Pregnancy is weird

And here is Emily Oster’s take on it -

I’d also note that the studies were done with very low levels of caffeine. For example, I drink tons of diluted green tea, and do not worry about caffeine content since I figured if it was a problem, my ancestors would’ve died out (I’m ethnically Chinese) :joy::joy:

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“ But here I actually have a more specific idea of what might be driving the results, rather than just general complaining.”

:laughing: oh no. I am her. She is me.

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Favorite prenatal yoga videos? I’m also open to paid.

I’m frustrated with my loss of mobility and general aches and pains this pregnancy compared to my last. I get why - I was more active pre- and during pregnancy last time, and had more time.
I’d like to be able to go up and down stairs and in and out of bed with less achy-ness, that’s it for my movement goals.

I’m only 25 weeks, so I’ve got months left to go :grimacing::grimacing:

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I love “pregnancy and postpartum TV”. Caveat, I’ve only done her postpartum workouts and kids workouts. But. She gets straight to the point, there’s not a bunch of fluff and talking. Everything is DR safe so I don’t have to think. New workouts every week. She’s a certified Pilates instructor and has a big variety of types of workouts, including yoga. I will say, if you’re a novice and looking for more cueing on poses and attention points she may not be the best, she doesn’t do a ton of cueing stuff.

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I’ve been enjoying The Lazy Dancer (barre, not yoga) at 24 weeks. If you’re comfortable drawing your own limits re: your specific prenatal needs, I think they’re great! This is a lower back mobility video, for example, that has a lot of chair work (typically good for pregnancy, minimal balance requirements) but some folding over the belly (might be uncomfortable, depending): Lower Back Mobility | Get rid of back pain! - YouTube

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I like Sarah Beth’s free prenatal yoga videos. If you’re open to other forms of exercise, Jazzercise On Demand, which is one of my favorite things, has a new pregnancy and postpartum collection as well. (I was bummed that they launched it RIGHT after I had exited the immediate postpartum period. Sigh.)

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It’s uncool that when I’m trying to get pregnant by having sex my libido is like a 2/10 and then when I am pregnant it is a 7/10. Where were you when you would have been useful?

Also I have done exactly 2 chores and have been recovering on the couch exhausted for 20 minutes.

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I’m really tempted to start another journal but last time I started one was shortly before my loss and I’m afraid to jinx it.

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That’s funny, I was the exact opposite! I have a super high libido right around ovulation time - I never have to guess if I’m fertile or not, but then the rest of the month there’s nothing. While pregnant that was the absolute last thing I wanted to do, but I guess it is common for it to get high during pregnancy?

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This week my main pregnancy symptom is rage - just rage in no particular direction. Brought to you by - (not necessarily in this order)

  1. My wonderful delightful 3 year old who will fly off in a tantrum over things like “asking him to go to the potty” and then 1 min later be all smiles and telling me that he’s “happy again”. Also constant demands for attention and stories.

  2. Constant hunger but snacking requires thought and planning due to GD

  3. People at work pushing off work that they can do or figure out themselves onto me when it’s not my project and especially when they’re senior to me.

  4. My bathrooms being under construction, and my house being a mess.

Based on all this, I just told HR that I’m starting my leave at 36 weeks (max permitted under normal circumstances under CA law). And now I feel a little better. Only two more months of work and hopefully a few weeks of time when I have childcare but am not working before baby #2 arrives.

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Hormone check: this is actually rage worthy. Burn them with fire*. *not literal fire but maybe some word fire, or at least some solid snark.

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My body has decided to just be an absolute mess. Like my entire central support structure - my hips, spine and back up to my ribs, and like, my side abs? - hurt and feel weak. I did very little physical yesterday except walk a short distance in the cold and making English muffins, and very little today except 5 minutes of SLOW walking on the treadmill and a little bit of standing while making pancakes and pizza.

On top of that my uterus feels like a balloon inflating inside of me that wants to fall out of my body.

I’m happy I’m pregnant but after a physically easy early and mid 1st tri I wasn’t expecting to be in so much pain and so exhausted.

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I tried to put on some old bras because I got behind on laundry and damn I am definitely not a B cup anymore.

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Hoping you guys can talk me out of some jealousy.

So for a bit there I thought I was having twins for a few reasons, mostly just psychological and was kind of relieved when it was definitely just one.

But now someone in my over-30 ttcers grad/pregnancy group is having twins, and I can’t help but feel jealous.

Probably in spoilers so we don’t make anyone who happens to have had twins or ends up having twins feel shitty, but please remind me why having just one at a time is ideal.

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Summary

Having twins has enough health risks I’m willing to spend thousands, and extra months, and extra meds and misery, just to avoid increased risk of them by transferring two. In fact, most clinics now CANNOT transfer two tested embryos without previous failures. It’s a big, high risk deal to have twins.

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Before I had a baby, I thought twins would be kind of fun. And, I’m sure they are! But I don’t know how anyone survives the first two years of having two independent individuals going through sleep regressions and teething and sickness and separation anxiety in sync OR on a slightly different schedule.

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Summary

True. I think in media a lot of the downsides of multiples is glossed over.

In addition to the definitely relevant pregnancy and birth risks and complications (do I really want every negative physical feeling I’m having to be twice as bad, even if everything ends up being totally fine?) I’m looking forward to the following benefits of a singleton:

  • If they are sleeping there isn’t another infant who may be awake who needs me.
  • No wake up tantrum spirals between the two.
  • I get to have one and decide if I’m one and done or not before having an additional child.
  • A chance to start learning how to be a parent on normal hard mode and not extra super hard mode.
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I don’t know what possessed me, but I started a spreadsheet of all the baby clothes I have, including their sizes, colors, brand, fabric content, how much I spent on them, whether they were used or new, and hilariously a column for how many times they’ve been worn, as if that’s something I’ll at all manage to track with an infant.

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My two best friends each have twins

Summary

And they have not slept more than 2.5 hours at a time for over four years now.

I’ve babysat, with a full night’s sleep and the detachment of not being their parent, and spent a lot of time keeping one from running out the front door while the other was trying to run out the back door.

My college boyfriend is a twin, and he had 10+ concussions by middle school due to games he and his brother played that weren’t likely to be an issue if there had been an age difference either direction, due to age appropriate cognitive development and impulsiveness.

Again… Both my best friends have not slept more than 2.5 hours at a time for over four years.

Two and a half hours. Get up, attend to kid for 30+ minutes. Try to go back to sleep. One hour. Get up, attend to kid for 20+ minutes.

Four + years.

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This one. Yep.

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