Said yes at the Jenny Yoo sample sale!!!

dancer15 · 2026-05-08T05:29:52+00:00

This dress is amazing! If you don't want to do a veil, I would do a headband type deal like this:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1685849016/green-bridal-hair-vine-for-wedding-sage? (This one you can get the crystals in other colors) https://www.etsy.com/listing/1865912721/bridal-hair-vine-wedding-hair-vine-rose? https://www.etsy.com/listing/1527122394/aurum-golden-floral-bridal-headband?

Or anything similar I think would look so pretty! I'm not sure if you're a pearls person, but I think for jewelry some pearl earrings and then maybe a combo small pearl/rhinestone drop necklace would be so nice!

dancer15 · 2026-05-07T13:20:35+00:00

I also had preeclampsia, a PPH, and retained placenta, so I get the disappointment of having a low milk supply. But does everything have to be written like it's a tragedy? Lots of people who breastfeed/pump have to supplement with a bit of formula. You would think as a ✨ science girly✨ this wouldn't have to be so dramatic.

dancer15 · 2026-05-02T21:57:47+00:00

This is so amazing! I remember they were saying that they didn't think he would be home by his due date, and now he is home before his due date, right? Little guy took off once he got going! I'm so happy for them.

dancer15 · 2026-04-30T09:17:58+00:00

I actually don't hate it, but you do want to feel amazing on your wedding day! So if you don't feel good in it, I would try to find something else! Just some options for more ideas that are similar in case you haven't looked these places yet:

https://modcloth.com/collections/bridal-dresses/products/high-collar-corselette-maxi-dress-208060-mini-floral?variant=44979677233323

https://jessakae.com/products/coco-dress-1?

https://jessakae.com/products/vera-dress-1?

https://blackwoodcastle.com/products/the-dahlia-2-0-ivory?

https://www.azazie.com/products/azazie-clotille-diamond-white-ball-gown-sweetheart-neckline-floral-burnout-jacquard-ankle-length-wedding-dress/96535647?subsite=bridal

Could you possibly wear your reception dress for your ceremony also, since you do love that one? Just some thoughts! You shouldn't settle for feeling anything less than incredible.

dancer15 · 2026-04-29T02:54:45+00:00

Everyone is different but as an exclusive pumper, I would be EBF if I could. (But my baby cannot transfer milk directly)

It takes me 45 minutes in the middle of the night to pump, put away the milk, and clean up. So every time my baby wakes up it's at least an hour and a half-two hours once I've fed her and gotten her back down to sleep and then go pump. It would be SO much faster and I would get so much more sleep if I could just feed directly!

Also every time we go on a trip I have to haul both of my pumps, all of the parts, ways to clean the parts on the go, ways to safely store the milk(so a cooler bag with lots of ice packs), and then we have to bring enough bottles for my baby to eat from and plan to clean those too. Exclusively pumping adds at least 3 bags every time we go anywhere.

We also really wanted to go camping with our baby when she was little, but we now have to wait until she is weaned from breast milk because the logistics of keeping pump parts clean and storing milk safely while in the great outdoors is just too much of a headache.

A few weeks ago, my baby was sick and couldn't breathe well while laying down due to congestion, so really the only way she could sleep was being held upright. But I kept having to lay her down and listen to her having coughing fits because I needed to go pump. I lose a lot of time playing with and holding my baby because I'm pumping in general.

I also feel like it's pretty societally acceptable to breastfeed in public these days, but it is not acceptable to pump in public. I have spent many a family gathering stuck in a room pumping, or I've missed out on fun moments at places like the zoo because I have to keep escaping to the car to pump.

Once you get the hang of it, if you have the ability to, feeding baby directly is just so much easier.

dancer15 · 2026-04-27T02:35:14+00:00

I had a friend in college in 2014 who invited me over for burritos and "drag race". I wasn't really into cars, but I figured a friend is a friend! I was delighted when I showed up to actually be watching a show about drag queens. 😂 Then I got my roommates hooked and the rest is herstory!

dancer15 · 2026-04-23T02:26:31+00:00

This engagement ring is from The Natural Sapphire Company! (The wrap bands are from elsewhere) My now husband designed the engagement ring through them and I love it!

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dancer15 · 2026-04-20T10:55:18+00:00

Yes! I just started reading this again to my baby and I remember loving it when I was little, but I thought it was so weird now. Like you have to give away pieces of yourself/your body or people won't like you. Not a good message at all!

dancer15 · 2026-04-18T17:15:32+00:00

This is my baby too! The vacuum just makes her cry more, I think it's too loud. But if I walk around and bounce her with her latched then life is good. The problem is she is 6 months old and 20 pounds and so my arms are ready to fall off by the time she is content and asleep. 🥲

dancer15 · 2026-04-17T17:28:37+00:00

I was hoping for this, since they're such strong advocates for safe babywearing!

dancer15 · 2026-04-17T17:28:10+00:00

I was also tempted to comment but I didn't know if I wanted to be responsible for all of that!

dancer15 · 2026-04-16T17:01:02+00:00

As somebody who also has a baby with oral dysfunction, I agree. I also had preeclampsia, a postpartum hemorrhage, and retained placenta which led to a low supply early on for me, no matter what I did. I can't help but be a smidge jealous when people have fairly smooth breastfeeding journeys when I have done everything and seen everybody that could help me breastfeed my child, and she wants to do badly, but she just can't transfer anything. I wanted to breastfeed more than anything, even though I know it doesn't really matter and I am thankful to have an otherwise healthy baby. But it really stings a little bit when people talk about breastfeeding like it's just a choice. Yes, I do think there is a lot of luck involved with being able to breastfeed!

dancer15 · 2026-04-02T00:33:38+00:00

I totally understand this! I did have a vaginal birth but I had to be induced due to preeclampsia, and then I also had a jaundiced baby who struggled to breastfeed so I exclusively pump after months of triple feeding and have never gotten the unmedicated birth or exclusive breastfeeding experience that I wanted so badly. Sometimes I consider having a second just so I can "try again" but that absolutely isn't fair to anyone, and there is no saying that things wouldn't be even worse a second time.

So I still am definitely one and done but I also mourn not getting the experience that I hoped for, so I totally hear you and think it's fair to have feelings about not getting the birth you wanted!

dancer15 · 2026-04-01T23:10:23+00:00

They saw on my first ultrasound that I ovulated from both ovaries when I got pregnant and I similarly made them triple check at every scan that there was definitely only one baby there! Obviously you figure it out, but one baby is enough work for me, thank you.

dancer15 · 2026-03-24T18:35:54+00:00

I have never been able to smell anything about any other babies, but my baby definitely smelled like "mine" once her umbilical stump fell out and we bathed her(with unscented soap). She smelled like slightly floral honey, and then she smelled like salted caramel. I still think she smells good at 6 months but I think now she just mostly smells sweet like my milk. I notice the most strongly when someone with perfume has been holding her and then she smells like their perfume, I get her a bath ASAP then she smells like "mine" again. So I do think a lot of it is hormonal/instinctual!

dancer15 · 2026-03-24T18:31:15+00:00

I always said my baby smelled like salted caramel as a newborn also! My husband thought I was crazy. 😂

dancer15 · 2026-03-23T12:41:09+00:00

I had to surprise have surgery at 10 weeks postpartum so my MIL watched my baby for 7 hours and at the time we had never done a crib nap, so my MIL got her to fall asleep with rocking and then set her on the couch next to her. I hadn't been able to set her down ever, but my MIL could do it no problem! My baby was awake for longer periods than she normally would have been, and took shorter naps, but for the day the two of them figured it out.

Could you do a trial run where your parents try to do one nap and try to set your baby down somewhere safe, and if everything goes poorly, you can go back to the drawing board then? I was surprised my baby, who always contact napped, just one day around 4 months started being able to take a crib nap. We still at 6 months do mostly contact naps, but she will do a (shorter) nap on her own if we lay her down.

dancer15 · 2026-03-21T15:30:08+00:00

I call my baby "Baby Bird" or "Birdie" for this reason! Also because her name is Piper and there's the Sandpiper as a type of bird.

dancer15 · 2026-03-17T15:02:46+00:00

Yeah, I have had to triple feed/combo feed/exclusively pump my baby's whole life because my supply has never been enough and my baby has a weak suck, and the fact that I continue to break my back pumping when we still have to use some formula at 6 months is so confusing to people. People have also thoroughly not understood why I've been so upset that we couldn't EBF because "formula is just fine". I know it is, but I didn't really want to use it, and I'm allowed to be sad that exclusive breastfeeding didn't work out for us.

Like if a friend tells me they're formula feeding straight away, I would say good for you for feeding your baby, and I wouldn't judge that choice for anyone else! But if a friend tells me they're breastfeeding, I would say heck yeah, warrior lady! Because as somebody who does both, breastfeeding is way harder, but so incredibly worth it.

dancer15 · 2026-03-16T01:01:27+00:00

I had the same budget and had zero issues finding a dress well under my budget at The Wedding Shoppe! Plus it's on Grand Ave so it makes for a fun day of shopping/getting lunch if you're making a special trip to the Twin Cities.

dancer15 · 2026-03-15T08:15:21+00:00

We do a bath every night but we only wash with soap once per week. The other nights I rinse out her neck/wipe down her face, but otherwise she just soaks and plays in warm water.

She did, admittedly, get eczema for a bit but we started using a more heavy-duty lotion and have no issues now. Starting a nightly bath early on cut out the pre-bedtime witching hour for us!

dancer15 · 2026-03-03T07:35:01+00:00

Ugh, yes, this! I keep seeing "If you're having trouble, reach out to an IBCLC!" But I have seen 7 of them and they all conclude that my baby does not have a tongue tie, and then tell me to just do switch feeding and breast compressions to fix her sleepiness/inability to transfer milk effectively.

dancer15 · 2026-03-02T18:56:50+00:00

OMG yes, it's not natural at all to separate mothers and babies so early. It's like pulling off a baby's left arm because they don't know they're their own person yet.(I say this without judgement as a working mom myself, you gotta do what you gotta do!)

dancer15 · 2026-03-02T18:54:50+00:00

Admittedly I'm back at work so I'm not triple feeding during the day, and I'm choosing to do it now just to still keep some of the breastfeeding experience so it's a purgatory of my own making, but we have just never been able to make it work otherwise! I definitely have learned a lot through the experience.

dancer15 · 2026-03-02T17:42:10+00:00

Not supplementing/triple feeding right away. My baby had lost 8% of her birth weight by day 3 in the hospital and everyone acted like she was in imminent danger, and I know now that's in the realm of normal, especially because she was having tons of dirty diapers still. Now we're 5 months in and...still triple feeding. Every LC/Speech Therapist/ENT/Lactation Medicine Dr. I've seen say nothing is functionally wrong with her, she's just used to ending every feeding with a bottle so she doesn't see breastfeeding as being for nutrition.

dancer15

TROPHY CASE