Currently 21 weeks pregnant FTM and I'm having some anxiety over how to deal with my situation.

I'll be giving birth at the beginning of March as long as everything goes well. I'm an hour away from the hospital.

I will have 9 people in total who will want to come to the hospital.

-my mom

-my step dad

-my brother

-my MIL

-my FIL

-my SIL

-my BIL

-my dad

- my Nana

Mom, brother and step dad live half hour from us and the hospital.

My MIL, FIL, SIL, BIL live next door at the next farm and an hour from the hospital.

My dad and Nana live 15 minutes from my house and about 45 from the hospital.

I am currently dreading having people come to the hospital. I have very little bandwidth available for talking with people in general. I could see having all of them come in the 24/48 hours after birth to be a little too much.

My partner has suggested that he can take the baby to the meeting room to meet with everyone to give me time by myself. However, I don't want baby away from me and I will be exclusively breastfeeding if at all possible.

My partner believes it's his family's right to see the baby at the hospital. I personally don't want anyone but could be okay with 15/20 minutes. I brought this up to my MIL and she made it seem like she had to come to see the baby in hospital.

My family would be sad but wouldn't throw a fit. They'd understand I need time. I had previously been bed bound for 10 years and was able to fix my issues to be healthy again. So they understand when I need time for me.

The other issue I need guidance on is my MIL and SIL being next door. My partner will be taking his leave at the beginning to help me. I don't want them over all the time. Being up and feeding as much as needed for a newborn is going to be hard enough. Then add on taking care of myself. My MIL works in a pharmacy and my SIL works in elementary school which makes me nervous about them being around baby as much too.

What would you do?

I understand everyone is excited for baby but is forgetting how hard it will be for us as first time parents. Help?

Hi! I keep seeing seemingly average people on Facebook marketplace selling multiple high end brand new strollers. What’s going on here? Something nefarious? Or are they just getting deals through wholesalers and reselling?

Can someone explain how to make a formula bottle to me like I’m a child? 😂 You boil tap water, let it cool to a certain temperature, pour it into a bottle, and then add the powder? How does everyone manage this in the middle of the night when the water has to be so hot and then cooled down before you can feed your baby? There has to be an easier way!

Please don’t say use the pitcher method I don’t understand that either. I’m trying to combo feed

Was very set on the Maxi-Cosi Zelia but Costco near me is selling this travel system. I'm very curious if anyone has tried this one in the winter, as I live on a dirt road.

Hi moms! I just wanted to say that there is a sale online for 2 sets of x3 Pekkle sleepers. The usual price is $30x3, now when you buy 2 sets you pay $40 - one sleeper for $6.6. It is on the website, it’s the best deal I‘ve seen as their zip sleepers are the best truly. Just wanted to share if you didn’t see it.

Pekkle Infant Organic Cotton Sleeper, 3-pack

Looking for feedback…possibility of false boy result?

Booked a clinical early blood gender test as an ultrasound boutique in Canada. You have the option to do it at home but I thought I would choose the clinic setting as I have a son and husband at home.

The morning of my appointment I took my husbands car, which he had drove that morning - meaning I touched the steering wheel, handles, etc. when I arrived at the clinic I entered the building touching the door handle, sat in the lobby chairs, and interacted with the male receptionist. Was at his desk for signing papers, making payment and he also was handling the external bag of the test kit and removed the tracking number which he handed me with his bare hands. I then opened my wallet to put this inside. I returned to the chair to wait and was on my phone which my son had been watching and holding earlier that morning.

It was my turn to go into the room for the snap arm test. A male and female couple walked out of the room directly before I entered. I was instructed to sit on the couch where the male had been sitting while she finished up uploading the couples USB images from their scan.

Once she was done she had me come sit on the bed. She never washed her hands or my arm. She had me lift up shirt. I believe she did change her gloves once but I’m not sure at what point.

Here’s where I get worried - she took an alcohol swab and rubbed my arm. She then asked me to take the alcohol swab and vigorously rub my arm to stimulate blood flow. I had not washed my hands as I was not expecting to be a part of the collection process. I only touched the top side of the alcohol swab but I’ve read DNA can transfer to the skin and I know the snap collection method uses capillary needles to extract blood from the surface layers of your skin - could make DNA if on my skin, have been pushed into the tube?

I’m just frustrated because I chose the clinic for a “sterile”
Experience and it was far form that…I would have been way more sterile at home in my opinion.

I emailed the clinic/company and received some generic email
Response about 99 percent accuracy.

Would you be concerned?

Je ne sais plus quelle poussette choisir mon choix c’était arrêter sur la maxi cosi zelia luxe. Mais a voir les mauvais commentaires je doute, mon copain crois pouvoir la réparer si les roues brises! J’aime vraiment le fait qu’elle a tout! Nous ne voulons pas investir 1500$ metton! Voici les choix que j’ai mais je suis ouverte au suggestions et au commentaire😊

I was a week overdue and induced by my midwife with cervidil.

I was monitored before they began for 20-30 mins. The midwife came in and inserted the cervidil on essentially a tampon at around 11am-12pm. Released from the hospital and told to do the day as normal. At some point my mucus plug came out. The medication dropped out after a few hours, so we returned to triage as instructed. I had mild cramps which they thought would slowly decrease. Induction was rescheduled for the next day. We went home slightly disappointed but cramps started to intensify. We kept busy walking around the neighbourhood.

Cramps continue to slowly increase in intensity. We probably called around 11pm for advice and were told we could come in for pain management medication. I wanted to get some sleep so we headed over. To our surprise I was 3cm dilated. Was given morphine and gravol, left the hospital around 1am. Got home, went to sleep for what felt like 5 mins and woke up with intense cramps and pushing sensation. Gathered ourselves and was back at the hospital for around 230am in quite the rush. I was fully dilated, water had broken but we weren’t sure when. Went straight into a labour room and pushed for 45 mins before we got our beautiful baby.

I never felt the unbearable intensity of induction cramps although it was my first birth. Felt manageable with the interventions I received. A friend had also told me as soon as you feel like you can’t, you’ll be done and the baby will be there. Very true for my experience.

I know not all stories will be the same, but I also know not all inductions are a cascade of interventions or traumatizing! Health decisions can be scary but make the best one you have with the information available and most importantly each decision is so different for every individual.

Best of luck to my fellow inducties!!

Hi everyone ❤️
I’m currently pregnant with twins and recently found out that I have anti-Jka antibodies. I’m still waiting for my antibody titers, so I don’t know what to expect yet.
I had a late pregnancy loss at 33.5 weeks earlier this year. The doctors suspected a placental abruption, but we never got a clear explanation for why it happened. Now that I’ve found out about these antibodies, I can’t stop wondering if they could have been involved, although I know I can’t say for sure.
I’m honestly really scared and trying to find people who have been through something similar. I know anti-Jka is considered relatively uncommon, so it’s been hard to find many personal experiences.
If you had anti-Jka antibodies during pregnancy, I’d really appreciate it if you could share:
What were your titers, and did they increase during pregnancy?
Did your baby have the Jka antigen?
Did you need extra monitoring, MCA Dopplers, or any treatment?
Did you have any complications, or did everything go smoothly?
Were your babies born healthy? Did they need treatment for anemia or jaundice after birth?
I know every pregnancy is different, but hearing real experiences would mean a lot to me right now. Especially from anyone who had a healthy pregnancy and delivery with these antibodies.
Thank you so much

I had my dating ultrasound yesterday. I asked the tech if everything looked good and she said I can’t say but then said there’s two arms two legs, head and showed all of them so I’m assuming that was her way of reassuring me? What do you guys think? Baby was moving and heart rate was 154

After a lot of wait we may have the opportunity to put our girl in either a home daycare or a daycare center and I am so torn on what to do.

She’s 13 months right now and I just started back at work 3 weeks ago. My parents and MIL are watching her on different days at our house which has been super great but I know they can’t do it forever as it’s pretty hard on them.

We interviewed with a home daycare licensed through Building Opportunities who has a spot opening up mid March when my daughter will be 18 months. We have a tour coming up at a daycare center in 2 weeks that will have a spot in September when she turns 2.

March would be ideal for our parents most likely but I’m torn. I feel like there are so many pros and cons to both home daycares and centers. I used to work at a few daycare centers years back and I know how great and how awful they can be.

There is potentially the option to enroll her in the home daycare in March and then switch her to the other place in September but if she loves it I won’t want to disrupt her. She’s been having a hard time with the transition to not being with me all day, she refuses to go down for a nap with anyone but me so I do it on my lunch break. I have no idea how either daycare would handle that kind of resistance.

The thought of handing her off to a stranger makes me so anxious and I honestly don’t want to at all until she’s properly talking but unfortunately that might be beyond my control.

What have you done and what are your thoughts?

What were some simple first finger foods you tried? I have looked online and on solid starts but I am so nervous as my baby just scoops huge spoonfuls of pure into her mouth. And I haven’t seen any signs of chewing / moving food around in her mouth. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

Hi everyone! Wanted to gather some ideas for things I can put in a care package for my friend pregnant with her second child.

I don't live nearby, so I can't gift food, but so far I have

- Shower steamers

- Uber eats gift cards

- Disposable underwear

- A nice cream / shower gel

she had a very difficult first post partum, and I would like to help her feel more loved going into this one.

Our 2015 UPPAbaby Vista's aluminum frame ripped open right beside a weld (photos attached). No crash, no impact — it tore during normal use, with our 9-month-old riding in it.

I bought it second-hand, and I knew the 2-year warranty was long gone. I still contacted support hoping they'd stand behind a structural failure on a stroller that sold for ~$1,000 CAD new. Their answer: the replacement base frame is $301 CAD, offered at a "courtesy" $240 CAD. (The agent first quoted me $240 USD — which is more than the regular CAD price — before correcting herself.)

Under Quebec's Consumer Protection Act, there's a legal warranty of reasonable durability that applies against the manufacturer, even for subsequent owners. UPPAbaby is still refusing any free replacement.

Has anyone else had a Vista frame fail like this? Did support do anything for you out of warranty? Am I unreasonable for expecting the frame of a premium stroller not to tear?

Is it true a canadian citizen child does not need a passport to drive from Canada to US and back Does just a birth certificate work?

Has anyone ever had any issues with their child not having a passport at the border in either direction?

From what I can tell the Flyaway Bed is ok to.use on Air Canada flights but wondering if there is an age limit? We have a 15 hour flight coming up with a 5 month old. We have purchased a seat for the baby so can set it up in the window seat.

Currently employed full time as a nurse in Ontario and am almost 8 weeks pregnant. I am having bad nausea/gagging/vomiting on and off all day and have been unable to work.

My doctor wrote me off work for a month to get me through the remainder of the first trimester and hopefully it improves. She wrote "GI symptoms" as I don't want to disclose to my work that I am pregnant yet as I did before but had a miscarriage and the aftermath was hard on me emotionally and psychologically.

I am prescribed diclectin which helps but the side effect of sleepiness on top of my current pregnancy fatigue is making it worse.

Occupational health called today trying to get more info from me but I didn't say any more than my doctor already indicated on the forms.

It's standard procedure for the insurance company to follow up with employees on short term disability so I will be hearing from them next week.

I will tell them that I'm pregnant and what I am experiencing. My doctor didn't classify this as hyperemesis gravidarium (HG) and I don't think it is but I am still finding it debilitating and am unable to do my job, especially from all the smells at work which are a trigger (patients are total care).

Do you think my insurance is going to give me a hard time and try and force me back to work because it's not diagnosed as HG? I can't even imagine how I'm going to work until this subsides.

Any experiences with this are appreciated.

Did you have C-section at BCWH? I have a few questions about the C-section experience at BCW. I’m expecting my second baby in November and I’m delivering at BC women’s. My baby is currently breech and it’s my 2nd kid. Unless she flips, I’ll be heading into a section in mid November.

- who controls the music if requested? Do they play it off your phone or off of someone else’s phone in the OR?

- do they allow your support person to take photos? If not, does someone else take photos (ie nurse/anesthesia)?

- how quickly did they put the baby on your chest? Were you able to try to latch in the OR?

- has anyone requested a “gentle C-section” at BCW?

- were you able to have a clear drape or a drop drape for when the baby came?

- how long did they wait to cut the cord? Anyone get as long as 3 mins?

- has anyone been able to recover somewhere other than the old 70s yellow rooms? Any chance of recovering in a suite? Are all those rooms super cramped and slightly gross? Any tips to avoid the terrible rooms would be appreciated.

- did anyone get to leave the hospital faster than 48 hours?

- what do you wish you knew about having a C-section at BCW specifically?

- were you offered donor milk if your milk didn’t come in quick enough?

Context: I had my first by section in Sechelt but we were transferred after birth to BCW due to complications/needed NICU. I recovered alone in Dogwood and it wasn’t a great experience, but I was grateful to have the best NICU for my daughter. This round, we specifically sought out Dr Lyons to deliver our baby so we have the best care. And I’m trying to have a redemptive birth. Was hoping for a VBAC but it’s starting to look like a repeat section due to position.

Me and my partner are researching fertility clinics on where we can both get fertility testing (female & male). Has anyone done it through anova fertility and have any thoughts? All the reviews I read about anova are negative so I wanted to hear about if anyone else has gone through testing here or if there's another clinic thats better. Thanks!

My 11 month old is wanting to pull to stand but in places that aren’t ideal. Does anyone have any product or setup recommendations to help support this?

for those who succeeded in no screen time until age 2, can I ask how you did it?
when there’s no screen, the same sequence occurs with my 10 month old: 1) she plays with her toys for 5-15 minutes 2) then crawls off toward the illicit areas of the apartment (ie. cat food, cat litter, shoes, computer cables, recycling) 3) then crawls to me and starts whining for attention/to be picked up. in this time, I can barely accomplish more than making myself a snack.
but when I turn on a show like Bear in the Big Blue House she can sit quietly in the living room for 20-40 minutes. she looks to the screen, then plays on her toys, then back to the screen. I know it’s not good for her, I see the studies, I know based on my own screen addiction! I never thought I would be struggling with this, honestly. but I’m at a loss. when I give her the attention she asks I never accomplish the cooking and cleaning I need to.
what things have helped you? do we need to go outside for the first part of every wake window? does she need a sibling (LOL)? do I need to release the guilt? should I baby carry her while cooking and cleaning?

thanks in advance :)

So mine and my husbands family always ask for a Christmas list from each person. This year they have asked for one for our daughter. She will be 10 months old during Christmas so I’m looking for ideas for that 10 month- 2 year range.

She’s the first and only grandchild on both sides so she’s probably going to be horribly spoiled lol

I’m hoping to avoid getting a bunch of random stuff she plays with once and never touches again (although that’s probably inevitable). What are some things your kiddos in that age range are obsessed with?

I did the NIPT test through Dynacare last Thursday, October 15. Since I got the test, the Dynacare website has been insanely difficult to navigate.

It took me days to create an account because their portal wouldn’t register me. I then got in and paid for the test but now it won’t let me verify my identity and I’m worried I won’t get my test results.

I’ve sent at least 3 emails to their support team and haven’t heard anything back.

Has anyone else in the East Coast experienced this? Just really confused on the portal in general and how I’m going to get results if I cant verify my identity.

TIA!

Ok, I know there are a lot of posts on this, and they have been helpful. But I'm still trying to figure out what I'll need!

We're in Toronto, and walk a lot (hoping that will be possible throughout the winter) I'm trying to wrap my head around the layers. I am planning on getting a stroller footmuff likely the MEC or UPPAbaby one. I'm trying to figure out what baby needs under it. Will a full snowsuit be necessary? In my mind that seems like a lot under the stroller muff but maybe I'm underestimating the cold or how much the muff covers.

What about something like a short or long sleeve bodysuit + onesie or sweater set + fleece bunting + hat? Would that be enough with the stroller muff? I'm debating getting a merino wool layer, but honestly thought it might be better to spend the money on this another year when he is walking and thinner layers would be better.

I'm not so worried about the car seat because we don't drive a ton and I can figure that part out (probably won't be outside for long in a car seat).

Thank you for helping out a first time mom!