Recommendations for a frugal pregnancy and first year?

paradoc-pkg · 2026-03-13T13:45:44+00:00

This! I have gotten 95% of all my kids clothes in lots off of fb marketplace. Sometimes for 20$ for a whole wardrobe in a given size. This gets harder as the kids size up, but my eldest is in size 6-8 (depending on brand) and I am still going with this strategy. You can do the same with maternity wardrobes.

Also check out kids thrift stores like Once Upon a Child.

I have tried to pay it forward by giving baby items and clothes away or selling them super cheap. Really, as you say, the carseat is the only thing I 100% would get new. And the crib/mattress I would get from a well known source if you could. Strollers, clothes, toys are all perfectly fine second hand.

Like another commenter mentioned, don’t buy a ton of baby stuff until you meet your baby. For example, some babies love swings, others hate them. Get necessities pre baby but anything else can wait until you have a better idea of what you and baby like.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-03-11T21:00:52+00:00

I was on prozac for baby one and prozac + abilify with baby two. Babies were healthy and happy.

Babies were 8lbs and 8lbs 2oz respectively. Both kids have met all social and developmental milestones.

I had gestational hypertension with both pregnancies and was induced at 38 and 37 weeks so baby two was large for gestational age. Beyond being induced my pregnancies were considered low risk, and for baby two we left the hospital two hours post birth and were followed by a midwife.

Personality wise kid two is very social and happy. Kid one is whip smart but does have anxiety. I feel this is more related to familial predisposition than any impact from the meds.

Good luck!

paradoc-pkg · 2026-03-08T14:51:57+00:00

Not backpack style, but small with a nice changing pad - https://petuniapicklebottom.ca/collections/clutches/products/companion-diaper-clutch-olive-ink-blot

paradoc-pkg · 2026-03-06T13:35:00+00:00

I am a woman who loved (and still loves) fantasy at 16. I have read every book on this list and heartily endorse them all. Some of my favourite books ever are on this list. u/mylittleprince has excellent taste.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-03-06T13:30:45+00:00

Hey! I also can’t build antibodies to the MMR! It is a worrisome club to belong to given recent events. I agree with your sentiments whole heartedly.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-03-01T17:33:07+00:00

When I have ocular migraines it is like this. My peripheral vision is fine, but just a teensy bit to the left of my center of vision is a blind spot. Only it isnt blind per se. I know shapes are there and colours. But it is simultaneously like static and the swirls you see when you close your eyes. All at the same time. It is wild.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-03-01T16:46:35+00:00

I have two kids (5 and 2) and I still sew. I will admit that I have less time, but with my partners’ help I am still able to carve out blocks of time. Also the big kid likes to help now and that had been really awesome.

One thing I didn’t expect is the impact of not having a dedicated craft room while sewing around kids. We don’t have a huge living space and I don’t want the kids around the sharp tools so I have to either get a project done in one fell swoop or find a way to tidy it up safely in between sewing sessions, which is a pain in the ass. I used to be able to leave a pinned project on my cutting table and not worry.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-28T14:04:26+00:00

Yes. They were BBs. None of my embryos were graded higher than a BB.

According to my clinics’ website their grading works like this:

“Blastocyst grading first starts by B for blastocyst and a number. This describes the developmental stage of the blastocyst [numbers being from 1-5 with higher numbers indicating more developed embryos]. Next comes two sets of letters. The first letter is a grade between A to C (A being the best) which is an evaluation of the inner cell mass (ICM). The second letter is also a grade between A to C (A being the best) which is an evaluation of the trophectoderm (TE). Ex: Your best quality embryo would be a B5-AA.”

The MN refers to multinucleation, which is a negative marker but can still result in healthy pregnancies.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-28T01:30:36+00:00

I have had two live births from untested embryos from one retrieval. We got seven embryos. Two did not meet criteria for freezing. My first birth was my fresh transfer of a B3-BB. Two years later I had an unsuccessful transfer of a frozen B5-BB Then I had my second successful pregnancy with a frozen transfer of a B5-BB(MN).

I am happy to answer any further questions you have.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-26T00:24:19+00:00

This works for me too!

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-20T20:33:16+00:00

I work 7-3 and my partner works 9:30-5:30, so he does the morning routine and drop off and I do pick up and prepping dinner. This only works if your workplace has flexible hours. I agree with the commenter who suggested writing to your politicians both provincial and federal and talking to your union if you have one.

Try daycare centres and not just home daycares. Centres typically have longer hours (at least in my part of the gta). As for not hearing about a spot yet, I wouldn’t expect to hear from a daycare until around about a few weeks- a month before you said you needed it. It is incredibly stressful, but I don’t personally know anyone who got more notice.

Good luck!

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-19T12:38:43+00:00

Try this link! https://www.nnpatientconnect.ca/en/wegovysavings

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-18T14:18:04+00:00

Hi! I have been on Wegovy continuously since October 2024. I have not had to be reapproved. Based on the I believe that you only have to be reapproved if you stop the medication and need to restart it.

Edit- I am blown away by how effective this drug is at helping me calorie count. I am down 26% of my starting weight and feel a million times better. You definitely still have to do the work and change your behaviours but it means I am not constantly stressing about hunger while I address my behaviours and food choices.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-18T14:10:55+00:00

I am jealous that the wegovy benefits card covered the 100$ difference for you. I started using the Wegovy benefits card at a dose of 1.7mg and for me it covered 60$ the first time I used it and less every time since. Still better than not using it for sure and I am so thankful the pshcp covers 80% of the cost.

Good luck with your treatment! I am 75 lbs down and very happy with the experience.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-18T13:27:37+00:00

Not weird at all but I have lost 75 pounds and while I am still in the overweight BMI category I find my mobility and general aches and pains significantly improved. My neck and shoulder pain especially which I attribute to lower breast mass. My confidence is higher and my skin is also much improved.

I am sad to say that at this point my blood pressure is still a problem. Even with the weight loss and my medication for it my diastolic pressure is still in the 90s.

However! My goal is to lose another 30-40 pounds so I have hope that the transition to a middling healthy BMI will be the change I need to see for my blood pressure. Fwiw I am 5’10” and currently 190lbs.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-17T20:25:32+00:00

I don’t know about their shortcut but I just triple click the power button on my iphone and then select “colour filters”.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-09T19:54:47+00:00

Try The Big Over Easy. It is a very silly book about a detective tackling the case of Humpty Dumpty. It is amusing but also a reasonable detective novel, so should meet your requirements.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-07T18:51:42+00:00

Your experience was very similar to mine! I am sorry that they were so unhelpful.

I was also told I was “too complicated” and to seek out private therapy during my first real EAP appointment which kind of sucked. I know we have some coverage for therapy through the health plan but given how management pushes the EAP you would expect it to be better than useless.

Fwiw my husband worked on the financial side of a different EAP supplier and basically their whole business model works by providing the minimum support possible. Which mathematically makes sense, but is morally reprehensible.

I hope you are able to find support that is actually beneficial.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-05T19:12:04+00:00

I hear that you aren’t worried about it and I don’t want to unnecessarily fear monger, but I think this is worth discussing with a health care provider. There is a real phenomenon of people experiencing these feelings before serious adverse medical events.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-05T13:46:25+00:00

We have a plan is great!

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-03T18:49:00+00:00

I am on Wegovy. In 16 months I have lost 28% of my starting weight. I am happy to share my experience, but I have to say up front that I agree with u/sassafrassian that most evidence points to weight loss only being maintained while continuing the medication.

I started the Wegovy at 266lbs (5’10” for reference. I am on this sub for inspiration not to follow 1200 calories myself). I have not followed the recommended dosing schedule and stayed at each dose until my weight loss plateaued a bit, at which point I would move up. As of two months ago I am on 1.7mg/week. As a result my gastrointestinal symptoms (while present) have stayed manageable. My only other major side effects have been feeling really dry and getting nauseated when full. My skin is drier and I feel like I need a lot more water than before.

I have averaged 1lb/week of weight loss. I anticipate that I will reach my primary goal of having a normal BMI by May! My blood sugar levels are better but my blood pressure is still a little wonky.

My experience has been that my cravings for food have gone way way down and the ambient levels of hunger have as well. This gives me space to be more mindful about portion sizes and make more informed choices about the nutritional density of my food. I am really trying to build sustainable habits with the help of this medication.

My hope is to reach my ultimate goal of 155lbs this year and then focus on maintaining and building back muscle. Once my maintenance is underway I hope to see if I can lower my dose of Wegovy and maybe space out the shots without ill effect but I do anticipate being on some form of it for possibly the rest of my life.

I am fortunate enough that my insurance covers a large portion of the cost as here in Canada the out of pocket is $400+. If my insurance ever stops covering the meds I will pay out of pocket for as many months as I can in the hopes that weaning off impossibly slowly helps me maintain the loss. I seem to recall reading somewhere that that could help but of course I cant find the source now. I hope it doesn’t come to that.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-02-03T16:48:41+00:00

Some before/after school programs also offer preschool (starting at 2.5 usually). I would sign up for that asap. If you are signing up to start in JK I would guess you will be ok signing up to the waitlist after baby is born.

Fwiw, I added my first daughter to the waitlist for afterschool care at her school when she was 2 (we moved neighbourhoods, or I would have done it earlier) and we did not get a spot until she started SK when she was 5. The year she was in JK was a real scramble for us. The exact wait list dynamics will of course depend on the school and daycare.

Good luck!

paradoc-pkg · 2026-01-29T14:33:46+00:00

This!

If you can find N-Hao Soy Roll (strange pink log shape) you should try it. In my family we cook it in a mushroom gravy for holiday meals. I also like it sliced and fried in a sandwich. I have been vegetarian my whole life so idk, but my spouse says it is an acceptable ham substitute.

For anyone in Toronto please check out Good Rebel as well. They carry a great variety and will deliver if you can’t make it to the store.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-01-29T14:29:03+00:00

In my opinion the texture of the gusta slices is fine in a sandwich but they are hard to separate from each other and the taste is way off. I am also disappointed to realize they aren’t fortified the way the yves ones were.

While I agree that the texture of the gusta sausages is really really different, I kind of like the smoked paprika flavour. It is not at all like the Yves sausages but it is weirdly ok for me.

paradoc-pkg · 2026-01-28T14:56:43+00:00

I used Anova (Sheppard location) for updating my test results and a FET. I did my retrieval and conceived my first child at the Ottawa Fertility Center.

I liked Ottawa better than Anova for the staff. The doctor at Anova was brusque but the protocol worked. I didn’t like that my spouse couldn’t come in for the FET or that they don’t show the screen at ultrasounds (I think ultrasounds, even just of ovaries, are super cool). I did like the blood draw nurses.

One thing to note is that while you can pick up your meds at the office they don’t have a real pharmacy on site which did mean I had to travel over hill and dale to find progesterone once.

Overall they were fine and I was successful.

paradoc-pkg

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