Stupid Questions Thread

bacorrea

@ColleenSwerb‌ you are the knower of all 8->

pbandjmom

Emztron500 said:

Melody*W* said:

Bleh. Just had a minor freak out with my vision (no, I wasn't even tempted to ask you guys before calling my doctor. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to get over it). After going to the bathroom, I sat down in front of my computer and noticed blurry vision on my right side. I could only read one letter at a time, the rest was blurry as hell. My doc told me to lay down and close my eyes for 10 minutes. Seemed to fix it up. Not sure what happened. Maybe eye strain, maybe related to diabetes. Anyone else have this happen before?

Don't know if it's like what you described, but I had a little episode (lasted about 20 minutes) a few weeks back where I had a blind spot on the left side of my vision that gradually got larger until that half of my vision was pretty much just an unintelligible mess. The "blind spot" (it wasn't like, black, but I couldn't read or make out anything in that area) was surrounded by a pulsing, glowing, zig-zagging aura, and I have a history of migraines, so I chalked it up to an optical migraine. Sound familiar at all?

This sounds like my ocular migraines.

haziedaze

aronie82 said:

Ok so if my little one is awake he looking for something to suck. How do I know when he's hungry or just wants to suck?

You really can't nurse too much in the early days. Every time you nurse you're helping your body have a robust supply. I'd say for the first 2 weeks nurse any time they seem interested for as long as you can tolerate it. After that you can try to offer a pacifier or a finger if their sucks seem slow and sleepy. Check out Newman's breastfeeding videos on google. He shows a "chin pause" which indicates active drinking.

amhah09

aronie82 said:

Ok so if my little one is awake he looking for something to suck. How do I know when he's hungry or just wants to suck?

The first week or two it's really all the same IMO. But you will start to learn their cues or they will just not be interested when you do offer breast/bottle.

zoopsiedaisy

Just a vent that I don't want to start a thread for...

If the custodian at school tells me one more time how fat I'm getting I might have to complain. She said today, you are so fat!! Look at your thighs! I bet they haven't been this fat in your life!

The thing is, she's saying it from an excited place, like its a good thing, but all I hear is fat! And of course I go in to defensive mode and start to explain that I'm retaining water like crazy and my BP is high and look at my feet and blah, blah, blah. Uuugggghhh!! So annoying!

amhah09

Heidiman said:

Just a vent that I don't want to start a thread for...

If the custodian at school tells me one more time how fat I'm getting I might have to complain. She said today, you are so fat!! Look at your thighs! I bet they haven't been this fat in your life!

The thing is, she's saying it from an excited place, like its a good thing, but all I hear is fat! And of course I go in to defensive mode and start to explain that I'm retaining water like crazy and my BP is high and look at my feet and blah, blah, blah. Uuugggghhh!! So annoying!

Umm what!?

mrsredmond2011

How bout saying "I'm pregnant. What's YOUR excuse?" That might shut her up

zoopsiedaisy

I found out while talking to a pregnant coworker that she told her the other Day she was getting fatter in both sets of cheeks… And this chick's face has hardly changed and her butt has definitely not gotten any bigger.

Then I was walking with a nonpregnant coworker And she told her she look like a beautiful porcelain doll. There is something strange about this woman so from now on I'm going to avoid her. Thanks for letting me vent!

sking72

When you sterilize bottles, do you sterilize the actual bottle or just the nipple part?

amhah09

sking72 said:

When you sterilize bottles, do you sterilize the actual bottle or just the nipple part?

All of it. Anything that comes in contact with the milk/formula that will be fed to baby.

RedDawnsRevenge

mborn24 said:

Nipple shield: should I have one of these on hand in case I need it? Seriously doubt DH would be able to find these for me on the fly. I really don't even know when you need to use one of these. I have read so far: trouble latching and blocked duct. But then others say to try and avoid using them if you can. So under what circumstance does one shield their nipples?!!!

Generally they are used as a last resort for latch problems. But they can be used for flat/inverted nipples when sized and used under the guidance of a LC. Nipple shields may cause failure to thrive, low milk supply, clogged ducts, and other problems. So honestly no, i would not keep one on hand. They also need to be sized correctly and applied correctly. If you feel you need a shield than you need a consult with an IBCLC. DD wouldn't latch in the left side in the hospital so I was given one by a nurse as the LC was to busy to see me. After trying it once I threw the thing as far as I could and went back to trying to get her to latch properly, because unfortunately the shield really is NOT a substitute for a proper latch.

Edit:typo

speechie517

Should I bust out the double electric breast pump and learn how to use it now, or wait until baby gets here?

babybarnes87

This stupid question brought to you by my sweet, clueless dad:

"So when are you going to check in at the hospital?"

That's the question of the hour, pops...if only I knew!

amhah09

speechie517 said:

Should I bust out the double electric breast pump and learn how to use it now, or wait until baby gets here?

It wouldn't hurt to go on and look at it. Maybe go ahead and sanitize the necessary parts. Read the manual. Get a feel for it. But it's also not difficult if you wanted to wait until after baby gets here. If you absolutely needed a pump in the first few days then LC would help you.

babybarnes87

jellysparkles said:

This stupid question brought to you by my sweet, clueless dad:

"So when are you going to check in at the hospital?"

That's the question of the hour, pops...if only I knew!

Lol. I dunno, Dad, haven't you done this before?

I know, right? He's getting old...

Emztron500

babybarnes87 said:

This stupid question brought to you by my sweet, clueless dad:

"So when are you going to check in at the hospital?"

That's the question of the hour, pops...if only I knew!

My boss asked me this yesterday in complete seriousness. After I clarified that was actually what he was asking, I just said "that's not how babies work"

haziedaze

RedDawnsRevenge said:

Nipple shield: should I have one of these on hand in case I need it? Seriously doubt DH would be able to find these for me on the fly. I really don't even know when you need to use one of these. I have read so far: trouble latching and blocked duct. But then others say to try and avoid using them if you can. So under what circumstance does one shield their nipples?!!!

Generally they are used as a last resort for latch problems. But they can be used for flat/inverted nipples when sized and used under the guidance of a LC. Nipple shields may cause failure to thrive, low milk supply, clogged ducts, and other problems. So honestly no, i would not keep one on hand. They also need to be sized correctly and applied correctly. If you feel you need a shield than you need a consult with an IBCLC. DD wouldn't latch in the left side in the hospital so I was given one by a nurse as the LC was to busy to see me. After trying it once I threw the thing as far as I could and went back to trying to get her to latch properly, because unfortunately the shield really is NOT a substitute for a proper latch. Edit:typo

I generally agree with this and wouldn't waste money on having one ahead of time. I do think they get overally villanized though. I used one for 4 weeks with my preemie under the care of the NICU IBCLC. I stopped using it when my son was 37 weeks adj and never looked back. I seriously credit it with being able to EBF my preemie. I have also seen many situations when it's rescued a breastfeeding relationship that was struggling. E.g. terrible latch but allowed mom to keep baby on the boob while working on the latch, really flat nipples, and for babies that are seriously prefering a bottle. So no need to buy one, but if one is recommended and you're struggling it's worth a try and better than pumping/bottle feeding IMO.

edoliesmom

I know everyone is different and that there are probably a lot of factors that affect the result, but what do bellies usually look like after delivery? Will it resemble something like when an overweight person loses a considerable amount of weight in a short period of time, or is it not as drastic?

I hope this doesn't get too much flak like weight questions do, but I honestly just kind of want to prepare myself that way I'm not in total shock the first time I see myself without clothes. I know I'll be happy just to have my baby girl in my arms, but I feel like self-image is something I'll have to deal with at some point after delivery.

AcaAwkward

SLSchuerg said:

I know everyone is different and that there are probably a lot of factors that affect the result, but what do bellies usually look like after delivery? Will it resemble something like when an overweight person loses a considerable amount of weight in a short period of time, or is it not as drastic?

I hope this doesn't get too much flak like weight questions do, but I honestly just kind of want to prepare myself that way I'm not in total shock the first time I see myself without clothes. I know I'll be happy just to have my baby girl in my arms, but I feel like self-image is something I'll have to deal with at some point after delivery.

In clothes, you look like a 4-6 mo pregnant woman...but your belly is squishy to the touch instead of hard.

sking72

SLSchuerg said:

I know everyone is different and that there are probably a lot of factors that affect the result, but what do bellies usually look like after delivery? Will it resemble something like when an overweight person loses a considerable amount of weight in a short period of time, or is it not as drastic?

I hope this doesn't get too much flak like weight questions do, but I honestly just kind of want to prepare myself that way I'm not in total shock the first time I see myself without clothes. I know I'll be happy just to have my baby girl in my arms, but I feel like self-image is something I'll have to deal with at some point after delivery.

I want to go on record saying I like this question.

mamahann

dani+california said:

AcaAwkward said:

SLSchuerg said:

I know everyone is different and that there are probably a lot of factors that affect the result, but what do bellies usually look like after delivery? Will it resemble something like when an overweight person loses a considerable amount of weight in a short period of time, or is it not as drastic?

I hope this doesn't get too much flak like weight questions do, but I honestly just kind of want to prepare myself that way I'm not in total shock the first time I see myself without clothes. I know I'll be happy just to have my baby girl in my arms, but I feel like self-image is something I'll have to deal with at some point after delivery.

In clothes, you look like a 4-6 mo pregnant woman...but your belly is squishy to the touch instead of hard.

Squishy, but is it visibly like...saggy? Droopy? Or you still have a 6 month belly and it's just squishy?

I'm 5 days PP and my belly is squishy but not really droopy or saggy. After having a big 9 month belly I feel I look pretty good right now!

RedDawnsRevenge

@SLSchuerg‌ I think comparing it to a morbidly obese person that has lot a ton of weight very quickly would be pretty close. Because of my c/s I had this flap of skin, I honestly could have rolled it up. The way the skin looked and felt was the weirdest. The stretch marks made my tummy all weird feeling, like pooled up old people skin? I really just don't know how to describe it.

thomas930

@SLSchuerg‌ Check out theshapeofamother.com

There are a lot of different pictures of postpartum mothers and it can give you an idea of what to expect.

edoliesmom

Well... alright then. Thank you everyone for your honesty, and I hope that my post-baby body won't be something I dwell on for too long or beat myself up over. Thanks @thomas930 for the site suggestion. It's nice that there's something out there like that!

amhah09

SLSchuerg said:

I know everyone is different and that there are probably a lot of factors that affect the result, but what do bellies usually look like after delivery? Will it resemble something like when an overweight person loses a considerable amount of weight in a short period of time, or is it not as drastic?

I hope this doesn't get too much flak like weight questions do, but I honestly just kind of want to prepare myself that way I'm not in total shock the first time I see myself without clothes. I know I'll be happy just to have my baby girl in my arms, but I feel like self-image is something I'll have to deal with at some point after delivery.

With DS I looked like a really "flabby" 6 months pregnant version of myself. With the girls, honestly, I was pretty pleased with my PP belly. The skin is definitely looser but I bounced back to a pretty reasonable size both times.

ksulli

@SLSchuerg‌ re: PP belly- I'm 4 days out- if I relax it, it sorta hangs lower and is very loose, looks like I did at 4-ish mos pregnant. If I sort of engage my core to have decent posture it's not all that loose, sits a little higher, and looks more like 3mos pregnant.

zoopsiedaisy

A while back I asked about used car seats and my MIL who got one and is annoyed that I'm not comfortable with her using it. Well, I thought it was squashed when I saw it with her baby stuff collection at her house. My husband told me she isn't planning on using the seat, just the base. Which is hilarious for a couple of reasons....

1. I have a britax and its a chicco. He said she found that they are compatible on the Internet. Edit to add...I can't find anywhere that they are compatible.

2. Even if they are compatible, the base is, to me anyway, as crucial as the car seat itself and if the car seat isn't ok, then the base isn't either.

Have any of you heard they are compatible? Am I being unreasonable? WTF?!? Why is this so difficult to understand? Even my husband is getting annoyed with ME because I won't just let her use her car seat. I'm considering buying a base for her so she will let it go. And I've explained to all of them that the base isn't required and we can just use the seat only the couple of times she rides with them or we ride somewhere together.

Nellennium

I was wondering if when your milk comes in, it still dries like sand/mini salt rocks - which is what I get at the moment. Or does the drying texture change?

Airynn Chica

I never had the little granules on my nipples after DD came. Maybe that's because she was eating all the time or she licked them clean I am not sure. I also never leaked so maybe that's a factor.

thomas930

Heidiman said:

A while back I asked about used car seats and my MIL who got one and is annoyed that I'm not comfortable with her using it. Well, I thought it was squashed when I saw it with her baby stuff collection at her house. My husband told me she isn't planning on using the seat, just the base. Which is hilarious for a couple of reasons.... 1. I have a britax and its a chicco. He said she found that they are compatible on the Internet. Edit to add...I can't find anywhere that they are compatible. 2. Even if they are compatible, the base is, to me anyway, as crucial as the car seat itself and if the car seat isn't ok, then the base isn't either. Have any of you heard they are compatible? Am I being unreasonable? WTF?!? Why is this so difficult to understand? Even my husband is getting annoyed with ME because I won't just let her use her car seat. I'm considering buying a base for her so she will let it go. And I've explained to all of them that the base isn't required and we can just use the seat only the couple of times she rides with them or we ride somewhere together.

I'm fairly certain that they are NOT compatible and yes, you are correct about the base being just as important as the actual seat. The same rules apply with used bases, if you don't know the history, I would say its not safe to use. 

Good luck, I hope they understand that car seat safety is not a load of crap but really just trying to keep your baby as safe as possible. 

mamahann

ImnAtari said:

Lochia, how much is too much? I have noticed a little bit of an increase of the thinned pinkish / red mucasy discharge over the last day or two. Not bright red bleeding, but it has gotten more dark pink in color than it was the first couple days home. Probably a medium flow in comparison to a period. Thinking about calling my doc, but I *think* I remember them saying this was pretty normal when I was discharged.

How many days PP are you? I had an increase like you describe when I was home on day 3/4. I think I was overdoing it with my activity. I relaxed for a bit and it decreased.

zoopsiedaisy

Thank you @thomas930‌ and @ColleenSwerb‌. I'm guessing this is just one of many ridiculous battles I will have with her. She told me that she hated it when her MIL was trying to tell her what to do and how to do it when she had my husband.

A woman I work with and happens to be friends with her was telling me that they had a conversation about me at this monthly thing they do where she was telling them basically what a control freak I am. Apparently I am "too natural" which she doesn't get and is "just going along with it" (My husband am I want a hypnobirth, for me to BF and to CD, oh my!) And this is all coming from the woman who does not want to be called any version of grandmother because it makes her feel old. She wants my daughter to call her by her first name and I'm bad because I am not ok with that, but most importantly, my husband is not ok with it. She should be proud that she is becoming a grandmother at 60 when she is still healthy and can enjoy it. My dad passed away 9 years ago yesterday and my mom has COPD and seriously may not be alive another year. She is dealing with a partially collapsed lung right now in fact. It makes me disgusted that she's embarrassed to be a grandmother. So I guess the car seat is a chance to exert power where she feels like she doesn't have any.

There's my introspective rant for the day. Was that therapy? That felt a lot like therapy. Ha!!

RedDawnsRevenge

@ImnAtari‌ generally the rule is that it should not be the color of a fire truck (bright red frank blood) nor clots larger than a large prune. The nurse with DD told me clots should be smaller than a pommelo, and I was all WTF a pommelo? As an ER/trauma nurse I think pommelo is way to big a clot.

Sisimama10

Heidiman said:

Thank you @thomas930‌ and @ColleenSwerb‌. I'm guessing this is just one of many ridiculous battles I will have with her. She told me that she hated it when her MIL was trying to tell her what to do and how to do it when she had my husband.

A woman I work with and happens to be friends with her was telling me that they had a conversation about me at this monthly thing they do where she was telling them basically what a control freak I am. Apparently I am "too natural" which she doesn't get and is "just going along with it" (My husband am I want a hypnobirth, for me to BF and to CD, oh my!) And this is all coming from the woman who does not want to be called any version of grandmother because it makes her feel old. She wants my daughter to call her by her first name and I'm bad because I am not ok with that, but most importantly, my husband is not ok with it. She should be proud that she is becoming a grandmother at 60 when she is still healthy and can enjoy it. My dad passed away 9 years ago yesterday and my mom has COPD and seriously may not be alive another year. She is dealing with a partially collapsed lung right now in fact. It makes me disgusted that she's embarrassed to be a grandmother. So I guess the car seat is a chance to exert power where she feels like she doesn't have any.

There's my introspective rant for the day. Was that therapy? That felt a lot like therapy. Ha!!

Laughing at her being 60 and not wanting to be called grandma because she is too young. My mom and dad were 46 (I was 24 with my first) and they had no problem being called grandma and papa.

mamahann

I don't remember seeing this discussed yet. Opinions on them aside, are headbands okay for newborn girls from the start? I'm assuming it's no different on their head than wearing a hat but DH is paranoid about it.

ksulli

@ImnAtari‌ on PP bleeding- I was told it will go red/pink/brown/white, in that order. If I fill a pad in an hour that's too much, but rest for the next hour & if it slows down that I was just over doing it. Clots I was told a golf ball is fine, a lime is not. Though I'd find a good ball sized clot a tad disturbing.

amhah09

RedDawnsRevenge said:

@ImnAtari‌ generally the rule is that it should not be the color of a fire truck (bright red frank blood) nor clots larger than a large prune. The nurse with DD told me clots should be smaller than a pommelo, and I was all WTF a pommelo? As an ER/trauma nurse I think pommelo is way to big a clot.

WTH? My MW told me if I pass a clot as big as a softball to be concerned but otherwise it's normal. If that's the case I definitely should've been calling her a few days ago! I over did it earlier in the week and saw an increase in bleeding and a nasty golf ball (at least) sized clot in the shower. And my H/H was 7/25 when I discharged from the hospital. But now my bleeding/lochia is all but gone so oh well. I have a f/u next week with her anyway.

ETA - and as an ICU nurse I'm always shocked by the softball comparison but I guess that's the difference in expected OB bleeding vs. GI bleeding, for instance.

MrsZ0811

Sisimama10 said:

Thank you @thomas930‌ and @ColleenSwerb‌. I'm guessing this is just one of many ridiculous battles I will have with her. She told me that she hated it when her MIL was trying to tell her what to do and how to do it when she had my husband. A woman I work with and happens to be friends with her was telling me that they had a conversation about me at this monthly thing they do where she was telling them basically what a control freak I am. Apparently I am "too natural" which she doesn't get and is "just going along with it" (My husband am I want a hypnobirth, for me to BF and to CD, oh my!) And this is all coming from the woman who does not want to be called any version of grandmother because it makes her feel old. She wants my daughter to call her by her first name and I'm bad because I am not ok with that, but most importantly, my husband is not ok with it. She should be proud that she is becoming a grandmother at 60 when she is still healthy and can enjoy it. My dad passed away 9 years ago yesterday and my mom has COPD and seriously may not be alive another year. She is dealing with a partially collapsed lung right now in fact. It makes me disgusted that she's embarrassed to be a grandmother. So I guess the car seat is a chance to exert power where she feels like she doesn't have any. There's my introspective rant for the day. Was that therapy? That felt a lot like therapy. Ha!!

Laughing at her being 60 and not wanting to be called grandma because she is too young. My mom and dad were 46 (I was 24 with my first) and they had no problem being called grandma and papa.

This got me too! My parents are 46 and are becoming comfortable with grandma and grandpa (was a bit of a shock at first) My MIL however is 45 and beyond excited to be called grandma!

amhah09

Dude my mom robbed the cradle and my stepdad is 37 and he loves being a Poppy.

Edited - maybe he's 38 now.

zoopsiedaisy

There are so many issues with her and age that I would drive you guys crazy telling you about them. We keep hoping that maybe when she gets here she will embrace her new role and stage in life. Her friends are telling her she's being ridiculous. And if she doesn't get it, I'm considering teaching my LO to call her Mrs. (first name here). I wouldn't want my daughter to be impolite!! I'm going to start teaching her manners at a young age.