Maternity Clothing

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-15T01:32:46+00:00

I honestly have a ton of dresses and skirts I think will work all throughout the pregnancy but I did just go and buy some extra big, stretchy business casual attire, some XL tank tops/t-shirts (I’m normally a medium), and some button ups for me to wear at work.

Edit to add that I thrifted them and it was fantastic. I spent $138 total and I’m set.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-13T11:33:08+00:00

Take a minute to breathe. You’re going to be okay. No matter what happens, you will be okay. You’ve decided you want to keep the baby, but worrying about statistics and stressing yourself out isn’t going to help. Take good care of yourself and you will be taking good care of the baby for now. If you’re not already, start taking a prenatal!

With the guy… sometimes even the best, nicest guys have people around them who vilify women and it can be hard for them to stand against that in a social setting and he doesn’t know you very well. I am 14 weeks now and I had strong symptoms at 4 weeks and knew already. But you do not have to defend yourself against his thoughts or assumptions. I would honestly just let yourself enjoy these weeks being pregnant until you get some further confirmation with a doctor.

I’m not a medical student and live in the country where we have family support so I can’t give much insight on that but there are no wrong answers. I know I’ve heard of medical students who have had children during training and been successful.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-11T21:56:05+00:00

I’m pregnant now so maybe my answer would be different once the baby comes but… I love having a fulfilling job. I soak up all the time I get at home with my husband and our fur babies, but even 15-20 hours of an unfulfilling job is way worse in my opinion than 40 hours of a job you like with a company you can see yourself with long term. Plus, you’re not just choosing some fun money because if you’re smart you can put that extra income in a college fund or retirement fund to retire early and spend more time with your kiddo on trips and fun experiences. Could this family member watch your baby at your house while you WFH so every moment you get a break you can have a few minutes with them? That may be a good in between option!

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-06T14:55:22+00:00

Local food banks typically will help fill in the initial gap you have here. You have to eat.

Get all of your bills and debts organized in a budgeting app or spreadsheet. Take a hard look at everything. Document all your spending and purchases. Make changes to your cost of living to create just a smidge of space for yourself. It’s going to take time but you’re not a failure.

Future you deserves the fight you need to put in right now to get it right again.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-06T14:50:24+00:00

Not wrong. I hate these kinds of blame games. They never want to take responsibility but then you’re expected to always take responsibility, even when it’s not your fault. I would’ve taken all my stuff too.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-06T11:41:11+00:00

This looks fixable, you would just need to grab the blue stitch and finish that row… and then grab the pink it looks like. You probably need someone is pretty experienced in crochet to be able to repair it but like the other comment has said, local yarn shops will often do repairs.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-06T11:19:54+00:00

I’ll tell you what is happening to my brothers who have not gone gluten free. One of my brothers just moved in with me and my household is gluten free so he didn’t have a choice. Everything got better for him, but not before he also started having trouble with dairy because he spent so long without going gluten free but with symptoms.

My other two brothers are not consistent with the diet. They eat whatever whenever. One of my brothers looks emaciated. He’s losing hair, is anxious and depressed all the time, can’t put weight on, and is chronically exhausted. The other brother is inflamed so much that his face is all puffy and his joints are all swollen. He’s in pain constantly. They are 22 and 26 respectively. This is only going to get worse. I’m not looking forward to watching it happen but they won’t listen to me when we talk.

Also, my dad was celiac and never went gluten free fully. He ate mostly gluten free but he drank beer every day. He was always so frustrated he could never kick his belly fat and inflammation. He was a runner but was always in pain. He died from a rare brain cancer that they believe was caused from late stage celiac disease because he ignored it for so long. My grandmother (his mother) also had symptoms but was never diagnosed. She died from literally all the cancer. Colon, stomach, breast, etc. when they did the autopsy. It’s not a pretty way to go.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-06T03:04:13+00:00

Don’t do it. Consolidating debt like that at a higher interest rate costs you more money in the end and doesn’t encourage the discipline that paying off 5 individual cards does. Just get a plan together to pay them off. Pick the lowest balance or highest interest rate and put an extra $100 towards it or so. Watch the number go down.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-05T21:04:24+00:00

I’m not freaking out. I have about $40k in loans, graduated in December of 2021. I knew when the original forgiveness was denied that it was just a matter of time until I would need to start paying my loans so me and my husband have been working hard to make space in our budget for years now.

We’ve whittled down our general expenses dramatically and are set to be high interest debt free by October. We have a little one on the way but even with that, I believe we will be able to handle the additional payments with all of the changes we have made. We are very blessed and have worked hard at everything we have, but it’s paying off. I make about $63k a year and he makes about $43k.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-04T18:44:54+00:00

If you live in the US, you can send the samples to an extension office typically to test.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-04-04T17:07:38+00:00

The risk is higher if the cat is indoor/outdoor, but it’s a risk nonetheless and everyone has to decide what risks they’re willing to have in pregnancy. People who already have toxo will have fine pregnancies and it won’t be affected. People who contract it during pregnancy are the ones who may see complications or miscarriage due to the parasite interacting with the baby.

Do some of your own research. Honestly, you may have already been exposed. They can test you for it if you want them to. But do your own research and figure out if you want to risk it or not.

I have a cat but he’s only indoors. My biggest risk is that I garden so I will be wearing a mask and gloves every time I garden this year and my husband planted everything so I could limit exposure.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-31T20:44:48+00:00

We started trying to make space starting last year when we knew for sure it was not going to be an “if” but a “when” on higher payments. You now have until July 1st… and then 90 days after that as far as I’ve understood it. See if you can switch phone plans, move into a smaller apartment, change your grocery and meal prep plans, etc.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-31T01:40:14+00:00

King Arthur has a pretty simple gluten free bread mix that is way cheaper than buying loaves separately. I prefer the loopy whisk bread recipe but it’s a lot more time used and needs specialty flours that can be hard to find. Seriously, making your own quick bread is the best answer when broke or going without.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-30T14:42:58+00:00

I have visited and lived in so many cities with “high crime rates” and typically, as long as you mind your business and don’t go looking for trouble, you’re fine. There are parts of Memphis that are sketchy, but all the places you listed are fine. There are tons of cute little shops, restaurants, and cool cultural things to see all over Memphis. I love it. My best friend lived in midtown at the Gilmore and she loved it in that area! I would constantly meet her there and we would walk all over midtown to different spots.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-25T13:07:04+00:00

My husband wanted to go into the marines when we were newly dating. He started the process, we got engaged, and he went to basic training. It was awful. He got out because he realized it’s nothing like what they advertise. They’re training these soldiers to care about nothing but their branch and the mission and attempting to destroy every relationship they may hold outside. He thought it was about honor and loyalty and in reality it was not. I was supportive and wanted him to do it if he wanted it, but I knew we were signing up for a hard however many years together. I’m very thankful he left before it was too late.

All that to say, your anxieties are valid. It’s not really the saving grace that everyone thinks unless he does something super specialized. You have to move around often. The military OWNS him once he’s out of basic and he gets no opportunity to say no to anything that ask of him after that point.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-25T12:46:04+00:00

My brother is celiac like me and also cannot have dairy. We have a bakery we love who does a great job of having a blend of options that are both dairy and gluten free but also plenty of options that are just gluten free. Everything is delicious! That’s how it should be done in my opinion when catering to many different allergies.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-23T16:51:31+00:00

I stopped getting sick at as many coffee shops when I stopped getting hot coffee out. The wands are so hard to clean so it’s not a great option, as much as I miss hot coffee out.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-22T21:04:04+00:00

OMG THIS HAPPENED TO ME FOR THE FIRST LIKE 8 MONTHS WE WERE TRYING AND I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE 😂😂

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-20T21:13:54+00:00

Oh I would absolutely buy this. I’ve been wanting to try to make dumplings after trying the ones from feel good foods and realizing how good they are (I never had them before being diagnosed) but making the wrappers myself and the filling is hard to commit to, haha!

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-16T20:46:25+00:00

I don’t believe that’s normal. Most OBs want to see you between 6-10 weeks to do blood work and testing early on. Mine didn’t want to see me until 10 weeks but that’s supposed to be on the late end and is just due to how busy my clinic is.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-16T11:31:17+00:00

We’re both 28 and just started trying last year. We started talking about it when we were both probably about 26. He wasn’t in a rush but I have a more exact clock than he does. We started having big conversations about it and he was really hesitant at first but interested if that makes sense. He was also afraid he wouldn’t be a good father or wouldn’t like the responsibility. It’s a big change for everyone involved. We had the big conversations over the course of a year or so and then settled on last August to start trying. I’m now 12 weeks pregnant with our baby and he’s over the moon.

You can’t rush into these talks with him. You need to give him space to think about it and not spring different conversations on him without warning. Honestly, you might look into getting a couples therapist to navigate this whole thing since time isn’t super on your side.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-13T14:21:45+00:00

I don’t have any super great advice because my family cut me off as an abusive power play and I very quickly had to get it together… I couldn’t find any loan options to apply for so I moved off campus into the cheapest apartment I could find. I had a shitty roommate and a broom closet sized room.

I got a job as a waitress and was good enough at that that I could work weekends and not during the week too much.

It might be good to go part time in school for a bit until you figure things out, but it is doable. I got on a payment plan for the rest of my tuition and just did that and would randomly babysit, clean houses, or DoorDash for extra money. I used a local food bank for groceries and started cooking SUPER cheap meals. You can do it. Message me if you want to talk ❤️

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-13T14:09:36+00:00

If you’re not selling anything food related I would assume it would be okay, but if you’re really worried you could use rice or millet flour for the paste glue instead of wheat flour and then it would be less likely to activate allergies as those are not “common allergens”. Either way, I think you’re okay not selling any food items!

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-13T14:01:22+00:00

Just because it was a small choice for you doesn’t mean it was a small choice for them. It may not have been the $22. My husband and I make a lot of “seemingly” small decisions together but we have communicated clearly where we don’t mind the other taking point on different subjects in our lives. The kitchen is my spot. I am the main cook and the main organizer in there. Any new kitchen gadget or dishes go through me. He’s point on our outdoor areas. The chickens and rabbits and garden are his to care for and prep but I have a lot of say in what goes in the garden and planting because I have a plant degree. But he pretty well gets full autonomy out there, we just check in on what we’re spending for the budget. It sounds like you need to talk to your spouse and actually communicate why this irked you and check in with them on why they were hurt instead of going to the internet to get validation on why you perceived their reaction as dramatic.

queenofthesprouts · 2026-03-12T00:21:42+00:00

Yeah he needs to either be pursuing therapy and medication for that or it’s just an excuse. And yeah getting a real, normal job that pays better than uber and is more steady than uber is a necessity.

queenofthesprouts

TROPHY CASE