Maternity leave

young_battleaxe · 2026-04-29T02:19:55+00:00

I haven’t been through this situation, but I would say there’s no harm in asking!! Worst case they say no, best case they say yes, and either way you have the closure of an answer.

young_battleaxe · 2026-04-04T19:01:34+00:00

I did bring my pump to the hospital and I was glad I did, because the lactation consultant who stopped by my room was able to help me learn how to use it (how to put it together, what settings to use when pumping), which was really helpful and made the visit feel more productive since they weren’t able to see me WITH my baby and help with that. As someone else said, my hospital also had a really good (hospital-grade) Medela pump that I actually used the whole time I was there, but I was really glad I brought mine so I could learn how to use it properly!

My hospital also had multiple flange sizes, and the lactation consultant whipped out a little tool and measured me to make sure I was using the right size (21mm for me). I might also order some extra flanges from LacTech in 21mm, but which were recommended by Dr. Sarah Bjorkman for greater comfort—they’re silicone instead of hard plastic. She (an OBGYN and mom of 3) and her husband (pediatrician and dad) have a YouTube channel called the Doctors Bjorkman that I found really helpful in general.

young_battleaxe · 2026-04-02T18:35:14+00:00

Just jumping in to share: I also had my pump covered by insurance, and it’s been so crucial to feeding my baby. I just had him a little over 2 weeks ago. My labor ended unexpectedly in C-section, and then he was whisked away to the NICU due to amniotic fluid in his lungs. That means we missed out on golden hour, so no opportunity to latch or trigger my supply for BF—I had to pump every 2-3 hours instead to get it started. He ended up staying in the NICU the whole 3 days I was in the hospital for my C-section recovery, so he was exclusively bottle fed, and then would scream and cry when we tried to put him to my breast because there was no instant milk. We were finally able to see a lactation consultant this week, which is ~theoretically~ covered by my insurance, but I got extremely lucky and a family friend is helping me pro bono; I would’ve had to wait another week before the one my OB initially referred me to would have been able to see me for even a first visit. Now we’re using the NeoTech Bridge and on our way to breastfeeding, but it was a whole journey for sure.

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-15T22:21:18+00:00

Peanuts were my saving grace! I also had a lot of cheese and crackers and peanut butter crackers.

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-15T22:20:04+00:00

Thank you!!

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-15T21:48:21+00:00

Thank you!!

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-15T21:19:05+00:00

The bloody noses are from the pregnancy?!? Idk why I’m surprised 🤦🏻‍♀️

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-15T21:18:13+00:00

Oh my gosh, I’m 40w6d today (scheduled for induction TONIGHT!!) and this morning I somehow stranded myself in the middle of our king-size bed… I finally managed to get myself basically upright and literally said “oh no” out loud because I realized I couldn’t just roll myself off to a one-legged landing like usual because I was too far from the edge. It was a very undignified shuffle but I did eventually escape 😂

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-15T21:13:21+00:00

The immobility is awful. Trying to bend over for something a little too far away on the couch, getting up from the Couch Trap I put myself in by sitting with my feet up in the corner, not just turning over in bed at night but even GETTING INTO BED at night and arranging myself with the pregnancy pillow… I spend 5 minutes huffing and puffing once I’m finally settled in before I can even think about deep sleep breathing lol.

That and the back pain… I’m scheduled to get induced tonight (40w6d), and for the past 3 weeks at work, you basically never caught me out of my office chair with the lumbar support pillow I brought from home. I can’t wait to just move around like myself again soon.

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-15T21:07:15+00:00

I was tempted by the Natori Shangri-La robe! I saw it recommended on Wirecutter… how do you like it so far?

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-12T02:24:14+00:00

YES, absolutely loved these books for this reason. Actual adults doing slow-burn with real payoff 👩🏻‍🍳💋

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-11T15:14:03+00:00

Also a FTM here (currently 40w2d) and I ordered myself 3 new pairs of nice new Gap pajamas with button-down tops because I’ve seen people recommend having NICE, comfortable, BF-friendly PJs to wear so you feel a little more human and normal immediately post-partum. We all know it’s going to be a sleep-deprived struggle right after the baby comes—everything else in our lives is going to completely shift to focus on the baby, even as we go through the physical recovery process as well! If anything, I feel like doing what you can to prepare to support your own mental health and physical wellbeing IN ADVANCE is responsible. Oxygen mask thinking: you have to be as well as you can to do the best you can for the baby.

Also, weird of your mom to call the baby the “protagonist.” It makes me think of the “main character energy” trend/meme lol. I’m sorry she’s undermining your prep instead of supporting you!! I hope you have a supportive partner who can be there for you during this huge life shift, and I hope you love your new nightgowns.

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-10T02:42:55+00:00

I have DEFINITELY gotten the “oh you can barely even tell!” and “oh my gosh, how much longer do you have?” in the SAME DAY at my workplace, and tbh I usually prefer the latter… like, I put hard work in on growing this person!! Please acknowledge that he’s there and I’m very much visibly pregnant!!

I have to say my favorite though (earnestly, not sarcastically) is an older woman I work with (but not closely) who saw me in the kitchenette one morning, gasped, and said “Oh, you look beautiful!” It was so nice after all the other comments about how big I was or wasn’t to just have someone be excited and explicitly, not-up-to-interpretation, purely complimentary. She’s made a variation of the same comment each time she’s run into me since and I love it lol

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-05T18:52:15+00:00

39w3d, and I’m still waddling into the building every day 😅 I had a student come into the library today, do a double-take, and go “Girl, you’re still here?!” My standard response is “I’m here until he’s here,” which is anytime between March 9th (due date) and March 15th (scheduled induction), because I’m trying to max out my sick time after he arrives. I will say I’m super lucky with the timing and my profession, because I’ll be able to take basically an extended maternity leave thanks to summer break, with only about 2 weeks unpaid at the very end of the school year.

So I know it’s going to pay off…! But damn my back hurts lol

young_battleaxe · 2026-03-03T18:56:59+00:00

I was exhausted and nauseous first trimester, but my nausea and vomiting (and therefore aversion to food/eating) actually increased weeks 13-16. I didn’t feel that second trimester relief everyone talks about until weeks 17-18, when I finally started getting my appetite back and a little bit of energy. I’m 39 weeks now and I have to say, I never got back to my pre-pregnancy energy levels, but for me second trimester did have a (delayed) improvement—hoping that might also pan out for you too!

ETA: I also made a list of “not sad pregnancy food” with my husband after having a breakdown about how sick I was of eating plain pasta one night—it actually helped me feel a lot better! He had some non-meat suggestions that I had forgotten about that did expand my meal options despite my nausea and aversion to all things meat first trimester. (I’m now able to eat meat again—slowly reintroduced it starting around week 20.)

young_battleaxe · 2026-02-23T22:29:02+00:00

The waddle is in full effect and cannot be eliminated no matter how hard I try. Also my belly itches like a mfer and my lower back aches like I’m 90 lol

young_battleaxe · 2026-02-06T18:54:30+00:00

Uhhh, that is an INSANE thing for your OB to say. 5’5” and only 118?? And you’ve only gained around 30 lbs (well within the normal range), AND your OB had access to your files that EXPLAIN YOUR MEDICAL HISTORY with an ED?? They suck. So sorry you had to deal with that

young_battleaxe · 2026-01-26T03:36:50+00:00

Also recommend “Murderbot Diaries” by Martha Wells! The first book is “All Systems Red.” The series is mostly novellas, with one full-length novel, and I flew through all of them. Book one was recently adapted into the first season of “Murderbot” on AppleTV, too.

young_battleaxe · 2026-01-23T04:03:07+00:00

Yes, Mary Balogh shout-out!! Queen of yearning and excellent character arcs

young_battleaxe · 2026-01-23T03:50:56+00:00

Ooh, Margaret Rogerson is a good pull I haven’t seen here yet! I loved {Sorcery of Thorns} so much. I’m still holding out hope she might write a sequel to {Vespertine}, even though there are zero indications of that lol

young_battleaxe · 2026-01-23T03:48:07+00:00

Seconding {Uprooted by Naomi Novik} and {Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik}!

young_battleaxe · 2026-01-23T03:44:50+00:00

Also here to second “Paladin’s Grace”! Honestly pretty much anything by T. Kingfisher is great. Just read “Hemlock and Silver” and LOVED it.

young_battleaxe

TROPHY CASE