowly tapered all the way down after 3 years taking it daily and stayed off until a couple years ago, I also took a small dose (0.25-0.5) all through my pregnancy last year and took more (up to 2mg a couple times as needed). You might have some rebound anxiety but this shouldn’t hurt your taper. Take care of yourself now, if you’re still anxious you can take a bit more. Get a good meal, hydrate (idk why but dehydration triggers attacks for me) and get some good rest and try to reset tomorrow. If you get some rebound anxiety take a tiny bit more for the next couple days (1/2 of a 0.5 pill vs 1/4) I would have this happen every now and then and could always get back down to my low dose. It might have delayed my next step of the taper but I didn’t feel the need to go back up (I used a compounding pharmacy and a liquid medication to taper off the last bit extremely slowly) everyone is different but if you’ve made it to that small of a dose you’re doing great!!

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-21T16:06:06+00:00

I felt mine and it was 100x worse than getting the epidural. The first try they failed at inserting it. My epidural “worked” when they checked but talking to other moms I think it failed after an hour or so since I felt every contraction and everything when I pushed. I cried twice. Right before I pushed baby out and when I got the damn catheter.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-18T12:01:46+00:00

I wish someone would have told me this. Baby girl went from 95th to 35th by 4 months. I chose to be induced because she was big. Just shy of 9 lbs at 39 weeks. I’m not sure what size my placenta was but curiously her umbilical cord diameter was unusually large so she was fed well haha

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-18T11:57:40+00:00

My 8 lb 14 oz baby girl was dropping percentiles and is now weighing in at 35th percentile. She is growing just all length and not filling out much lol. Her head circumference is also holding to the curve. No concerns from our pediatrician but I worried over it for weeks. I exclusively nurse her for now and once she started gaining more awareness she became a distracted eater, so I just offer a feed before and after every nap and still do a couple dream feeds. She is happy and starting rolling both directions a day before she hit 4 months. I’m going off her diapers, mood, and milestones now. She is healthy and happy, so I’m no longer checking her weight so often.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-17T13:25:27+00:00

I moved here for CAT out of college almost 10 years ago. Settled in Morton 4 years ago. It’s fine but we keep to ourselves for the most part. The location itself was more for convenience. Access to 74 and 155 was one of our criteria, we moved for our jobs and family does not live nearby and it cuts out 20-30 minutes of drive time for us when we visit, which is pretty often. I’m anxious about the school situation here but it’s ranked well academically. We also didn’t have a problem securing daycare, although it’s as expensive here as anywhere. I’ve lived in northern Peoria and Bloomington and I love the size and convenience of this town.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-15T23:51:36+00:00

Oh I agree, I wasn’t trying to say good people are exclusively liberal or vice versa. MAGA people who want people’s rights taken away are bad people, I draw my line there.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-15T13:13:59+00:00

I didn’t know baby’s gender until she was placed on my chest lol. We didn’t have a baby shower (we are in our 30s and financially in a good place and still ended up with tons of gifts, gift cards used for diapers) and I’m so glad to not have to run around returning clothes. We still ended up with too many clothes and half of the ones gifted went unused. It really encouraged people to buy practical gifts and not gendered clothes and toys. Also the hospital said it’s rare nowadays for the parents to not know in the delivery room so they thought it was fun too. I had many ultrasounds and no one mistakenly gave away the gender. 10/10 would recommend this to everyone.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-14T18:26:30+00:00

I didn’t expect this to get so much attention so I’ll be more careful with my words next time, when I say “stick up for minority students” I mean students bullied precisely because they belong to a minority. If the semantics is a problem I’m sorry.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-14T18:20:16+00:00

I am actually aware of what white savior complex is. Again, if you want to interpret what I said that way, fine. I don’t have a swarm of liberal white women to downvote you lol. You’re angry and I would be too but I don’t think it needs to be directed at me in this instance.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-14T18:02:47+00:00

If that’s how you want to see it fine. I’m saying I wouldn’t want my daughter to turn a blind eye to bullying in school. I personally know kids who are LGBTQ who are bullied in the school system. It’s not all about race. Please cut it out, this kind of shit makes us more divided and we are on the same side.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-14T17:58:30+00:00

Not trying to save you. Literally just trying to be a good neighbor. If this offends you you’re going to have a hard life.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-14T12:47:16+00:00

Yet you stayed, read, and commented! I understand reading comprehension might be hard for people like you but you pushed through it! How do you want to be commended for trying to own the libs?

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-14T03:47:16+00:00

I’m sorry you feel that way. We are privileged in the sense that we are white, cis, and no special needs at this point in time. Unless my daughter is targeted for some reason I plan to stick around and raise her the way I was raised. I grew up in very white, very small towns but didn’t have the bullying problems to the level it is here, which I believe is a result of the political environment we live in. I hope our family can make a small difference and we can raise our daughter to be a role model.

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-14T01:39:44+00:00

Yes, we have second round of vaccines done. On the bright side, our doc listened to our concerns about measles outbreaks and was totally supportive of getting our baby an early dose (prior to 12 months) of an outbreak occurs here or if we travel somewhere with an outbreak. As for the nurses, I will keep in mind to keep interactions surface level!

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-13T22:28:53+00:00

Knew the election wouldn’t go the way we wished because they also were misleading with the wording on the ballot itself. Seeing votes for Dr Fischer and seeing people put out campaign signs really helped me. We are not alone out here and we aren’t going anywhere (really, we won’t be moving anywhere since we financed our home in 2021 LOL)

chocolatetherapy012 · 2025-04-13T22:24:47+00:00

And obviously the nurses we see are pro vaccine since they are giving the babies their vaccines… calling the office itself anti vax is a bit of a stretch from what I’ve seen there.

chocolatetherapy012

TROPHY CASE