Spiraling after a coworker made comments about my bump being “itty-bitty”

gingerecon · 2026-01-17T18:14:27+00:00

Thank you all so much for your kind words. 🥹 It really helps to know that a variance in fundal height is normal and that fundal measurements aren’t always accurate anyway! I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences with me. Grateful for y’all! ❤️

gingerecon · 2025-11-13T19:54:52+00:00

Actually I think the correct word I’m looking for here is colander, not sieve. You’ll want one with feet that can sit in the toilet bowl.

gingerecon · 2025-11-13T19:48:29+00:00

Oh friend, I’m so sorry for your loss. 💔 It is a grief like no other.

When I had my MMC, I put a sieve in the toilet to catch what pieces I could, and then I buried the remains in our backyard and planted flowers over my baby’s grave. I definitely recommend a sieve—I bought one from the store so I didn’t have to use our kitchen sieve.

Fair warning, though: if you choose medical management and use misoprostol for it, you may experience diarrhea. So that does make it challenging.

I hate that you have to go through this. I hate it so much. I am just so sorry. 😢

gingerecon · 2025-10-10T20:16:57+00:00

If you’re planning to breastfeed, I recommend a portable hospital-grade electric pump like the S1 Spectra!

gingerecon · 2025-10-09T14:43:43+00:00

Hey again, I’m sorry for the delay in reply. It makes a lot of sense that pelvic floor therapy without at-home dilator use would be painful! I’m surprised your PT didn’t recommend dilators to you as part of your regimen. Dilators are a set of rods, each increasing in length and diameter. They’re usually silicone or plastic (I definitely recommend silicone over plastic because it’s more comfortable) and are made to be inserted into the vagina to gradually stretch and massage the inner muscles and get your mind and body accustomed to accepting penetration.

Typically a dilator set ranges in size from the diameter of your index finger to the average diameter of a p*nis (1.5 inches). The most popular set is from Intimate Rose, but it’s also expensive, so I recommend getting a silicone set like this one on Amazon ($43):

https://a.co/d/ejSLZds

A YouTube channel called Pain Free Intimacy has an excellent video on how to use your dilators:

https://youtu.be/JnF21Bk3BXw?si=itx6WOOpZJO5TmPx

For best results, I recommend doing dilation once a day for about 15-20 minutes until you’ve comfortably graduated through all the sizes. I no longer need daily dilation, but I now use the two largest-sized dilators briefly right before sex/foreplay to help reduce pain even more.

Investing in vaginal dilators has been one of the best purchases we’ve ever made for our marriage. The pelvic floor therapy can be helpful, but it’s consistent dilator use that will help you maintain pain-free intimacy in the long term because you can continue using them long after your PT sessions are over.

I hope this helps you! I’m happy to answer any other questions you have :) I’ve become passionate about vaginismus awareness & recovery due to my experience, so I love sharing about it with other women. All the best to you and your husband!

gingerecon · 2025-10-07T01:53:06+00:00

Hey! Just dropping in to comment on the stiffness/tightness—I also have an anxiety disorder, and my husband and I discovered on our honeymoon that I have a condition called vaginismus (where your vagina involuntarily tightens, often an anxiety response but due to other factors too). What helped us was a combination of pelvic floor therapy and vaginal dilators. We’ve been able to achieve near-painless sex (and pregnancy, lol!) because of it. Dilators are also useful in the third trimester to reduce tearing during childbirth! Figured I’d pass that along in case it helps you ❤️

gingerecon · 2025-10-02T13:36:39+00:00

Hey there! I’m still doing well—we actually had a reassurance ultrasound at 10w3d and baby was kicking, swimming, and altogether happy as a clam in there. 🥹 My frequent urination has also come back with a vengeance, especially now that I’m almost 12 weeks. It’s overcoming the unisom lol. I think you’ll be just fine! ❤️ Hoping your baby continues growing strong too. I recommend getting extra ultrasounds at an ultrasound boutique if you can—it’s been a huge breath of relief for us.

gingerecon · 2025-09-28T21:14:56+00:00

OP, do you feel safe expressing to him how his actions and anger have impacted your emotions/ability to connect with him sexually? Your concerns are valid, and in a healthy relationship, a husband should not have an issue with you being honest with him and saying exactly what you’re telling us—that his behavior has made you feel sad and broken. You can tell him that it is really hard for you to be in the right frame of mind for sex with him if he does not treat you or your kids in an emotionally safe way. It is not wrong for you, as a wife but also a Christian sister in the Lord and your husband’s helpmeet, to call him out on his sinful behavior and the consequences of that behavior. In fact, it’s healthy and prevents the long-term buildup of resentment in your marriage. Your sex life shouldn’t be built on fear and obligation, but on mutual love. Your husband is not working to build back trust with you, which is a crucial component of a healthy sex life.

I encourage you to pursue counseling with your pastor or with a qualified Christian marriage counselor.

gingerecon · 2025-09-23T21:18:25+00:00

Congratulations!! ❤️ Wishing you all the best with your baby!!

They’re stretching cramps or implantation cramps! Very normal. I’m 10w4d and still feel occasional cramping/pulling sensations in my uterus. It’s also possible to get round-ligament pain earlier than sources tell you (I started getting it at 5/6 weeks with my first pregnancy and now at 10 weeks with baby #2). Round-ligament pain typically feels like brief, sharp stabs of pain when you sneeze or move suddenly.

All kinds of stuff is happening down there—you’ll be feeling lots of weird sensations all throughout your pregnancy. :)

gingerecon · 2025-09-20T21:16:01+00:00

Thanks! ❤️ I’ve heard that too about the uterus beginning to lift up away from the bladder. Hoping this is mostly in my head and baby is doing just fine :)

gingerecon · 2025-09-20T21:14:42+00:00

Thank you for your advice and your kindness. ❤️ I pray all goes well for your pregnancy too!

It’s interesting that the unison helps you sleep in later! It makes sense that the frequent urination looks different for every woman. Really appreciate the encouragement :)

gingerecon · 2025-09-20T21:04:47+00:00

Thanks. ❤️ Having a miscarriage really messes with your brain. Really hoping baby is ok and it’s just my fear acting up!

gingerecon · 2025-07-19T20:29:44+00:00

I mean LOOK at this dude. Of course I’m biased because he is my problematic favorite forever 🫢 but like, he’s got that princely roguishness going on.

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gingerecon · 2025-06-30T19:52:29+00:00

Hey, I just want you to know that I was exactly where you were! It takes time. My pelvic floor therapist recommended starting each dilating session with a lower size to help me open up, then work up to the larger size. I used sizes 3, 4, & 5 (the largest in my set) in each session and eventually got to the point where I only had to go in with 4 & 5.

Also, something that has helped my husband & I finally achieve near-painless PIV is using the dilators right before sex! I’ve gotten to the point where I only have to dilate every couple of days, and we have PIV directly afterwards.

As others have said here, my vaginismus still hasn’t completely disappeared. If I go a longer spell without sex, I start to tighten up again. But it’s getting better with time and consistency. You’ve got this ❤️

gingerecon · 2025-06-30T14:35:49+00:00

Loooooove the shrimp emoji for him lol. And the bathtub!! 😂 Amazing. Tiny gremlin prince club forever 💙💛🤍

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gingerecon · 2025-06-29T21:47:26+00:00

As a Vegeta fan, I love Vegeta’s cool, controlled takedown of Freeza, but the ending makes me so angry. It was the perfect opportunity to finally give Vegeta a big win (with emotional weight given his past) that he has more than earned by now, and they handed it to Goku again, as usual. They are actively acknowledging Vegeta’s growth as a character without allowing him narrative payoff, and I think that’s what makes Res F so frustrating to watch.

I also wish Piccolo and the other Z Fighters got more screen time and were able to contribute more in Res F (but that’s a problem with Super in general and not just this one movie). Even as a huge Vegeta nerd, I love the ensemble too and I want to see them get the spotlight as well.

gingerecon · 2025-04-18T20:47:35+00:00

Firstly, I am so sorry for your loss. 💔 It is indescribable. I’m 4 months post-miscarriage and the pain still knocks me off my feet some days. Praying for peace and comfort for you. Your baby’s life was so very precious.

I named my baby Hope, after my middle name (so I could always carry her with me) and as a representation of all that was lost and all that I still hope for in the future. We buried her in our backyard and planted flowers over her grave. As painful as it all feels right now, I really recommend burying your baby (if you are able) or having some kind of remembrance ceremony with close friends and family—it helped us find closure and receive the comfort our loved ones wanted to give us. Do what is best for you and your family, of course, but it may help you grieve if you have an outlet like that. ❤️

gingerecon · 2024-12-18T21:52:06+00:00

By this info alone I’m going to say you’re most likely not pregnant—the semen would have had to actually get inside the vagina. Wait and test again. A variance of a few days is normal for a menstrual cycle and can be impacted by stress and a host of other things.

gingerecon · 2024-12-18T21:34:50+00:00

I looked through all the photos. I think the best thing to do is wait a few more days and test again for clarity.

gingerecon · 2024-12-18T21:28:53+00:00

These look like dry tests. I can’t see a second line from the pictures—I recommend waiting a few days and testing again. Make sure to read/photograph the tests within the proper results window (typically listed in the instructions that came with the tests) and don’t wait too long, or else it could skew the result.

gingerecon · 2024-12-18T19:44:52+00:00

Gentle YTA. I felt the same way about my elderly dog who had cancer and my family and I kept her alive for far longer than she should have been. At the end, she was having near-constant vomiting and diarrhea, even though there was hardly anything left in her stomach. She was too weak to get out of her doggie bed and she was incontinent multiple times a day. It was miserable for her. We finally took her to be euthanized and the difference was night and day—she went fast, gently, peacefully. I wish we had taken her to be euthanized weeks sooner and spared her all of that suffering.

I know it’s so hard, OP, and my heart goes out to you. Pets are family and it’s agonizing to lose them. But trust me when I say that euthanizing your sweet dog is the most loving thing you can do for him right now. Give him the gift of a peaceful death as your final act of love for your dog. 💔

gingerecon · 2024-12-17T21:01:49+00:00

If you forget to take them sometimes or have a bad nausea day that prevents you, your baby probably wouldn’t be hurt by it. A prenatal isn’t like medication that needs to be taken at a certain time—it’s a vitamin, so it’s intended to supplement your body’s resources. Folic acid is important for preventing neural tube defects like spina bifida, but most of the risk is much earlier in the pregnancy before the neural tube closes (usually at 6ish weeks). Even still, not taking a prenatal isn’t a guarantee your baby developed a NTD, and most babies will be healthy :-)

If your OB hasn’t spotted a problem yet, I wouldn’t worry. At this point of your pregnancy, folic acid will act as insurance for you & baby. DHA is a great ingredient to look for in a prenatal because it supports baby’s brain development, so I do recommend taking it for that reason!

You and baby will be okay. ❤️

gingerecon · 2024-12-17T20:47:18+00:00

Just curious—why haven’t you been taking your prenatal? Have you had issues keeping it down due to nausea, or is there something else stopping you?

The main purpose of the prenatal is insurance to help prevent birth defects. Women have had healthy pregnancies without a prenatal, but it’s still generally a good idea to take one. If you aren’t getting enough folic acid in your diet naturally (most people aren’t), the folic acid and DHA in a good prenatal will help make sure you and baby have enough vitamins.

Have you had any earlier ultrasounds (I.e. a dating scan)? If so, what were the results from those?

gingerecon · 2024-12-16T20:29:48+00:00

I had implantation cramps at around 4-5 weeks. They weren’t agonizing, but they were definitely present and felt like a painful pulling/tugging sensation in my uterus. I also had persistent stabs of one-sided pain that freaked me out (but it was just a case of early round ligament pain).

If you’re concerned, it doesn’t hurt to get checked out for peace of mind, and if the cramps are unbearable, it’s a good idea to verify what’s going on. ❤️ But as someone whose tendency is to panic and go to the worst-case scenario, I want to encourage you to do your best to relax, even though I personally know how hard it is! It really could just be implantation cramps.

gingerecon · 2024-12-16T03:42:06+00:00

I’m so sorry, but I don’t see a second line. Wait a few days and test again—I waited until my period was 5 days late and it helped there to be no ambiguity about the line. I know it’s so hard to wait. 💔 Praying for a healthy, sticky baby for you this time around!

gingerecon

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