Our bedroom is tiny so the only way we can figure out getting baby into our room is to wedge a crib between the wall and my side of the bed. Any recommendations or things to think about for regularly accessing it from an end rather than the side like cribs are designed for?

2nd time moms who have had c-sections, what bump-friendly *and scar-friendly\* underwear are you liking?

my mom took me for my 18w ultrasound today and they were able to tell the gender!! i closed my eyes while they took the potty shots and nobody slipped up in the room but when we got to the car and started discussing how everything looked on the ultrasound she kept referring to baby as "she" and then making faces 😭 i could tell she felt so bad but she was so excited as she only has one other granddaughter.. she didn't slip up at all with my son so we thought she'd be good this time but oops! So now i have to keep it a secret from everyone else and act like I don't know until our reveal in late october... wish me luck

Hi everyone!! I’m 27 y/o and as the title says, I’m about 7 weeks into my first pregnancy. This week the morning sickness started. It seems to only happen in cars or on planes. This weekend I have an hour drive to a wedding and I am DREADING the sickness of the drive. Any tips to help with nausea during 1st trimester? And any tips from experienced moms to this new mom on what to expect of birth and postpartum and anything else I may need to know?

Thx <3

Hey guys, sorry if this is the wrong place to post this! A friend of mine is in her third trimester and I'm going over to her place to hang with her and her husband some time this week. I thought it would be nice to bring a little something along with me when I come over, not looking to go crazy but I'm stopping by the grocery store and a drugstore on the way and I thought I could grab her a little something on the way.

Not looking for a big thing, baby shower is later this month! Just thought it would be nice to bring something and realized I kind of have no idea what that little something would be. What's a little thing that would make your day when you were very pregnant? Like a snack or a little curio or whatever, like I said I have no idea!

Feeling self-conscious and starting to worry a bit after comments my MIL made. I’m 24 weeks along.

I was a very big baby at birth, my MIL knows I weighed almost 10 lbs. My husband and I are both very tall, and I’ve been asking my MIL how much my husband weighed at birth, to try to gauge how big our baby will be.

She couldn’t remember any of her kids’ weights, but kept insisting that none of them were “huge” (while making a face on the word “huge”). When I asked if she could guesstimate, she said “Certainly under nine pounds!!”

Is having a “huge” baby actually bad? My mother never complained about it. I was never fat as a child, and grew up to be very tall. My mother gained a lot of weight while pregnant with me, but was very slim before and after.

I seem to be growing a large bump (I’m still skinny from the front, but when I turn sideways, the bump is big), and now I’m feeling self-conscious about it. MIL is fatphobic in general. How do I combat this?

Our hospital where I’m delivering offers a sibling prep class where they give a tour of L&D, nursery, and some other areas. They also practice showing how the sibling can help with the baby. I want to sign our son up for it (4.5 yrs old) but it’s kind of early in the morning for us on a Saturday. However, it’s only $30. It includes snacks and drinks too. Did you do it with your first born? Was it worth it?

36+4 I’ve been having on and off contractions since 4 am. Had my mfm appt this morning and was hooked up to NST and none of my contractions were strong enough to cause concern. I feel so miserable. I can’t sleep or sit or stand without having Braxton hicks. They told me it’s probably just prodromal labor and hopefully it’ll subside.

I'm 28 weeks and having our second baby around Thanksgiving. I labored a long time with our first; ended up on pitocin, finally got the epidural around hour 20-24 unmedicated and ended up on an urgent C-section due to her concerning heart rate (she was also diagnosed with an arrhythmia around 32 weeks so we didn't want to risk anything further).

I honestly had a great C-section recovery. No issues with my incision or pain or anything like that. No real complaints. I focused on gentle abdominal and pelvic floor recovery during my postpartum period. Got pregnant again around 8/9 months postpartum.

I'm looking for some advice on VBACs and any stories (ideally positive) from moms who have gone through this. I'm hoping and praying for a successful VBAC in November.

As far as the Braxton Hicks, my placenta is posterior this time (anterior with first) idk if I'm just feeling them more or if they are just more and more intense this time, but I've been having them since like 20+/- weeks. Some days are worse than others. It's kinda crazy. Provider just said it's normal and to keep track of babies movements, let them know if there's any bleeding or if the contractions don't stop/increase in timing and such. Kinda annoying. I'm well hydrated. Just worried this is going to land me on bed rest or something.

The hospital I’m going to only has a waiting room chair in the room😂, I have a whole bed but there’s no way he’s sleeping upright for two nights in a row. I want him to have as much sleep as possible before the baby comes, and I’m debating him sleeping with me on the hospital bed. What did you do to make things more comfortable for your husband? We have a sleeping bag but the floor of a hospital doesn’t sound very cozy either. Please feel free to drop stuff you think helped too, like long chargers or bringing the switch to pass the time!

Hey everyone! Has anyone experienced pregnancy rhinitis before? This is my 4th pregnancy but the first experiencing this. I am 31 weeks and have a stuffy nose, not a runny nose though, and I guess since it is not coming out through the nostrils it is going down my throat. It doesn’t help that I have allergies on top of that. A humidifier helped but then I found out that my indoor humidity levels were already high so I can’t use that anymore. I am using Flonase and take Claritin and Zyrtec…as well as Tylenol for the headache. I just want some relief, the worst part is that I can’t even cry it out because it’s just gonna produce more mucus that I will not be able to blow my nose for relief 🥲. I guess I am just looking for some solidarity, I don’t want this to cause even more depression!

First baby here. We are starting to plan my husband’s paternity leave from work (I’m currently unemployed and fortunately I am able to delay looking for a new job until 9-12 months postpartum, is why my leave is not part of the convo).

Anyway he can take up to 12 weeks at 90% of his regular salary. The time can be spread across the whole first year of baby’s life. He works for a small architecture firm (7 people) in a position that’s fairly critical to day-to-day operations, so taking all 12 weeks in one chunk is not really an option. We are thinking he’ll take anywhere from 3-5 weeks up front (that’s the main decision we need to make), and then will either take one day off per week and/or will take some random one week chunks off work the rest of the year (or some combination of those).

Anyway since we kind of get to choose his schedule, for those who have kids already, I’m wondering what parts (or periods of time) of postpartum recovery were the most challenging from the mom side? Or when did you really wish you had more help? It feels so hard to plan for since there’s many unknowns — I know I’ll be more physically disabled in the beginning if I ended up needing a c section (can’t count on that either way), but also we have no idea how our baby will be —could be chill could be colicky, my mental health could be fine or I could possibly go totally insane, no way of knowing right now though??

Any advice is super appreciated! My mom is not local but is retired and also plans on being here to help for basically as long or short as I want her to be. So we have options with my mom too. Like do we just plan she stays for the whole first month? Or have her for like two weeks at the beginning and then have her go home and then have her come back for a few weeks maybe when my husband goes back to work?? (My mom would be staying in an Airbnb 1 block away, not literally inside our house…also we like and get along well with my mom, I feel like that matters in terms of suggestions).

Obviously I know everyone is different, but just looking to hear other people’s experiences to maybe give me a little bit of insight?

Edit to add: he will definitely be staying home the first two weeks (seems many agree this was the absolute worst part which makes sense)…. It’s just a question of if he stays home for 3 or 4 weeks initially. Also once he starts working he works from home other than going to the office two days a week, but even in office days are only the morning, he comes home at lunch. Which obviously he’s working when he’s working from home, so is not fully available, but also isn’t fully unavailable as long as he’s not in a meeting.

I’m 29 weeks along with my first and work in ophthalmology (eye care and diseases), so most of our patients are 65+. This obviously means a lot of unsolicited questions/comments about my pregnancy, most of which are thankfully pretty tame, but I was so grossed out by a patient today!

Old guy, probably late 70s or early 80s, takes a look at me in the waiting room and asks, “Are you gonna breastfeed this baby?” I knew I was 100% walking into a trap but didn’t know what to say, so I just said yes.🙃 Then he goes, “I always say breastfeeding is best, for three reasons. 1, the temperature is always correct. 2, the formula is always correct. And 3, the containers are so cute.” 🤢🤢🤮

Like SIR?? Excuse me?!?! What world are boomers living in that that seems like an appropriate thing to say?? It’s like 3 different layers of problematic and invasive and creepy :P

I basically mumbled something and got away as quick as I could (thank goodness I wasn’t the one getting him ready for the doctor).

Anyway, just feeling icked out and embarrassed now. Also kicking myself for even answering his question. Like he didn’t necessarily seem like a creep to me—just TOTALLY out of touch with what’s okay to say to pregnant people (and probably just women in general, lol). I don’t necessarily want to be mean to people and cause a scene, especially at work, but I do NOT want to have a similar conversation ever again. Maybe next time someone asks something like that I smile and cheerfully say “Oh that’s not something I’m comfortable talking about right now!” Idk, any ideas welcome😂😭

Wasn’t sure if “help” or the “vent” tag fit more but I think both apply. I’m 9 weeks and 6 days and I can’t deal with the morning sickness anymore. This started off as something me and my partner were excited to experience but things in life quickly went downhill mentally and financially and we’ve decided to terminate and try again later in the future when things are once again stable. But the morning sickness is making life so hard, I don’t fall asleep till 3in the morning and no matter if I wake up at 7am or 4pm I have to sit in the bathroom for hours waiting till I puke. It’s started getting so bad that it’s become a horrible pain and has taken a horrible toll on my mental health. I’ve tried everything to calm it, lemon water helps soles days others it makes me worse, yogurt helps but I’m out, crackers make me puke and I don’t have a pressure point bracelet, can anyone please recommend me something that will ease it enough so I can get up and not sit in the bathroom all day?

Long rant just venting!!

I am SO frustrated with having to advocate for something as basic as proper blood pressure technique. 😩

I went to my regular OB today and, once again, they took my BP with my arm dangling down at my side, unsupported. It came back 142/89.

I told them, “I want my arm supported.”

They retook it with my arm properly supported, and it was 123/83.

A 19-point difference in systolic pressure simply from changing the position of my arm. And this isn't the first time I've seen this happen. And one even acknowledged that it should be supported. Okay so why does staff continue to not follow strict guidelines when it comes to blood pressure reading?!?!

I've actually tested this at home with TWO different BP machines. With my arm properly supported, I consistently get readings around 121–124/74–80. When I deliberately let my arm hang down like they do at the doctor's office, my BP jumped to 146/101. As soon as I supported my arm again? 124/80.

So why in the world do I have to keep telling medical professionals to support my arm when taking my blood pressure?!

I'm pregnant, so obviously I understand why they're watching my BP closely. But that's exactly WHY I don't understand why the measurement technique isn't being done correctly every single time. You can't accurately assess someone's blood pressure if you're not taking it properly in the first place. And honestly really makes me think how much people are mean misdiagnosed with gestational hypertension due to improper technique.

I'm not trying to manipulate my BP into a lower number. I'm asking for it to be measured correctly.

And honestly, it's exhausting having to advocate for this over and over again. 😒

Support. The. Arm. That's all I'm asking.

How necessary is having an actual crib at first? Would a bassinet/pack n play work fine til the toddler bed stage? I really don’t plan on co-sleeping at all either…but is it worth it to get a whole crib? And if so, is it worth it to get a convertible crib that can transform as they get older? Or do they usually get too janky as time goes on? I don’t really have a budget, I just wonder how necessary a whole crib is.

First baby, can’t decide!

One friend thinks rocking is really useful for getting baby to sleep. Another friend advised armchair as easier to breastfeed if sturdy and longevity in kid’s room.

Would love some more opinions please.

37w6 today with my first pregnancy.

The ONLY thing I didn’t want was an induction. My body has not been my own for the last nine months. I just wanted to go into labor on my own. I wanted my baby to tell me he was ready and we’d go from there. I still wanted drugs/epidural/medical intervention. I just wanted my body to tell me when it was time.

But I’m being induced tonight. I did the 24 hour urine test and there was protein present that was just above the range they’re comfortable with so I’ll be going to the hospital tonight. They did a cervical check and I’m completely closed. They explained they’d have to give me meds to soften my cervix before they could even start the induction process. I was warned it’s going to be a long, uncomfortable couple of days.

I know they’re the professionals and they’re doing what is best for my health and the baby. This is just not how I wanted to start the processes. It is the ONE thing I didn’t want.

I’m 2 days post partum. I ended up having to get a c section, so I’m not sure if this plays into things, but I’ve noticed a weird smell in my pee, and on my baby. It’s the same smell. It’s sort of like a metallic smell, that’s the best way I can describe it. Never smelled anything like it before. Anyone else experience this?

Any online classes you recommend to check out? I’m fine paying but free is ideal.

What in person classes did you find the biggest benefit? My hospital offers them for about $100 and has several options between breastfeeding, birth, etc.

I’m 6 days postpartum, and I have been feeling this tightness in my chest (feels like something is sitting on the middle of my chest, though not super heavy) while at rest since 3 days postpartum. It usually manifests when I’m laying down flat. I ignored it for 2 days, thinking it might just be my body adjusting back to not being pregnant anymore.

On my 6th day postpartum, I noticed that even when I’m sitting down, I still feel the tightness in my chest. Night came, and I went to lay in bed, on my left side, I feel the tightness again. Only coughing forcefully made it go away, but then it would come back in less than a minute. I sat up, and felt what I thought was just anxiety, but learned it was a sense of impending doom. I started crying uncontrollably, and feeling so scared my children might grow up without a mother.

I was still hesitant to go to the ED because I never take my symptoms seriously. I thought that maybe I was overreacting.

However, since my discharge summary from L&D says to go to ED if I have shortness of breath or chest tightness/pain, plus the answers I get from google, I decided to go in.

The tightness never went away. My d-dimer is elevated, and I was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism. I’m currently sitting here in ED with the same intensity of chest tightness while waiting for my blood thinner shot, thanking God and my gut for listening to my body, and for coming in to get checked. I do have to give myself a shot daily for 3 months, but I’m so so so thankful I got myself checked.

Here is a thing I don’t think I’ve seen discussed on here…

Anyone else have a sore upper body simply because you use your arms to move in bed??

I couldn’t figure out why I had delayed onset muscle soreness in my arms and shoulders until this morning when I was moving in bed using only my arms.

Hi everyone!

I’m currently 26 weeks pregnant and I am TERRIFIED of listeria…

Even though my gynecologist told me that it’s extremely rare and that she has never had a case throughout her entire career, I’ve become paranoid about it even though I’m extremely careful about everything! Sometimes even to the extreme…

Last Saturday, I ate some grated Emmental (pasteurized) that had been opened for 5 days. I didn’t think twice about it because it still looked and smelled perfectly fine. I also ate some pieces of Parmesan (not grated) that had been opened for 9 days.

Then I had the brilliant idea of reading the packaging, and I saw that the Emmental said “consume within 3 days of opening” and the Parmesan said “consume within 7 days of opening.” Ever since, I’ve been convinced that I’ve caught listeriosis 🫠.

The bags had been properly folded over and kept inside tightly sealed zip-lock freezer bags, but still…

Would other pregnant women have eaten these cheeses without giving it a second thought? Am I just overthinking this? Is there actually a real risk?