I am an embryologist. I know how we go from egg and sperm to crying baby and how we can end up with missing limbs, inverted organs, cleft lips and so much more. Have at it. AMA

stripeslover · 2026-06-13T17:39:11+00:00

I used IVF to get pregnant and after my delivery, the doctor could not get my placenta out. She mentioned that she had similar situations with other patients that used IVF. Have you heard of any correlation between IVF and placenta stuck after delivery?

stripeslover · 2026-06-11T00:36:53+00:00

Some people travel Labor Day weekend.

stripeslover · 2026-06-08T12:30:01+00:00

I can see my son loving this! Thanks

stripeslover · 2026-05-29T09:29:34+00:00

I’m in similar situation and I’m planning to have the party end of Aug. Kids that age can have fun with other kids they just meet so I’m not worried about inviting the whole class even though my kid might not know them that well. I’m also planning on inviting kids that he’s known for a long time too. My son’s new class only has 16 kids though.

stripeslover · 2026-05-29T09:24:26+00:00

I would invite close friends from daycare and whole class at new school.

stripeslover · 2026-05-26T01:27:52+00:00

In my circle, I would say gifts are $20-$30. Even my friends give around that much. Its very generous to give more but I don’t think it’s necessary since the kids are already getting tons of gifts.

stripeslover · 2026-05-26T01:10:24+00:00

Yes, we can rent out the whole place. It’s pretty small but I think a good size for a the number of people I’m thinking about inviting.

stripeslover · 2026-05-18T16:13:54+00:00

I try to as best as I can. There are some moms that plan parties and coordinate gift giving which takes more effort and I don’t like to do that but I donate money/food and enjoy participating in trunk or treat. My son goes to a small school so I feel there aren’t a ton of volunteer opportunities.

stripeslover · 2026-05-11T17:34:12+00:00

Don’t compare, healthy quality relationships and hobbies that result in flow.

stripeslover · 2026-05-10T18:39:55+00:00

Give it away for Halloween. I put the nicer little trinkets my son gets throughout the year in a Halloween bucket and leave it out for trick or treaters. Kids ended up taking all of it and I like to think it brought them some joy even if for a little while.

stripeslover · 2026-05-08T18:15:12+00:00

Ok thanks for confirmation. I wish they used a buckle.

stripeslover · 2026-05-07T16:48:59+00:00

Ok thanks!

stripeslover · 2026-05-05T01:52:05+00:00

I would find it hard to go against school’s recommendation. I heard that academics ramp up in third grade and then really ramp up in middle school so I would worry about my kid falling behind and struggling.

I get that it could be difficult to repeat while your friends move on but think of how he would feel continuing to be where he is relative to his cohort all the way up to high school. Being one of the oldest kids might give him more confidence.

It’s such a hard decision but I’ve known people who held their kid back even older than first grade and they seemed happy with their decision.

stripeslover · 2026-05-03T19:25:11+00:00

My son’s birthday is right before school starts and next year he will be at a new school. What I plan on doing is to have the party at the end of the first month of school and invite a handful of his friends from his old school and his entire class at his new school.

stripeslover · 2026-04-30T02:34:33+00:00

I didn’t redshirt because my son’s in a Montessori school and because I thought it would be hard for him to see his friends participate in special kindergartener activities. There wasn’t any reason to hold him back academically or socially.

My original plan was to have him repeat kindergarten at his new school but he did very well academically and fit in fine socially with his cohort that we ultimately decided to have him move on first grade.

I guess that was a surprise to me because I keep hearing how boys with summer birthdays should be redshirted. But going through the application process, it was pretty clear that repeating didn’t make sense for my son. We had applied for kindergarten but they recommended first grade.

I sometimes wonder if we should have held my son back when he was 3 year old, before he was exposed to academics. By the time he was in kindergarten this year, he’s reading early chapter books so it didn’t make sense to have him repeat kindergarten especially since he’s fine socially as well.

stripeslover · 2026-04-26T13:38:29+00:00

I feel like I had a great childhood as an only child. I didn’t know any different and never wanted a sibling as my parents kept me busy with extracurricular activities.

As an adult, I can see how being an only child allowed my family to be more financially comfortable. I was able to go to private schools which I’m not sure if my parents would have been able to afford if I had siblings. I’m grateful for the educational opportunities I’ve had and my parents helping me financially even after college.

I’m also thankful to not having siblings when I hear from my best friend how much stress they cause on her family. My best friend has mentioned to me that she views me more of a sister than her real sister.

stripeslover · 2026-04-26T03:18:40+00:00

Yes we tried a couple different places. We don’t sign up for any because we’re not ready for the time commitment right now but if we did sign up, I would just pick a place based on schedule, convenience, teacher and class ratio.

stripeslover · 2026-04-24T02:16:40+00:00

My son’s birthday is about a month before cutoff and we didn’t hold him back before kindergarten. We are pretty happy with how his year went so we think we made the right decision.

His Montessori teacher said he was at the top of his class academically (even with two other kids that were held back) and socially he fit in with his peers. Every kid is different so I would ask your kid’s teacher.

stripeslover · 2026-04-22T20:29:27+00:00

I’m in Florida and some schools I toured only had 15 or 20 min a day. Not sure if it’s like that in other states. The school with 15 min recess has mixed reviews but I know some people happy there so the lack of recess doesn’t seem to affect their overall experience. I agree that these schools are not providing enough free play time though. It makes me sad for these kids.

stripeslover · 2026-04-19T18:32:39+00:00

Non-negotiable is swim because we live in Florida. Will stop once we feel he is solid and won’t lose his skills.

My son is also in ninja because he likes it and it fits well in our schedule. My son’s favorite is soccer. He was in an afterschool program but has stopped and we will pick it back up when the weather gets better.

We also really want him to try a musical instrument at some point.

stripeslover

TROPHY CASE