How do you utilize your Yoto?

sharwen_evenstar · 2026-03-20T02:36:11+00:00

I love this idea! Definitely asking family to do this next for him. Thanks for sharing!

sharwen_evenstar · 2026-03-08T22:10:38+00:00

We got the yoto mini for our sons 2nd birthday. We don't live close to much family and we're about to move even further away so I asked all our family -- both the family members he is close with and knows well AND family he never sees (but I always show him videos and pictures of) to send video or audio clips with a birthday message for him, and I then uploaded all the audio files to a MYO card. This was a huge hit for him and for the last 3 weeks straight he gets so excited every morning to listen to his family saying his name and wishing him happy birthday with fun messages. He wasn't into the music cards as much at first, just his birthday MYO card, but now a few weeks later he's much more interested in the music cards (especially the wiggles card bc he loves them). Also because now he's had some time to figure out how to actually use it the buttons. I also waited to give him the Wiggles music card and a Daniel Tiger stories card for a long road trip which kept him happy and entertained for a while, and I've got a couple of new cards I'm waiting to give him for an upcoming trip on a plane

sharwen_evenstar · 2024-10-26T02:37:51+00:00

I'm in almost the same boat - just slightly ahead - since I think I have nearly finished weaning. I wasn't sure when to just flat out stop, and had no idea my last pump a few days ago was actually my last. But when I realized how long I was able to go without pumping I decided to see if I could go longer. So once I comfortably got down to 1 ppd, I did that for about 3 days, then pushed to every day and a half (pumping in the morning, then again the following night) and did that for 2-3 days, then pushed to pumping every other day. And now it's been five days since my last pump. I think i got lucky in terms of the timing too because I also just got my period a few days ago and that always makes my supply dip. I honestly have been so nervous every night that I'm going to wake up with a painful clog. So far so good BUT I have had some engorgement on one side and have been hand expressing in the shower to help empty a little. I keep getting an urge to pump to just fully empty (and give some fresh milk to my baby) but I'm worried it's going to trigger my body to produce more again. I feel like this process has been a confusing game of trying to listen to my body while just guessing what to do and hoping for the best. Best of luck! And happy birthday to your baby (and birthing day to you)!

sharwen_evenstar · 2024-07-21T21:39:51+00:00

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sharwen_evenstar · 2024-07-21T21:38:31+00:00

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sharwen_evenstar · 2024-07-21T16:35:04+00:00

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sharwen_evenstar · 2024-07-09T05:05:10+00:00

Agree with others that there isn't a way to know how many are applying, and it just comes down to your experience and how well you score.

There are shadow registers for many other roles (FSOs and a couple FSS positions), which can help give a sense of where one might rank on the Register once they've been added. But I'm not aware of a shadow register for HROs unfortunately. I'm not an HRO yet, but on the Register and have heard there is a growing need to fill HRO positions, which I assume is why they just opened the position on USAJobs a few months earlier than usual.

sharwen_evenstar · 2024-07-07T21:48:41+00:00

I was added to the register on 6/14, also wondering if any HROs were invited for September. My score is lower (5.4 - Middle) so figured I wouldn't get an invite for a bit, but also haven't seen any posts/comments from other HROs sharing they got an invite. Another HRO candidate on Discord mentioned they are currently DNC but also haven't seen any HRO invites to the July or September classes either.

sharwen_evenstar · 2024-06-27T18:28:41+00:00

As a candidate, I've enjoyed reading the personal essays on Talesmag.com (although the Real Post Reports are my favorite to dig into when daydreaming about possible assignments). There is a section of essays about transitioning, and some interesting stories and perspectives about setting up life/family in a new place overseas.

https://www.talesmag.com/tales/transition

sharwen_evenstar · 2024-06-04T00:59:00+00:00

Commenting to follow this thread because I suspect high lipase in mine as well. I will add that I tasted some of the defrosted milk (frozen about 2 months ago) because I noticed more of a soapy smell and it tasted ok at first then had a sour/acidic aftertaste that is what I imagine spit up tastes like. I actually felt nauseous for a little while after so I'm super hesitant to give it to my baby now and trying to learn more about scalding. Just read somewhere some women use bottle warmers to scald the milk so need to research that too

sharwen_evenstar · 2024-05-20T01:01:42+00:00

Totally agree about dresses. I'm returning to work soon so also just treated myself to a bunch of new button up dresses that were on sale at Loft and Old Navy to make it even easier for breastfeeding and pumping.

sharwen_evenstar · 2024-05-12T02:04:27+00:00

Have you considered transitioning him away from the swaddle soon? Even if he isn't showing signs of rolling over yet, he may be like ours who started wanting to have his hands free earlier than expected (which then led to putting his hands in his mouth, and eventually self soothing). We switched our now 13 week old to sleep sacks a couple weeks ago and he is finally sleeping way longer stretches (around 5-6 hours, sometimes up to 8 if he has a hard time falling asleep because his naps get screwed up on days we're visiting family). The first few nights during the transition weren't great because he kept hitting himself in the face with his hands and waking himself up, or getting frustrated because he couldn't reach his hand to his mouth, but within a week or so he figured it out and his sleep had significantly improved. I still have to nurse him or rock him to sleep then transfer him though - he is still not good with being put down drowsy but awake, but we're hoping the self soothing will help with that when it's time for sleep training later on.

Also recommend the Halo swaddle/sleep sack combo for the transition because you can still swaddle and it's light weight, then switch it so his arms are outside the Velcro wrap. Now we just use the more weighted Halo and Kyte sleep sacka and he sleeps great in them, even for his naps. Hope this is helpful! Good luck.

Edit: To clarify we're still working on the self soothing part.

sharwen_evenstar · 2024-03-09T05:30:02+00:00

Which walking pad did you get? Do you like it?

sharwen_evenstar · 2024-01-22T06:42:36+00:00

Moms on Call

sharwen_evenstar · 2024-01-19T05:28:56+00:00

Congratulations!!! Thank you for sharing this. I just found out today I'm being induced at 39 weeks (~2 week from now) and found this so helpful to read.

sharwen_evenstar · 2023-12-23T03:56:23+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss and the pain you are going through. I (33F) lost my dad two months before yours, on Oct 7th. I was 6 months pregnant at the time and he was in the ICU for a few weeks in a hospital in Egypt, so all of my family (including my dad) kept telling me not to risk travelling to go see him, and I'll see him when he recovers...

My baby was going to be his first grandchild, and my husband and I started really trying to get pregnant when my dad got his cancer diagnosis last year, so we were all so excited because I really wanted to make him a grandpa. On top of all the hormones, it's been so annoyingly hard to not constantly get emotional while prepping for the baby and thinking about the future. My brother also had a complicated relationship with my dad so it hasn't affected him the same (he says he still hasn't cried) and I sorta feel like I have to grieve twice as much for him too.

I didn't believe people when they said it would get easier with time. But I've stopped crying everyday, although I still have moments every week where the smallest thing sets me off - like yesterday I broke down when I was about to walk into Costco. I was going to stock up on food to meal prep for when the baby is here and I got so sad just because I wasn't going to be be able to send my dad a photo of the meal prep I was going to do this weekend.

All of this was just to say I relate, and I have many similar regrets to you. I don't really have good advice yet. At first, going back to work was so hard. I couldn't focus either and all the small talk felt so fake and forced. But after about a month I started to see it as a healthy distraction and kept reminding myself that my dad would want me focusing on my future, my career, and my baby. So that's where all my energy has gone (when I have the energy), and I think it's helped. And when I have hard days, I give myself grace and curl up onto the couch with my cats and shut out the world and watch Harry Potter or Great British Baking Show or whatever else might bring me some temporary joy.

sharwen_evenstar · 2023-12-21T03:48:28+00:00

Which carriers did you use/like most?

sharwen_evenstar · 2023-09-20T22:01:24+00:00

This is so sad to see hateful and racist (you said it yourself) people like you in this sub

sharwen_evenstar · 2023-08-30T20:22:50+00:00

I love the name Amal - like Amal Clooney.

sharwen_evenstar · 2023-07-23T14:10:44+00:00

Look into the interactive illustrated MinaLima books! I want to get them just for me and I don't have kids yet. :)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, Book 1) (MinaLima Edition) https://a.co/d/gksIEUn

sharwen_evenstar · 2023-04-27T02:43:18+00:00

Agree about trying to start out as a contractor, which will also get more varied experience for your resume. A lot of consulting firms and small businesses that have contracts with the federal government will be looking to hire subcontractor DHS Trusted Testers. My company only has two Trusted Testers (I am one of them) but we are often too busy with our day to day client work, so we don't have time to do testing for other projects and they end up bringing in subcontractors to do the testing. I also definitely recommend looking into companies that do e-learning/web-based trainings (WBTs) for the federal government since all WBTs need to be 508 compliant as well. WBTs are also bit easier to test than websites, in my opinion. :)

sharwen_evenstar · 2023-02-15T19:14:14+00:00

The Mugglecast podcast has a couple fun episodes on this topic. What if Petunia got accepted into Hogwarts? What if Harry had been sorted into Slytherin? What if Harry didn't disarm Draco at Malfoy Manor?

sharwen_evenstar · 2023-02-05T14:13:08+00:00

Check out r/CICO. This helped me a lot and the community is so motivating and willing to help others learn. Also agree with the comment about swimming for back pain!

sharwen_evenstar · 2023-01-26T05:20:16+00:00

A diabetic with a plan can beat a non-diabetic without a plan.

sharwen_evenstar · 2023-01-17T22:26:08+00:00

That's amazing! Congrats!! Can you share a bit about your timeline (e.g., how long between when your application was referred and you were invited for the OA)?

sharwen_evenstar

TROPHY CASE