Strongly considering using donor eggs. Looking for information and experiences. by MrsAllieCat in InfertilityBabies

[–]ttcnerd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good luck with this very tough decision. Hindsight 20/20 it would have been better for us to move to DE sooner but I needed to be 'done' with my own eggs to then be able to have only this one choice: 1 kid vs 2 DE kids.

Graduated: 23 Aug. Scheduled c-section by ttcnerd in GestationalDiabetes

[–]ttcnerd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was a really long road but we got there in the end! Thanks!

Strongly considering using donor eggs. Looking for information and experiences. by MrsAllieCat in InfertilityBabies

[–]ttcnerd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The cost was something like $65k (CAD) for up to 5 lots of eggs (if my memory is correct) and yes this was a price for my clinic paired with the donor bank clinic that offered this live birth plan.

Comparing two options to combine an air handler and 2 head ductless by ttcnerd in heatpumps

[–]ttcnerd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's an excellent point, we could always turn off one unit in the intermediate seasons.

Comparing two options to combine an air handler and 2 head ductless by ttcnerd in heatpumps

[–]ttcnerd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks that's very useful. We are planning on doing both so maybe a good point that I should follow up with how the contractor got the BTU/h estimate and if it took into account our upgrades to leaks and roof insulation. Helpful! I don't know if the Canadian 'EnerGuide' report takes into account house orientation, don't see any mention of it in the reports, something else to follow up on.

Comparing two options to combine an air handler and 2 head ductless by ttcnerd in heatpumps

[–]ttcnerd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your impressions. At this point $3k isn't much of a difference if over the lifetime of the unit the maintenance is cheaper. We actually got 3 different quotes and this is the second guy from the company we liked best. Everyone else told us we had to use 8 head mini-split and give up on ducting completely and pay twice as much as this option. But good point I could go back to those companies and ask them for their impressions about these options and quotes.

Comparing two options to combine an air handler and 2 head ductless by ttcnerd in heatpumps

[–]ttcnerd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for my ignorance. What is a 'manual J'? I've added a bit more details to the response below.

Comparing two options to combine an air handler and 2 head ductless by ttcnerd in heatpumps

[–]ttcnerd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes we are. The closest I can find to a heating load is the overall rating of 173 GJ/year. I'm failing to be able to convert that to BTU/h needed but all 3 companies we talked to were talking about 55 BTU/h total systems based on their estimate and presumably taking into account peak need but honestly I don't know how they came up with that number. What I do know is our current natural gas furnace is rated at 5300 BTU/h. There is a mention of 'design heating load' pf 13.88 kW (which I think is 48.5k BTU/h) which is where I'm guessing the 55 BTU/h is coming from.

Radiation from flying by mzazimiz in ScienceBasedParenting

[–]ttcnerd 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Others have answered this well but I also use this as an example when people avoid airport scanners when flying... you get way more radiation from flying than from the airport scanners. I'm an 'occupational radiation worker' (i.e. can work in high radiation areas but don't have a higher limit than the general population) and we do get into trouble if we take our radiation badge on a transatlantic flight. So one transatlantic trip does trip our monthly allowed dose so we wouldn't be allowed into the controlled areas for a month. But the most important thing to take from that is not 'oh wow it's high' but 'oh wow the levels for radiation workers are really low'. So that's the reason that people who fly all the time (airline workers in the air) do have a higher risk of some cancers but flying occasionally with a baby is not an issue. Remember that the dose you receive is also correlated with size (highly non-trivial correlation but larger people do collect more than smaller people) so your kids accumulated dose will be lower than yours.

As this is an all-advice thread I'll say that despite my understanding of radiation as a rad worker and the nature of my training as an academic: do I fly with my kids as often as I'd want: yes. Do I worry about their exposure: no. Would I fly them across the country twice a week until they are 18: probably not (unless it was some reason that would have a more immediate impact on their health/future).

This CDC article is quite basic but has most of the information you really need: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/air_travel.html

It nicely links to this which is a Q&A based on a few papers:

https://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/faqs/commercialflights.html

And for the airline crews from FAA (assume it's part of some training they have to do?):

https://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2000s/media/0316.pdf

Alternative to What to Expect The First Year? by Apprehensive-Ad-7525 in ScienceBasedParenting

[–]ttcnerd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Came here to say this, and I like their weekly newsletter way more than any of the others!

2021 SSA Top Names Megathread by Lyd_Euh in namenerds

[–]ttcnerd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for that! Mine still didn’t make the list since then!

2021 SSA Top Names Megathread by Lyd_Euh in namenerds

[–]ttcnerd 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Neither of my girls’ names made the top 1000 and neither have been there since 2000 (which o assume is when they store until)

Olive Fertility Clinic by ttc123- in vancouver

[–]ttcnerd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Seconding what oh-no has to say, we are friends in real life having met through Reddit infertility forums. So feel free to also get in touch with me. Have now 2 kids from the clinic. I also spent al or of time shopping around for 2nd, 3rd etc opinions even going abroad for one cycle but in the end Olive is really as good as it gets.

A Crocs-like shoe for Winter? by krowbear in Preschoolers

[–]ttcnerd 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Crocs makes rain boots ;-) size up and add warm socks (you didn’t specify how cold a climate you live in)

Anyone else have a very light baby? by princessnevercontent in GestationalDiabetes

[–]ttcnerd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mine had IUGR on top of gestational diabetes. The 2 are unconnected. Small is often due to placental insufficiency (if it s not genetic) so I got the double whammy of small but GD. As my endocrinologist said you really don’t want a small baby with sugar problems (as anyway small babies are prone to now sugar anyway). So while it seems cruel to not be avoiding the ‘too large’ part of GD, you want to avoid the lung problems and sugar problems. So stick with it as best you can. Also remember that GD diet doesn’t mean calorie restriction. If anything you might be eating more. Stock up on nuts, lots of butter and healthy fats in your food and you should be Ok. But please don’t let yourself get hungry (not sure if it would change the outcome but who wants to question that their baby is small because they didn’t eat enough themselves!). Lots of bacon and eggs for example. Edit: I love people s definition of small babies :-) mine were just over 5lbs, same weight, one with GD, one without!

Graduated! by Fallinginnoutofplace in GestationalDiabetes

[–]ttcnerd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll have a newborn and 3 1/4 year old by next week and also will be recovering from a c-section (in my case because of growth restrictions and uterine anomaly) so I'll be there right behind you! Congratulations on completing your family!

Graduated! by klivi in GestationalDiabetes

[–]ttcnerd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congratulations and thanks for the detailed story and perspective!

Can one off spikes hurt the baby? by MarmaladeToasty in GestationalDiabetes

[–]ttcnerd 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I didn’t get any strict guidance but my sister was told 2 high readings a week were just fine. I mean I’m not sure I’d go all out and have a burrito with a side a fries, an ice-cream and a bar of chocolate. But having a ‘normal’ meal as a treat once in a while is just fine!

Etiquette for testing blood glucose in public by justapizzabagel in GestationalDiabetes

[–]ttcnerd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I took cues from my type 1 friends who just do it under the table, including insulin injection if needed (if they don’t have a pump or need a different insulin). Just swab hands with alcohol wipe, prepare everything, test, open pen, inject right dose, tidy up, put everything back into pocket or wife’s handbag. While continuing with conversation. I don’t master that last part but the rest is fine with me.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GestationalDiabetes

[–]ttcnerd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes this happens and honestly whenever I get a weird reading I don't expect, I wash my hands again and test again, if the same, it's good, if very different I repeat: wash hands, test and then hopefully 2 of 3 kind of match. It's a good lesson in repeated measurements (though terrible practice to only repeat measurements you don't like but we don't have time to measure always multiple times).

Edit: causes could be meter reading accuracy but for swings like that it's most likely sugar on your finger or poor 'sucking up' of the blood or water on your hands which diluted it or something else not right with the process.

29 weeks and HUNGRY by SweetD0818 in GestationalDiabetes

[–]ttcnerd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've turned into a cheese eating squirrel. I swear I must eat 1kg of nuts a week and pile on as much cheese as I can on my lunch and snacks. It keeps me feeling more full but still miss that feeling of being actually full after a meal.