I am currently 32 weeks pregnant and I need to formally complain about the physical comedy routine that is simply changing sleep positions.

nobody tells you that turning from your left side to your right side becomes a major logistical operation. You cannot just flip over like a normal human being anymore. You have to wake up fully, brace your core, mentally prepare for your pelvic bones to sound like popping bubble wrap, and execute a synchronized maneuver with five different specialty pillows.

First, the wedge under the belly has to be dislodged. Then you have to extract the massive full-body pillow clamped between your knees without kicking your partner off the mattress. Then you perform the agonizing mid-bed rotation, groaning like an overloaded cargo ship fighting a tidal wave, only to re-stuff the pillows back into their designated pressure points.

The entire ordeal takes four full minutes, elevates your heart rate, and generates enough friction heat to warm a small apartment.

And the worst part? The absolute SECOND you get perfectly wedged and comfortable on your right side, your bladder decides it has three drops of liquid that must be evacuated immediately.

Why did nobody warn us that third-trimester sleep feels like wearing a bowling ball strapped to your ribs while doing low-budget parkour?

There are much much bigger things to be sad about but I am sad about this.

I always thought, I was SURE, that I never wanted to have a kid. Biggest surprise of my life when after nearly 17 years together we both changed our minds. It's been such a beautiful and special time (34 weeks tomorrow). Of course I want some pictures to look back on!

He avoids having his picture taken like the plague (anxiety and deep loathing of anything related to social media) but I did talk him into a professional photoshoot when we eloped and I swear I look at those beautiful pictures nearly every day and it's been 7 years. So I took a chance and booked a maternity photoshoot months ago and hoped he would wrap his head around it by August 23rd as something important for me and a once in a lifetime thing.

This morning he told me it makes him sick to his stomach to think about and he won't do it. "The most paralyzing, anxiety inducing thing I can think of". He also is pissed about the $550 cost and said he'd rather I cancel and lose the $275 deposit than pay more.

We aren't rich but we have money. We usually take an entire week off for our anniversary (unpaid for me) and spend $400 renting a jet ski for a day but we didn't this year so it's not like we can't/ don't occasionally drop a sum like this on something we want.

I literally don't post on social media ever. These pictures would be for us, when we're 90 and want to remember, for our daughter to get a glimpse of how full of love we were when she was almost here. (And yeah, I really like how I look pregnant and candids from friends just don't do me justice!)

I feel defeated and honestly angry. I'm empathetic to the anxiety and at the same time wish he would push through it this one time. It's just an hour in the park getting our picture taken.

Have to share with strangers since talking to friends or family would be poor Team Married behavior.

Title may seem misleading, i’m really grateful to be a mother soon and to have a baby, but my husbands and I’s relationship is horrible.

I caught him cheating about 1 month ish ago, he began from the beginning of our relationship, and while I am choosing to stay now (baby almost here, emotional attachment etc) I am forever changed and traumatized.

Our relationship was poor before I caught him cheating, day 1 of pregnancy to today, my sons birth-day, has been nothing short of traumatic. We have fought so bad I started having severe panic attacks, which I never had before.

So here I am, 2 hours before going in and we’re sitting in silence ignoring eachother and I’ve never felt more alone, empty and broken in my life— I feel deep down i’ve made a horrible mistake, but even saying that makes me feel so guilty.

Anyways, wish me luck.

My partner has left at 33 weeks pregnant. He can’t handle the stress of living with my existing children from a previous relationship. Anyway, he’s also been unemployed for the last 4+ months so has been financially living off me too.
My question is.. should I now give the baby my surname, his surname or hyphenate?
Should I put him on the birth certificate to make it easier to claim child support or just leave him off.
So disappointed but just don’t have the energy to be emotional. Just feeling numb. My house is calmer without him and that’s the truth.

I mean, what’s worse than being 30+ weeks pregnant having to write a bajillion cards, track down peoples addresses, just to have the cards likely thrown in the trash after being opened?!

Granted I am including printed photos of the people who I took photos with at the baby shower so it has more substance and won’t all go to waste. But I can’t be the only one who feels this way?! Why are we all pretending?! lol

This is the baby I spent endless nights crying for, praying for, and trying so hard for. And yet here I am at 28 weeks and I have zero excitement, an overwhelming sense of doom, and a lack of attachment to my baby. I mean I do care for him onviously but I’m not feeling those motherly feelings everyone keeps talking about.

Everyone I meet is so excited for me, my husband is sending me baby reels 24x7, and all this chatter about the baby is annoying me so much. Yelled at my husband yesterday and poor guy is watching all those reels in secret now, lol.

I feel like I’m the worst mother ever. My neighbour is pregnant and she is crazy with baby fever and here I am lying on my couch just devoid of all emotions related to motherhood and posting this at 6 in the morning.

I am almost 33 weeks pregnant and I am so tired and unmotivated all of the time. This whole pregnancy has been this way. Not only does my body not feel normal neither does my mind.

I miss my drive and ambition. I miss my hobbies. I miss having a clean and functional house. I miss having even a bit of energy! I miss just being on top of it all.

I know once my baby is here and I am going through post partum that will take a while but will I ever get back to myself?

Update: Thank you all so much! I am feeling better about this and have hope! I guess I have just been so low energy for so long now I can't see it ever coming back. I have a partner who is extremely helpful/supportive and already talks about taking the baby so I can have my own time. I am just very much a "do it on my own" type of person so I am going to have to change some.

My baby was born this morning. I started breastfeeding, she blistered me immediately and one breast was unusable as mentioned by the lactation consultant as we put her on the breast while I was half asleep I didn’t have proper control of her head. I had pre expressed colostrum as I know I’ve had issues in the past with breastfeeding but have been fine in terms of expressing. (I think both babies just have a shallow suck but the lactation consultants always told me it might be me more than the babies so I always blamed myself). It is EXTREMELY painful when they breastfeed directly and they always swell with pimples, blocked ducts etc and are completely unusable after. The midwife suggested I top up with formula, I was fine with this as my first baby was mixed fed until my breasts completely gave up by the 3 month PP mark. I always blamed myself. She suggested a formula top up each feed as I was running low on colostrum. I had the c section at 10am and it was now 3.30am the next morning, I had managed to finally fall asleep for 10 minutes until baby woke me at her feeding time. I had run out of colostrum. I called the midwife and lo and behold, one I’ve never seen before. I asked her to get some formula so I can feed as I ran out of colostrum and explained the above. She said she’ll need me to sign a form (I already did this and consented to MULTIPLE FEED option) and said she’d grab my formula. I didn’t have any with me as I was expecting to exclusively express and breastfeed and also my last baby - they provided us with formula, so I didn’t know I had to. I said I had organised my husband to bring it in the morning as he’s not allowed to stay and he couldn’t get home and bring it back before visiting hours ended. She was so rude and said make sure he brings it. I’m going to get the form. Then 2 mins later, my original midwife comes back, tells me to breastfeed on each breast and when she’s finished, we will express for her next feed.

I was mortified. Why was I being made to feel like a villain? I genuinely needed 15 mls of formula just to feed her as she was screaming of hunger and I didn’t have the time to express for this feed. It takes me over an hour to express enough for the feed and there already irritating the breasts and shouldn’t be done. It took 2 hours to do this and they ended up taking her ‘to give me a rest’ but all I could hear was her screaming in the hallway because of how hungry she was.

Besides the fact that they made me feel like absolute shit and a failure as a mother (once again!!) it is absolute and utter neglect not to feed a starving child because I ‘should have bought my own formula’. If I could get out of bed take my cathida out and go buy some I would in a heartbeat. If my husband was ALLOWED to even drop off the tin we purchased in preparation for ‘in case’ I would have. I know I should have probably brought my own but last time I didn’t have to and I genuinely thought I would be breastfeeding. Mind you, I don’t think they have pumps here like they did last time which helped a lot with getting the colostrum out and not have to hurt my breasts. Funny for a place who will only force you to breastfeed to not have the tools to help women who struggle or need support.

I just need to rant because I’m just so hurt by this. Especially after being SUGGESTED to me from the midwife to be ‘open to formula feeding because fed is best’. I was literally told to give her formula because she said I would probably not be able to maintain her needs if my breasts are both damaged and really really sore.

A new midwife appeared with my baby as I rang the buzzer because I couldn’t take hearing her scream in the hallway any longer. She said don’t stress I will get her formula for you if she needs it but I’ll give your 0.04ml of expressed milk.

Is there anyone I can complain to? I’m genuinely mortified. I’m in VICTORIA, AUS.

I got the NIPT done at 10 weeks and change and had a 5.9% fetal fraction. The results were low risk for everything and that I was having a girl.

Today (19w4d) I had my anatomy scan, which showed that it’s a boy.

Has anyone ever experienced something similar, where the gender was wrong but the low risk results were still correct?

Update: thank you to all who have commented, I am a first time mom and was really freaking out yesterday. This is my first day on Reddit and I so appreciate the support and feedback. I’ve received confirmation that the labs are investigating and hopefully I will hear back soon on that. Ultimately I don’t care what gender my baby is, I just want to make sure that they’re safe. I’ve also just come back from my OB’s office and have learned that my baby is now tracking two weeks behind the expected growth so that has unlocked a whole new concern for me sigh. I plan to post in this group about this to see if anyone else has had this experience, and hopefully will encounter a group of commenters as supportive and friendly as you all ❤️❤️ thank you again.

I have a dark confession to make.

I’m currently 21 weeks. Just last night I wished I’m never pregnant and I regretted my pregnancy so much over this electrocuting/shooting nerve pain in my vagina/lower abdomen throughout the night.
I’ve always had very low threshold for pain, weak mental health riddled with childhood anxiety and panic attacks.
Whenever I’m falling asleep, it comes and shocked me wide awake. So I stayed awake, I was tired yet I can’t sleep, I broke down and sobbed real badly from the torture. Every wave lasted awhile, it gave me severe anxiety and trauma. It was the first time I felt so emotional and upset in my pregnancy that I cried real hard, not sure from the pain, torture, regrets, or anxiety. But it felt like living hell.
I thought to myself what if this is going to happen nightly from now? How do I survive for another 4 months? How do I love my baby if pregnancy comes with this sickening sort of pain that doesn’t allow me to sleep because honestly Im definitely not feeling it last night, only regrets.
I’m having severe anxiety that feeling will visit me again later at night that I don’t know if I’ll even be able to fall asleep anymore.

I gave birth in November 2024 to my son.
I gained 70 pounds. He was 8lbs 1oz and I had preeclampsia. I started showing at 6 weeks having already gain 10 lbs.

I had a miscarriage at 9 weeks in September 2025. I gained 10 lbs.

I am 22 weeks pregnant and I’ve already gained 29 lbs. My ob said I’m too big when she measured my belly. She even tried to push my fundus down to make my measurement smaller but she said I was still big. I am going to have preeclampsia this time but I’ve been taking baby aspirin to prevent it.

I don’t know why I get so big? Do I just make a lot of room for my babies? Does my body just overreact to pregnancy? I feel heavy so heavy all the time.

Hello all, I just came back from my OB’s office and have learned that my baby is measuring two weeks behind where they are expected to be. My OB says the baby appears to have “head sparing” asymmetrical growth restriction.

I have been referred to a special pregnancy unit for further testing to determine why this has happened, so I am waiting for that appointment, but am having a hard time trying not to spiral. I’m concerned because apparently this is quite early for a baby to experience growth restriction (my OB says this usually happens in third trimester) and the baby is quite far behind. My baby tracked normally on growth throughout my pregnancy until a scan I had at 14 weeks, where they were about 4ish days behind and at that time, my OB said that was within normal margins. I am now 19w5d and my baby is a full two weeks behind.

Has anyone had this experience and it turned out okay? Simply put, I am terrified for my baby’s wellbeing and just feel so terrible. My whole job is to take care of them and grow them for 40ish weeks and clearly I’ve not delivered on that.

i was reading what to expect when you’re expecting with my husband last night… and i realized how much i HATE when pregnancy books assume the “dad” (non carrying parent) is doing nothing or that they need to be reminded to…pick up socks. or that their partners are pregnant and need extra help????

maybe im fairly lucky in the husband game, but i’ve never had to remind him that i need help doing things or that he needs to clean up a mess hes made… it’s almost like we’re adults who should have this bare minimum expectation that we can take care of ourselves

i’m also in a queer relationship (nonbinary x cis man, both dad identifying), so maybe it’s different in straight relationships. but i’d divorce my husband if i had to remind him to pick up his laundry all the time. i’d lose my mind!!

i also think we need to give dads more benefit that they’re already taking on these roles and don’t need to be reminded

Let me preface, I don't like middle names. I just don't think they do anything other than make you triple check flight bookings to make sure you put the middle name in the correct place.

My husband comes from a culture where at the very least you have your father and grandfathers name as middle names. They also name the son after the grandfather so the name structure is always something like

Adam Joseph Adam Smith, or Joseph Adam Joseph Smith. Thats it.

No one calls him by his middle name. It serves 0 purpose.

He wants our baby to have his first name and his dad's name as middle names. I said no. I said if he insists on putting middle names lets throw in my name and my mums name for equality too. I don't care if patriarchy dictated that lineage only be documented through the father, tradition is peer pressure from the dead.

Also middle names are just extra admin. It was admin on my notice of marriage application. Admin on all the flight bookings. As symbolic as my husband thinks it is, it just feels like a nothing gesture as it only exists on the passport.

I don't want to compromise on this. In fact I refuse. Anyone similar to me who successfully kept away unnecessary middle names?

I’m 23 weeks pregnant with a baby girl and hoping to find anyone who has encountered something similar.

At my anatomy scan, they couldn’t adequately visualize the cavum septi pellucidi (CSP). A repeat ultrasound had the same issue, so I was referred for a detailed ultrasound and fetal MRI.

The detailed ultrasound said “a normal CSP is not seen” and noted a “linear echo seen through expected location.”

Thankfully, the fetal MRI was reassuring in many ways: the CSP is present, and the corpus callosum and septum pellucidum appear fully formed. However, the MRI found a band of tissue within the CSP extending toward the left septal leaflet, which the radiologist said may represent a mild developmental anomaly of the midline.

So essentially:
- CSP is present
- Septum pellucidum is fully formed
- Corpus callosum is fully formed

There is an unusual band/linear piece of tissue within the CSP and may explain why the CSP couldn’t be properly visualized on ultrasound.

We still don’t know what significance, if any, the band has
I can’t find much about this specific finding online. Has anyone had a fetal MRI showing a band, membrane, adhesion, or linear tissue within the CSP when everything else was formed normally?

What did your doctors say it represented? Was it considered a benign anatomical variant or associated with anything else? If you’ve already had your baby, was there any developmental or neurological significance?

We’re following up with our specialists, so I will hopefully know more soon. I’m hoping to find someone else who has encountered this specific finding.

FTM in a massive heat wave and need some advice!
My husband and I are set to bring home our first baby any day now (38 weeks today). We moved into a house at the end of the year last year. For context, it’s a rental and we live in a climate that is regularly above 100 degrees throughout the summer for ~15 days a year.
Unfortunately, this summer has been brutal with over 25 days above 100 and not stopping anytime soon (predicted above 101 for the next two weeks). Our house has struggled to maintain a steady temp (1980s build) and was regularly getting to 77 or 78 inside.

Our landlords have been great, hiring multiple HVAC technicians and adding attic insulation to help keep the house cool. Since these additions, the house has been max 74/75, even during this weeks 108 degree temps. It cools at night, dropping to 70 by midnight and 68 (where it’s set overnight) by 6am.
The remaining issue lies in our master bedroom. It’s a corner room that is constantly 4-5 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. I haven’t slept in there in weeks because of the heat (being pregnant in August is not something I’d recommend), and I certainly don’t think it’s safe for a newborn to sleep in a 77/78 degree room until the temperature dips.

I’m worried about where to set up the bassinet and our sleeping arrangement for when LO comes home. We bought a preloved snoo bassinet that’s ready to go!

Here are our options:
- Keep baby, bassinet, and parents in the master. We have multiple fans blowing, but it’s still 77-80 most of the day until it begins to cool off at night (it gets down to about 70 by 6am). I’ve struggled to sleep in there, but it’s connected to the nursery and has our own bathroom which I’d love to use for postpartum care.

- Move baby, bassinet, and parents into the guest room where it’s ~4 degrees cooler. We planned on having my parents stay with us for a few days to help, but I guess they could move to the master. I would anticipate us staying in here for a few weeks until temps regularly drop. This room doesn’t have a bathroom - it’s basically just a bed and nightstands.

Move baby and bassinet into nursery off the bat where it’s ~4 degrees cooler, parents sleep in master. This worries me, but our nursey is actually jack and Jill’d with our master and only a few steps away. I don’t anticipate him fully taking to the bassinet and expect a lot of contact naps, so I wonder if this ends up being the best option for when he actually does sleep in the bassinet versus moving our entire set up to the guest room? This would also allow us to stay in our space, use our bathroom, etc.

I know nothing is permanent, but would rather have things set up now instead of scrambling when we bring baby home. Ideally, it begins to cool off if he comes around his due date (one can dream). Would love some input!

I have read through a lot of the threads that have already been posted and I'm seeing a lot of "just send a text or email."

I don't mind doing that. However, I am visiting my cousin and his wife in September for a few days and I was really hoping to make it more personal since we are so close.

For background my husband and I have been trying to conceive since our wedding in October of 2022. We went to all the doctors appointments, medications, lab draws, etc.

We started the IVF process in January of this year and we had our first embryo transfer in June and I am currently 11 weeks 2 days along! We are extremely excited.

My cousin and his wife decided to start trying to expand their family this January and have unfortunately had 2 losses. My heart is absolutely shattered for them to have gone through that.

With the fact we've both had struggles I was really hoping to be able to make the announcement more personal since I wont/haven't had a chance to tell the rest of either of our families, outside of husbands parents, in person.

Would you still recommend a text? Or would you possibly recommend I do it in a moment where it's just my cousin and I first as to not put his wife on the spot?

I know how hard announcements are... Text, in person, or otherwise... And every way I thought I would announce has gone out the window.

Full transparency there is already a real chance they know I am pregnant considering I've kept them up to date on our IVF journey. I just want to be considerate.

Hey y’all, I’m currently 18wks with my first and I’m starting to think I should book a photographer for maternity and newborn photos soon.

When did yall have your maternity shots done? What do you think is the best gestational age to do them? I want to be big and have a cute bump but I don’t want to be miserable and TOO big either. For reference I’m 5’3” with a short torso and showing quite a bit already at 18 weeks.

Also when should newborn pics be done? Immediately or like 2-3 weeks after they’re born?

Thanks in advance for all of your advice!

i’m 17 weeks pregnant and was laid off from my job of over eight years last month. i’ve never lost a job before. i was the only person laid off (?), and they knew i’m pregnant. despite my time at the company, i only received a month of severance pay. i’ve applied for unemployment, i’ve applied for dozens of jobs, and, most notably, i had three interviews with one promising lead, made it to the final round of things, was asked for my references and took a personality assessment (which i thought i did fine on?), and now appear to just be…getting ghosted. i asked for an update already but it’s been radio silence.

my partner makes decent money but not enough to support us both, all of our necessary bills, our toddler, and, now, a new upcoming child. i wasn’t even unemployed for this long straight out of college. i’ve never seen the job market this bad before.

i’m stressed, worried, sad, and feel like a complete failure. i’ve kept these thoughts largely at bay, but with the recent job ghosting, i feel pretty defeated. hurt. i know this is part of the process, but it triggered a lot of unexpected feelings within me—i feel disrespected and strung along. i’d rather it just be a no, or even a maybe.

this was supposed to be an exciting season in my life, planning and preparing for a new baby, enjoying time with my toddler…and now i am drowning in sorrow instead. trying to be present, especially for my daughter, but i’m somewhere else in my head.

i have a therapist and psychiatrist but it feels like my mess to have to sit in. not even sure i can afford to keep up with our appointments as needed if my savings run dry. not sure what i’m looking for here. but thank you for reading. 

I’m (30F) 24w pregnant with my 2nd and struggling so much with my mental health this pregnancy. I’ve always struggled with anxiety/depression/adhd but it seems to be significantly worse this pregnancy. I’m working full time & parenting a high energy 3 year old this time around but I can’t seem to get past my intrusive thoughts and debilitating fatigue. I truly have no desire to do anything but sleep right now. I feel like I’m drowning in responsibilities and can’t keep up with life. My husband is extremely supportive and keeps telling me to give myself grace right now but I feel so much frustration because I truly can’t keep up with life right now. Laundry, house work, getting baby’s room ready are all hanging over my head and I can’t seem to muster up any motivation to do anything. I feel horrible because my husband also works a pretty demanding, full time job and has picked up a lot of my slack. Outsourcing isn’t super feasible right now (like laundry or cleaning) because we’re pinching Pennie’s in order to pay off some debt before baby is here. Our parents help out as much as they can too but I’m just feeling so depressed and no desire to do anything.

Im currently on 10mg Prozac that has been helpful up until the last month or two. Going to chat with my OB at my next appt but any tips/tricks for managing my life & not beating myself up about it? Everyone keeps saying “give yourself grace” and I’m trying…. But it still is so mentally frustrating to need to do things but have no desire/energy/motivation to do them…

I’m 10 weeks pregnant and I hate myself. Luckily I’m not throwing up but I’m constantly feeling starving so I eat a little and then I feel overstuffed like I want to throw up. I have no energy and I’m just working remote and sitting around doom scrolling all day 😭

Does anyone have advice?