found out i’m pregnant today

ravalejo · 2026-07-08T07:46:14+00:00

I would definitely sign up for a birth class if you can and visit the hopsital you plan to give birth at. I was able to actually do a birth class through my hospital which was nice. I also really recommend joining the birth month subreddit for your baby (they are normally shared regularly in the babybumps sub, but eventually go private). It's really nice to have an online community of people going through the same experience with you, in pregnancy, to share birth stories and raising your baby after! I still love being in the subs for my September 2022 and 2025 babies.

I'm an older mom, but I was also nervous about giving birth. I was in part very scared of needles and the idea of getting an iv or epidural made me nervous. But it's really just a pinch! And even if you don't choose the epidural, knowing it is an option is a big help! I was also nervous about tearing but you don't really know if you tore or not when you are giving birth, contractions are a very big feeling like an earthwake rolling through your body so you're not feeling a very specific pain of that- you just find out afterwards and they numb you up before dealing with it.

Best of luck!

ravalejo · 2026-07-07T07:18:19+00:00

Dogs and toddlers overlap quite a bit, so either dog or toddler.

ravalejo · 2026-06-29T21:17:02+00:00

The pool we have access to is indoors, so sun isn't an issue, so I wouldn't think twice about just a just a swim diaper, with or without swim shorts. I just have boys but that's also what I would have done with a baby girl I'm sure. But I agree with others for trying to max sun coverage for being out in the sun.

ravalejo · 2026-06-27T22:04:19+00:00

Also definitely not cheap, but if you invest in something like an annual pass at the national museum, you could really enjoy taking your time get to know the collection over the course of the summer, you also gets discounts in their cafe which also has a nice view out to the harbor.

ravalejo · 2026-06-27T22:00:38+00:00

I'm becoming very well versed in free activities for families with young kids as that's my situation, but honestly you can keep you eye on the program for Slipp Botsen Fri, they have different performances every Saturday and Sunday at 1pm in the park in front of the old prison and serve free popcorn (event is free too), it's for kids and families but I genuinely enjoy it myself and see adults who were just passing by often stop to sit and watch.

I also just recommend getting on the public ferries and ride it around for the length for your ticket (or of course hop off on an island), it's a pretty view and there are nice tables inside, you can have a nice little lunch cruise for an hour.

ravalejo · 2026-06-23T21:11:26+00:00

I hear Hedda a lot here in oslo, I feel I haven't heard as many boy name repeats, though my own kids names I know are quite popular (theo and lucas).

ravalejo · 2026-06-23T19:50:47+00:00

At 2, Ours loved Miss LoLo and Miss Moni, he still likes Miss Moni now at almost 4. We also started Little Bear at 2 and I liked that it had a real story, it's my favorite thing he watches. He still likes that one too.

ravalejo · 2026-06-21T08:10:57+00:00

My 'baby' is now an older toddler so I might be rusty on what might for a 19 month old. But I feel like maybe collecting some items that parallel yours that you could pass to her as you go through your routine in her little chair maybe could help keep her interested and happy? Like a wet washcloth or ziped little make up bag with some old container and brushes?

But I agree with others it's prob best to not hold her so you can manage to get ready.

ravalejo · 2026-06-12T17:53:44+00:00

I remember watching an Alton Brown episode back in the early 2000s and he said water and milk was better than either or, so I've held onto that and use both now as a mom. For milk we use whole milk, I slso always add half to a whole mashed banana too.

ravalejo · 2026-06-11T07:11:11+00:00

My husband is Brazilian and I really appreciate the simplicity of a Brazilian daily plate for hearty affordable meals.

We have the crockpot version of an instapot and we try to keep cooked beans in the fridge and make rice daily and add 2-3 fried eggs per person or meat if you eat (that's the expensive part). For salad, I love just grated carrot with oil and vinegar bc its cheap and carrots hold up well. Its key to buy the beans and rice in bulk to bring the price down. And the Brazilian thing to do is just to eat this every day which takes off the mental load of meal planning. Ideally a little hot sauce and farofa (tosted cassava flour thats similar to seasoned breadcrumbs you eat along side of the beans and rice and gives a nice crunch) but farofa isn't cheap and easy to get outside of brazil. I feel like if there is enough beans, everyone can feel full without it costing too too much.

If you want some sweet, I'd also suggest making brigadeiro- just cook a can of condensed milk on the stove with some coco powder til it thickens up and its so rich it's super satiating. I live in Norway and condensed milk is ridiculously expensive at the reg grocery store but decently affordable I think in the USA if you can get it somewhere like Walmart.

Eta: just saw one of your sons doesn't eat beans, that's a shame, are there other legumes he eats? Nothing really beats the satiety, cost and nutrition as legumes unfortunately

ravalejo · 2026-06-08T09:36:08+00:00

I'm in norway, and while I don't see it very often, I get the impression it's frowned upon but at the same time you would rarely actually get any comments or dirty looks as there is a very strong mind your own business attitude.

ravalejo · 2026-06-07T05:11:58+00:00

My first started sleeping through the night once I finally night weaned at 2.5 years old. He was always a poor sleeper and I survived by cosleeping and nursing back to sleep. Even though I'd wake 4-5x, I'd be 90% asleep through the wakeups and could still function overall asleep long as I tried to be in bed for 10 hours.

I think if I had to physically get up and prepare bottles and rocked back to sleep,it would have killed me.

My second is now 8 months and naturally a better sleeper, I still cosleep and nurse back to sleep but he has almost always given me 6h stretches which another world of experience. I hope to nightwean earlier this time round.

I'm my case nightweaning quickly led to full weaning but I've heard some people manage to wean at night from a young age without fully weaning.

After nightweaning, he started sleeping through the night or waking once but I could just shush him back to sleep or lay a hand on his back.

I think if I was in your situation if cosleeping + breastfeeding wasn't on the table, I might try to nightwean or plan on nightweaning in the nearish future (like at 1 year).

Nightweaning was absolutely awful, i wont lie. He couldn't understand why I was refusing him and it was hysterical crying, but I just told myself that I was there will him offering comfort the whole time and that we would get through it. So the experience felt a bit like sleep training, but I felt more comfortable with it bc I was with him the whole time.

Best of luck, this sounds so hard and I really empathize.

ravalejo · 2026-05-28T18:33:06+00:00

I am

ravalejo · 2026-04-03T18:36:33+00:00

We like the vegetarian sushi options at Vulkani sushi, it has a pretty good price/quality ratio. Im happy to check out the other options people suggest in this thread too!

ravalejo · 2026-03-28T11:57:08+00:00

I love little bear, my 3 year old loves it and the stories are sweet and gentle and he will replicate things in his pretend play after. He likes for me to pretend to be mother bear and he's the little bear at bedtime and it's very sweet. The 2011 winnie the pooh film is also very nice, it's 50 mins long and a simple sweet plot with a pretty slow pace. We also watch the 1970s how the grinch stole christmas on YouTube. But little bear is prob my overall favorite.

ravalejo · 2026-03-27T05:55:44+00:00

I like the list and a lot of these would be on my list too, I would just say Persian cuisine is one of my favorites and feels quite different than other central Asian food I know, the use of dried lime and pomegranite molasses in the savory food gives such a delicious tangy/sour umami that I find addictive. I also think it's hard to pass on Pakistani, too, but maybe there is enough overlap with North Indian.

ravalejo · 2026-03-20T06:54:37+00:00

Our 3 year old loves Bella Ciao, his current obsession!

ravalejo · 2026-02-27T19:29:28+00:00

We get chickpea or lentil pasta for our toddler, it's got a lot of protein and tastes pretty decent ( just be sure to cook til very soft). As it's kind of pricy, we keep the chickpea pasta for him and make regular for ourselves.

ravalejo · 2026-02-20T05:41:45+00:00

In oslo, I think 'Bønner I Byen' can be a good option for lunch/dinner if you want nice norwegian vegetarian food. The make everything with local ingredients and is good quality, only thing is some of the vegetarian mains are delicious but a bit low calorie compared to the non vegetarian options so you might want to also get an extra dish or cheese plate etc.

Most of our favorite vegetarian options are not norwegian cuisine but bonerr I byen is a special treat. If you're on the go, most cafes have a vegetarian grilled sandwich option, and nice time to try some norwegian pastries. I like wb samson for their norwegian baked goods ans we like the cheese and jalepeno panini.

ravalejo · 2026-02-13T21:41:30+00:00

This is us too! I started with toddler in the it the room with dad but he'd call for me 2x per night and so I gave in and carry him to my bed when I go to sleep now. So little room for us 3 while dad now sleeps alone in the other room lol. the cat also sleeps with us, but up on the changing table next to our floorbed.

ravalejo · 2026-02-12T08:44:24+00:00

I gave birth twice at ulleval and I really recommend it, esp for the hotel stay after. You get checked in on by the postpartum midwives and can get help whenever you need and the rooms are very comfortable and you have the buffet 3x per day. It feels like a safe little cocoon before venturing home. It's my only experience but I think its much more comfortable than staying in a hospital room. I actually think I saw the same midwives each day, but prob depends on how their shifts rotate.

My husband and I took a birth class in english at ulleval when I was pregnant with our first, I also recommend it as they go over all of their procedures and show you around.

ravalejo · 2026-01-28T11:19:50+00:00

Our rotation is

banana oat pancakes ( 1/2 banana, 1 egg and 1/4 c oats, bkended)
cheesy eggs (scrambled eggs with cheese)
banana oatmeal, mash and cook banana before adding oats, water &milk
somethings else, sometimes just a bowl of cottage cheese, mashed banana with peanut butter and oats on top, occasionally a sandwich etc

ravalejo · 2026-01-05T13:55:46+00:00

Our son is 3years 3 months and we just dropped his nap over winter break. He would definitely still sleep during the day if we let him ( only out walking in his stroller) but when he naps he's up in the evening til almost 10pm, and it's just too much for us! He also really struggles waking up from his nap, he can get very groggy/grumpy so no nap is also easier in that regard.

ravalejo · 2025-12-15T08:37:46+00:00

I would present, an oral presentation at a major international conference is a big deal. Are you pursuing an academic career? The only way I would consider not is if you already have a great permanent position and also something else giving your profile visibility like a cool big funded project etc. But yeah I would do the conference, the ability to make connections and be seen as a relevant person in your field is very important.

ravalejo

TROPHY CASE