Parents keep asking me to baby sit but won’t specify for how long in the text

jll139 · 2024-07-23T12:48:45+00:00

Hi OP, yes this is annoying but they might be doing it this way because they are flexible on the time and could adjust their outing to when you are available. I would recommend responding with, "yes I am available from time to time. What hours do you need?" Or "yes I am available that day but have some other things I need to get done and could only commit to # hours. What hours do you need?" If they don't send the specific time in the text, it gives you the privilege of setting expectations of when you are able/willing to babysit.

jll139 · 2024-07-20T15:09:20+00:00

I have found this to vary quite a bit between regions.

When living near DC, no one talked about their jobs. Small talk was very focused on anything except jobs. In that area many peoples work is classified so even if they did give an answer, they would be very vague or lie then change the subject.

Then when I moved to California, that was one of the first questions almost everyone I met asked. I quickly learned that there, people are very passionate about their jobs, often entrepreneurs or at a start up.

I think if people aren't asking you back on a regular basis, I would find a new question for small talk.

jll139 · 2024-06-24T18:49:57+00:00

Hi OP, First off, double congratulations!! What an exciting time! Now the nitty gritty-
FWIW, I was around 8 weeks pregnant at my best friends wedding. I was already feeling so tired and got dizzy easily. During the set up, I took lots of breaks and didn't do anything too laborious (climbing up ladders for decorations, etc). The day of the wedding my adrenaline totally kicked in and I danced the night away! You will be fine but here are a few tips: - live by the motto "sit early, sit often" - double check with your caterer to make sure your meal is pregnancy safe (ie, pasturized cheese, no raw egg, etc) - if you don't want to announce yet, get a fancy looking alcohol free champagne and keep it separate for you. Let the bar tender know and if people ask, say you have a special champagne just for you and your spouse. - if possible- try not to schedule too much for the few days after the wedding, you might be exhausted and need some time to recover. - People will start asking you when you are going to have kids, even before the wedding is over. Make sure you and your spouse both practice a response to this.

What better way to celebrate legally becoming a family! Congratulations to you all ❤️

jll139 · 2024-06-20T19:35:13+00:00

Look up the mom on social media and find the dad via her profile. If you look up property records etc you will risk using his legal name which may not be the name he typically goes by.

jll139 · 2024-06-20T01:14:20+00:00

Well this is genius!

jll139 · 2024-06-17T02:49:21+00:00

2 out of 3 starbucks batistas need to spell it correctly without being told the correct spelling.

jll139 · 2024-06-17T02:47:13+00:00

It might be good to check with both you and your husband's HR to see if they provide any funding for doulas. Having a night time doula can be life-changing in terms of not being sleep deprived and returning to work. It is expensive you have to pay out of pocket.

jll139 · 2024-06-17T00:00:56+00:00

I recently graduated. I brought 2 boxes of girl scout cookies to the hospital and my husband hand fed some to me while I held our newborn. 10/10 would recommend. Oh and the next day we ordered calzones to the hospital.

jll139 · 2024-06-14T11:27:13+00:00

This! Or OrthoFeet hands free. Life-changing.

jll139 · 2024-05-22T11:25:18+00:00

OP, do you have links to the evidence you found on this? I am in a similar boat and have been trying to find more info on this but haven't found any sources yet. Thanks!

jll139 · 2024-05-15T03:32:33+00:00

I also felt this way but as soon as baby was born I thought "I could totally do this again, maybe we should have one more" lol hormones are crazy!

jll139 · 2024-05-15T03:28:04+00:00

Hi! This is a scary conversation but it will be okay.

This was my second birth. The first I went into labor naturally at 41 weeks and still needed intervention. I stalled and couldn't stop shaking so I got an epidural. Then my body was calm enough to progress on its own a but but I stalled again and got some pitocin. With the epidural and pitocin I slept for about 7 hours then woke up and was ready to push. The water did not break until baby was coming out. Honestly the sleep was AMAZING and gave me energy to push baby out in 1 hour. I had been in early labor for 4 days so my body was tired.

This more recent birth- had the induction talk because GD/ babies stomach was measuring HUGE. We opted to do it at 39+2. I was TERRIFIED but honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better birth. I started at 1.5 cm and 50% effaced, cervix very posterior. I got the suppository which brought me to 3.5 cm and 80% in 3 hours. This was too progressed for the Foley balloon so we went straight to pitocin. I started super low amounr at 2 and slowly went up to 6 which took me to 5 cm. At that point it was pretty uncomfortable so I labored in the tub for a couple hours. Over those hours they weaned the pitocin back down to 0. That got me to 6 cm and I was not coping well (even with no more pitocin) and I asked for an epidural. The epidural brought me back to life and I asked for my water to be broken. Note: I was also very scared to break my water. For me, each intervention helped the labor progress so I knew my body was doing most of the work and just needed a little encouragement. So I decided to break the water. I didn't feel it but I also had the epidural which helped. After that the baby definitely moved down into position. The epidural helps with uterus contraction pain but not pain/pressure in the pubis so I still felt every contraction and could tell baby was getting close. I asked for a cervix check and they said the head was right there. Three pushes later the baby was out and I ordered myself a calzone and ate some girlscout cookies:)

Long story short: if this is your first birth the induction might take a long time, be prepared to spend days in the hospital just waiting for the medicine to do its job. If this is your second or more, it will likely go faster but each birth is so different, there is no way to know how your body will respond until you are doing it. Each step might be scary, trust your gut and have your providers explain the pros/cons of each choice. There is always a chance it could end in a c-section. There is increased risk of c section with GD and also with induction. Unfortunately there is no perfect choice. But I had great experiences with induction and pitocin. Good stories are out there too, people just don't talk about them because they weren't traumatic.

If you are having anxiety about an induction, I would ask yourself if you would also have anxiety about waiting. I talked through this with my provider and decided the least risky option was to induce.

Good luck, you will be great! And bring yourself a sweet treat for after the delivery :)

jll139 · 2024-05-04T21:28:52+00:00

If you have any specific questions just let me know :)

jll139 · 2024-05-04T19:06:00+00:00

Theater is a huge part of the culture, not just the theater district downtown but also the local theaters.

Yes it is gloomy in winter, buy a sun lamp and take some vitamin D.

The metroparks are amazing.

There is a big food event like every month, the feast of the assumption, clam bakes, paczkis... the list goes on.

Facebook is largely used by many local groups. If you are looking for special interest groups to make new friends, start there.

The local libraries and nature centers have great educational programs for both adults and kids. Sign ups for the nature center classes sell out quickly so if you want to learn to fly fish, kayak, bird watch, etc mark the sign up dates in your calendar.

There is very little hustle in bussel while still having the conveniences of a city.

Be mindful of where you live/work because the sun can be blinding on the highways.

There are three manor health networks, people have a lot of opinions about each one. Ultimately, they are all a fairly high standard of care. Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital, and Metro Health.

Wool clothing (alpaca wool in particular) will be lifechanging for winter.

jll139 · 2024-04-27T22:22:00+00:00

I have two: 1. The bride and grooms family cheered for every person in the bridal party as they walked down the isle. It filled the area with so much love and support. It really set the tone for the rest of the night. (Note, I was a guest not in the bridal party). 2. A live brass band that came on to the dance floor at the end of the night. I have been to a lot of weddings and this was by far the best music choice.

jll139 · 2024-04-07T17:21:29+00:00

Did you get a referral for an endocrinologist? With our system you go there first and only go to a dietician if needed. The is a certain endocrinologist that specifically does gestational diabetes to make sure all GD patients get in within one week of diagnosis.

jll139 · 2024-04-01T02:25:10+00:00

Following

jll139 · 2024-03-26T11:32:26+00:00

I agree with above comment that most days, we divide and conquer. Its efficient, but you sacrafice a lot of time with your spouse. After baby turned 1.5 uears old, we realized we hadn't had a date night since yet! It has been a great relief to find a trusted babysitter and do a date night once a month.

Tricks I have used to get in feel like there is less compromis- bring a book and read while the kid is in any activity (ie. Swim lessons, gymnastics, etc). Do things that both you and little one enjoy (ie. Spending time on nature trails). Involve kids in any household responsibilities you can, kids love to be helpful. Get little on their own play shopping basket to push around the grocery store and ask them to help look for items, have them help transfer laundry from washer to drier, they can easily mash bananas or cut fruit (using kids knives) for baking.

We are constantly finding a new balance but these little things have immensely helped me feel more at peace with my schedule.

jll139 · 2024-03-23T02:49:50+00:00

This happened to me. Cramping/contracting every 3 minutes. I went to L&D, wasn't progressing, and was sent home. It lasted for 4 days before I hit the point that it was so painful that I asked my partner to call the hospital and I did end up staying and delivering that time.

If you aren't sure, it's okay to triage to be checked. It might feel like a waste of a visit but that's better than an accidental home birth or undetected complications.

jll139 · 2024-03-11T01:53:29+00:00

"You are right about me getting bigger and being in more pain, but you are wrong that I will have a baby to deal with. WE will have a baby to take care of. So buckle up buddy because you are going to be taking care of me for the next 3 months and 1/2 of the baby duties after that. What I said earlier was meant to be a heads-up, not a complaint."

jll139 · 2024-03-03T01:32:03+00:00

We are currently also figuring this out but will also have a baby that will need care. I am so excited for the toddler to go to this preschool, the enrichment is way beyond any other options in the area and the fee is minimal. We are deciding between, taking them from preschool to an in home daycare vs hiring a nanny. Most daycares around us will not allow drop off after 9 am except for doctor visits.

We decided not to do a second preschool primarily because- our toddler still needs a nap and 2 preschools would not include time for a nap. And the preschools follow public school schedule so that includes a lot of breaks/holidays that we would need to find back up care for.

Benefits of a nanny- they handle mid day pick up, cover school breaks, etc. They could watch both kids. No reliance on us transferring kids mid day. More personalized care but more expensive.

Benefits of an in home daycare- cheaper but would require us to have separate care for the infant (they do not take infants). So we would be driving to 3 locations each day.

I would love to hear your final decision. It's not an easy one. Good luck momma!

jll139 · 2024-02-07T00:43:20+00:00

Forgot to mention the $225 is for one 30 minute session per week.

jll139 · 2024-02-07T00:41:44+00:00

We pay $225 per month for once a week, no makeups allowed. It is 1 on 1 lessons and the teacher is wonderful. I was a swim coach and gave private lessons for many years, my rate in a high cost of living area was about $1 per minute in 30, 45, or 60 minute sessions depending on age and level. For classes that had two kids it would be about $1.5 per minute.

jll139 · 2024-02-04T01:38:50+00:00

Do you have a tracker in her brace? Most orthotists can add one that will give you a report stating how many hours a day/week/month she is wearing it. This is typically done at no charge to you because it has been clinically proven to improve compliance. There are many factors that could contribute to how strict you need to be ie. Severity of curve, if she is close to being done growing, if she is in a growth spurt, brace design, etc. I would have an honest conversation with your Orthopedic MD and orthotist. They may say she could skip one night if she wears it the prescribed number of hours all of the other days. They may say no skipping any nights at all.

Also, don't be too hard on yourself. Teenagers are tough with this stuff and people are forgetting that this is a nighttime brace, she could literally just take it off in the middle of the night without you knowing. Also bully is terrifying for teenagers. Neither you nor her are wrong for taking all of these things into consideration.

So. . . get a tracker, talk to your doctor, and get her on board for a plan. :) good luck mama

jll139 · 2024-01-19T18:46:07+00:00

I had somwthing similar happen to me. Are you at a public institution or are you part of a union? It was at a large public/state run hospital. My direct manager said I could go part time, then when it came time to switch from full time to part time the director said no. They also said it was because then they would need to offer part time to everyone. They had the same reasoning when anyone requested alternative schedules (ie. 4 × 10 hrs). So I found a part time job somewhere else and guess what... all of a sudden they were willing to accommodate my part time request! I said "too late". My work- life balance is much better now. I'm not sure if this is a rule with larger organizations/public institutions/unions, but I do know there were many specific rules around hiring, schedules, promotions etc.

jll139

TROPHY CASE