I used to read a bunch of science fantasy books by Anne McCaffrey. Telepathy features big in one of the series, and a toddler ends up talking to (and calming) his unborn baby sister. Maybe Duckling is teaching Chickadee all the tricks!
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Ooh I think I read that one!
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Thank you! Baby E woke up in the wee hours of the morning and decided that she had to lie across my chest/belly in order to continue sleeping, so I had to lie on my back. That combination of course upset Baby 2 and she was trying to kick her sister off me, so I didn’t really sleep after that point. Each time I thought Baby E was asleep enough to move her to the mattress next to me she would stir and cry and I would put her back before she was really awake.
Why can’t snuggling with daddy be an option for her?
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Had a great video visit with our doula yesterday eve! She’ll be doing phone/text/video support during labor & hospital time.
We talked about the latest best practices for covid & newborn visitors, practiced a few positions, and reviewed the draft birth plan. She’s super knowledgeable and reassuring and empowering. I like her so much and it’s so comforting to know she will be available before, during, & after delivery. I like all the midwives I’ve been seeing but they use a laborist model so the actual person attending the birth is TBD.
She had a recommendation for reflux which I’m going to try: 8-10 raw almonds (for oil and alkaline content) after every time you eat, and may feel a difference in about 2 days.
I ordered 3 weeks’ worth of newborn diapers from 2 different brands. Is that a good number for starters? They deliver next-day. I’d like to try cloth because planet but it seems like too much to handle off the bat. Guess we’re having a baby!
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I would say thats a good number of diapers. Depending on how big baby is they might only be in nb for less than a month. 8lbs breastfed baby was out in 3 weeks. You can transition to cloth anytime, give yourself some guilt free adjustment time.
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Yay for a baby! We did part-time cloth after 3 months old or so. Worked well for us 
I hope the almonds work for you, the reflux has sounded awful.
My weight is properly on the upswing now, thank dog. I commented to Ponder that I could stop ordering food (I order lunch in on the days I’m home alone) and he gave me a Look. Uh, yeah, I am still not able to prepare my own food and I haven’t reached pre-pregnancy weight yet. Whoops. I miss being able to make my own lunches. A good reminder not to stop any extra care (whatever that may be) until some time after it stops being needed! Likewise we will keep the cleaners fortnightly until keeping the house tidy has been easy for a while, instead of switching to monthly the moment it seems to be under control.
Meanwhile my hip stops working a couple times a day as bursitis locks it up. Ouch. Ice packs are my friend.
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I’m sorry about the hip and very glad you are eating again!
As my due date approaches I’m realizing that this thread (and all you wonderful humans here) has been so, so helpful. Reading about your range of experiences, symptoms, needs, and emotions all helped me see pregnancy as very personalized jigsaw puzzle rather than a fixed prescription. Thank you all 
.
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My baby was in size 1 before we left the hospital 
lol
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10 days to go until my scheduled c-section! I don’t have any signs/symptoms that labor is coming earlier but we’re trying to get everything ready before my appointment on Tuesday just in case.
We did a bunch of last minute (internet) shopping a few days ago and everything is scheduled to arrive by the 15th. Cutting it a little close but my anxiety has kept me from prepping ‘too early’.
Inspired by @Ferngully’s journal, I’ve been tracking all the spending we’ve done to get ready for the baby. (This is a financial forum after all!)
Here’s the breakdown after crossing the final things off the list. I’m sure we’ll do some panic purchasing after the baby arrives but there’s no more planned spending over the next 10 days 
This isn’t quite the full picture since I’ve used about $600 in gift cards. Plus we received ~$600 worth of registry gifts and a $500 glider from my parents. So all of that brings the total baby prep spending to…
$6732 
Yikes!
I did try to purchase things second hand but I wasn’t willing to go into stores because we’re in a hotspot and I only found a few things on Craigslist that were worth the hassle. Our buy-nothing group is in shambles so that’s no help either.
I am proud of how/where we spent money though. Most of the purchases are from smaller women/POC owned stores, or stores that are doing things to support those groups. I’ve been tracking how much we’ve spent at the ‘big’ stores and it’s not terrible:
Amazon: 4%
BuyBuyBaby: 4%
Target: 6%
The biggest category “Other” is mostly wasted money but there’s not much I can do about it at this point. The majority was for our doula and with a breech baby she can’t attend the c-section, or be with me in recovery, but of course we didn’t know that at the time we hired her. We also paid for a fairly expensive series of baby classes at a local place because the hospital canceled everything with COVID. They finally started up a free online series when we were half way through the classes. Oh well. 2020 tax.
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I shared a couple brief updates in my journal, but my baby decided to come 6 weeks early! Baby Spore was born 8:54am yesterday. He’s getting a little breathing help in NICU. I can’t help being a little nervous, but his prognosis is great.
I’m still processing it all, including a wild delivery and feelings of being only a semi-parent because other people are taking care of him. But 2 things related to this thread:
- I’ve been moaning about some terrible reflux. During labor it really got in my way - I had to avoid several positions or pause some pushes, and threw up a ton at one point, luckily into a basin and not on myself. Well, all signs of reflux were gone immediately after birth. I can sleep in any damn position I want to and the difference in how I feel is remarkable! I hope everyone else with icky symptoms also gets this immediate relief (but not too far before your due dates plz).
- I had Budgetober plans to frugally meter out the last of our baby prep spending. On Friday after we realized the baby was coming immediately, I clicked OVERNIGHT SHIPPING on $120 worth of Amazon stuff - nasal aspirator, baby thermometer, wipes, burp cloths, etc. And one overpriced long-sleeved bamboo onesie from an small company. With free NICU babysitting we won’t need any of that for a couple of weeks at least but I didn’t know at the time and am definitely not beating myself up about it.
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Nice! Any links you’d be willing to share (for the USians at least)?
Our doula was able to switch our 2nd prenatal visit to a postpartum one. She’s already provided some great recovery/breastfeeding info & is also a lactation consultant, so I think that will be helpful even if unplanned. I dunno if leaning on your doula for other things is an option for you?
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What an entrance, Spore! Glad you are both doing ok and that the reflux has gone so fast.
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Congratulations and welcome to your little one.
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Oh my gosh, congratulations! I hope Spore gets to be home with you soon!
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Congratulations and welcome baby Spore! I hope you’re all home and comfy soon!
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Yeah definitely!
Clothes:
www.primary.com (woman owned, gender neutral clothing)
https://princess-awesome.com (women owned, STEM+unicorns for boys and girls)
www.stinaandmae.com (woman/black owned, bibs and blankets)
A little bit of everything (supplies/clothes/diapering/etc.):
https://www.darlyngandco.com/ (black-owned)
www.munchkin.com (mainstream diapering/feeding/etc.; donating profits to anti-racist education)
https://www.milkandhoneybabies.com (woman/black owned; high end nursery/toys/etc.)
Books and Toys
https://bookshop.org/ (supports local indie bookstores)
www.kidochicago.com (black owned; books/toys/clothes)
https://www.braveandkindbooks.com/ (black owned)
https://www.playopolistoys.com/ (woman owned; toys including those for diverse developmental needs)
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Wednesday morning at 6am, I awoke in the dark from a very vivid dream in which I got a positive pregnancy test. I have a long history of prophetic dreams (could tell some really goosebumpy-type stories) so even though I was only 11 DPO and had planned to wait until 12 DPO, I tested.
Nothing showed up at first, which didn’t surprise me, so I set the thing down to rest for the recommended five minutes, decided I was up for the day, and set about washing my face and stuff. Imagine my surprise when I glanced back at the strip on the way of my head swiveling to the cabinet to get my toothbrush and saw a faint positive line! And it’s kept getting darker in the days since. Which means that as of yesterday, I’m at 4 weeks.
I am feeling hella superstitious about something going wrong, but I am also crazy excited and hopeful!
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This is delightful! Congratulations, I hope everything proceeds well! I’ll be hopeful with you 
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Oh congratulations!!! I’m so thrilled for you
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