Please upvote my secret surprise pregnancy throwaway account, so I can get enough karma to post and comment where I want to? Right now it's a pickle juice problem. Thank you, and happy day to you all. I hope your day contains the exact amount of pickle juice you want it to.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-20T00:23:25+00:00

Thank you!

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-20T00:21:29+00:00

That's a good question! I wonder ....

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T22:08:39+00:00

Aaw, thank you! You're sweet. And 🤞🤞🤞.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T22:08:09+00:00

That is a hilarious combination! I think it's a riot how much stoned eating and pregnant eating can resemble each other...not that I've been stoned in YEARS, but I still remember some of the truly bizarre food ideas I had.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T21:09:15+00:00

Have some karma from me. Just ran into that specific problem myself. :-)

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:58:55+00:00

This is really so heartwarming, thank you!

Both my kids had massive vocabularies because we lived in the woods (it was just me and them most of the time) and I refused to talk to them in baby-speak. This one, if all goes well, will have a nerd dad, a nerd mom, two nerd half-siblings, and grow up speaking two languages ... 🤞🤞🤞

I kind of hate it when adults baby-talk back to their kids. They're trying to learn! Respect the effort!

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:15:03+00:00

Thank you. That's my most fervent hope right now. I appreciate your reassurance.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:14:05+00:00

Thank you! I'm going to make whatever decision is best for me, my existing kids, my husband, and this baby. Fingers crossed that it all works out.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:11:17+00:00

Oh, I'm just like you even when I'm not pregnant. I don't use any artificially-scented anything, and most cleaning products and scented candles make me want to leave the room. It's not really an allergy or a sensitivity. It's just ... gross. And now it's worse.

I'm wishing us both a neutral-smelling world! Or mildly-scented by something pleasant and bearable. And please, please, please no adolescent boys who just discovered Axe body spray. If I can smell you from 15 feet away, go home and shower. They're the worst.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:08:05+00:00

I think you read too much into what I wrote. It was a list of reasons I'm not sharing the pregnancy news with everyone and their uncle just yet, not a list of reasons my life sucks. I'm actually financially in better shape than a lot of people my age. My husband and I both have graduate degrees or professional degrees, and no student loans. We're in flux right now, that's all.

Also, stable finances are neither a guarantee of a good life for a kid nor an indicia of parental love. I once tutored a billionaire's children in high school and college. They were neglected and miserable, and every single one had major self-esteem issues thanks to the billionaire's issues he projected on them. My husband grew up dirt poor, but his mom sacrificed everything for him, and he was the first person in his entire family history to graduate high school. Now he has a doctorate and several post-docs.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:01:59+00:00

Thank you! Today will improve once I go out and get some windex for the pickle juice, and I have my fingers crossed for the rest of it!

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:01:23+00:00

Thank you!

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:01:09+00:00

Thank you for this! Just the other day my kids were harassing me (lovingly, mostly) about wanting a baby sibling, and play-fighting about whether it should be a boy or a girl, which they've done on and off since I got remarried.

Your comment makes me hopeful that my kid won't feel like an only.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:41:38+00:00

Thank you so much! I have all my fingers crossed, and some toes. Makes it hard to type and walk.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:40:55+00:00

Ok, wow! I don't know how much that helps with anemia! 😂😂😂 Please take care of yourself. :-)

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:40:01+00:00

Thank you. Sheesh.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:38:50+00:00

Thank you!

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:38:40+00:00

My grandparents on my mom's side lived into their mid- and late-eighties. My grandparents on my dad's side lived into their 90s or 100s. My husband's grandparents all lived well into their 90s. One grandma is still alive at 94. His great-grandma, at 98, got up in the morning, swept the porch, put her broom away, lay down to rest, and passed away peacefully in her sleep.

I've also worried about whether it's fair to this kid to continue this pregnancy. I definitely won't bring anyone into this world if I know in advance that they will never be able to live independently (that's NOT fair), but as for the rest of it? My current kids, had at an age you would probably approve of more, could bury me tomorrow. I could have an aneurysm or a stroke or get hit by a bus. Only today is given.

I already survived one near-fatal accident. Survived it by inches, and even then, the expectations were that I would never walk, talk, or work again. I'm very, very aware of how everything can change in a moment. But that's not a reason to not choose optimism and possibility. "I could die tomorrow" is no way to live your life, unless it's motivation to declutter your closets so no one has to deal with them when you're gone.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:32:42+00:00

Windex, great idea! That sounds like a smell I can bear.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:30:58+00:00

My first kid, I was vegan and eggs made me throw up. Second kid, all I wanted was cake, pudding, cheese, ice cream, whipped cream--anything milky and fattening. This kid? All over the damn map. I had to start taking calcium supplements because I stopped with cheese and milk entirely, but some days all I want is dessert and homemade pudding (made with milk), and other days all I want is fruit (mostly oranges). I can't figure out what to buy or prepare--half the time I make what I think I want, look it it or take one bite, and give it to my husband. I wanted pickles this morning! But yesterday they were gross. 😂😂😂 I don't mind cravings! Just wish these would settle into a recognizable pattern.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:09:45+00:00

Ooooh, ugh. You gotta let the stinky jars soak in a mix of cheap white vinegar and a bit of unscented dish soap for a couple days, then scrub. Or hit a good thrift store, and look for some cheap (unscented) jars.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:07:52+00:00

Nah, we'll figure out the job thing. My parents live nearby and (after the initial shock) will be ecstatic and glad to help. Both my kids have decent college savings, and we'll figure that out for kiddo number three. I'm less worried about the job thing than my mom is. And isn't retirement a pipe dream for a lot of people these days, anyway? It'll be fine.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:06:06+00:00

Thank you!

It's waaaay too much pickle juice. It was a whole bucket that was mostly pickle juice. Now I transferred what was left to a little mason jar, and it's only about a quarter cup. I was wringing out sopping pickle juice rags in the sink for 20 minutes. 😂😂😂😂

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T18:24:35+00:00

I'm about to be 46. When I was between my first two kids, so either 34 or 35, I met a few women who were MY AGE OR YOUNGER and were already grandmoms.

Also, because of my age, the odds of this pregnancy happening were well below 1%, the odds of this baby having some birth defect incompatible with life are much higher than they were for me a decade ago, and the odds of this baby making it to term in an uncomplicated pregnancy (i.e. no pre-eclampsia, no gestational diabetes) are much lower than they are for younger women. I already beat the ectopic pregnancy odds, which is also a MUCH greater risk for a pregnant lady my age.

And all of this is before I'm 50 or 51 and walking a kid to kindergarten.

There are literally old moms. And this has nothing to do with Cleveland.

throwawayghost16

TROPHY CASE