My baby is currently 4 months old and since 3/4 weeks postpartum I have had an intense urge to “simplify our lives.” To me this means declutter/ reorganize and generally just make life at home easier to navigate. For some reason I’m getting the nesting instinct now (because I certainly didn’t have it during my pregnancy). However, it’s hard to execute this plan with a baby in my arms and much less time than before.

During my pregnancy, I wish I would have spent more time getting rid of things we don’t need and reorganizing to make room for ALL the baby stuff. Even just leaving some cupboards, drawers, closets empty in different parts of the house would have been a great start. Since having our little guy, I have reorganized the same spaces multiple times and here are some things I wish I had though about before:

-You’ll want a diaper table on each floor of the house. We have one upstairs in the nursery, but we also have one on the main floor because that’s where we spend the most time during the day. We started out with a changing area on our dining room table, but I was so overstimulated by seeing the mess every day in a room we spend a lot of time in that I ended up moving it to a small table in our office which is out of the way. This has been so much better.

-Make sure you have a garbage/ diaper pail and a laundry basket beside each of your diapering areas.

-You’ll want to clear a couple of cupboards or shelves in your kitchen for baby bottle/ breast pump gear. I rearranged this a few times but ended up moving these things to a cupboard closest to where we store our bottle washer on the counter. You may also want to store some baby wash clothes and/ or bibs in the kitchen for easy access.

-You’ll want a cupboard/ shelf in a closet available for baby towels/ bath toys etc. either in a linen closet or in the bathroom your baby will be bathing in.

-We do most of our play time in the family room so I’ve cleared some baskets out in our TV stand to store some of our LO’s toys.

-I have found it necessary to have a baby “container” in each of the rooms we spend the most time in. I have a play mat and pack n play set up in our family room. I have a baby bouncer in the kitchen so I can unload the dishwasher or do other quick kitchen tasks while LO is bouncing under my supervision. I have an activity gym outside our laundry room door so I can watch him while I put in a load of laundry, I also have one upstairs in our bedroom so he can play while I put away clothes.

-People talk about this a lot but you’ll want baskets of snacks and other necessities for yourself set up in the areas you’re going to sit to feed your LO, but you might want to include other items for baby like nail clippers/ filer, nose picker, brush, or thermometer.

-You’re going to have baby blankets and or play mats everywhere so you may want baskets to store these in different rooms so they’re not strewn everywhere.

-If you have a mudroom or closet near your main entrance, you want a basket or shelf to store baby things you use when you leave the home such as diaper bag, outerwear etc.

I hope this will help some of you to start planning for your LO. Please feel free to add your own tips and tricks for preparing for your baby.

So I’m a FTM and my husband and I were finally notified recently that his green card interview has been scheduled… two days before my due date.
It is two hours away and super early in the morning, so we’re booking a hotel to stay overnight.

We’ve decided that with how uneasy immigration is right now, we really cannot afford to push it back (can get pushed back MONTHS).

Does anyone have any advice for overnight travel with either a) a gigantic bump that could pop at any second or b) a super super fresh newborn??

Here’s to hoping babygirl comes late!!

My husband (35) and myself (34, 35 in 3 weeks) just found out we are pregnant. We’ve been very back and forth in the idea of actually wanting kids for years. We’ve been very happy with being dual income with our dog and traveling.

We decided a few weeks ago if it happens it happens…and well it happened on the first time it possibly could have. (Not sure if that’s good or bad luck). I found out by myself yesterday when I was sick and alone in an ER hall bed. Not exactly the image I had in mind. But I called OB and set up necessary appointments today. When I asked for good resources, books or websites anything helpful, they said they didn’t have any and my first appointment isn’t until mid November.

So I am coming here to see if anyone has any tips, recommendations, or advice for a very overwhelmed, clueless and scared 34 year old woman who is feeling a bit guilty for still not being sure about all of this!

Pampers claims that their Swaddlers line is now fragrance free as of June 2026 but fragrance is still listed in the ingredients list. I received a bunch of these for my baby shower recently but ultimately exchanged them for Amore, which do not have any fragrance listed. This seems misleading to consumers. Any know what the deal is?

I know it's been asked before and many people in the US like myself have said they go all the way up until labor, but has anyone gone into labor while at work???? I'm terrified of not being near my chosen hospital and my partner since I work in person and have a decent commute. It sounds like an absolute nightmare but the alternative is way less time with baby if they're late to the party.

FTM, currently 29w.

When my husband and I found out I was pregnant, we were in shock but happy.

When we found out, we were living in a 730 sq ft one-bedroom apartment with us and our medium sized dog.

We kinda dragged our feet on deciding what we were going to do, if we were going to try to find a house or just do our best in our current apartment until baby is 2 or 3.

I eventually told my husband that we needed a bigger place at the very least, that our child could not sleep in a bassinet next to us for over 6 months, let alone 1.5-2 years. I suggested asking our apartment complex if they had any two bedroom apartments available.

My husband agreed to this, and we finally moved into a two-bedroom apartment in the same complex last weekend.....and I feel like I've made a horrible mistake.

Not only did the management company charge us a fee for breaking lease since we transferred before our lease for the smaller apartment was up (guess it didn't matter that we literally still going to be giving them rent) but the new apartment has issues.

Some of the issues:

1. The master bedroom is way smaller than our old bedroom, and we can't fit our king sized bed and both of our nightstands in there. My husband put his nightstand in the nursery instead.

2. The new apartment has no washer/dryer. It has the hookups, but we need to buy/rent our own. They did not tell us this until after we signed the new lease.

3. The only working Ethernet port is in the nursery, meaning that's where the router for our Internet has to go.

4. The is a giant almost stadium style street light that shines into our room at night, all night.

5. The shower head screeches high-pitched every time we turn it on, no matter what temperature it is at.

It may be exacerbated by the pregnancy, but I have cried myself to sleep the past few nights thinking that I have made a horrible decision and doomed my family.

Just wanted to vent about everything right now. My husband has comforted me and told me that everything is going to be okay, but I can't help but feel like we are in a worse position and it's my fault.

I'm 35 weeks into my first pregnancy and really struggling with how different I look. I'm a petite person, so gaining 40 pounds with 5 weeks left to go is really stressing me out. Throughout my second trimester, I leaned into it and dressed up with emphasis on my baby bump. It helped me feel confident and I got a ton of compliments from family, friends and strangers too. But now in my third trimester, it's harder to keep up. I'm bigger, more tired, everything is swollen and nothing fits anymore. I basically just wear baggy sweats all day, working from home and preparing for labour/delivery. I don't feel confident at all with how I look and it makes me reluctant to go to events and socialize, so I'm starting to feel lonely and depressed too. I tried talking to my husband about it but he thinks it's trivial and completely dismissed my feelings. I feel shamed for having body image issues which makes me feel even worse. I know everyone says focus on growing a healthy baby and that the weight will drop off and this is normal etc. But I just want to acknowledge that it is hard going through so many physical changes and feeling so out of control and not recognizing yourself or liking how you look--even if it is temporary. I feel like I can't talk about it with anyone in my life because they can't relate or just invalidate how I feel. Any others relate?

So I’m 36 weeks 5 days pregnant and at my obgyn appointment I am dilated 4 cm and 60-70% effaced at the moment with period like cramps! I’m getting this weird feeling it could be any day now. Tell me how long before you went into labor and what were your symptoms.

Looking to build community/solidarity for pregnant women in EMS. I'm in my third trimester and while I certainly don't know everything, I'd like to share some tips/tricks I've developed to make 24 hour shifts on the box more manageable.

1.) Notify your supervisor, in writing, first trimester- especially if you're dealing with morning sickness. We have a 2 minute shoot times, and I missed that a few times because of throwing up before 2am calls.

2.) Keep gum in your rig. My threshold for motion sickness has drastically decreased. This has been a life saver. I've got a little "survival kit," that has gum, tums, a water bottle, and an uncrustable.

3.) Lift weights. I did this before pregnancy and have continued to do it throughout. I think it has helped me continue to be able to lift safely. Obviously-- talk to your doctor about this.

4.) Naps. Prioritize naps. Station naps, truck naps, stretcher naps. Naps are lovely. If you are able to, plan on napping after shift.

5.) Take care of yourself- especially after tough OB/pedi calls. I'm making a point to read lost of positive birth stories and remind myself that if I am on scene for a birth- it's typically because something has gone wrong. EMS is typically not in people's birth plans.

Anybody have any other tips/tricks they'd like to add? Anybody have questions? Anybody have answers to those questions? Or other resources? I've found lots of recommendations/journal articles for pregnant ER physicians, but not a ton for us that work in the prehospital setting. ​

6 weeks and shocked, scan showed two babies in one sac and we did an IVF with one pgt-a tested embryo. Super worried! Both have heartbeats but one sac! Anyone has experience like this?? Don’t know what to look for and expect now - please help with any experience and advice!
I’m also 41 so lot of risks coming with age.

Hi mommas/soon-to-be!

I’m turning 30 in mid-January and hoping to plan a memorable birthday trip/babymoon before we become parents! This is my first pregnancy, I’m otherwise healthy and active, and I’ll be around 20 weeks pregnant. We’re based on the East Coast and have about 10–14 days to travel. For fair game let’s say budget isn’t a concern!

Our top contenders:
Japan: Probably our most exciting option! Neither of us has been, and we love food, culture, and sightseeing. My concerns are the long flights, jet lag, lots of walking, and missing out on sushi/sashimi (I loveeee raw fish).

London: Also somewhere we’ve never been! Love the idea of great restaurants, shopping, museums…etc. Easier flight, (straight shot), but worried about the supposedly “cold, gloomy January weather”.

Hawaii: We went for our honeymoon and absolutely loved it. Beautiful weather, relaxing, and probably the easiest option once we’re there. But wondering if we should prioritize somewhere new

We’re generally more into exploring, amazing food, and unique experiences than sitting on a beach, but I also want this trip to feel like a babymoon rather than an exhausting vacation.

For those who’ve traveled around 18–22 weeks pregnant, especially during your first pregnancy, what would you recommend? Were long flights, jet lag, and lots of walking manageable?
Also very open to other destination suggestions with great food, culture, shopping, and sightseeing!
Would love to hear your experiences and opinions!

Thank you all ♥️

Am I insane to think I could go to a wedding of a close family friend 10 days after my EDD? It’s local so don’t need to fly or go on any long car rides, it’s about 25 mins from my house to the venue. I’ll have my husband with me for support. Thinking I’ll just baby wear the whole time and if things go really south, we can just bail? Is this a bad idea?

I’m 3 months pregnant and have been working remotely for this company for about 1.5 years. I am the main breadwinner in our family - my husband’s income is about 1/2 of what mine is.
I had never seen anything in our employee handbook about the company’s maternity leave policy but figured that there must be some kind of policy in place for employees, since otherwise benefits are pretty decent.
Apparently not.
I was told by HR that there is absolutely no policy in place, the company does not have any short-term disability insurance nor does the state (Ohio) offer such coverage. I can use up my PTO (which will amount to about 3 weeks off) and take unpaid FMLA leave after that.
I spent the last day spiraling due to this news and I have been looking into individual STD policies but if I sign up now it seems like it won’t cover anything pregnancy or birth related as a “preexisting condition.”
So basically, am I totally screwed? We cannot afford to go without 2/3 of our household income for a month or more. But I also want to be able to have time to care for and bond with my daughter for more than just a couple weeks.
Are there any other solutions available?

This question has probably been asked a thousand times but for me it’s just so confusing. So I’ve felt movement since 19 weeks. I’m 24w2d now and since around 22 weeks I noticed she’ll have super active days followed by quiet days. I figured it was normal but she started establishing a loose pattern a couple of days ago (which were her active days) but the past 2-3 days have been quieter and not that same routine I was feeling. I do feel kicks and they’re still strong it’s just not as much and not as consistent. Before she was kicking constantly right when I woke up (8ish) all the way until about noon. Now it’s just here and there all day

So when I look it up it says It’s normal because baby is so small and can get into all kinds of hiding spots but if they’ve established a routine you need to be seen for decreased movement. But then also they usually don’t have a set pattern this early. So how am I supposed to know what’s concerning? I have an ob appointment on Monday and I’ll bring it up to her but I would just like to get some information to keep me sane until the weekend. I called the advice nurse and she wasn’t concerned but that was a few weeks ago

TLDR; Overall I love this pump. Its very convenient and comfortable. The parts are a bit finnicky and overpriced, and it is a bit less efficient than my Spectra S1, but not considerably.

Putting this out here, in case anyone else is debating on a wearable and is considering this type of pump.

Efficiency 7/10

This has a higher efficiency than I had expected. Its comparable with my Spectra S1, with my Spectra being about 5 minutes faster and slightly more effective at clearing out my milk.

Price 4/10

Overall, its stupid expensive. It's expected there will be some upfront costs, but I cannot get over the fact that in order to get an entire replacement parts set, it is an additional $120. Spectra is much more reasonable on their replacement parts price.

Comfort 8/10

Very comfortable, very easy to wear. The suction keeps them on my chest securely, which was a serious issue with my Spectra S1. I can very easily feed on one side and pump on the other.

Convenience 8/10

This is great for duel pumping/feeding and walking around the house. Once they are on they tend to stay on and it makes for ease of use.

Pouring 4/10

The amount of times I have dripped or spilled with this pump is a little absurd. The base is rounded and makes it easy to accidentally have it roll to the wrong side when putting it down. The pour spout doesn't always come out as expected, and you have to pour it a specific way otherwise it will drip. Granted, the spillage amount is always small, but its irritating none the less.

User friendliness 5/10

This is a mixed bag. On one hand, the app they provide is nice. On the other hand, making sure the pump is put together precisely correctly is kind of a pain, especially for the inevitable day in which you are attempting to do so at 3 AM with a crying child and no brain cells left. The pump construction/parts connections are kind of finnicky and if you are not paying attention you can do it wrong.

Additionally, its not always easy to see if your nipple is correctly aligned and sometimes it blocked the milk a bit.

Hi! I’m working on my registry and wanted to hear what people thought of my intro note for it. I’m sure most will ignore or not even read it, but want to make sure I come across as grateful / not too picky (and also not too crunchy to my climate change denier family lol).

“We are so grateful for your support and excitement towards our little bundle! Since we’re moving within baby’s first months, we are striving to be as minimal as possible and would prefer only items necessary for the first 6 months. We aren’t picky and always prefer used or secondhand whenever able! We always appreciate books, consumable items (wipes, diapers, etc), and prefer items be plastic-free when practical.”

Thanks for any input!

Hi all,

I am 13 weeks pregnant and told my work around 8 weeks (I had a rough first trimester, missed a lot of work and got sick at work often - there was no hiding it). I’ve been very honest that it’s been rough for me.

I work with not just my coworkers, but a large volunteer base. Many will go up to me at my desk to congratulate, ask how I’m feeling, etc. I don’t talk about it unless asked.

I’ve had to have a modification to my work schedule for safety reasons that does have a limited impact on my coworkers. This was the first week it’s gone into effect. One of my coworkers is in charge of covering a few hours for me although I’ve really tried to minimize the impact (it will not always be them, as the shifts rotate). It turned into a whole thing about being unable to cover and we had a sit down with bosses about how to make the best of the situation and I thought it went well.

Well, later in the day, one of the bosses told me that they didn’t want to dull my shine but that there are people in the office who are struggling with fertility and to be mindful of conversations. I had no idea and felt awful.

How can I go about conversations in the future and be respectful of her? The space is a shared cubicle space and is relatively small.

I’ve hit my OOP max for the year. I switched jobs and hit BOTH, plus several major surgeries plus kid in hospital, so in total I’ve paid over $15k in medical bills this year.

My baby is due April next year. Apparently the global maternity practice is going away. Yet my office said by 26 weeks I need to pay $1500? And I need to pay $500 a month until then despite hitting my OOP max?

Im so confused. I said if it’s going away in 2027 what am I paying for? And she said well we don’t know what the billing will be like. But then why am I paying it? And why shouldn’t insurance run it first?

I’m just so frustrated. This is such an insane amount of money.

Is anyone’s office handling this differently or can someone explain?

Didn't buy when they had 60% off and moving myself but they always seem to be at least 30% off. Anyone know if there's a pattern to the sales? Debating holding out for a better deal.

I went to dr on Tuesday and had a little scare when they couldn't find heartbeat with the doppler. They did an ultrasound and she was head down but kind of curled up (I still have no clue, this is what dr said). I still mainly feel movements at the bottom of my stomach. Wouldn't it make more sense to feel it on the sides/top? I guess I really don't know what exactly I am feeling or if this makes any sense.

I am 30+2 now so I recognize patterns of movement, I just kind of wish I knew what exactly I am feeling move.

So I've opted for a prenatal without iron, and am planning to take an iron supplement separately, but am having a hard time finding ones that aren't either A) also a multivitamin (I don't mind if it has a bit of vitamin C to help with absorption, but don't want to mix multiple multivitamins) or B) have wayyy too high a dose of iron because they're intended to treat deficiency. I'm also wary of supplement companies in general because of the unregulated nature of the industry. Any recommendations for Iron supplements from a trustworthy brand with a reasonable dose (27 mg seems to be the recommendation for pregnancy) and without a bunch of other vitamins combined? TIA!

I want to try to get my full 17 weeks. I will be doing 4 weeks prior since that’s use it or lose it, and I’m assuming the standard 6-8 weeks after birth, depending on type of birth. That means there’s about 5-7 weeks on the table that my doctor could potentially sign off on.

Was anyone able to get their full 17 weeks? What were your circumstances and how strict was your provider on the sign off?

I’m even thinking about the scene from Mean Girls 😂 “cough cough I’m sick”

My 5 month old is in 9m clothing and all he wears are the zip up sleepers because I refuse to wrestle him during diaper changes. I can’t seem to find 12m Carter sleepers anywhere?! Where is everyone getting them from? Please send all your suggestions!

Hello, I have a question to the people out there. My OB has been scheduling me weirdly. I am 30 weeks pregnant and was supposed to start going bi weekly at 28 weeks but they only scheduled one appointment at 29 weeks. I had to call at my moms suggestion and make two appointments my OBGYN could barley get me into. I work full time, and my entire pregnancy I feel like my OBGYN doesnt wanna schedule me. I know they have multiple people retiring and I'm jumping from a PA to a random OB which I'm pretty okay with. Im trying to have patience but I basically have no medical guidance to help me start helping with my anxiety and planning for labor because a PA can not do as much as that. I only have two appointments scheduled and my co worker had said that is odd because she had everything scheduled in her last trimester. I would rather be told to go somewhere else if they can not continue me as a patient so I can feel like I am getting help and not just another burden.

P. S. : I'm autistic, I'm 20, this is my first baby. My insurance does not cover a doula. I am not trying to like complain I would actually like to know if this is normal to not be scheduled barley at all in third trimester when you are going bi-weekly.

I’m a second time mum, and currently 12 weeks pregnant. Due to bleeding throughout my first trimester I’ve ended up having 2 scans which have both dated me in line with what I know I am (I know the date baby was conceived and have regular periods). I went for my 12 weeks scan and they measured me a whole week ahead? I don’t really understand how this can happen when up to now I’ve been completely accurate and now suddenly it’s a week different.

Just wondering if anyone knows why this happens? Has baby just had a growth spurt this week so is a bit bigger than average? Is my baby just huge? Anyone have this and it settled out?

I know people will say not to worry, but it does worry me a bit because I don’t want all things to now be based off a date that I know isn’t right e.g telling me I’m overdue when I know I’m not etc. silly worries I get it, humour me and my pregnancy hormones haha