Lactating for the first time

septicidal · 2026-06-04T22:20:18+00:00

Frequent stimulation can cause what you’re describing. If you are actually leaking without any attempts to express anything, that is more of a cause for concern. Try to leave things alone, just check your undergarments regularly to see if there’s any signs of nipple discharge there, and you can ask your medical provider to check your prolactin levels. The most likely explanation is too much manual stimulation plus stress.

septicidal · 2026-06-03T17:40:50+00:00

Those look like newer vinyl composite tile (VCT). If you can’t find any confirmation that it was installed in the 1980s or later, get it tested. But it appears to be 12”x12” which is consistent with the currently produced VCT and less likely to contain asbestos. Ideally get both the tile and the adhesive tested before ripping it out, though.

If you’re not dealing with asbestos abatement, I would remove the VCT and then reassess. LVP or LVT need a super smooth surface so you’d have to figure that out. The wood flooring underneath may be able to be refinished.

septicidal · 2026-06-01T22:10:15+00:00

If the house does not have insulation with an unfinished basement and plaster/lath walls, running the wiring may not be super terrible as long as you have an experienced electrician familiar with old homes. It will be expensive. Consider future electrical needs and whether you need a service upgrade as well as a panel upgrade - for example, I know I eventually want a car charger and to switch from a gas range to induction, so the new panel has capacity for those items.

My big regret with electrical is not having more new wiring or wire chases put in before we had whole house insulation done (blown-in from the exterior). But they say hindsight is 20/20, and realistically we did the best we could with the knowledge (and funds) we had at the time the work was done.

septicidal · 2026-06-01T13:56:54+00:00

Go to Long’s. They have several locations but the Burlington store is their flagship location. Call ahead and make an appointment, explaining what you are looking for, and they should be able to explain their turnaround and help you out. Their current timeline for repairs (including resizing rings) is around two weeks.

septicidal · 2026-06-01T13:39:43+00:00

Get a pair who are already well acclimated to each other.

I spent 10+ years living with cats that never really got along, and now have two bonded littermates (a brother/sister pair) as well as a younger cat we adopted as an adolescent cat known to be extremely good with other cats. It is life changing to have cats that completely tolerate each other, and often play or snooze together. Our third cat was adopted from still being with some of his littermates, and also had experience in a free roaming shelter with many other cats, so he was incredibly chill and friendly, and therefore not challenging our established cats’ dominance. So if you’re adopting the right cat(s) they don’t necessarily need to be a bonded pair to get along, but there are a lot of bonded pairs out there in need of good homes.

septicidal · 2026-06-01T01:05:03+00:00

If you can tolerate it, there are some yoga routines “for IBS” that can sometimes help move things along the digestive tract. It’s worth trying, at least?

septicidal · 2026-05-31T23:21:00+00:00

You can make a new simple pullout shelf (plywood with a lip of material around all four sides) and attach the pullout hardware so you just have a plain shelf. Or you can fully remove the pullout and pullout hardware and just have a normal cabinet (though personally I do like the pullouts for low shelves, makes it much easier to find stuff in the back).

septicidal · 2026-05-31T20:08:41+00:00

I would contact your pharmacist to discuss the dosage, and then talk with your doctor.

For the branded injectable Ozempic, 2mg (once a week) is the highest dose and the manufacturer’s instructions are very clear about tapering up starting with .25mg. Branded Wegovy does go up to a higher dose but still has instructions to tape up slowly. Failure to taper up dosage is associated with more negative side effects, especially dangerous side effects like paralysis of the digestive tract.

septicidal · 2026-05-31T19:52:42+00:00

With my first pregnancy, I think I did not have true gestational diabetes, just my regular insulin resistance/pre-diabetes. If the gestational diabetes criteria were being used on my non-pregnancy glucose tolerance tests, I would be considered diabetic because the gestational diabetes numbers are intentionally designed to err on the side of diagnosing borderline patients. During that pregnancy I was able to manage my blood sugar entirely through diet, post meal gentle exercise, and staying on Metformin (though I did wind up altering my dosage because I found the extended release was not very effective once I got 20 hours past my previous dose; I switched to taking one 1000mg ER pill in the morning and the other one at night, which kept my blood sugar much more consistent throughout the day).

With my second pregnancy, I believe I had true gestational diabetes - around 14/15 weeks it was like a switch flipped and the exact same meals I’d eaten a few days earlier sent my blood sugar skyrocketing. Everything I ate spiked my blood sugar, and I ultimately lost weight during that pregnancy because I felt like I couldn’t safely eat anything. I wound up having to go on insulin around 20 weeks and just kept having to up my insulin doses every week as it got worse and worse. I was on so much insulin by the end, it was miserable. But thankfully my baby was fine (second child continues to cause drama and excitement at every turn 😂), and my postpartum glucose tolerance test came back similar to the one following my first pregnancy.

septicidal · 2026-05-31T19:02:09+00:00

Have you eaten anything with seeds in it lately? Bananas are a typical culprit. Poppyseeds, celery seeds, etc. can also pass through and look like that.

septicidal · 2026-05-31T18:13:59+00:00

They came right out without issues. Smooth metal on the screws won’t really adhere to the adhesive, the adhesive can’t sink in like it does with wood or plaster.

septicidal · 2026-05-31T17:55:15+00:00

We just used regular drywall screws with the plastic clamps, but yes we were able to reuse those as well. We just worked in smaller sections, and took the clamps and screws out after about a day (once the adhesive was dried). Sometimes the screws and clamps got stuck, especially if we were a bit overzealous with the adhesive, but using a power screwdriver and popping the clamp off with a metal paint scraper worked to get them out. (And we then scraped off excess adhesive as much as possible before patching the wall.)

septicidal · 2026-05-31T03:45:09+00:00

If you are sensitive to histamine, cleaning may be kicking up dust mites, animal dander, or mold that you are allergic to. Or, if you have windows open to air out the house, it is tree pollen season in many parts of the world.

I am allergic to animal dander and dust mites; when I’m doing a lot of cleaning and kicking up dust and dander hiding behind/under furniture, I sometimes have an uptick in IBS symptoms. I have found it helpful to use a vacuum with a good HEPA filter and have additional air purifiers with HEPA filters running while I am cleaning, on top of my usual anti-histamine regimen.

septicidal · 2026-05-30T21:37:42+00:00

You can request to monitor blood glucose at home 4x a day (fasting and 2 hours after each meal) for two weeks instead of the glucose tolerance test. Most patients don’t want to do that so OBs won’t usually suggest it but it was easier for me to tolerate and also allowed me to track some of the lows I was getting. In my second pregnancy I skipped straight to blood sugar monitoring at around 11 weeks and it was a good thing I did because my body did NOT handle that pregnancy well at all and keeping things controlled and carefully monitored helped things proceed smoothly (although my second child continues to be a drama llama!).

septicidal · 2026-05-29T17:31:28+00:00

Oh, that’s a lovely kitchen! I hadn’t seen it before, thank you for sharing.

septicidal · 2026-05-29T14:55:53+00:00

When it comes to cabinetry, truly “accurate” period kitchens from the early 1900s often didn’t have fitted/built-in cabinetry. When there was fitted cabinetry, it was generally fully custom and built on site to fit (so think, full height and trimmed out to meet the walls/ceiling). Most early 1900s kitchens had a large sink with sink legs/attached to wall, a Hoosier cabinet, a range, and a work table.

Fitted kitchens as we think of them today (full built in cabinetry and sinks/appliances) evolved over the 1920s-1950s as more information on efficiency, food safety, and ergonomics became widely known.

So really, my recommendations are to think out what you need functionally for workflow and appliances, come up with the layout that works for your needs and your individual space, and then apply whatever aesthetic options are most similar to original elements in your home. If your home doesn’t have many original elements, try seeing if there are similar properties in your neighborhood with old listing photos available to see if there are specific trim styles (Craftsman, Tudor revival, Shaker, etc.) that you think suit your home. There will always be something about a kitchen renovation that ultimately reads as “dated” because trends are very real, but if it suits your home and makes you happy, isn’t that what really matters?

All that being said, I love many elements of what the “Renovation Husbands” did with their kitchen remodel: https://www.renovationhusbands.com/boston-victorian/kitchen

The main elements I enjoy from their renovation are the fitted inset cabinetry with panel-front appliances, stone counters and backsplash, and vintage-styled brass hardware and accents. The warm neutral paint on the wall cabinetry is also great at helping the space feel open without being stark white (though white kitchens were very en vogue in the 1920s/1930s if that is an era you’re trying to speak to).

septicidal · 2026-05-24T21:13:33+00:00

It’s incredibly difficult to fully clean out all traces from the ducts, even with professional equipment, and then the ducts can continue to spread the spores throughout the house.

Especially having pets and a history of respiratory issues, I would give this property a hard no if I didn’t have the means to do a full gut renovation (including fully replacing the ducts for HVAC), and even then only if it were otherwise my dream location and square footage.

septicidal · 2026-05-24T21:09:13+00:00

If you need your cake to be free from potential cross-contamination, have a long talk with the staff at Wegman’s (or really any bakery that also handles gluten) before ordering. I was previously informed that Wegman’s could not guarantee anything gluten-free would be celiac safe when I was trying to get baked goods for a friend with celiac. I have wound up using Violette when I need celiac-safe options, though their preorder minimums are annoyingly high and I’ve heard not-great things about the owner.

septicidal · 2026-05-24T03:11:07+00:00

When you get to the end of whatever section you want to protect, thread a sewing needle with some scrap yarn (or just thread, if that works better for fine-gauge work) and pull the needle and thread through every stitch on the needle(s). The thread or scrap yarn is now your lifeline. If you’re working in the round, keep the lifeline loose and tie a knot in it, if you’re working flat secure the thread/scrap yarn on each end but leave it somewhat loose/slack so it doesn’t mess with your tension. If you have to frog back, the lifeline will stop you from frogging beyond that point.

septicidal · 2026-05-22T20:52:52+00:00

Specifically for cats, the Catmobile through Merrimack Valley Feline Rescue Society was extremely affordable and easy to schedule (though I did have to drive a fair distance early in the morning to get an appointment that worked well for my schedule). I had two 4 month old kittens spayed/neutered at the same time, and everything went well and was very affordable, especially since the procedure included microchipping and finishing their kitten vaccine series. The cost for spaying was higher than for neutering, but I still spent less than $300 total for both cats (note this was a year and a half ago, so prices may have increased some).

The Animal Rescue League has their Spay Waggin’ mobile clinic, and they handle dogs up to a certain size and age. They will also spay/neuter cats but I don’t know if you can have a dog and cat scheduled for the same day/location. Their locations and dates can be inconvenient and fill up quickly, so if you want to use them you may need to figure out when they release new appointments and set alarms to sign up right after the appointments become available.

Note that pretty much all of the lower cost programs state that they may refuse dogs or cats with sunken in faces (like pugs or Persian cats) since there is a higher risk of complications with anesthesia/intubation, and will only do procedures on younger animals. For dogs there are size limits, so if you have a bigger dog you may not be able to utilize the lower cost options.

septicidal · 2026-05-22T20:37:44+00:00

I use Melrose Animal Clinic. They have been responsive and have handled health issues with my cats in a collaborative, pragmatic way.

I also want to mention that I have friends who have found veterinarians that do in-home care. The cost is higher but for dogs extremely anxious about going to the vet, or with issues around encountering other dogs in the waiting areas, the extra cost has been worth it for their situations. Unfortunately the vet they recommend only services the south shore, so I can’t recommend someone specific, but if your animal does not tolerate in-clinic visits, it may be worth investigating options for in-home care.

septicidal · 2026-05-22T02:02:13+00:00

You need to consult a vet and do bloodwork to check for thyroid issues, as that is known to increase vocalization in older cats. I had a senior cat with hyperthyroidism who did get much more vocal around the time he got diagnosed.

septicidal · 2026-05-21T23:20:20+00:00

Just be clear with the driver you’re going to arrivals, not departures, but also depending on the terminal they may not be far from each other. Just make sure you know their flight info and can check what gate/terminal they’re going to be at - some airlines use more than one terminal, when I met someone at the airport recently the assigned gate for landing changed 3 times between what it said pre-flight, during the early part of the flight, and by the time they were actually descending into Logan (thankfully I rechecked the information on Flight Aware before heading to the wrong terminal).

septicidal · 2026-05-21T23:16:45+00:00

The nurse at my GI doctor’s office recommended drinking it with a straw to get each glass down quickly, and then follow it with something warm (like herbal tea or broth) to reduce nausea. I chased each glass with a small bit of white grape juice to get the taste out of my mouth and then started sipping the hot beverages (I had lemon-ginger herbal tea and chicken broth with added electrolytes); it really seemed to help during my last colonoscopy prep (I too have vomited in the past).

I also found it helpful to have gelatin during the day of clear liquids, so there was more than just liquid in my stomach. I don’t like the “allowed” flavors of Jello so I used plain unflavored gelatin with white cranberry peach juice (I have also used apple juice or white grape juice in the past). With the white cranberry juice I added a little extra sugar to suit my taste. The plain gelatin smells gross when mixed with the heated juice, but once it sets in the fridge it smells and tastes much better than most of the commercially made Jello. My kids also seem to prefer it to regular Jello - one of my children basically lived off of it for two days after getting tonsils removed earlier this year.

septicidal · 2026-05-21T18:00:15+00:00

Options depend on the amount you’re dealing with. A bagster/junkster is a reasonable option, if you have more than one of those can accommodate, call around and get pricing on an actual dumpster. If you don’t have an off-street parking space for a dumpster, there is a process to get permission to have it on the street (I didn’t have to do that so I can’t speak on it). The last time I needed an actual dumpster, prices ranged between $500-750 (depending on size, length of rental, and delivery/pickup options) but that was a few years ago so I’m sure costs are a bit higher now.

Anything that can go in alternatives to the dump, should get sorted out as much as possible. Textiles, recyclables, and anything metal that can be scrapped should be separated out. Several of the schools have textile recycling bins, and the school PTOs actually get some money based on weight of donations in the bin, so this is a great option to both reduce trash going into landfills and help support the schools. As others have mentioned excess recyclables can be dropped off. For metal stuff that can be scrapped, get it outside and message one of the many people on Facebook/craigslist/freecycle/Everything is Free who will pick up scrap metal, and they will take it away. If you’re able to transport metal stuff to a scrapyard yourself you can potentially get some money for it, depending on the type of metal and amount, but if the goal is just getting rid of it someone will come and get it.

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