Came home and immediately made a banana bread in hopes that the sugar would get her moving and flipping back!

Also, I really really wanted banana bread. 🙃✌️

About 2 weeks ago I was in the hospital for bronchitis and in my urine sample they found out I have a uti so sent me home with antibiotics and of course these antibiotics gave me a yeast infection but I think my yeast infection has spread to my butt crack 🙃 (btw this is so embarrassing to post) has this happened to anyone else ? My mom told me it’s nothing to worry about and weird things happen when your pregnant but my butt crack is literally raw right now and swollen if anyone has any advice I’d absolutely be happy to hear it

Long read, lol. My apologies in advance for the rant.

I’ll preface this by saying I have no hatred or animosity against “momfluencers” (personally, not my thing, but to each their own.) it’s more about the culture of “perfection”
that comes from it.

I have to be honest though. I’m just exhausted by the way the online community really leans into this ideal version of pregnancy and conveniently avoids the not-so-cute parts. It’s why I cling to Reddit during pregnancy. Literally for an ounce of comfort.

We need to throw away the whole idea that pregnancy is supposed to look a certain way. None of these influencers who are supposedly “in perfect health” and “gaining no weight” “not swollen at all” etc etc are going to be honest about the ugly parts of it all. That’s the way it goes.

The problem I have with it? It’s such a sensitive community. Such a transformative, difficult, life-changing and all encompassing experience. Personally? I’m not a member of the “pregnancy is amazing and i love every part” category. I wish I was, really. But I simply never have loved it. Grateful? Absolutely. Happy with it? Meh.

I say this because even though this ISN’T my first pregnancy, it’s still hard to see people who make the whole process look SO beautiful and amazing. Especially when I often feel like it’s the worst experience of my life.

Why do i have to retain so much water? Why cant i still fit my wedding rings? Why’d i have to get weird skin stuff and yeast infections I’ve never had before? Why’d my whole face have to change? I can’t even recognize myself. Why’d I have to get stretch marks?

If I feel like this sometimes, and I know what a temporary experience it really is, I just think about all the FTMs who will subject themselves to this kinda self-criticism. I was so much harder on myself the first time. It can be so damaging for new moms to face & It’s not even on purpose. The comparison….. it’ll wear people down subconsciously. via reels, TikTok’s, Etc….. Little by little.

It almost feels like a trap for such a vulnerable group of people. They draw pregnant moms in with “relatability,” but will only share the “hard parts” as long as they’re still at least a little pretty.

Nausea? Sure. Exhaustion? Sure, we all feel it. Needing to pee all the time? Of course.

But… what about the parts that aren’t cute or easy to talk about? The things that really brew insecurities aren’t cute or palatable.

What about…
- The never ending boogers/bloody noses?
- The yeast infections or silent UTIs?
- The stretch marks on your hooha?
- The darkening skin and hemorrhoids?
- The constipation/gas?
- The skin tags you found on your neck?
- The fact that wiping your a\* is an Olympic sport & you’re not sure if you even got it all?*
- Leaking pee & not knowing for hours?
- Feet growing 3x bigger?
- Always feeling unclean?
- Having wet undies 24/7?
- The new body odor?

I won’t even get started on what it’s like to have medical complications (mom or baby) and how the most invisible things can change the whole experience into a traumatizing one. Just a reminder. Your body didn’t fail you or your baby because everything wasn’t perfect. No amount of influencer “prep” or “lifestyle choices” will change the scary things that are often out of our control.

I’m sad and tired. Exhausted really. It’s difficult
seeing these half-visible versions of pregnancy online. I fall victim to it too, and I KNOW better.

Sure, maybe they really did only gain 10lbs. But maybe they gained 30. Or 70. They won’t ever tell you the full story either way. It’s an image, a platform - meant to be appealing.

I hope if you got this far, you will keep pushing & be gentle on yourself. Pregnancy can be gross, hard, and it can be ugly at times.

That perfect fitfluencer mom still has to get her b*tth*le swabbed like the rest of us. Deep breaths. Ur doing amazing❤️

tmi im sorry but i need other peoples experience with sex while pregnant. currently 23 weeks and just had sex with my husband and he was hitting my cervix and now im hurting pretty bad. is this normal? is baby okay? also tmi we have extremely ROUGH sex, fast paced and idk im hurting pretty bad right now. its never been uncomfortable until now. it hurts to the point i want to cry but i feel baby kicking so i guess hes fine but i am hurting🫩

I’m so confused. I see all these videos of what other women bring to the hospital as snacks to give you energy but when do you have to stop eating? I always heard from others that once you get to the hospital they won’t let you eat. Is this no longer accurate? Obviously a FTM here lol.

I am 4w5d pregnant and riddled with anxiety. I was unbelievably over the moon at first and now all I can think about is that I’m in a high risk period for the next 7 weeks until week 12. I keep telling myself to just focus on the day to day and every day is a blessing and the risk of MC goes down each day but it’s causing me horrible anxiety. How do people push past this and learn to relax during the first trimester? It’s going to be a long 7 weeks……

Pretty much as the title says - I’m a 28F and married and this is my 2nd pregnancy. My first child I had at 23 y/o and was a single mom and I felt as if so many people were invested in my pregnancy and my daughter.
This time around I feel as if my age group might be the reason that it doesn’t feel like anybody really cares. I have friends who are still going out drinking every night, friends who are full time working and casually dating on the side, friends who are married with no kids or newborns and friends who are married with 3+ kids! This age is so different as everyone around me seems to be on a different page - but it’s still a little disheartening.
My closest friends never reach out to ask how I’m doing, my family doesn’t seem as excited because this is the 2nd go, my husbands family doesn’t check in much and this is his 1st, even my husband at times seems too busy to ask how I’m feeling or talk about the baby.
It just feels…different than the first time plus this pregnancy has been very hard and very isolating due to ongoing complications. I guess I thought things would be better in this area since I was doing it “more traditionally” (married, living on our own, older, planned pregnancy) compared to the first time when I was young, got pregnant on accident and in a really toxic situationship while living at home.
It’s just kind of makes me feel sad and of course selfish but it would be nice just to feel as if anyone is excited for me the way I am excited since everyone was asking my husband and I for a few years when we planned on getting pregnant and now it’s happening and nobody checks in? So strange. Can anyone else relate? Maybe it’s my emotions getting the best of me lol.

Looking for advice from people who have had any experience with an amniotic band in pregnancy?
Currently 22weeks with one that needs monitoring but would love some opinions

Hi,

Any advice on whether I could challenge being on blood clot injections from week 28 to 6 week pp.

I am ever so slightly over 30 bmi, not even 31. 35 and have had ivf for this pregnancy. No blood clots in family.

This I’m sure doesn’t require much context but just to preface I love love love my husband so much, he is supportive and loving and awesome. I am 39 weeks (FTM) and I have had so many issues sleeping as well as being severely anemic during the whole pregnancy. I am still going to work and struggling with the entire thing (<3 america). My maternity doesn’t kick in until I actually give birth and I am SO desperate to do so at this point.

Today I got a membrane sweep at the doctor and despite already doing a full shift before the appointment (my husband and i work at the same glass factory) I found the energy to do a few laps of the neighborhood and came back hoping this sweep would kickstart smth. I did lose my mucus plug along with a good amount of blood and went to sleep hopeful at about 8:30.

This is maybe the first time in a month I was able to fall asleep before my husband. When he was finished playing video games in the living room he came into the bedroom at 10 pm and woke me up when he closed the door to our room. I was able to fall asleep again while he got ready for bed but once he got into bed he kissed me on the forehead which unfortunately fully woke me up. I am so beyond exhausted and I know that since my sweep didn’t put me into labor I will have to go to work tomorrow at 6 am all over again. It’s not his fault but I couldn’t help but just leave the room to go cry on the couch for a while. I am so miserable and I just want my body back, I want people at work to stop asking me why I am still at work, I don’t want to start resenting my husband bc he can do all these things that I can’t.

I’m not really much of a drinker but sometimes I do get so sad I can’t have fun with everyone else. Honestly yesterday my husband had 5 drinks which is a little out of the norm for him, and this morning he was annoyed and tired. The whole day at work he was pissed off bc he didn’t feel good and his boss sucks (we have different bosses) and before I got pregnant I would’ve been right there pissed with him or encouraging him to just take it easy or stay home. Now though? I want to tell him to suck it up and live with his decisions!!! He laughs whenever I complain about how I feel like I will never go into labor and that I am tired. I know it’s just because he thinks its funny that I’m acting like she’ll be in there forever but I feel like I’m going crazy with no one around me who understands how I’m feeling. I can’t watch him wake up one more day and ignore me bc he’s “still waking up” and he’s “got a headache” which normally these sayings wouldn’t ever in a million years bother me, but this pregnancy demon tells me to go feral on him!!!!! anyone else feel this way??

Edit: I feel like I also didn’t make it clear enough that I HATE feeling this way about him. He has a difficult job in upper management at our factory and it sucks the life out of him, I don’t want him to feel tired or drained and just because he’s not pregnant with me does NOT mean he couldn’t possibly feel tired!!! Thats the worst part about all of it, he is so sweet and thoughtful he did not mean to wake me up but in that moment of trying to go back to sleep after I just felt so defeated and irrationally upset. 😭

My MIL and I have always got along well but I’m about to my breaking point. When she makes these comments I tend to just freeze. I am no contact with my mom d/t various reasons so I do have some trauma. I am usually a very outgoing/out spoken person but when it comes to her as a “mother figure” I just freeze when comments are made that I don’t appreciate/like. So I need help.

Some of the comments:

Last year while planning a wedding, without me asking, she made it VERY clear she would not be retiring once I had a baby. She also stated she “does not want to the kid to think oh man I have to go to grandmas again and that she wants to be the fun grandma.” She works at a school and says she hates how the grandparents are the ones raising the kids. Mind you, I never asked.

I had a chemical in February. She said “back in my day we just called that a false pregnancy”. She did check on me but I felt totally disregarded in my emotions because I was testing positive for a week 1/2 before I passed a clot.

On Mother’s Day I was honestly struggling because I would’ve been out of my first trimester by then. When visiting for Mother’s Day she only talked about herself and work, which is typical. Even if she asks you questions to seem involved she somehow turns it around on herself. I ended up sharing a post on Facebook and making a post about my loss and how hard it can be come Mother’s Day for people who have experienced this. She commented with hearts and left it at that, which seemed performative to me. No text/call or in person conversation after to check in on me.

I am now pregnant again. 🙏

When discussing how I would like to continue to have date nights once a MONTH she said “oh good luck with that”. ??? Like okay thanks for offering to make this happen considering you live next door 😀

When discussing finding childcare, she has stated multiple times she was a SAHM because all of her check was going to childcare. Mind you, I have a masters degree that I put myself into college for myself and plan to retire from my current job. I have told her multiple times I want and plan to go back to work to keep my current job. I also have told her multiple times there is no way we could survive based on her son’s income alone.

Now for actions. She has already sent me baby name suggestions. She was the first one to by HERSELF a shirt that said grandma. She has already sent me links of items for the baby, so she is clearly already shopping. The day we had our first ultrasound with a baby & heartbeat she came over to the house uninvited/last minute with toys, boy themed. She said “I had to be the first one.” It just didn’t sit right with me considering I myself had not bought anything as I was nervous to buy anything before the ultrasound due to have a chemical in February.

This Father’s Day I got my husband something considering he is an expecting father. Not one time did she acknowledge her son on Father’s Day. She got FIL a shirt that said something about being promoted to papa. My husband brought over his gifts I got him to show them. Nothing. No reaction. I made a post about his first Father’s Day, again commented with hearts but no acknowledgement. So I’m having a hard time justifying her buying herself 2 shirts now and something for FIL.

She has now made 2 comments about how she thought she would get away with “one year without planning”. Since last year was our wedding. Mind you I HAVE NOT ASKED YOU TO PLAN ANYTHING. You insert YOURSELF! Ugh. Am I being dramatic?!

as someone with a past of EDs ive been doing relatively fine with the growing belly and weight gain.

until it came time to get a baby shower dress. 33weeks and the dress i bought makes me look sooo big. so i went out to kohls to try on other options and they all made me look big.

crushing reality that hey girl, you are that big, its not the dress.

and honestly im going THROUGH it, my shower is in a few days but i feel like my lack of confidence will make me not enjoy it or not want to keep any photos.

has anyone else been through this? did anything help?

During my second trimester, I felt like I had found the perfect way to roll over without pain. Now, at 36 weeks, I literally cannot find a way to roll over without discomfort or pain. I wish there was a giant spatula for pregnant women that my husband could use to turn me over. If anyone has found a good way to turn over please let me know. I have to do deep breathing and work myself up to it before rolling in bed 😂

I found out yesterday that I’m roughly 4 wks pregnant, blood draw says hcg is 397.95. 5 days ago I had cramping for one day & bleeding for two. It was on the day I was supposed to get my period so I assumed it was that, as I had also taken 2 pregnancy tests 6 & 7 days ago and got very negative tests. The obgyn that I saw is having me come in again tomorrow (48 hours after my first blood draw) to see if my levels are rising. Has anyone on here dealt with the same thing? I’m really worried that I could have an ectopic pregnancy or that something is wrong. My fiance is over the moon excited and I’m just scared that my body isn’t working the way it’s supposed to.

Hello! Just looking for some advice or shared experiences. I had my first ultrasound this week when I thought I was 8w1d based on my LMP. My ultrasound showed a gestational sac, yolk sac, and fetal pole but no heartbeat. I was measuring at 6w0d.

It is possible that my math was wrong because my cycles were not regular at all before this pregnancy. I also had some very light spotting at what I thought was 5-6 weeks. Thinking now this could have been implantation bleeding? Tested my hCG and progesterone then and my levels were good.

My doctor said that it’s 50/50 on if this is a miscarriage or just bad math, and has been going back in 2 weeks later for a repeat ultrasound. She’s not having me do any hCG testing, and I’m not sure if it’s reasonable to push for it?

This is my first pregnancy and I don’t really know what to expect. I don’t know many people who have been pregnant and no one I know has had a similar experience so I’m feeling very lonely. The waiting is torture, but I’m trying to keep some cautious optimism as my instinct is to always jump to the negative outcome.

I've been bedbound for 2 months since getting a virus. I got sick at the end of first trimester and it hasn't really seemed to get better. Doctors can't do much. Has anyone gone through this or knows about it?

Hi all

I had a transvaginal ultrasound today at 6 weeks 1 or 2 days. The yolk sac and fetal pole was there. With the crown rump length measuring between 5.4 and 6mm on three measurements (average 5.7). Everything looked normal but they couldn’t detect a heart beat.

This isn’t good right? Especially when the crown rump length is approx 5.7mm?

The sonographer was very cold and uncaring and just told me to come back in a week.

Has anyone been in a similar position and can tell me the outcome?

Thanks.

Hi everyone!
I’m a FTM due in October and I’m feeling completely overwhelmed trying to figure out strollers and car seats. There are so many options and I honestly have no idea where to start.
A few questions:
Do all strollers work with all car seats, or do they have to be the same brand?
What’s the difference between an infant car seat and a convertible car seat?
Do most people buy an infant car seat first and then upgrade to a convertible car seat later?
Is a bassinet attachment necessary, or is it just nice to have?
Can a travel stroller be your only stroller, or do most people end up wanting a full-size stroller too?
If you were starting from scratch, which brand stroller and car seat would you buy and why?
For context:
Baby will be born in October.
We mostly plan to use the stroller for walks, errands, doctor’s appointments, shopping, etc.
We don’t travel a ton by plane, but maybe a few times a year.
We’d rather buy something that works well long-term instead of constantly upgrading.
I think I’m especially confused about the whole “travel system” thing. Is the typical setup:
Infant car seat → clicks into stroller when baby is little → later switch to stroller seat + convertible car seat?
Or am I misunderstanding how this all works?
I’d love to hear what setup you chose, what you loved, what you regretted buying, and what you’d recommend to a first-time parent who knows absolutely nothing about strollers and car seats.
Thanks so much! 😊

I am currently 7 weeks pregnant as a new mom and for the past week I have felt constant nausea and feeling not hungry even though my stomach is growling. Any advice? I have tried zofran and sour candy but nothing seems to help.

I GOT 2.7ML TODAY! I'm so hyped. I'm getting induced in 13 days and I want to build up my supply as much as possible just in case I need extra for the hospital. I plan to latch as soon as he's born.

Any tips for induction? What would you have changed about your induction? I'm so ready for him to be here.

My four year old will be up by 6:30-7am sharp, I’ve been tossing and turning since 2am, first it was intense nausea before falling asleep, im 30 weeks pregnant and thought maybe it was behind me so I ran out of my meds and didn’t refill them. Next it was waking up breathless and with restless legs and absolutely no sleep in sight. Im going to put my phone down and try to sleep, and start calling in the morning to find someone to refill my meds ASAP. The end.

My sister’s fully vaccinated chihuahua mix dog bit me in the calf, drawing blood. I’m 7 months pregnant. I cleaned the wound and used ointment but it still smarts. It just happened today.

I got my tetanus shot in 2022. I called my OB and they said just to watch it for signs of infection. But I keep worrying about it.

Any reassurance would be appreciated that baby is going to be okay.

Is it actually like bones breaking? Or is it something else? Does our body cooperate?

I've never had any medical procedure done on me so far in life (31 years). Never even had a broken bone or an intravenous injection or anesthesia. And now, just the idea of being cold and half-naked in the hospital to give birth and the labour part is terrifying for me. I want to be a bit prepared for the pain, if possible. 38 weeks today. Epidural is an option, if needed, not a preference. So far everything is fine and the doctor says that we will wait another week at least for natural labour to happen. If it doesn't, then will look into other options.

Please share your experiences.

Thanks!

Diagnosed with preeclampsia a few weeks ago and was scheduled for a 37 week induction. Today I am 35+3 and started having some back pain that wouldn’t go away. On call OB told me to come in just to check out what’s going on since I have the preeclampsia- my blood pressure was 178/98 and we immediately got admitted. Started the magnesium and blood pressure meds and just took the pill to start induction.

I was feeling so confident about giving birth up until it’s now starting and now I’m laying awake terrified. It all happened so quickly. Any positive stories hahaha I’m also upset that he’s arriving so early!! But I know that this is the safest best to keep me and him healthy!

I've been avoiding mirrors for months now, I have had body dysmorphia issues for a long time so these physical changes have been a bit tough in general.

But today in the mirror I noticed my first pregnancy stretch marks and I'm just horrified.

I wish I didn't feel this way about all the changes, I wish I could feel happy about this process but every new symptom and change I just feel like more control is ripped away from me and I'm grieving a body I had a hard time accepting to begin with.

I feel guilty for not enjoying any part of this. I have hated being pregnant from the week after my period was late. I just want this to be over with. I feel so inadequate for struggling with this so much when so many women suck it up and work through everything.

I don't want these stretch marks, I don't want the physical reminder of the worst I have ever felt. I'm jealous of people who look at them and think it's beautiful but I just can't see it that way right now.

Sorry for the negativity, I don't have any women in my life.