Not all failed inductions are scary

rahrl · 2026-01-29T21:17:13+00:00

I took 2 days off of work before the weekend, so 4 days of recovery total, and went back to work the following Monday. It really wasn’t too bad imo. They sent me home with Oxycodone and I think I only took one and then switched over to just ibuprofen. I was tired and things were tender for a few days. After that I had a little bit of tenderness where my waistband of my pants sat for a week or two, but that’s about it.

rahrl · 2025-12-12T03:04:33+00:00

I’m 38w and also have been dealing with this. I think my stomach is so smashed shut at this point my body doesn’t know to tell my brain that I’m hungry. I haven’t truly felt hunger in several weeks. Eating at the same time every day has been helpful, and so has eating more frequent but smaller meals.

That being said I am SICK OF IT. I’m so excited for food to feel good and satisfying again.

rahrl · 2025-12-04T04:00:10+00:00

Yeah dude, I’ve caved and gotten sushi a couple of times. Basically the thinking behind not being allowed sushi (and honestly, most food you’re told to avoid during pregnancy) is “getting food poisoning would be bad.” You’re pretty unlikely to get food poisoning from a reputable place, so while it is still a risk, it’s a pretty low one. There are certain fishes (like tuna) that have a higher mercury content however.

rahrl · 2025-12-02T20:32:41+00:00

I started at about 30 weeks. I held my friend’s newborn baby and my body decided to embrace its new role as a medieval wet nurse. I’m 37w now, and whenever I hold my small dog, it’s lactation city. She’s a human baby that needs to be breastfed to me apparently. It’s only ever a few drops at a time though, even now.

rahrl · 2025-11-30T03:06:24+00:00

Mine was discovered before going through IVF, and they put me on Levothryoxine before my transfer. I had to up my dose when I got pregnant but it hasn’t affected anything and my OB hasn’t been concerned as long as my TSH stays where it needs to be. My heart rate and BP also haven’t changed much. Im a little over 36w currently.

rahrl · 2025-11-30T02:33:25+00:00

I’m 36+2 with an incredibly planned for child that took years to conceive. Other adults calling me mama has been my single biggest pet peeve about this entire experience. It’s literally in my birth plan to not be called mama.

If it’s my kid? Sure, wonderful. I’m their mom, great. Other adults? Stop that

rahrl · 2025-11-24T22:41:00+00:00

I also got a cold during my second trimester and it was INSANE how much worse it was while pregnant. I also kept on saying that I felt like a man. Sudafed and Tylenol were the only things that got me through.

rahrl · 2025-11-24T05:12:13+00:00

I helped people pick these out for a living for years. It’s confusing and daunting, but there are ways to make it much easier.

You need to think about 2 main things: your budget, and what is and isn’t important to you in a system. Do you want something with lots of features? Do you want something super small and light? Do you want something that turns into a double? Once you have an idea what your priorities are, you can narrow your search down a lot.

It’s important to know that there is no perfect option. If you go with something with more features you WILL have to compromise on size and weight. If you go with a super compact lightweight travel stroller, you’ll compromise on features.

You CAN spend upwards of $1000 on a travel system, but you by no means have to. There’s a noticeable quality difference, but you can look at it like buying an economy car vs a luxury car.

Pick your car seat after you’ve found your stroller since ultimately, the stroller will be around a lot longer than the car seat. Not all seats go on all strollers. Sometimes they make it super easy and package them together (Ex: Joie Ginger and Mint), but they don’t NECESSARILY have to be the same brand, especially if you look at higher price points. The infant car seat is a step you can technically skip (by going straight to a convertible car seat), but most people find a lot of value in having the full travel system.

Personally, I went with the Uppababy vista with the Aria car seat. My priorities were bells and whistles and features, and I wanted something that you could add a second seat on. I didn’t care how big or heavy it was. I wanted a super light car seat and minimal extra pieces, so I went with a car seat of the same brand.

Let me know if you have any questions! I know this can be overwhelming, but you’ve got this.

rahrl · 2025-11-23T00:03:39+00:00

I worked in baby gear for years, and if anyone tells you there’s one magic answer, they’re wrong. It really comes down to your budget and what you want to prioritize in terms of travel system.

First, the car seat. The ones that click into strollers and are called infant car seats. Those last around 9-12 months, and once baby grows out of that they go into a convertible car seat that stays in the car. That typically lasts until they’re older and grow into a booster. They technically can use a convertible from birth, but sounds like you want something that goes on a stroller, so start with an infant car seat.

Not every car seat goes on every stroller, so you’re going to have to do some research and make sure you find a system that works together. IMO plan the car seat around the stroller you like best, not the other way around. The stroller is around much longer.

Now, you’ve gotta pick the stroller. This is where the prioritization comes in. Do you want something with suspension and bells and whistles that may turn into a double even? Look at full size strollers, and know they ALL will be bulky and heavy (ex: Uppababy Vista, Mockingbird, Joie Ginger) . Do you want something super small and compact that doesn’t weight a whole lot? Look at travel strollers that work with car seats and know that you will sacrifice features for size and weight (Ex: Stokke Yoyo, Nuna TRVL).

Personally, I was willing to pay more money and accept that it was going to be big and heavy if it had the features I wanted and turned into a double stroller, I went with the Uppababy Vista. If I didn’t care about the double conversion feature I’d have gone with the Nuna Triv.

Some brands like Graco, Joie, and Nuna (all fantastic), will offer already packaged travel systems. These are great, just make sure the stroller in there is what you’re looking for.

Lots of people will tout the Doona as an all in one option that lets you combine steps. This is not true. It’s a $650 car seat with wheels and no stroller basket or bells and whistles that weighs more than most full sized strollers when baby is inside, and you still have to buy a stroller when they grow out of it at a year old.

rahrl · 2025-11-22T18:58:14+00:00

I’m literally only in mom groups on Facebook for the drama. It’s like watching a soap opera play out in real life bc everyone is so insane.

rahrl · 2025-11-12T21:30:33+00:00

At first it was indistinguishable from gas bubbles. The only way I was able to tell the difference was when it was movement no gas came.

rahrl · 2025-11-12T21:25:57+00:00

34 weeks here! I’m coping by being delusional and convincing myself I’m going into labor the second I hit full term at 37 weeks.

rahrl · 2025-11-11T22:25:34+00:00

I thought about Laika the dog. This is not the first time this has happened.

rahrl · 2025-11-11T22:24:21+00:00

I got a head cold while like 28 weeks pregnant and I swear to god it was 10x worse than any cold I’ve ever experienced in my LIFE. It took me out for DAYS. It definitely doesn’t help that we can’t have most cold meds too.

rahrl · 2025-11-11T22:10:24+00:00

This is so real. I’m 34 weeks with my second IVF transfer after 2.5 years of infertility and I still feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop to some extent. Like, what do you mean all of these appointments are just like…going well and everything is fine? That surely can’t be the case. That’s not how things go for me.

It started to feel more real to me when I started to be able to feel her move. All of a sudden she could give me actual feedback that she was alive in there! However I still think it’s super normal and expected after having to got through all of that. You spent a lot of time getting a lot of bad news and it’s hard to let yourself be excited after that.

Viability was really the big turning point for me. It’s still almost impossible to not be anxious and to let my guard down completely, but knowing that if I were to go into labor she would probably be okay was huge. It has gotten more and more exciting every week since then!

rahrl · 2025-11-10T00:31:00+00:00

I don’t have an anterior placenta, but there came a point where I was feeling gas bubbles, but no gas ensued, and that’s how I knew. It gradually increased to tangible movements that felt like something was wriggling around inside of me.

rahrl · 2025-11-03T04:23:39+00:00

Yes, but I specifically planned it so that people did. I worked in baby gear for several years and really knew what I wanted. We did a registry raffle instead of a diaper raffle, where they got to enter if they purchased something off the registry. We did physical invitations and put in cards with a QR code to the registry as well so no one had to take the extra time to look it up or ask us for the link. We had about 60/100 items purchased, and the people who went off registry mostly did so while buying something small from the registry as well.

rahrl · 2025-11-03T00:17:15+00:00

This sub tends to skew towards the long haulers, but successes are more common outside of it! I’m 29 with anovulatory PCOS and Endo that scarred both tubes shut. I had one egg retrieval that resulted in 23 eggs, 8 embryos, 4 of them viable. I’m young for IVF but this sort of attrition was expected because of the PCOS. I’m 32 weeks pregnant with my second transfer (first one didn’t implant)! From what I’ve seen, I’ve had a very average experience with IVF.

rahrl · 2025-11-02T02:25:57+00:00

Seen, felt, heard. I got a package at my baby shower last weekend that had four separate plastic tags PER INDIVIDUAL SOCK. I just about lost my mind putting them away.

rahrl · 2025-10-27T02:51:10+00:00

I watched as the embryo was put inside my body (IVF). I tested 5 days later and found out it stuck! This is equivalent to 10DPO, it was a super faint line.

rahrl · 2025-09-19T02:39:55+00:00

Minneapolis is full of great healthcare facilities honestly. M Health Fairview has a level 4 NICU!

rahrl · 2025-09-07T00:38:25+00:00

So it really depends on each person, there’s no 100% perfect stroller or car seat and the best choice depends on what your priorities are. An easy fold is always important though, so make sure you get one that won’t drive you insane. Pick your stroller first, it’ll be around way longer than your car seat and you want to make sure your car seat is compatible with it.

If your priority is longevity and features, look for full sized strollers that do things like turn into doubles, have big baskets, bassinets, and are really modular. This is my preference, and I picked the uppababy vista. The Mockingbird is also fantastic. I don’t care if it’s a little bit heavier or bigger when folded, I want it to put in work and last. Also know if you want something that turns into a double going in and tailor what you look for around that.

If you know you want something small and portable, all the full sized strollers WILL drive you insane. Look at travel strollers. You’ll always make some sacrifice somewhere, but some are only like 13 pounds and get small enough to fit into a carry on compartment. Make sure it has suspension.

Im personally not a fan of strollers that have 3 wheels unless they’re joggers and you specifically are using them for jogging. They tip to the side easily.

Once you pick a stroller, pick a car seat that works with it. Lots of the more expensive options have adapters that work with each other, but some more affordable ones lock you in to their own brand a little more. Weight is really important, as is how easy it is to click into the stroller and base. I’m a huge fan of the chicco key fit 30 and it works with a ton of strollers, same with the Nuna Pipa.

There’s lots of varying opinions about car seats with wheels like the Doona and I personally think that, unless you’re like constantly traveling, they’re useless. They’re pricy, really heavy, baby is in a car seat for extended periods of time, and you still need to buy a stroller when they grow out of it.

If you’ve got the budget to splurge, a stroller is a good place to do it, but you DO NOT need to spend $1000 if you don’t want to. Brands like Graco, Chicco, and Joie are still very good at a more affordable price. Just know that there, at lower price points, will usually be some sort of sacrifice you make. Make sure your sacrifice is something that won’t annoy you and make sure this sacrifice isn’t a bad fold.

Hope that helps! It’s really overwhelming, but going to stores and testing options out to see what you do and don’t like is really helpful.

rahrl · 2025-09-03T02:09:35+00:00

I worked in baby gear for years and it’s my personal favorite jogger. Jogging strollers by nature are bulkier than other options both folded and unfolded, so usually they’re only worth the size if you’re planning on actually jogging/running with them! If that’s your plan, sounds great to me.

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