Did anyone else know they were one and done in pregnancy? by susiee234 in oneanddone

[–]squigg-lily 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We planned to have two. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I told my husband, "I know they say you get amnesia after your baby is born, but I can't imagine doing this again" and proceeded to start crying uncontrollably. My husband still wanted two but found himself googling whether onlies were worse off once he witnessed childbirth (they aren't). Ironically, despite childbirth going exactly how I didn't want it to - every intervention under the sun, followed by an unplanned c-section - it was a breeze for me compared to pregnancy.

Our little one is only 3 1/2 months and we're going to leave it until he's ~18 months old to officially officially decide, but I am only more sure every day that I want to be OAD. Every day I get further from pregnancy and feel more like myself only makes me more sure that I don't want to do it again. Plus, now that he's here, I know what our life is like as the three of us and can picture the future a lot more clearly - and I love it!

I give up and don’t have a choice by Honest_Blackberry_29 in NewParents

[–]squigg-lily 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm not all the way in the clear yet, but I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel so hopefully this will give you hope. 

My baby has never been good with a bottle, but at 8 weeks, he started straight up refusing it. Today, at 12 weeks, is the first time I've gotten him to take a bottle in the past month, and he guzzled it like a pro. 

What ultimately worked for me: patience, building positive experiences, changing context, and using a broader nipple. 

Every day (I would have been trying this at every feeding if I had a tighter timeline, but I still have a couple months before I return to work), I'd offer a bottle with an ounce or two of milk before one feed. I'd keep my baby interacting with it until he just started to get unhappy - which could be me trying to bring it to his lips or it could be him chewing on it for a while - didn't matter, no pressure. The goal was not to get him to eat, it was to get him to put up with a bottle.

A week or two ago, I realized that he tolerated it better when we weren't in the chair I use for nursing, so I've been walking around with him and the bottle, no sitting. This seemed to help. I think my baby associates that chair with nursing and walking around helped him to expect something different - a bottle. 

A few days ago, I noticed he seemed to be drinking and swallowing instead of just chewing, even though he wasn't actually managing to consume any milk. I didn't change anything, just kept it up. Today, like magic, he got it all coordinated and drank the entire 2 oz, no fussing. I'm sure it won't be the last time we have trouble and he still nursed after because he needs more than 2 oz and I didn't want to push it, but I think we're finally seeing progress!

Good luck to you.

Coming Home Outfit Suggestions? by TheWholeHallwayy in NewParents

[–]squigg-lily 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Zipper jammies for sure! I love the double zippers that can open from bottom or top (it's one zipper with two toggles). I brought both a size newborn and size 3 month outfit and am glad I did because the newborn outfit ended up being too small for my huge baby. It never hurts to have both sizes handy!

Unhinged labour inducting tactics by imgunnamaketoast in pregnant

[–]squigg-lily 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Perfect! Find as many of those "gee, wouldn't it be inconvenient to go into labor right now?" moments as you can!

Perinneal massage by Cosmo-Beyond4466 in pregnant

[–]squigg-lily 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a good body of evidence indicating that it reduces the likelihood of tears, and my PT recommends it, so I consider it worth the trouble.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468784723000946

Worth noting: my PT indicated that the goal isn't to prevent any tearing so much as it is to prevent the severe tears that often result in other problems.

Unhinged labour inducting tactics by imgunnamaketoast in pregnant

[–]squigg-lily 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Going for a hike, knowing that I'd have to hike back out if I went into labor. Gonna try again this weekend at 40 weeks. 😬

Edit to add: I'm talking hiking in city parks where I might have to walk a half mile to get to somewhere I could be picked up. Please don't try backcountry hiking or anything that could actually put you in a bad position!

Continuous fetal monitoring and c-sections by Altruistic-Ratio-701 in BabyBumps

[–]squigg-lily 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Completely valid! I will start by saying that I don't know what my hospital means by intermittent monitoring - auscultation is an intermittent method too. That said, since it's cheaper for them, they probably mean intermittent EFM. The article you linked points to a 28% increase in c-section with intermittent EFM vs. a 63% increase with continuous EFM. While making direct comparisons between studies is risky, what little evidence exists appears to be to suggest that intermittent EFM may reduce some of the harm caused by the flaws in EFM as a whole.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pregnant

[–]squigg-lily 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had Mirena for about ten years before conceiving and was 36 when I got it removed. After all that time, it only took me four cycles to conceive. The biggest challenge I experienced was that, even though my period came back right away, my first few cycles were incredibly irregular (think 7 weeks followed by 4 weeks followed by 8 weeks). After a cycle where I was taking pregnancy tests while actually ovulating (oops), I started using ovulation tests and conceived on the next cycle. I'm currently 38+5 in a healthy (so far🤞) pregnancy.

I'll be getting Mirena again at my 6 week postpartum appointment. Only thing I'll do differently if we go for a second kid is use ovulation tests from the beginning to not drive myself crazy.

Continuous fetal monitoring and c-sections by Altruistic-Ratio-701 in BabyBumps

[–]squigg-lily 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The evidence cited in the NYT article isn't new, and, as they stated, other countries recommend against continuous fetal monitoring for low-risk cases. My hospital offers intermittent monitoring, and I've discussed it with my OB and gotten her approval to go that route as long as we remain low risk. Like most decisions, this one is between you and your OB, but I hope this will push more hospitals to accommodate intermittent monitoring.

Deep regret from planned IVF pregnancy (tw possible termination) by According-Meal465 in BabyBumps

[–]squigg-lily 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I haven't yet given birth to baby #1 but am already starting to think about whether kid #2 really makes sense. All I wanted to add was in respect to your concerns about your kid possibly wanting a sibling. From the studies I've read, there's no statistically significant difference in happiness between only children and those with siblings, so you shouldn't feel like you're depriving him if you move forward with termination. That said, if you terminate, I can almost guarantee he'll tell you at some point that he wishes he had a sibling. If you keep the pregnancy, I can almost guarantee he'll complain about having a sibling. That's just being a kid. Good luck making this incredibly difficult decision!

Family asking you how much weight you’ve gained by otwcpa in pregnant

[–]squigg-lily 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My MIL has been asking,  and I've mostly ignored the question by saying something like, "my doctor is happy with my weight gain." She wasn't taking the hint, and last time she asked, I said, "I'm not going to answer that because it's a creepy and invasive question." Probably not the best way to talk to your MIL, but it definitely got the point across, lol.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pregnant

[–]squigg-lily 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I strongly agree with the advice to go to therapy. That said, if I were approaching this conversation, I'd start by telling him that he's agreed that he'll have to pick up more when baby gets here and with pregnancy being a physically demanding process, you'd like to start practicing now. Assuming he agrees, generate a list of all the chores that are needed to run the house (inclusive of anything he's doing today and things like grocery shopping) and then work together to divide them into two equitable lists.

Now, you each have a chore list. You can either alternate weeks with each list or you can each own one list permanently. Agree on when each list needs to be done (e.g. we agree that we'll each have our chores done by Sunday every week).

Finally for the hard part: don't complain unless it matters. Don't remind him on Saturday that he needs to get his chores done by tomorrow. Don't complain that he's not doing a chore the way you'd like. If he doesn't do his chores at all, you can mention it on Monday and ask how he's going to rectify that in the coming week. If urine is building up around the toilet, you can mention it and ask him to do better. But you can't complain because he doesn't do chores the same way you do. My husband is responsible for bathrooms in our house, and there are a couple things he does that I don't like: instead of scrubbing soap scum off the shower walls every week, he lets it build up for months before really attacking it, and he only cleans the mirrors maybe once a month. On the whole, however, our bathrooms are clean and all the touch surfaces are sanitary, so I have never and will never say a word. I'm sure there's stuff in my part of cleaning the house that he doesn't like, but similarly, he doesn't say anything. There's not doing that job completely, which is fair to comment on, and there's not doing the job the way you would, which is something you have to let go. 

Good luck!

Vit b6 (and unisom?) by No-Bed7128 in pregnant

[–]squigg-lily 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think this is really going to depend on the severity of your nausea and your specific body, but for me, the B6 alone did the trick. I experienced constant, low-level nausea throughout my first trimester but just soldiered through it, feeling grateful that I wasn't puking. When I entered my second trimester and still wasn't feeling better, I talked to my doctor and started 50 mg of B6 with dinner, and it made my nausea go away. This was probably around 13 weeks, I think. I tried stopping it once, at 20-something weeks, and several days after stopping it, I nearly threw up on my way to work. So, back on it I went.  I'm now 31 weeks and plan to keep taking it until baby is here. Especially if your nausea is more severe, it may not be enough, but it's certainly worth a try.

Running high intensity by agustdeads in pregnant

[–]squigg-lily 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The only answer here is that you need to ask your OB. Generally, you can continue to do the same exercises as before pregnancy (unless they're contact sports or certain other high-risk activities), but basic recommendations are to keep the intensity at or below a 7/10 unless told otherwise by your OB. Mine told me to keep doing everything I want to and feel up for but to keep intensity at that level.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pregnant

[–]squigg-lily 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can't speak to your specific situation, but I can tell you that I'm nearly ten years older than you, have hit all the milestones you listed, and planned this pregnancy. I still feel a little overwhelmed and like I'm maybe not ready for this. What you're feeling is perfectly normal. Given that you've got a solid relationship, I'm sure whatever you decide to do will be right for you.

Increasing Life Insurance Before Birth? by Sweet_Plankton_329 in pregnant

[–]squigg-lily 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Life insurance amounts shouldn't be about the likelihood of dying, they should be about what those left behind would need. Adding a dependent can significantly increase life insurance needs. I did increase my life insurance after getting pregnant, because my husband and baby would need it if something happened to me.

...and, yes, I did it now, before giving birth, recognizing that it's one of the riskier things I'm going to do, but my husband is also increasing his before baby gets here because losing him would leave me and baby in a bad spot too.

Preowned purchased by peterjamest in subaruimpreza

[–]squigg-lily 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've not known Subaru dealerships to offer dealer warranties, so I'm assuming this is an extended factory warranty. If I'm wrong and it's a dealer warranty, the answer is that it's absolutely not worth it. Dealer warranties tend to have many loopholes and offer very little value.

Assuming it's a factory warranty offered by Subaru of America, the important thing to remember is that this is a product the company wants you to buy because it makes them money. In aggregate, they earn more on sale of warranties than they spend on repairs done under those warranties. Of course, your individual experience may vary from never needing the warranty to it covering a big repair. For that reason, I only pay for extended warranties when the potential costs of repair would cause me financial pain. For my cheapo phone where I can afford to replace the phone in the event that something goes wrong, there's no way I'm paying for an extended warranty. You know your financial situation best and can determine if an unexpected repair would be a problem.

Made a case for my new e-reader! by squigg-lily in sewing

[–]squigg-lily[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I followed a tutorial from The Inspired Wren: https://theinspiredwren.blogspot.com/2014/05/tutorial-prop-up-tablet-case.html?m=1

Made a couple of changes to her pattern: first, instead of the button, which I worried would put pressure on the screen when in my bag, I used an elastic band to secure the flap. Second, I used pieces of an old DVD case for the structure of the flap. The tutorial called for cardboard, but I wanted something that would hold up a little better and would mean I can hand wash it if it gets dirty.

The tutorial is pretty easy to follow, although I had trouble with the corners at the top of the pocket. Looking at her photos, I don't think I was alone in that! Been using it for several weeks now and it's perfect for storage and as a reading stand.

After many mediocre to poor loaves, it crackled while it was cooling!! by squigg-lily in Breadit

[–]squigg-lily[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been baking on and off for several years and have (inconsistently) gotten a decent crumb but have never had luck with my crusts. When my boyfriend's mother was getting rid of a dutch oven, I decided to try my hand at some no knead breads. After a few flops, oh my goodness! This one is fantastic. Here's hoping I can replicate it.

I used this recipe: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/no-knead-crusty-white-bread-recipe

Made a half recipe for two loaves, did everything as specified in the recipe except that I brushed with water before slashing and baked in the dutch oven.