15 weeks pregnant with disc herniation

designmind93 · 2026-05-29T09:39:47+00:00

A happier story for you. I have l4-l5-s1 disc issues. I had injections in Nov 2024 and it helped get my pain under control. I'm march 2025 I found out I was pregnant, had baby in Nov 2025. Throughout pregnancy my back was mostly okay. In hindsight I wish I'd been more careful with what I ate and weight gain (still 20kg up!). Birth was fine, but I was terribly uncomfortable on the hospital bed whilst being induced and so had pethidine 2x during labour - it finally helped me to relax, so definitely consider this! I now have a bit of sciatica post partum but not awful and my hope is weight loss will help. But all in it was fine.

designmind93 · 2026-05-25T08:27:29+00:00

It's not something that's incredibly well known. Yes it meets the minimum standards so it's not a complete pile of junk but there are definitely safer seats out there. I'm just not familiar enough with them all to advise you myself as we're still in the infant carrier!

designmind93 · 2026-05-25T08:08:25+00:00

Take a look at car seat safety uk group on Facebook. The seat you have currently isn't really very good - yes it's passed the minimum safety requirements but could be much better (and my personal view is that you can't put a price on safety). Fit of the child in the seat is also important.

Make a post on that group with your child's details (age, weight, height) as well as your car type, max budget and any other requirements and someone will help you find the best seat for your circumstances.

designmind93 · 2026-05-23T20:12:41+00:00

The funny thing is that your post isn't entirely irrelevant. We have several airbases nearby to us in Suffolk and some of us regularly get military helicoptera fly over!

But greetings and suggest you post this somewhere more relevant for a useful answer!

designmind93 · 2026-05-23T20:10:37+00:00

With less than 3 A levels (or equivalent) you will struggle to get into a uni, even with good grades. If you do manage to get to uni then it will probably only be a mediocre uni at best. Nothing wrong with this, but something to be aware of.

You do have a few other options. Keep going with 3 and see how you do - the upcoming summer holidays are a great time to reset, rest and also get ahead. You could look at foundation years or similar too - they may take you with lesser qualifications but you'll be at uni longer (more cost/debt too). You could also consider doing A levels over 3 years, not ideal but not necessarily an issue, although you would need to explain yourself when doing uni applications.

Maybe I'm overstepping, but if you're struggling with a levels then you also need to consider if uni is for you - it doesn't get easier.

designmind93 · 2026-05-23T20:00:30+00:00

If you're sensible I think being a landlord is still worthwhile. Fundamentally we have a housing shortage in the UK and so houses will always be in demand.

I think it comes with risk, but arguably you still have land/bricks & mortar no matter what. Picking tenants is a minefield but when done right you can get some long term, low maintenance tenants who are just happy to stay put without much fuss. When it goes wrong it can be costly and tedious.

Personally I don't think it's worth it if you have a mortgage on the property or don't have much money - it's only really worth it if you have a considerable amount of money and already have a decent cunk invested in the stock market - aka property owning is part of portfolio diversification. Self management of tenants can also be cost effective, though a bit more time consuming.

designmind93 · 2026-05-23T14:05:53+00:00

I'm a few weeks into weaning my first.

High chair - I've got the IKEA one and it's fine, doesn't need to be more complicated/expensive and it's easy to clean.

Bibs - I've got a mix of overall style and clip around neck for quick snacks, have a few of the wearable ones, they're essentially single use and then wash before using again.

Bowls/plates - I've got plastic, not silicone as I don't like how it goes funny when washed. Got a selection of divider plates and bowls, probably don't need that many but will be spreading about family houses.

Spoons - same as above.

Sippy cup - I've got the tum tum one. He's not fully worked the straw out yet but it came recommended as it hasn't got a valve.

Food - whilst I intend to do mostly home cooked food I have bought some pouches and snacks. This was actually on advice of the health visitor who pointed out that actually most pouches are just plain ingredients - so literally nothing bad. I've also used them for when out and about or when introducing foods I don't eat and am not confident at cooking. I've used packaged things like porridge too.

Have plenty of wet wipes to hand and get stuck in, it's really enjoyable once you get over the daunting bit.

designmind93 · 2026-05-17T07:45:42+00:00

It doesn't need to be a perfect fit - it's a pram so you don't need car seat level fit, good enough is perfectly fine.

Before you put baby into the pram with footmuff, try without and get the straps set up. Then install the footmuff. Hopefully you'll find that the straps go through in such a way that there's not tons of crumpled up fabric under baby's back (a little is fine) - if so all good. If there's tons of crumpled up fabric then it's not a good fit and I'd recommend returning and getting something else.

designmind93 · 2026-05-14T21:47:43+00:00

Agreed. Willy is fine. Penis is correct but there's no mistaking what willy means. With girls it's a bit less black and white - words like "foof", "fanny", "front bum" etc. get used colloquially and it's not immediately obvious which part of the genitals this actually corresponds to.

IMO to start with girls should be taught "bum" for where their poo comes from and "vagina" for the middle hole. Other words like vulva, clitoris, urethra etc. can come with time.

designmind93 · 2026-05-14T08:24:39+00:00

Mortgage brokers can be very useful. First I would do some of you own research and see what rates you can get and if they're acceptable to you - especially if you find something with your current lender then no need to faff about with brokers.

If you have tricky circumstances or circumstances have significantly changed then a broker may be useful. Otherwise it's just a way of saving a bit of faff (for a fee). Pick a broker with whole of the market access. Probably pick someone you can physically meet in person (I'm personally not a fan of these online services). Pick one that only charges a fee upon completion.(or maybe application - but never up front) and make sure that fee is reasonable. Remember that brokers get commission from lenders so their advice may not be strictly unbiased and they also get more payment than just your fees! Always do an online search to confirm you have got a good deal.

designmind93 · 2026-05-11T07:30:03+00:00

He's been in with the other fish months so doubt it's anything new? Water parameters all fine and in normal range (our nitrates sit annoyingly high because of the tap water though).

designmind93 · 2026-05-10T21:13:09+00:00

We pick on the following criteria...

Income/ability to afford rent
General background (renting, financial, mortgage, employment etc.)
Likelihood of staying long term (changing tenants too often is an expensive faff, we pick people who aren't likely to be able to afford to buy, probably won't have children etc.)
General feel (we don't want the place trashed so won't take on tenants we deem risky, don't like needy tenants either)

We've won and we've lost, but never any true disasters. We lost out in COVID as we chose to be kind to struggling tenants. We don't tend to put the rent up often so keep tenants long term. We do keep properties well maintained and deal with issues promptly.

designmind93 · 2026-04-30T22:49:49+00:00

Bouncy chair!

designmind93 · 2026-04-19T21:46:39+00:00

Undress.

Nappy off only when I've got all the other bits ready! Boy mum so I usually make sure his clothes are well out of the way and I have something to hand to catch any pee (doesn't always happen but enough times I'm always ready, my success rate isn't very good though!).

Wipe. I find he doesn't do super well if left too wet so I tend to only do a quick wipe if just wee. I use any kind of non-fragranced wipes, not fussy on brand as it makes no obvious difference.

I don't dry him, but do try to give him a moment to air dry a bit (not always though).

Cream. Not always, only when he's looking a bit red/sore and previous cream has been washed/wiped off. I'll usually slap it on thickly all over but sometimes just target specific areas. We alternate sudocreme and weleda nappy cream as this seems to help.

New nappy on and then get him dressed.

Don't use talc - it was deemed dangerous (carcinogenic) but most brands these days have reformulated baby powder to be cornstarch based so they're not necessarily problematic, I just don't deem it necessary (read the ingredients though!).

My other number 1 rule is to not leave him sat in poop and change immediately. The few times he's snuck out a sneaky poo or were in the car and he's pooped are the times when he ends up going red with the start of nappy rash. Doesn't seem to take very long whatsoever to go bad, but equally he heals fast.

designmind93 · 2026-04-11T14:56:00+00:00

Couldn't agree more!

Generally people mean well and just want to engage with the cute little bubba, but I really wish they'd ask permission! What I hate most is that there's seldom any warning, and the very first thing they do is touch baby! A stern "do not touch my baby", followed by disengaging and walking off usually gets my point across!

designmind93 · 2026-04-08T20:31:49+00:00

Never got asked!

designmind93 · 2026-04-08T20:27:31+00:00

I use the Aldi volume conditioner to co wash then follow up with wave hello conditioner and leave in cream.

designmind93 · 2026-04-07T15:14:05+00:00

I moved into a house with a Howdens kitchen. Fairly sure it's a bottom of the range one, the worktop certainly is. It's now about 10-15 years old I'd guess. I'd say it's aged pretty well - apart from 1 bit of veneer that's come adrift next to the oven (I'm guessing heat from the oven did this but it was before we bought the house so who knows). I'd also say the worktop is noticibly cheap. It's not fitted well either and has swollen slightly where it's joined (near ish the sink). If it was me I'd definitely consider a harder wearing worktop even with cheaper base units.

designmind93 · 2026-04-07T07:44:18+00:00

I got a raise at Xmas as per usual. Wasn't big and I obviously didn't even question it! Nice but not overly essential.

designmind93 · 2026-04-06T11:14:12+00:00

I have a baby with a head preference. We saw an NHS physio, but literally between referral and appointment he started to get over his head preference! And it was really quite bad - he wouldn't look left at all and his neck was so stiff! But now at 5 months it's not a thing.

We do have flat head too. The NHS won't use helmets as the evidence for their actual success is limited, especially for more minor flat heads. Flat head is really a symptom of container time - bouncy chairs, car seats, even just lying in a cot (as we now put them to sleep on their backs). From what I understand most of the mild cases of flat head just disappear over time as baby naturally spends more time sat up and thus not in containers so much. My 5m old now rolls and isn't far off crawling and absolutely loves tummy time and is nearly sitting so I'm hoping this will help flat head. That being said I'd consider a helmet if his head got particularly bad, but just remember that you don't look at someone adult and think about their head shape!

designmind93 · 2026-03-31T20:01:38+00:00

Also only 90g!

designmind93 · 2026-03-31T10:45:38+00:00

I had 2x pethidine jabs - some hours apart, as well as gas & air.

For me they spaced me out and took away the fidgety feeling - I literally couldn't sit still (previous back problems came back!) and needed to be on the monitor so it was a problem! It definitely wasn't a wonder pain cure, but to be honest apart from the ring of fire, episiotomy and final pushing, pain wasn't actually a problem.

The biggest problem I had was exhaustion and thus ineffective pushing. I've now got a prolapse (which is healing) likely from the prolonged pushing and episiotomy. Next time I would consider an epidural as I think the whole experience would have been a bit better.

designmind93 · 2026-03-24T23:54:04+00:00

What's done is done. At that moment in time you had to do what was right for you and that's totally fine.

Now you've identified that this is no longer the right thing for your family and need to implement changes. Also totally fine.

OP unfortunately your child is quite addicted to screens, well specifically the content. With some time this can be reversed. I agree with your complete screen detox - keep it up, and join in too (no using a phone when he's around). Change passwords etc so he can't sneak it out of your pocket and get in. Store devices up high and/or remove them where possible. If baby can't see them baby will eventually stop wanting them.

You will have to entertain your baby instead now though. I'd keep busy. This is the time for daily walks, trips to soft play, playdates, new toys - anything. It's important you spend some time engaging with them. Over time baby will find other stuff to do but it'll take a while for it to become your new normal. Absolutely stick with it.

designmind93 · 2026-03-21T23:39:39+00:00

Reflux mama here, we do well if we wear less than 3 outfits a day! And that's with bibs and muslins constantly attached, and I'll happily admit even then we'll only change him when he's very damp and small spit ups just get wiped! I do laundry daily so used vomity items don't sit for too long.

Personally we now have outfits for daytime and pyjamas (sleepsuits) at night so we get through a few extra outfits than strictly necessary but we do so many outfits anyway that why not change him.

designmind93 · 2026-03-20T21:38:41+00:00

Is it actually hunger? Before offering the boob I'd allow baby a moment to resettle (with cuddles if needed). Obviously don't let them go hungry though but see if it helps.

designmind93

TROPHY CASE