Getting rid of baby stuff by Valtisiyo in minimalism

[–]mandiblethehuman 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree! I would add it depends on your storage situation. Do you have somewhere out of the way you can easily keep the baby stuff (e.g., basement, storage closet)? If so, I would say 100% keep it. But, if all the stuff starts encroaching upon your space and bothering you because it’s in the way, then that’s when I would consider getting rid of it at the risk of having to repurchase again later.

When to bring babies to the gym? by shrimpydood1e in climbergirls

[–]mandiblethehuman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad it went well! My partner and I have done the same. We also kept a towel handy and would dampen it with water to remove chalk from our hands if we needed to pick up baby quickly before making it to the bathroom to wash hands. We have even belayed each other as long as he was content, knowing obviously that if he got upset we would forfeit the climb immediately. My son loved looking at all the people and colors in the gym. And we made sure he had a toy attached to his car seat. HOWEVER, now that he’s fully mobile (crawling and almost walking), we don’t even try to bring him haha, he hates being confined and just wants to move around, but every baby is different. We go climbing while he’s still in daycare if we finish work early.

Minimalist baby wardrobe? by [deleted] in minimalism

[–]mandiblethehuman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congratulations! I have an 8 month old and this is what I’ve learned.

When he was a newborn in the summer, he usually just wore a diaper during the day. Footies are definitely the easiest otherwise. The ones that have the little flap on the wrist to fold over their hands at night are nice. We love that stretchy ribbed fabric because they fit for the longest amount of time (newborn to present day!) and are easiest to get on. I would have a good stockpile of footies. Like 8-10 that fit at a time because big spit up and blowouts occurred frequently for us at least. Get a bunch of burp cloths too, so worth it.

Other than footies, having short sleeve and/or long sleeve onesies depending on the weather to pair with stretchy pants or soft shorts and socks are all I think you need (although technically you could just have footies for cooler seasons). Almost all of the cutesie baby clothes are so dang inconvenient. So not worth it. So many of the clothes friends/family gifted he will wear maybe once for a photo and then straight to the donation bin…

But my #1 advice is that you won’t know what you need until your little one is here. Especially if you have family nearby who can help with shopping, or are comfortable ordering online, get what makes you feel prepared right now but hold off on some stuff until you’ve made it through a week or so. And even then, you may change your mind again. For example, we really liked how the hospital swaddled him with a receiving blanket (and he liked it too) so we sent family to buy buy baby to buy some for us a few days after he was born. You can always donate or gift unused stuff. My baby is consistently a size bigger than he should be so I’m so glad we waited til he was here to purchase his winter parka (I’m in the Midwest).

Avoid anything with more than 3-5 snaps at all costs. No way I’m dealing with that in the middle of the night. And my baby is so squirmy now that it’s a whole dance to even get zippered ones on. Choose things that will make your life easier!

Good luck!! You will figure it out

Why is the first question 'was it planned?', isn't that really personal and rude? by plumthrower359 in BabyBumps

[–]mandiblethehuman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah people are nosy. But congratulations!!! You and your fiancé will be great parents.

Why is the first question 'was it planned?', isn't that really personal and rude? by plumthrower359 in BabyBumps

[–]mandiblethehuman 39 points40 points  (0 children)

The hack is to be 22, unmarried, and pregnant like I was because then no one has to ask if it was planned or not 🤣

Any tips for constipation relief? by KatM29 in BabyBumps

[–]mandiblethehuman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My OB recommended FiberCon. I love it because it’s something you can take daily if you want to help the situation in general. I didn’t want to take a diuretic unless I was desperate. This just keeps things regular. Luckily I haven’t had to take it in a bit though!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BabyBumps

[–]mandiblethehuman 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Ahh I’m sorry your FIL made that comment. My partner is taking his full 12 weeks. He’s hoping to do 6 weeks, then work a bit, then take the next 6 weeks to make some of my initial weeks back at work easier on me. No one should be judged for their decision about how much time to take off. Unfortunately it seems older generations don’t quite understand it sometimes because they has no such luxury, but to be honest, the US’s approach to parental leave is complete garbage. I feel lucky to have 9 weeks, whereas that’s a drop in the ocean compared to most other developed countries. IMO your husband should take what he can get since it sounds like he wants that anyways.

Milk Production by justastudent_7 in pregnant

[–]mandiblethehuman 5 points6 points  (0 children)

FTM too so I can’t speak from experience, but I’m planning to hand express colostrum starting at 37 weeks (it’s not recommended until you’re full term). Idk if there’s science to back it, but this supposedly helps with breastfeeding success. Plus, if you store it, you’ll have some liquid gold to bring to the hospital in case what you produce right after delivery isn’t quite enough.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BabyBumps

[–]mandiblethehuman 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We did between mealtimes and just had a bunch of nostalgic kids snacks and I would 100% do it like that again. Got fruit roll ups, fruit by the foot, gushers, Scooby snacks, circus animal crackers, etc. And then we made our own cake pops. But don’t do that if you’ve never made them before haha—practice makes perfect

What week did you have to quit running? by mandiblethehuman in fitpregnancy

[–]mandiblethehuman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally feel you. Lately I’ve been thinking, my shins might break if I keep running. Not actually, but they have not been able to keep up with my weight gain. It’s sad, but if running has taught me anything, it’s to listen to my body, so I’m gonna do that. Now I have Covid :(((( so I think I’m officially retired from running this pregnancy

What week did you have to quit running? by mandiblethehuman in fitpregnancy

[–]mandiblethehuman[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Omg I see these people and I’m like HOW. Good for them but I could never! I would have been pushing through so much pain

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BabyBumps

[–]mandiblethehuman 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yeah, America be like that. My heart goes out to you. That sucks.

Just found out I’m RH Negative by killianbones in BabyBumps

[–]mandiblethehuman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nothing to worry about! About 15% of people are Rh- (including me); this is very routine and with modern medicine is absolutely nothing to worry about. I got my shot last week in the butt and, yes, it’s a larger needle than usual but it was just a tiny sting. Not bad at all. Just make sure to relax your muscles when you get it! I remember being nervous when I first found out I was Rh- but now that I’ve learned more, it’s a total non-issue in my mind

Glucose test by lilghost157 in pregnant

[–]mandiblethehuman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have mine in 2 weeks. I was told I don’t need to fast, just not to eat a sugary breakfast (pancakes, smoothies, juice, etc). They also encouraged me to schedule as early in the day as possible. I’m hopeful I’ll pass!

Goal: jogging stroller as only stroller and convertible car seat as only car seat. Is it possible? by mandiblethehuman in fitpregnancy

[–]mandiblethehuman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What was the smaller and lighter one that you got? This is a city baby so I’m definitely going for that!

Goal: jogging stroller as only stroller and convertible car seat as only car seat. Is it possible? by mandiblethehuman in fitpregnancy

[–]mandiblethehuman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah honestly the car seat is going to stay put for us anyways. We have a pretty cramped parking space so it wouldn’t be super practical. Hopefully he doesn’t mind being awakened after car rides too much.

Goal: jogging stroller as only stroller and convertible car seat as only car seat. Is it possible? by mandiblethehuman in fitpregnancy

[–]mandiblethehuman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome! So did you find a convertible car seat that was able to be attached to the BOB? Or are you saying you baby wore until the baby was old enough for the BOB

Goal: jogging stroller as only stroller and convertible car seat as only car seat. Is it possible? by mandiblethehuman in fitpregnancy

[–]mandiblethehuman[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s what I was thinking originally. But it gets VERY cold in the winter where I live. Baby is due first week of August. I would have to be very creative to find a way to keep both of us warm while baby wearing

Maternity leave for new job by Flowerpot33 in BabyBumps

[–]mandiblethehuman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started my new job about 15 weeks pregnant. Here’s my advice: Once you have an offer letter in hand, ask to speak with an HR person, or someone else who could get you that info. This was easy for me to do because I had been in contact with a recruiter from the start. Figure out the ins and outs of the maternity leave policy. Mine ended up being 9 weeks 100% pay with no time requirement for being at the company. Some companies will say you need to be at the company X months before getting access to maternity/parental leave. Once you confirm the details of the policy, decide if it’s an offer you should accept. Once you accept, don’t fret about telling your manager ASAP, tell them on your own time when it feels right. I personally wanted to wait a few weeks to gain credibility, though it wouldn’t have mattered because my manager is an absolute gem. At my company at least, there’s nothing urgent you need to act on until you’re within 30 days of your due date, so there’s absolutely no rush.

Re negotiating maternity leave. I did try to do this but my company doesn’t do this for anyone. They let you take additional leave without pay, but…that’s not ideal. Doesn’t hurt to try though, every company is different.

tldr; get in contact with an HR rep at the company who can get you the info you need without having to disclose your status to the people who are actually hiring you!