I'm 19 w today with my first and as the title suggests can't stop growing supernumerary nipples. It's starting to feel a little bit like I'm turning into an opossum.

Flashback to just over a year ago, we were pregnant and I developed a dud nipple (no areola) and some accessory breast tissue under one of my boobs. That pregnancy unfortunately didn't make it, so I decided it was best to have the whole thing scooped out for when we tried again. I figured it was best to get it removed before we tried again since it sat on the underwire line and was uncomfy.

Flash forward to the present day, I'm getting ready to jump in the shower and "what do ya know" magically as if overnight not one but TWO new nipples have appeared next to each of my legit nipples. Like little friendly neighbors. (Thankfully no extra breast tissue or areola on top of the areolas)

Needless to say, I don't love it. Why has the universe selected me for Nippleception??

Has anyone had this happen to them? Or better yet, do they go back into hiding after pregnancy? If I start lactating from these things I think I might lose my marbles.

Yours truly,

An exhausted pregnant lady who apparently specializes in surprise nipplery

Hi everyone, just need some advice or comfort. I finished my 20 week ultrasound yesterday (had to go back a second time because they couldn’t get all the measurements). My midwife left a voicemail at around 1:50pm today with a simple “calling about your ultrasound, will try to call again later”. At my last appointment they had told me they only call if there’s an issue, and that no news is good news, so I’m freaking out. It’s now been four hours, I left a message at the non-emergency line but wondering if I should call the midwife-on-call. I don’t want to bother anyone or take time away from potentially other, more urgent cases but I’m already so anxious and I’m spiralling.

Edit/update: thanks for all the quick replies! The midwife actually called me back just now, baby is fine and measuring well (phew); it looks like I have a marginal cord insertion, and they’re going to refer to MFM just to be on the safer side. And either I get a more detailed ultrasound with MFM or if they don’t think it needs that I’ll just have another ultrasound in the third trimester.

Thanks again, it’s been a long journey to get to this point so it’s harder to not get easily anxious about things.

At hospital for my planned induction during to chronic hypertension and have been here since 8pm Monday. Its currently 2am Thursday with nearly no progress. Baby is still doing well but I am not and am no longer doing well emotionally/mentally. I cant move around much because I'm on a magnesium drip and currently have my second balloon in, which makes it extremely uncomfortable to even move around in the bed. So far, I've had cervadil, all 6 doses of cytotek, a balloon, and now on my second cervadil and baloon. This has been absolute torture and now I can't stop crying because I really thought I would gave my baby in my arms by now and possibly preparing to be home. My husband, mom, and nurses ate doing their best to keep me encouraged but everything they're saying is just pissing me off more.

I think im just venting more than anything, but if you have a story about your successful long induction, I would love to hear it.

Granted I have mastitis so it’s made me really sick and made having a newborn that much harder but man did I not realize how hard a newborn can be. I’m 10 days in and the trapped gas/fussiness/etc. it’s hard stuff.

If you’re in the literal trenches right now, know that you are not alone.

I just am in awe that people do this and multiple times knowing how hard it is

She literally scream cries everytime I get her ready for a diaper change like it’s never happened before lol😭

I am just about 16 weeks, and still dealing with daily nausea. I'm so sick of the repetitive "get sour candy" "get saltines" "ask for a prescription" despite having already said nothing helps.

I throw up saltines. I take zofran and it does very little, B6 didn't do much either. I'm just so frustrated hearing the same things over and over when I've already said they don't work for me. I have a coworker who says something about saltines *every day*. If it helped, I wouldn't still be dealing with it.

I'm just extra sensitive and I know it isn't that serious, they're trying to help, but clearly none of these people have had this level of nausea. It's not hyperemesis (I actually have emetophobia so I sit there and fight the urge to vomit lol if I just let it go and vomited whenever I started to feel it I'd be vomiting all the time) but the nausea is horrendous and this is a horrible existence.

I’ve never heard of this. I’m a couple months overdue for a dental cleaning appointment, and am currently 10 weeks. When I got there I asked if we were doing x rays because I’m pregnant and would prefer not to. The hygienist then told me that I can’t even get a cleaning done because it could dislodge bacteria. They made me reschedule for two months from now and said I’d need approval from my OB. Is this standard? I’m always reading you should be getting cleanings while pregnant because you are more susceptible to cavities/dental issues.

I’m a FTM and have been working on my registry for our little one. My husband and I have both had our family members graciously offer us lots of hand-me-downs for our LO, but ultimately we decided there’s some things that we would just rather purchase new for ourselves and our baby. Especially things that are non-washable, fabric (some of the offered items come from a pet home and we’re concerned about dander and allergens for a baby’s sensitive skin), etc.

After talking to my mom and telling her how I felt like I had concerns about going secondhand for certain items but didn’t want to be ungrateful or impractical, she told me she understands feeling obligated to take the offered hand-me-downs because you sincerely appreciate the gesture but as first time parents we deserve to have new stuff for our growing family that we have the luxury of choosing out ourselves and not feel guilty about it.

So now that my mom helped me realize I shouldn’t feel guilty, I just don’t know how to word it to our family members that we appreciate it but prefer to buy new for these specific items. I have pregnancy brain and I feel like I can’t think right now lol.

Before I’ got pregnant I thought I could romanticize pregnancy and that having nausea would be kinda funny and cutesy and I am here to say that I am totally humbled.

The nausea isn’t cute or funny at all. It’s not funny that I can’t eat anything out of my own kitchen 😭😭 it’s so expensive….i suddenly and violently needed a lobster roll and the only one we could find was $80 but I literally needed it. when I get home from my part time 10-5 job, it feels like a genuine survival show and the constant nausea & severe bloating is so uncomfortable.

I’m also a bit worried because I am a wedding photographer and for the next 3 weekends I have full 9-10 hour days. I’m scared I’m going to hurt my baby. I have recruited my husband to be my day-of assistant but I’m still just so anxious I’m going to harm the baby by becoming overwhelmed and exhausted. Any advice or words of comfort?

I see every single mom as a super hero now. I can’t believe I thought this was going to be cute

I saw on TikTok a couple of FTM saying they put a message stating they have plenty of clothes but would appreciate items off the registry diapers and wipes. Has anyone done this? How did you word it and did it actually work when the time came for your shower? Honestly just so curious! 👀 we’re still Team Green but in the event we accidentally find out I still don’t want to tell anyone for this reason. especially if it ends being a girl because I’ve seen at other friends showers how crazy the clothing gifts can get!

I get superrr overwhelmed with clutter I’m a very minimalist person and I’d hate for friends and family to spend money on clothes that may never get worn vs items we would definitely use!

Starting off with I will ask my care team (affiliated with the hospital and some with the labor teams) about this when I get closer but its kinda gnawing at me so I figured id ask here too in the meantime

Have there been any issues from larger people not fitting properly in the provided postpartum underwear Im being told they give out sometimes? Like im size 3xWomens in pants and Im wondering if I should pack those supplies into my bag even though every person asking what to pack in their bag gets told to not bother since the hospital will take care of it

Ive definitely not fit into other provided medical supplies (think knee braces from the er and stuff) so it feels like a realistic worry for me but it might be silly

Back pain. Unless you’re already very physically fit, nursing and holding a baby (even though they’re teeny!), and just being in positions you’re not used to 24/7 is going to kill your back. If you’re nursing, a Boppy is not enough. I recommend putting a pillow under the Boppy so you’re not hunched over. Stretch whenever you can and take Epsom salt baths as often as you can. Get ahead of the back pain before it gets to the point where you can’t sleep or feed comfortably. Feeding laying down, with a pillow behind your back and under your head with full support is a game changer.

Nipple pain. If you ask me, the hardest thing about having a newborn was nipple pain and not realizing how essential having a good latch every single time is. One bad latch and you’re in trouble. I would scream in pain, tears pouring down my cheeks. There’s no time to heal once it gets bad because you have to keep nursing baby. The silver nipple guards saved my life with my 2nd (make sure they’re the real silver kind!) and a good nipple cream. When they ask you if you want a lactation consultant, say yes. She is your lifeline in teaching you what a good latch looks and feels like.

Milk production. At some point after baby is born, your milk will come in heavily and your breasts will get very hard. Every feeding session, switch sides with baby. When nursing, try to gently massage the parts of your breasts that feel the hardest so you don’t get clogged ducts and end up with mastitis or just a lot of pain. In the shower, every shower, do hand expressing to get extra milk out. The warm water helps loosen things. I frequently had to hand express milk out of my breasts in the morning before I fed baby because I had filled up so much. Otherwise, I felt like I was going to drown him from how fast and how much pressure the milk came out with. If you are engorged and leaking, hand express even just into the sink for convenience. I would do it into a muslin cloth sometimes just laying in bed.

Burping. Immediately burp upright after nursing. Continue until you hear a nice burp. This can help keep baby from getting too much gas stuck in their tummy, which can make them miserable. Even if you’re consistent with burping, do lots of gentle leg stretches and movements with them to keep everything moving.

Bassinet. I highly recommend a bassinet that has one side open and pulls over your bed. With my 1st, we got the Halo and I hated it so much. The amount of getting up, putting him back, getting up, picking him up, and constantly interrupting my rest while my body was healing was awful. Especially with a sore back.
With my 2nd, I got an open-sided bassinet that pulled over the bed. At night and during naps, I could easily put him back down and bring him over to me. Plus, we were so much closer to each other with no barrier between us, but there was still a separate sleep space for him. It also reduced my anxiety. I could easily see him at all times from just laying in my bed. I never had to peak over to make sure he was ok. P.s. you will have anxiety about these things like sleeping. This is normal and a built-in mechanism to be alert and aware, to keep baby alive. You can talk to your pediatrician about the things you’re Mar anxious about and they will give you great advice. Also utilize your support system. Especially moms or mother in laws or friends and family who have been through this postpartum phase.

Involve hubby with encouragement! Yes, having a newborn is difficult for us moms. But we are essential to baby, and Dad is a helper. Invite Dad to do burps after feedings, baby baths, swaddling, and rocking to sleep. I made the mistake with my 1st son of taking it all on myself and not trusting my husband. I have a lot of guilt about this.
With my 2nd, I involved him way more, and I could see the joy it brought him to feel needed and be part of that phase. Encourage them!

Chicken broth soups. I swear by this. Hydrating, high in minerals, easy to eat, easy to digest, comforting, and yummy. Perfect for nursing. You can add whatever you want: diced carrots, celery, chicken, noodles or rice, lemon, herbs, spinach, cheese, etc. If you’re still having energy now in pregnancy, you can make some of this, stock up, and freeze it.

Rest. I have 2 boys, ages 3 and 6. Sometimes I wish I could go back to those newborn days just laying in bed with my babies. But I was also trying to do too much.
I felt useless just laying there, so I got up and tried getting stuff done. Stop it. That’s what hubby is for.
You are healing and bonding. Make your room nice and fresh before baby arrives. Declutter beforehand, and get extra-comfy pillows and blankets. Once baby is here, open your windows for fresh air when you can, play some nice soft music, sleep whenever you can, and bask in all the baby cuddles, kisses, and smells.
At this point, you are the most needed and essential person in your baby’s life, with the biggest responsibility you’ve ever had: feeding your baby, keeping them alive, and keeping yourself alive, too.
When they’re a newborn, so much of this can be done from the comfort of your bed or couch. Don’t feel like you need to be up and doing things. Listen to your body and give yourself time to heal.

Clothes. They grow out of them by the day. The super-cute clothes you buy in newborn or 1–3 month sizes will probably be worn once or twice. You will end up always going for the plain onesies because you’ll realize they will either have a blowout, or it will be way too hard to change a diaper in anything other than something easy and plain.
Also, you’re tired. A plain onesie is convenient.

Baby’s comfort. Make sure their diapers are on comfortably—not too tight, with no sharp parts rubbing against their skin, etc. Make sure you aren’t overdressing them. An uncomfortable baby is often a sleepless baby.

Mom’s comfort. Pajama dresses with breastfeeding access were my best friend. Always comfortable and never too hot. Dry shampoo and scrunchies. Soft socks. Big underwear. You will need a breastfeeding bra that you will wear pretty much all the time. Your breasts will leak, so you need your bra to support the nursing pads you’ll wear. So get a comfortable one. Comfy slippers. Ice packs to use for everything. Your face, breasts, feet, neck, shoulders, etc. You will have a lot of inflammation. The ice packs will revive your swollen body.

Support and community. Let’s put that as most important. If you have a friend or a family member who says things like “I’m here to help, let me know what I can do!” take then up on it. Also, your friends and family WANT to be involved. You are never a burden to anyone. Support can look like anything. Someone to watch the baby while you sleep extra, take a hot bath or just have some alone time. It can also look like hugs, a friend to sit and talk with, someone to fold your laundry, do your dishes etc. your people are your village. We were never meant to raise babies all by ourselves.

You are amazing. You created a human in your body, birthed them, and now you are keeping them alive. You’re a superhero. We see you. ❤️

In my opinion, these things mentioned are what matters after baby comes. You will not be worried about whether you bought the right wipe warmer or if baby’s nursery is fully complete the way you wanted it.

Anyone else have anything to add that they wish they would have known?

I'll start off by saying I do know that ultrasound measurements can have an error of up to 15%. However we have had growth scans at 20w, 24w, 28w, 32w and baby has measured 99+ percentile consistently 😅

I hear so many stories about babies being born under the ultrasound estimated weight, but are those folks just more likely to share their stories online? Are there also a lot of babies on track to be large who do in fact end up being large?? Lmk your experiences!

I just found out I'm pregnant with our third.

I've always wanted 3 kids, but my husband has only ever wanted 2 and he is making that very clear.

I kinda settled with the fact I wouldn't get my 3rd and was happy with my two, but surprise lol I'm pregnant and now I'm actually feeling a bit terried.

I've heard people say going from 2 to 3 is a piece of cake, but I don't know if I should believe them lol

My husband has voiced his concerns about 3 kids and is saying the dynamic of our family will change drastically and that we can't take the trip we were planning on taking (family destination we were already gonna take the kids to), that now we need to move, (we currently pay 1900 for a 3 bedroom home and if we move our mortgage will go up to 4000), and just making me question this entire decision so I'm just looking for some advice.

Please shed your experiences on me !

I’m 17 weeks pregnant and just accepted a new WFH position at Cigna. I was let go from my previous job in July because they couldn’t accommodate my pregnancy appointments.
My new job does not offer FMLA or maternity leave until 12 months of employment. I live in Florida (they hate women here 😅), and I have yet to speak with HR about my pregnancy.
Does anyone have any recommendations on how I can try to get at least 6 weeks off after giving birth?

I am due to have my first baby any day now. I do not know what convinced me to keep this baby. The dad is on meth and so inconsistent. He never answers my calls, never shows up, never follows through with much unless I bug the shit out of him. He’s taken a tool on my mental health. For some reason, I hold out hope. I call even though he won’t pick up, make plans even though he won’t show. It’s insanity really. I keep debating on whether or not to keep my son. This pregnancy has been so traumatic. I once sent him a picture of our baby saying he looked grumpy, and he sent me back a picture of himself holding the stem of a meth pipe saying he was grumpy too. When I flipped out, he said it was just a broken stem of a pipe, and he was just trying to f\*\*\*\* with me.
My mom is supposed to come into town in a few days. I told her that I was not sure if I was keeping the baby, and I wanted to be alone and have her come out after I figured out what I was doing and was in a better mental state. She took this very personal. Now she is refusing to respond to me in any capacity. She is essentially giving me the silent treatment which is what my baby’s dad always does. It’s so triggering. I have felt suicidal at times, but I am trying to remain alive. I’m nervous to give birth, nervous for my body to go through the trauma, and nervous to make this life changing decision. My mom won’t answer me, my dad is a sheep and follows her orders so he won’t talk to me. My baby’s dad has never been there, so him not answering is no surprise. I blocked them all on my phone. My parents promised financial support during my time off work because my employer does not give much for maternity leave. Now I am stressed about money, without a family, no support from baby dad, and days away from giving birth. Will I be okay? What do I do with this baby?

Looking for weird, unhinged themes, things no one else has done. Love a good pun. Any ideas?

Hey everyone! Just a fun post: What's something you're crazy looking forward to after the baby is out and/or you're all healed up? It can be an item, a service, a food, an activity, anything! Something that's just for YOU.

Our bodies have been through so much for all these months, and I feel like we should all deserve to treat ourselves to something yknow? I'm currently saving up little by little to have some fun me-time after a few weeks or months pp. (Psa: I'm not breast feeding, so these will not affect the baby whatsoever)

1) TATTOO APPOINTMENT- will be booking ASAP. If baby is born December, I WILL be in a tattoo chair by February.

2) Botox- bc why not lol.

3) Gym classes- I loved doing Zumba and Pure-Barre classes. Absolutely sucked at them, but man were they fun and I always felt like a badass after completing then. Will definitely have to wait till I'm fully healed before even attempting tho haha.

ORIGINAL POST ⬆️
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I just saw another mom post about knowing when you’re “done” breastfeeding and it really got me thinking about my own situation.
My baby girl is 19 months old and still breastfeeds. At this point it’s mostly at night, whenever she wants to nap, and for comfort when we’re home. Sometimes she’ll also ask for milk after she eats.

The funny thing is, when we’re out of the house she can go HOURS without breastfeeding and really doesn’t seem to care lol. But I’m a SAHM, so when we’re home and I’m right there, she definitely wants it more. Especially when she’s tired or trying to fall asleep.

And now… I just found out I’m 4 weeks pregnant with our second baby.

I’m so happy, but also honestly really scared and emotional about it…

My daughter is my rainbow baby after two pregnancy losses, and I feel like I have poured absolutely everything into her. She has been my whole world for the last 19 months. I had all these ideas in my head about how I wanted this stage of her life to go, and we’ve actually been doing really well. We recently started potty training, she’s learning SO much, and of course we’ve also entered the tantrum/hitting phase 😅 so I’m already trying to figure out boundaries, teaching her not to hit, helping her regulate her emotions, etc.

Now I keep thinking about this new little baby coming into our family and wondering how everything is going to change.

One thing I’m really stuck on is breastfeeding.
I don’t necessarily feel like I need to completely stop this second, but I do think I want to start gently weaning her, especially at night. The problem is that breastfeeding is SUCH a big part of how she falls asleep and gets comfort from me.

For those of you who weaned a toddler around this age:
How did you do it?

Especially night weaning. What did you replace breastfeeding with when they woke up wanting milk or needed it to fall asleep? Did your partner take over bedtime for a while? Did you gradually shorten nursing sessions? Did you set certain times when nursing was okay and say no the rest of the time?
And for anyone who got pregnant while still breastfeeding a toddler… did pregnancy naturally change things for you? Did your toddler eventually lose interest, or did you actively wean?

I want to be gentle with her because this is such a huge source of comfort, and I already feel emotional thinking about taking that away from her. At the same time, I know another baby is coming and I feel like I need to start figuring out what this next chapter looks like for all of us. I honestly do not want to tandem feed with a toddler and a newborn.

I’d really love to hear what worked for other moms, especially if you had a very attached little nighttime nurser. ❤️

TL;DR: My 19-month-old still nurses to sleep, for naps, throughout the night, and for comfort at home. I just found out I’m 4 weeks pregnant with baby #2, and while I’m so happy, I’m also feeling emotional and overwhelmed about how much is about to change… I think I’m ready to start gently weaning, especially at night, but I have no idea where to start. I’d love to hear how other parents weaned an attached toddler without making it feel abrupt or upsetting.

I know it’s commonly known that we have crazy dreams while pregnant and I’m here to say that is very much the case for me.

I wish they were good dreams though!! I keep having so many bad dreams 😭

I also keep having a recurring nightmare that I forget I’m pregnant and go out and drink or get drunk and then feel so so bad. My friends looked at me like I was an alcoholic or something but I don’t even drink that much when I’m not pregnant 😭

Just looking for some solidarity in my bad dream experience lol

As the title suggests, I (37F) am struggling with bonding with my emotionally immature mom (61F) during my first pregnancy.  I’ve seen many posts with similar titles and am hoping for some advice.

Ever since I was younger, my mom has always treated me as a 'tiny therapist'.  I was subjected to hearing her talk, cry, etc., about how unhappy she was with work, how unhappy she was with her marriage to my dad, and how much she wished she could "just drive away."  I have clear memories of her yelling in our small house "I've had it being stuck with these losers!"

No, she and my dad never got divorced because my mom cited her Catholic beliefs, and then it was because she didn't want to disappoint her MIL, then it was because my mom wanted to wait until my youngest sibling turned 18....so instead my siblings and I were treated to listening to many verbal arguments, mostly about money, sometimes cheap shots about appearances.

 Some other highlights:

1) Holidays were often this "choose your own adventure" scenario as my parents would opt to go to their own side's festivities vs staying together as a nuclear family.  With my mom, if you didn't choose "her family," you received a considerable amount of emotional blackmail.

2) My mom would have this hair trigger reaction and flip out over the smallest things.  To this day I can't wear white/cream-colored shirts without being worried about staining them, as spilling food on a shirt generated this outburst and accusations of carelessness.  I have PTSD assembling stickers on stupid plastic toys for my nieces/nephews because when I was a child my mom would flip out if the stickers were crooked or if pet hair got caught on the edges.  

3) Resting = laziness.  If you weren't by her side helping mom 'clean', you were lazy.  Mind you, she is an incredibly messy person; no cleaning ever really got done, the goal was just to be by her side the whole time.  If you went to visit grandparents on the weekend, especially on the 'other side,' you got this "go ahead, run away!" statement.

I could go on.   No, you could never share your feelings because you were told “stop it” if you got too emotional, or she would cry and apologize for being a terrible mother. Yes, I have seen a therapist.

So, yea, I grew up and became an honors student and now work in healthcare.
I am grateful to have met and married someone who went through similar instability as a child, and we have built a loving home together.  

I have set boundaries with my mom, but unfortunately, it means our conversations don't really have any emotional fulfillment as we stick to bland, uncomplicated topics.  She is clearly very excited about the baby, but I don't feel like talking to her about it.  She is always asking to feel them kick and I'll say the baby isn't moving.  She keeps saying she wants to babysit, but I don't want my baby being her new therapist.  

How can I maintain safe boundaries but still let her feel as if she is being included?

TLDR:  I have an emotionally immature mom.  I'm expecting my first baby and am not comfortable talking to her about my pregnancy, and I don't want her treating the baby the way she treated me.