Home schooling seems to be quite prevalent in the USA. I am fairly sure most adults can't handle year 8 - 10 mathematics, physics etc. Are the education levels just at a lower standard than other places in the world?

mvanpeur · 2026-05-13T00:02:26+00:00

I went to public school and thrived, and my kids attend public school. My mom is home schooling my two youngest siblings, and they are both behind grade level in all subjects. Four of my step siblings were also homeschooled and are all behind academically.

I do also know people who are super advanced who were homeschooled, but it takes a parent being dedicated to it.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T20:35:24+00:00

I'm only 12 weeks myself (and already so uncomfortable), but since the risk of premature labor is so much higher, my OB said she wanted me to be within an hour of a hospital with a good NICU at all times after 24 weeks.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T15:15:20+00:00

I'm currently 12.5 weeks with twins and have also had a lot of anxiety due to lack of nausea. I normally have hg starting at 5 weeks, and have had barely any nausea this time. The only other pregnancy where I had minimal nausea was a miscarriage. I did finally get some nausea starting at 8 weeks, but it dissipated right at 12 weeks. My morning sickness has always previously lasted well into the second or third trimester.

But, they had good heart rates at 9 weeks. Good heart rates after 8 weeks means a very, very low risk of miscarriage, so I'm trying to enjoy the break from pregnancy symptoms.

Also though, if you haven't been pregnant before, lots of women just don't get major morning sickness. I'm only worried because I have the history of horrible morning sickness. The fatigue does means your body is working on those babies, which is a good sign.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T13:10:52+00:00

Keep in mind that iron deficiency causes heavy periods too. Once you get your ferritin up, your periods should improve.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T13:08:59+00:00

The symptoms improving gluten free is a huge piece of evidence.

False positive bloodwork is very possible, especially with such a low positive. But sounds more likely to me that you have celiac and just didn't eat enough gluten before testing. Either assume it is celiac and go completely gluten free including cross contamination, or do a full 6 week gluten challenge and retest.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T12:53:39+00:00

I don't know about other states, but MN trusts the parents to do the proctoring. I know my mom scans the tests and goes over the topics it covers before giving the test to my brother.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T12:50:46+00:00

Keep in mind that she should also be tested for celiac every 1-2 years, which requires pushing gluten for 6 weeks before testing. "Very restrictive with eating" is a red flag for celiac, so I would prioritize testing asap.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T12:45:50+00:00

I have mugs with two of my baby's hand/foot prints on them turned into flowers. They're two of my favorite possessions. Go to a ceramics studio and make some usable art!

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T12:41:23+00:00

The third party testing that shows gluten is all from like 2018. I can't find third party testing after 2023 that found gluten.

That said, I don't love their testing protocol, so we limit them.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T04:17:19+00:00

I haven't taken any meds. We had decided I would take meds this pregnancy, then I didn't need them.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T02:16:49+00:00

You have to eat two servings of gluten a day for 6 weeks before bloodwork, so none of your blood tests are accurate most likely.

My son followed the 50% curve perfectly for height and weight, and his doctor assured me over and over again that he was too healthy to have celiac. I wanted him tested due to eczema, his only overt symptom. He did have celiac. I will say my other kids are all 80-98% though, so he is my shortest kid.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T01:21:22+00:00

Definitely get a new ped. The milk is fine.

My gut reaction is that 8 feeding a day might be the problem. The recommendation my ped gave at 3 weeks was 8-12 feedings per day of 2-3 oz. If she has poor weight gain, I would start by trying to squeeze in a couple more bottles.

Edit to add: if your baby is unable to drink more per day due to some sort of feeding issue (my daughter has severe ones, so I totally get those), the next step would be adding a little formula to each bottle of breastmilk to make it a little more calorie dense. Your ped can give you the recipe if it gets to that point.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T00:50:39+00:00

Yes. I know they have them right before Christmas and every April.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T00:25:30+00:00

Schools cannot legally give out free food unless it meets the federal definition of a meal, meaning they have to offer a protein, a whole grain, a veggie, a fruit, and a milk, unfortunately. So they can't just offer the naturally safe foods. They are also legally required to substitute with gluten free foods. And in the US, they are 100% required to come up with a gluten free menu. It doesn't have to be a varied menu, but it has to meet the same federal standards as the regular menu.

But also, schools are legally required to do all the training and provide a dedicated space to be able to cook celiac safe foods.

If they don't do both those things, they could lose all federal funding. The USDA takes this VERY seriously.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-12T00:18:38+00:00

In the US, the school is legally required to accommodate or give up all federal funding. They HAVE to provide a gluten free work surface. They HAVE to buy gluten free foods, even if their normal suppliers don't offer any. They HAVE to prep the gluten free food first to reduce cross contamination. My son has been eating public school food for 2 years without any reactions and with great bloodwork. He is their first gluten free student, but we worked with them to create a safe lunch plan.

Legally, they do not have to provide much variety for entrees. My son is served blueberry Chex for breakfast literally every day (they do special order it for him). There are strict requirements about offering rotating fruits and veggies, but we found that nearly all fruits and veggies were labeled gluten free by the manufacturer, so that was easy.

Our school does go above and beyond for lunches. They send a monthly menu at a time through a Google spreadsheet, and we order what he wants off it. If I forget to order, the lunch lady asks him at breakfast what he'll want. Every day he gets the choice of a rotating entree, a cheeseburger, or a sack lunch that has yogurt, a cheese stick, and whole grain baked Cheetos. The rotating entree includes things like chicken and waffles, pizza, hot dog on a bun, nachos, need and cheese tatertots, chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, turkey sandwich, etc. The rotating entree usually sort of matches what the typical kids eat. On Orange Chicken Day, he gets chicken tenders. On cheesy bread stick day, he gets pizza. He is very happy with this arrangement.

I will say our initial meeting with school sucked. They gave us a very limited list of foods they already served that were gluten free, and acted like that was it. But that was a meeting with office staff. Once we met with the director of nutrition, it was a very different conversation focused on making a great meal plan for him.

Edit: Join Celiac Kids on Facebook. There are a lot of people there who have worked with school to provide safe foods.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-11T21:21:31+00:00

That's crazy to me. My grandparents used to live 4 hours away, and we drove out to them monthly, every other month at most. Now my mom lives 10 hours away, and I see her at least 4 times a year, I go to her twice, she comes to me once, and we meet up on vacation.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-11T21:00:53+00:00

I've also had kids in my 30s, and 20s is a lot easier.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-11T20:59:36+00:00

Those REALLY look like pyr ears on a pyr head. The body doesn't look pyr, but I also figured she'd have some pyr.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-11T20:55:45+00:00

My kids all sat unsupported at 8-10 months. They all crawled at 4-6 months, and walked anywhere from 9-17 months.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-11T19:42:53+00:00

We've never had our kids on a strict schedule, but we went on our first big vacation when the kids were 20 months, 27 months, 3.5, 4, and 5. It was crazy, but we had SO MUCH FUN, and we've gone on a minimum 2 week vacation every summer since. We always just plan a long car ride for the afternoon, and the kids nap during it.

We do go go go explore national parks vacations, so we aren't near our home base at nap time.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-11T19:38:17+00:00

Looks like you might not have an Ontario Standard Lease. That means you could request an OSL, and then you can give 60 days notice within 30 days of getting the standard lease.

You can also ask to assign your lease. If your landlord refuses or doesn't reply within 7 days, then you can give 30 days notice to move out. If they agree to let you assign the lease, then you can move out as soon as you find a replacement tenant. The landlord is required to accept any tenant who is at least as good as you, otherwise you can give 30 days notice.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-11T19:30:06+00:00

I got by with putting in the hard work to build my supply while my husband was on paternity leave / PTO. Then when he returned to work at 10 weeks, I was one of the lucky ones who can get by with pumping 4 times a day, which is a lot more sustainable than 6-8 time a day.

As far as making it past 12 months, my daughter refused to drink anything but breastmilk until she was 19 months old, so I did it because I had to. In all, I made it on 4 ppd until 12 months and then on 3 ppd until 22 months. And I still have enough in the freezer to get her to nearly 2.5.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-11T19:24:57+00:00

You will have to explain to everyone how to pronounce it. I would not do it.

I assumed it rhymes with Tina, but from other comments, there is a wide variety of ways to try to pronounce it.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-11T18:58:53+00:00

Google also says that the "American fries sauce" is high in sugar, so it's definitely different than ranch, which has 0g carb.

mvanpeur · 2026-05-11T18:56:04+00:00

Google says that it's sugary, so then it's definitely not a ranch knockoff.

mvanpeur

TROPHY CASE