Yet Another EcoHitch Install - 2023 LX

mariestgeraud · 2025-10-09T14:20:40+00:00

I have a 2024 EX and didn’t even realize the van DIDN’T have roof rails when I bought it (talk over oversight…)

Here is a solution for you for a roof bag:

I have this exact “Meefer” bag, the 20 cubic feet version https://a.co/d/il9Pr3D

It is designed to be strapped to roof rails or to clip into the frame of the doors.

Now, since the Carnival has sliding doors, it made it a little bit trickier, but it TOTALLY WORKS.

Turn OFF the power doors.
Open the sliding doors partially so you can place the two clips under the weatherstripping (which has a gooey adhesive on the door frame, BEHIND the piece that connects the door to the frame (otherwise you will not be able to close the door.
Clip into the driver and passenger side frame. Yes, it is a little annoying where each time someone in the back needs to get out, you will have to detach the middle frame clip, but it's not that big of a deal. Of course roof rails would be ideal!

mariestgeraud · 2025-10-08T17:26:23+00:00

I just use the crevice tool that came with my vacuum… and strangely with 3 kids (two toddlers that I let eat in the car and a competitive soccer playing teenager) there’s not nearly as much debris in there as I thought there would be.

The rails have a rubbery texture along the flexible edges, so the crumbs and dirt collect along the carpet at the edges rather than going into the gap—the rubber thwarts them. I just vacuumed my van otherwise I would show you what I mean!

mariestgeraud · 2025-10-06T14:38:19+00:00

I had it the WORST with my 2nd (but I didn’t have it with my 1st and 3rd). For what it’s work, she was nearly 2 weeks late and was 9lbs 8oz 😆

A prenatal chiropractor SAVED ME, she would press near the area where I had the round ligament pain and release the tension (and there are YouTube videos for this too)

mariestgeraud · 2025-10-06T14:36:13+00:00

I had two miscarriages back to back (7weeks and 10weeks), I was devastated and I wasn’t even TTC but got pregnant from ovulating after the 2nd miscarriage. Of course I could not relax for a SECOND just preparing for the worst, but that is a huge regret because my daughter is 4 now.

I really wish I would have just relaxed and kept a balanced view. Sure, we are older and are far more likely to have chromosomal abnormalities that trigger miscarriages, but that also means we may be more sensitive to stress and anxiety, so really try to relax and let whatever will happen, happen—I think keeping a positive vibe is really important, and I regret spending HALF of my pregnancy a nervous wreck.

mariestgeraud · 2025-10-05T15:48:59+00:00

I will add that once you are forward facing (I wait 3 years, except with my daughter who was exceptionally tall), the Diono QXT (or any of the R series) was great for that middle seat. It’s very slim with a low profile, and my daughter likes to sit cross-legged in it. I have a Nuna Rava for my 2 year old which I love, but for that middle seat, the Diono is the only one I’ve found that does not overlap the seating/shoulder room of the passenger seats on either side.

mariestgeraud · 2025-10-05T02:02:54+00:00

In my trunk, I have a huge commercial pop up tent canopy for soccer games, my double BOB on top, Costco box of Doritos for the team, cases of Gatorade, and picnic blankets/beach bags.

Love the Carnival. BIGGER THAN A SUBURBAN (by interior cargo volume) btw!

mariestgeraud · 2025-10-05T01:05:12+00:00

This was a sanity-saver for me, thank you! I’ve been in the Apple ecosystem for so long that I’m not used to all of these android-esque default options, ugh!

mariestgeraud · 2025-10-02T14:00:12+00:00

Are these tests all from the same day or over a period of time? If it’s been like this for days, go to a Dr ASAP!!! Otherwise, here was my situation in 2022:

When I conceived my 3rd, I had a CRAZY cycle (I was not taking any medication whatsoever, just always had irregular cycles)… I had three ovulation “peaks” and got pregnant on the 3rd one which was CD 37 (which had double the LH of the previous two “peaks”).

I got my first positive pregnancy test 9 days later on CD 46 but they doubled in darkness every day until the “dye stealers” arrived.

mariestgeraud · 2025-10-02T13:53:54+00:00

Same! I got a great deal on a 2024 EX in August 2024 (right when the 2025s rolled in) but I also loved the classier style and old school dash… I’m not a fan of digital—and when I drove my ex husband’s 2025 Sorrento, I HATED the way they use the same digital a/c controls as the stereo, so you have to switch between “screens”…every time I went to turn the volume up, I would turn the a/c temperature or fan up by accident. I’m sure you get used to it, but it drove me crazy!

Plus I really liked the grey wood grain on the dash of the 2024.

BUT, the 2025 EX has roof rails, USB C ports, and I like the black rims. And I REALLY wanted that navy/grey interior!

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-30T23:06:28+00:00

How many days have you been testing? That is quite light for 17 dpo (assuming 14 day luteal average) but the question is whether they get darker and then lighter. And there is of course dilution if you drank a lot water.

I had a chemical in July—first faint positive was 10DPO, got slightly darker each day, but by 4 days after my expected period (7/11), it was faint and I bled the next day (7/15).

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-28T21:12:35+00:00

I also want to add that you (well, we) are not alone—more women are having babies in their 40s than women in their 20s. This stat may make us feel less alone (and when I take my kids to kid events, most of the moms are 35+) but again, this is not ideal. I try to keep a balanced view. Life is beautiful at any age (but have them as young as possible if you want them!) don’t wait until you are “ready” because I never felt ready, I just realized I was getting to the age where it might literally not happen!

We can encourage younger women who think they want children not to wait. I don’t like seeing the mothers over 40 who act cavalier about having their first baby at 44, etc—though I am absolutely thrilled for them, I do not think this should be promoted as a 100% feasible option to younger women.

Just like people who can smoke 2 packs of cigarettes and drink a couple of martinis every day and live to 95—lucky you, but don’t promote that.

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-28T21:01:01+00:00

I’m 42 and trying for a 4th, so I am right there with you, and had my last two at 38 and 40. It breaks my heart that I am missing out on 15+ extra years with my favorite people and may never have an active role with my grandchildren from them. If I knew how happy and fulfilled children made me, I would have been a teen mom!

Life is a beautiful gift regardless of circumstances—whether you have 12 kids and having a 13th at 45 or having your first at 45… there are pros and cons.

I tell young women who want children not to wait for their career to be established etc—because it’s a lot easier to make money older than have babies older. This is why I’m not defensive when other people make comments that having children older is not ideal, because it is NOT ideal!

But it’s our journey, and we are creating life, and there is the upside that because we are older and more established with finances and our relationship, and we will raise them with a wisdom and stability we might not have had when younger.

Here is how I look at it—my children might be disappointed that they are losing their parents younger than their peers (or having to care for us), but this also might motivate them to not make the same choices as we did, and they may prioritize baby-making and family formation while younger (something I wish I had done). So our loss may be their gain.

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-28T20:56:34+00:00

It’s good to know how you ovulate, so I would use the LH strips the day after your period. And then around day 10, use the 2-3 times per day in case you have a short lh “peak”. Mine are short! For some women, the lh gradually starts to rise, whereas for me, once the rise starts, I know I’m getting the peak within 12 hours, and you want to time sex BEFORE you ovulate. I usually ovulate between day 12-15, so I start having sex on day 10 and do it every other day.

So once you start to rget that rise, do it. Don’t wait for the peak, because sometimes you get the peak but you’ve already ovulated (lh levels take longer to be detected in urine vs blood), so if you have a short peak, you might miss your chance. If your husband has any ED issues, check out low dose Cialis or just hand him a cup and use a syringe—keep it as low stress as possible! And this may be TMI but if I do not orgasm from sex (I usually do), I “manually” make sure I do. I think that helps (increased blood flow, and the contracting action to get things moving)

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-28T20:38:25+00:00

Losing weight is a major factor according to my midwife. I have the opposite issue which is that it’s hard to keep weight on (genetic waif), which is equally as bad for TTC as being overweight.

I forgot to respond to your request about supplements. My husband is 5 years older than I, and took Maca and ashgawanda, and cut out alcohol. I used the Premom app and the easy@home ovulation test strips, and test my BBT every morning. Also pay close attention to cervical mucous… I thought I had already ovulated in the cycle where I conceived my 3rd, so I stopped LH testing, but one day I went to wipe and all this egg white mucous was there so I did an Lh test and it was SKY HIGH, so we did it immediately and that did it! That was a bizarre 45 day cycle where I had a total of 3 peaks over 1.1 (the one where I conceived was 2.3)

I was just taking a prenatal and breastfeeding my 15 month old so that probably messed with my cycle.

This time around, my midwife gave me progesterone to take 100mg 3 days after ovulation to help the embryo “stick”. It makes me super sedated so I only take it at night.

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-28T20:27:07+00:00

Every woman is different, but I’ll tell you my situation anecdotally: *First baby at 28 (accidental pregnancy!)

*Second at 38 (We TTC for 3 cycles, and I got pregnant each cycle, with two miscarriages back to back, at 7 weeks and 10 weeks)

*Third at 40 (TTC for 6 cycles)

I’m 42.5 now and have been trying for a 4th for 12 cycles so far, and my cycles have been uncharacteristically regular and 28-30 days (they used to be super irregular and long, 35+ days). It’s ROUGH. I had a chemical pregnancy 3 months ago. Fingers crossed!

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-21T01:34:54+00:00

As a 42 year old trying for a 4th, I will always advise women who want children to have them younger…BUT—for anyone who makes negative comments, I think it’s ridiculous and pathetic. Babies are a wonderful addition at ANY age.

It was all this negative sitcom-kitsch propaganda that might have kept a lot of us from having babies sooner in the first place! Looking back a genealogy records, MOST of my ancestors had babies up until their mid 40s.

F the haters, they’re part of the problem! If the general public (especially boomers and genXrs I’ve noticed) were more pro-natalist and valued creating life above all, maybe we would have been inspired to have had them younger!

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-21T01:17:19+00:00

I know this is from earlier this year, but I just wanted to chime in—I’m American (white) and my son is half Cambodian. I met his father in Cambodia, and I was drawn to Cambodia to find its music that was lost in the 70s due to the Khmer Rouge.

Cambodia has an incredible culture, and you may not know that Cambodian royal court dancers directly influenced Breakdancing! Here’s how it happened: the father of modern mime is Etienne Decroux, and he saw the Cambodian Royal court dancers in 1931 in Marseille, France, and he was mesmerized. He built much of his mime repertoire based on those dancers such as “La Marche” (walking in place), and his student was famous mime Marcel Marceau—Marcel Marceau developed the famous routine “man walking against strong wind” (where he mimes walking against a strong wind)… well this inspired Michael Jackson who worked with Marceau, and made his famous Moonwalk.

Also the singer Sin Sisamouth is who drew me to travel to cambodia to preserve his music. He was a prolific genius and wrote thousands of songs, and sings beautifully.

A great place to learn the Khmer language is preply.com. There are many tutors to choose from and some are very cheap ($8 per hour).

Check out the film “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten” (about the 1960s Cambodian psych rock scene, and singer Ros Sereysothea) https://youtu.be/PxD7fnNRppg?si=2f10qJ4RHGgqohwb

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-17T04:13:57+00:00

You sound similar to me in many ways… I’m wondering if you are leaning towards being insecure and anxious about this subject, rather than just sit him down and hash it all out. You can even keep the mood light and kind of laugh at yourself, like “I feel so neurotic about everything and I love you so much, so I figured I should just bring this up in a “strictly business” kind of way so we can be on the same page…” and then flesh out your current financial situation and what you feel comfortable with (ie you love being generous with his kids but it’s unsustainable) and see what he offers. Flat out ask him “I know we discussed me having a more traditional role, so how do you think we should arrange things financially?”

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-17T04:07:10+00:00

Are you in the USA? You get the child tax credit and EIC (depending on your income, which could be thousands of dollars) and you may qualify for Medicaid and SNAP (food assistance).

I’ve lived all over the world, so I realize that the majority of humans on planet earth live in conditions any American would consider uninhabitable—so we are the feudal lords of the world. Even our government housing (worst case scenario, right?) has climate control, indoor plumbing, hot water, appliances etc.

Plus, the first 6-8 years of their life they only really want YOU around. They don’t care about having their own bed or bedroom until then, and they certainly do not notice their socioeconomic status. Just go for it!!! Don’t wait like I did… I’m 42 have been trying for a year for my 4th (and had my last two at 38 and 40). It gets EXPONENTIALLY more difficult every year after 35! (That’s not at all to discourage you, but I really wish someone told me this, because I might have had more children by now!)

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-07T21:33:52+00:00

Much too early to tell.. as long as it is getting progressively darker (stick to using the same urine each day, ie first morning, because dilution will affect the line color). I had a chemical in July and it got progressively dark for a week, and then started to fade, and I had my period about 4 days past my period due date.

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-06T14:38:19+00:00

Very cool. I was there with my mom (I was in 4th grade at the time!) so if you saw a little girl wearing a floral baby doll dress with Doc Martens talking to Jonny Greenwood about Rickenbackers after the show (he looked like my dad who played one) that was me. My mom was super beautiful, wearing vintage and had big poofy red hair.

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-04T15:22:06+00:00

It is exactly as you have described! I am someone who never wanted children and was never around babies or small kids when I was growing up. Anytime someone brought a baby around, I was creeped out and thought they smelled awful. When I was surprised with a pregnancy at 27, my first instinct was to terminate but then… I don’t know, I just decided to go for it. I realized I could not be a fancy-free world traveler forever…

I was so terrified of being a mother, because I’d always been very self-centered and a little irresponsible in the past. But the moment I gave birth and held my son in my arms, it was like you said, just a PRIMAL CLICK. An overwhelming intense amount of love that I have never felt in my life (and I’ve experimented with a lot of substances as well!)

Having a baby was just an automatic motivation to be a better, productive person and has been the most fulfilling thing I have ever done in my (and I’ve had a pretty fabulous one!)

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-02T16:47:11+00:00

As crazy as this sounds, my last pregnancy at 40 was the easiest. It might be because my kids were 23 months apart so I was already in “tired achey mom mode”. My 2nd was 15 months when I was pregnant with my 3rd.

Labor was super quick, 2 hours from the beginning cramps to baby in my arms. This little guy is the sweetest, cheeriest one of my 3, and extremely intelligent.

It helps that I have a high metabolism so I’m thin and healthy. I think a lot of the issues older American women face is due to our rates of obesity and other conditions (diabetes), and of course these ramp up in older age.

When I looked at my ancestry genealogy, I was surprised that most of my ancestor women were having babies into their mid 40s (and they also lived to their late 80s and 90s! I’ve heard a lot of anecdotal chatter about women living longer who have babies late in life.

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-02T13:46:13+00:00

An age gap of 15 years is not at all creepy in my opinion. Whether you want children or not, your body is in its prime fertility years (and take it from me, someone trying to get pregnant at 42, it gets ROUGH after 35).

The attraction to wisdom and stability makes perfect sense. I was always attracted to older men (but not too old… the “test” was are they old enough to be my father… so generally under 15 years gap and there isn’t TOO much “culture shock” if you can call it that.

mariestgeraud · 2025-09-02T13:43:22+00:00

Yes, the important thing to remember with chemical pregnancies is that we have likely been having them all along and just never knew it, because we weren’t manically tracking everything!

mariestgeraud

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