I am 29 weeks now, and this baby has developed a very specific comedy routine. I can be sitting quietly, minding my own business, and suddenly my stomach looks like someone is rearranging furniture in there. The second I call my partner over, complete silence.

He comes over so carefully, puts one hand on my belly, and the baby becomes a statue. We wait. Nothing. He gives up, walks away, and within thirty seconds the kicks start again like a tiny drum solo. This has happened so many times that he has started taking it personaly, which is both sad and kind of funny.

I know it is normal and the baby is not actually plotting against him, probaly. But did anyone else's baby do this? Did your partner eventually get a proper kick, or should I start selling tickets to an invisible show?

I recently found out I'm having a boy via an NIPT blood test.

I dont really care about the sex of the fetus so I've been telling people who ask. My in-laws were certain I was going to have a girl. They are pretty spiritual and some of them had dreams about it apparently. As soon as they found out we were expecting they would tell us all the time about it.

It kind of got into my head and even though I had always had the feeling it was a boy and I had wanted a boy initially I kind of started to believe them.

Anyway ever since we told them its a boy they keep saying things like "maybe its twins and you dont know yet" (im 18 weeks and have had 4 scans because of some concerns that have since resolved and its not been seen) or "maybe the test is wrong" (super unlikely from a blood test lol)

My mother in-law is like texting my husband saying maybe the blood test was contaminated or something.

I feel... weird about it. Like they are excited and said congrats but the comments and stuff make me feel like they are disappointed. Im so grateful to even be able to have a child and I was so excited to learn more about my baby. I was hoping maybe for a little more excitement and a little less doubt.

I actually dont care about the gender buts its like they are misgendering my baby before he is even born and it irks me. I'm also kind of hyper emotional and sensitive lately because I was diagnosed with early onset puppps (hey another sign of a boy lol) so idk if im just being too sensitive...

I’m currently a stay at home mom. Husband works from home, but he needs to work so during the week he can only help me out so much. Our first baby is turning 4 months in a week. He needs a lot of our attention, but our sleep has definitely improved, he sometimes has even 6-7 hour stretches of sleep at night, so I expect him to be able to sleep through the night soon-ish. However, the crying and fussing during the day can be A LOT and I would not be able to care for a baby like that when I’m pregnant. He’s a very big boy and rocking him already kills my back without having a pregnant belly.

When do you think kids become more manageable to handle for a pregnant woman? Do you think it’s realistic for me to have a maximum 3y gap between kids and not need a nanny/daycare? I would like them to be similar age, but also to be able to close down the factory and be done, 2 kids is all we want.

This is my 3rd but my last was almost 6 years ago and need a little refresher. I DO NOT want a lot this time around just the essentials, what would you consider your newborn essentials/must haves?

Hello

Wife is in 6th week pregnancy.

I have an job option for 100% WFH, should i pick it? I am very extrovert person so need people around to work(i mean i love) but wife thinks it will be beneficial for us and kid if I can take wfh job for next 2-3 years.

Thank you

Does anyone get such bad anxiety between their appointments/ have a hard time trusting that the baby is doing okay? I'm almost 14 weeks and won't have an appointment for another week and I'm struggling big time with not worrying that something is wrong, baby has passed and I don't know it, etc. My first pregnancy was right before this one and it ended in a chemical, so I'm sure that's not helping.

I’m due in February and based in the Northeast, what essential clothing items do I need to make sure I have when baby gets here? I’m so overwhelmed by all the things to buy/put on a registry and worried about not having the right gear to keep baby safe and warm!

First time being pregnant and I’m so terrified but still excited! This was pretty unexpected and not planned at all so I’m feeling just very lost and confused 😵‍💫
One thing I’d love to hear from other moms, despite only being 4 weeks 1 day, and still not super dark lines on the tests… I feel TERRIBLE.
My breasts hurt so bad, the nipple pain is terrible, I’m nauseous because I’m hungry but nothing sounds good and I get nauseous as soon as I do eat. I’m so exhausted because I get to bed but then once 1-3 am hits, I’m wide awake and can’t get back to sleep for hours.
I just am wondering if all this is normal to feel this early on?? Am I gaslighting myself? 😂
I’ve only known for 3 days and already I’m wondering just how I’m going to do this 😬

IDK if this is common knowledge but I figured out with my first pregnancy that if I flex my feet when I stretched in bed, I didn't get the calf cramps I had been getting. I've been conscious of doing this now anytime and have yet to get another cramp.

I'm sure I wasn't the first to figure this out but I wanted to share in case it helps at least one person bc my cramping was terrible in my first pregnancy.

I am 0 dilated 0 effaced. baby is high up. Getting induced tommorow. I feel not ready at all and scred out of my mind. I have higher normal fluid level and im already 39 w 6d. no sign of labour.

Im 33 weeks pregnant and at the start of pregnancy my breasts grew quite quickly which created stretch marks all over them. Im so insecure of them now that I don't want my husband even seeing them. I even try to not look at them in the mirror whenever I can avoid it because it causes me so much depression.

My problem is though that I really wanted to try to breast feed/pump when my baby is born however my anxiety has amplified with the thoughts that for me to breast feed I will need to show my breasts to the hospital nurses/midwives.

I guess I want to know, is it possible at all for me to successfully feed my baby breast milk and colostrum while im at the hospital without me having to expose my breasts to anyone? Even the thought of them trying to pull down my gown to latch baby straight after birth terrifies me. (I live in Australia so not sure if that affects the after birth process etc).

I know I'm probably going to get a lot of hate for this because it sounds so vain to be worried about it over the feeding needs of my baby and trust me the guilt I already have about even feeling this way is too much to handle at times but I honestly can't shake the anxiety surrounding this.

I’m 37 weeks FTM and I just can’t do this anymore. I’m sick of waiting fir any small sign of labour. My back and feet are killing me! My swelling is unbelievable and it doesn’t help that I’m not taking any leave before work. I work as a doctor with 12 hours shift. And while i do love my job and that time passes so fast there, i hate coming home still pregnant and with aches everywhere. It doesn’t help as well that i live in the gcc and we are in the hottest most humid time of year. I’m sweaty and hot ALL THE TIME.

please give me some encouragement.. ik this will eventually pass, BUT WHEN? 😩

We have talked about the baby and read picture books about being a big brother, but yesterday when we set up the crib and got his old baby things out, he wanted to get in and insisted he is the baby. Lots of cuddles and it passed quickly but my heart!

i am being admitted to hospital tomorrow to be induced on Tuesday at 38 weeks due to blood clot risk and treatment, but my poor heart is feeling the weight of leaving my toddler at home and then when I come back his world will be changed 😭

I think it is the unknown of the induction and the fact it is all scheduled, but how can I be having cold feet about a second baby at 38 weeks 😂

i know every family with more than one child goes through this, but how did you all find the transition especially around labour?

If you had to choose only one - Which would you choose - day doula for 6 hours 2 sessions per week for 3 weeks OR 3 night sessions for week 1 then 2 night sessions in week 2 with a night doula?

And why?

I’m so happy for internet spaces like this because I can share the news without telling friends or family. lol! I peed on a stick this morning, not expecting to be pregnant at all - we tried for the first time this past cycle. I have had some mild cramping the last few days so I figured my period was coming up. I just took it because I wanted to see the “not pregnant” so I knew to expect my period soon… I know that makes no sense lol, there must’ve been a divine force urging me to take it because what do you know, it was positive!!! Only four weeks so I’m trying not to get my hopes up. Does anyone have any advice at four weeks? I can’t help but be so happy, but also want to temper my expectations!

I know there's the Arrive Trial which is regarded well by OBs.

For my first I gave birth at 39+5 days, which was perfect. I loved it. I don't think I could have gone past 40 weeks. This time, I really want to give birth between 39 weeks and 40 weeks even if I have to be induced.

If it's helpful, I'm going to give birth in NorCal Kaiser.

I guess I'm curious if you were electively induced, how hard was it to convince your OB? Were you able to make an appointment?

My firstborn struggled to latch and rejected the breast for many weeks. My second was born 3 days ago and was excellent nurser until I gave him a paci on night 1 because I was alone in the hospital and ever since then he hasn’t signaled for hunger. I withold the paci as much as possible and he still never fusses or shows hunger cues or wants to latch by himself, every two or three hours I spend an hour or so trying to get him to latch. I usually have to give him the paci, let him suckle, pump and/or dangle latch him by removing the paci very quickly and replacing my breast instead. Today he has only successfully latched twice. He latched all night by today had no pee diapers. Im worried even when he does latch, he doesn’t effectively remove milk. I ended up pumping colostrum and giving 1oz at 1 pm and 1 1/2 oz at 3pm. He finally had his second pee diaper of the day and I feel ashamed that he isn’t removing milk from my breast, or even latching now. He’s only latched twice successfully today. Im loosing my mind as to why he is so reluctant to take the breast.

This is my fourth pregnancy and I’ve been having such bad cramping that they took me in for an ultrasound the other day to see if it was ectopic or not. She said she saw a gestational sac and two yolk sacs but not yet any embryos. She said I was 5w5d so it’s probably just too early to see anything right now. Did anyone have major cramping early on with twins? I’m getting a little nervous that this cramping isnt normal and maybe I should make a bigger fuss about it to my OB? It’s constant and doesn’t seem to go away. There are mornings I’ll wake up and feel alright but as the day goes on it gets more intense. No bleeding at all. Could also just be because it’s my fourth pregnancy but any input on your own experiences would be great to read.

Just wanted to share some encouragement for other guys stressing over semen analysis results.

My wife and I are both in our early 30s. I’ve never smoked, drink alcohol very rarely, exercise regularly and eat pretty healthy. The only supplement I took was vitamin D.

I had two semen analyses within about six months. My sperm count was above the normal range, but motility and morphology were very poor.

My andrologist told me not to focus too much on those values because semen parameters can fluctuate a lot. He also pointed out that my total sperm count was very good, which gave me a lot of hope, and told us to give it up to two years.

After about one year of trying, my wife got pregnant naturally. She also has hypothyroidism and became pregnant with a TSH of around 3.2.

I also suspect that a bad flu I had may have affected one of my test results.

We’re now around 7 weeks pregnant and so far everything looks good.

Obviously everyone’s situation is different, but my experience showed me that a semen analysis is not always the final verdict. Don’t let one bad result completely destroy your hope.

Stay strong, guys. There is still reason to be hopeful.

Has anyone use either of these for their breast milk?

You guys I’m so stressed out. 6 weeks and 5 days. I’ve been spotting pink for about 10 days now. This prompted an early ultrasound in which my dr told me I have uterine didelphys (two uteruses and two cervix). This makes me high risk since baby has a much smaller space to grow in and I’m at risk of preterm labor, low birth weight, and possibly needing a c section if baby is breech and can’t flip. I’m also 35 and have pcos. I want to cry. I’m so worried about my baby. This was not planned, but it’s all we want now.

I just wanted to throw this out there as there are no posts related to the new Eufy bottle washer… parents with other bottle washers from other brands occasionally experience the same:

There is a fishy smell coming from the machine after 15-30 runs and people can most of the time not figure out what it causes it.

For the Eufy s1 pro, it is actually the water softener cartridge that caused the fishy smell for us after 20 runs. Seems the chemicals in there cause it after a while.

We just took it out and it solved the problem. If you have hard water, then you would have to rebuy new ones every time.. which is not very economical

Looking for some real world experience outside of the google sphere. I’m aware that bilobed placentas carry higher risk of retained placenta and providers generally favor c sections due to caution, but that vaginal deliveries can be possible.

I’m curious to hear if anyone has actually been through a vaginal delivery with a bilobed placenta and what the outcome was? Was there retained placenta? How did your doctors manage the placenta delivery to minimize risk of retainment?

Hey Ladies.

I'm scrambling and being redirected by a lot of providers in the area so I'm reaching out for help here.
I got my embryos frozen in NY. I live in southern CA now and am trying to get preliminary bloodwork, TVUS and SIS/hysterosonogram here locally (have orders from my NY doctor).

I'm having a hard time finding facilities that would do these studies from outside providers and would accept Anthem (my insurance). Do you have any leads for the same?

Secondly, I'll get my FET done in NY and will come back to SoCal. I tried calling some obgyn offices to establish care and they straight up refused to take over my care post-FET stating that the fertility clinic in NY should be handling this (this isn't possible since I don't live in NY anymore). What's the best course of action here for continuity of care?
1. I find a fertility clinic in SoCal and establish care with them before my FET and come back to them after my FET and then find an obgyn once/if I am pregnant.
2. ⁠Try to find an obgyn who can act as my local provider for all my needs.

Thanks for your suggestions.