Weekly Questions 5/5

purplg8r

What questions do you have this week?

mamamias

Anyone started Kegels? I feel like it was easier to do first time than this one. Also, not sure if they helped any. Did it help any of the STM/TTM in your earlier pregnancies? 

BigBadWolf12

I'm the worst at remembering to do kegels, pregnant or not 🙈

law_and_little1

@mamamias Nah, I do like 3 of them before I'm like "this feels weird" and quit. 🤣

wanderlustsoul

@mamamias, my pelvic physiotherapist said absolutely no to kegels. She was like why are North Americans obsessed with kegels (I’m in the Netherlands) so I don’t do them anymore. She shut it down real quick. She’s like kegels are for after birth. You don’t want to tighten the birth canal and pelvic floor when it’s supposed to be opening to allow a baby to pass through. 

BigBadWolf12

@akuzreve that's all the advice I need to *continue* not doing kegels haha.

My midwives here (Sweden) also never ask about kegels

thirdtimesacharm2019

I’ve never done more than a handful of kegels at a time... could be why this baby feels like if he gets any lower he’s going to pop a foot out... or it could be because my uterus is old and tired 😂😂. 

wanderlustsoul

@BigBadWolf12, I rarely did it before and I was happy for a reason not too haha. 

wabash15

@AKuzReve I think it depends on the level of pelvic floor dysfunction your experiencing...  I agree during labor you want your pelvic floor relaxed, but if your constantly experiencing urine leakage or have a history of prolapses you may need to do kegals during pregnancy.

@mamamias it takes a LOT of kegals to make a difference. (more than 60 per day and that is of each length). 

bluebonnet15

@mamamias I’ve been concentrating more on doing squats and bridges

Lotus_2008

A lady in my office is leaving for mat leave and the office is throwing a send-off potluck. The organizer is asking that people make extra food for freezer meals.

I have no experience with freezer meals, but I was thinking that I could make some chocolate chip cookie dough frozen into individual servings. Obviously not a "meal" per se, but could come in handy for a snack for visitors. Plus, who doesn't love their house smelling like chocolate chip cookies! 

Yay or nay on my idea?

cato99

@Lotus_2008 yay but only as long as you send me some too I think it's a great idea!

BigBadWolf12

@lotus_2008 yay! 

We gave some homemade cookies with a frozen meal to a family before and they commented that it was so nice to have home-baked goods in the meal train. It's something that usually gets skipped over so I think they'd appreciate the variation imo

Lotus_2008

@cato99 @BigBadWolf12 Thanks for the input! Cookies it is!

mrosek91

@Lotus_2008 cookies are always appreciated. What my mom does is she forms the cookie dough into a log, then when you want to bake you just slice off however many cookies you want and put the rest back in the freezer. Not sure if you had considered storage options yet, but if they are getting a lot to fill their freezer a log may be a little easier for them to fit than a tupperware, and it's still not a lot of work to get fresh cookies.

emqbee

Has anyone ever used the post partum belly band thingy's after vaginal delivery? I'm sure there's a more scientific name...I've heard of them used more frequently after CS's so I was just curious if they'd been helpful...

wabash15

@emqbee I had one from after my C-section that I also used after my vaginal delivery. I thought it was really  helpful. Your belly feels like a bowl full of jello post birth... things are so loose and re-arranged... 

Lotus_2008

@mrosek91 Thanks for that tip! When I've frozen the dough in the past, I've just portioned them out into balls and put them in a freezer bag. I never considered rolling the dough into a log, but I like it. Seems like much less of a hassle than doing individual portions. 

cato99

@emqbee I had a complicated postpartum belly band setup (it had like 3-5 different pieces you wore layered at different stages) after vaginal delivery and absolutely hated it. I think I hated it so much I literally threw it away after a couple of days instead of donating because I didn't want anyone else to be subjected to it. I felt like my usual high-waisted cheapie sort-of-compression leggings from Amazon, and long fitted nursing camis, were enough structure. This time I'm eye-ing something a little more legit than that but not a full belly band: I'm thinking of getting the BLANQI postpartum leggings and tank, since they're still running the 50% off sale.

emqbee

Thanks guys! @cato99 how long after birth we’re you ready to wear the tighter pants? I was imagining that might be uncomfortable for a while?

mamamias

@emqbee I asked my OB for the belt and she told me to work it off since it was a vaginal delivery. She won't recommend using one since it will slowdown losing the pregnancy weight.

cato99

@emqbee not exactly sure because those first few days/weeks are a blur, but I know I went on my first (mild) exercise-y walk at two weeks PP so certainly by then. At home though there was a lot of lounging around in a robe. I probably wore the cursed terrible belly binder thing throughout the first week PP. 

olivemomma

Anyone have any recs on a goodnight place to purchase a formal/black tie appropriate gown? I need one next month. I need something I can wear with flats. ANd speaking of flats - does anyone have suggestions on flats I could appropriately wear with a gown? I have not attempted heals since my broken ankle and I don’t imagine 35 weeks pregnant will be the time to try 😟

mrosek91

@olivemommaI'm a big fan of pinkblushmaternity.com they have a really nice selection of gowns. I got a bridesmaid dress from them last time I was pregnant and got a lot of compliments on it.
ASOS also a good selection as does dessy.com but I do not have personal experience with either. Also, dessy is a little pricier.
As for flats I wear them almost exclusively since I was pregnant with DS#1, and I think that you can get away with a lot more than you think. A simple patent leather flat in black or silver, depending on the dress color, could look great. Also, don't forget, if you decide to go floor length on the gown, then people won't see the shoes much. I get most of my shoes from DSW.

cato99

@olivemomma I second Pink Blush. Their lace overlay maxi-dress is really elegant (I am terrible and bought 3 in different colors) (and it's not especially long so hopefully you should be able to wear it with flats, especially with a third-tri bump). Another thing to consider is Rent the Runway if you want to go super black-tie fancy but don't want to buy a designer maternity gown you won't get much use out of. 

peachy0709

@olivemama - I second RTR.  I personally just purchased a dress for a black tie wedding from A Pea in the Pod, which wasn't cheap but I decided I deserved it 

For flats, definitely check out Nordstroms, they will have lots of nice, dressier flats. 

flagchic

@olivemama I know it's weird, but Amazon has a ton of clothes for maternity. I think that if you're a Prime Member, you can do Amazon Wardrobe and try things on/send things back pretty easily.

Motherhood Maternity has a small selection of more formal dresses, but I second Pink Blush. They're adorable.

suzycupcake

Would it be weird to give my Mom and Grandma's Mother's Day gift? For example, she wants to be called, "Gigi" and I found several cute kitchen items with that on it like "Best Gigi Ever" along with a scented candle and some nail polish she would really like (non-Gma related). 

wabash15

@suzycupcake no I don't think it would be weird

denma2015

@suzycupcake I think they would be super touched!  They are probably so excited for this little boy.

@olivemama RTR is great!  Lots of great options!

aukeev

@suzycupcake I don't think that's weird at all! If anything, I would guess they will love it even more than a typical mother's day gift. 
DH's mother hasn't decided on her grandma name, so we just did a regular gift, but we found some cute Granny things for my mom and I think she's going to love it. 

Avrilmai

@suzycupcake I agree, I don't think that is weird either.
kind of related story, my cousin tried to announce her pregnancy on father's day by giving our grandpa something that said Great-Grandpa and he totally didn't get it (most of the family didn't either.) . He thought it was just telling him that he was great.

Okay, maybe I missed this discussion, but I have a question, what do you do for underwear/panties? fold-over, under the bump, rock it with your regular and just deal? (over the bump sounds miserable esp. with a late summer due date). Any brands that you prefer over another?

wabash15

@Avrilmai all my underwear are low cut so they are always under my bump... I have not had to change them. Though with my  last pregnancy I learned that there are maternity specific underwear and several moms I knew raved about them... I think you can just look them up on amazon

lovelikestardust

@suzycupcake Nope, I don't think that's weird at all! We got my mom and MIL grandma and nonna gifts, respectively, this year.

@Avrilmai I wear low rise panties normally, and so far haven't felt any need to buy anything different. My go-tos are VS because 5 for $28.50 and Hanky Panky. I have lots of other brands too, but those two are probably 85% of my underwear drawer.

thirdtimesacharm2019

@Avrilmai I ordered some of the low cut (below the bump) maternity underwear from amazon. They are amazing and super soft. Not sure why the model them on a flat stomached woman... 

mrosek91

@Avrilmai I bought one size up, and just have them bunch under the bump. I am a big fan of Fruit of the Loom, they are really soft and comfortable. I specifically got these - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L66KTLM/

Avrilmai

Thanks ladies, I've been wearing the Gap low-rise for a while and I love them, but I've noticed they're starting to kind of fold under the bump and it just bugs me. 

@thirdtimesacharm2019 that is so bizarre 

bluebonnet15

@Avrilmai Hanky Panky original (not low cut) are all I want to wear, and I went and bought three more pair Wednesday, actually. They’re just so freaking comfortable. They sit under the bump and stay in place. 

sourlemon

I bought some like what @thirdtimesacharm2019 posted. This is my third pregnancy and the first time I ever felt the need to get something different...because I exploded so much earlier than the other 2 pregnancies. The last 2 times, I would just scrunch up extra fabric under the bump but it was too uncomfortable this time starting around 18 weeks.

suzycupcake

Thanks ladies. I went ahead and got my Mom a shirt that says “Happiness is being a GiGi” with a cute vase of colorful flowers on it. Idk why I thought it would be weird at first. 

@Avrilmai During my Target trip a week ago, the thought was to purchase new underwear for this reason. Well, there were no maternity ones. I ended up getting the 5/$20 from their selection in those little drawers. There were many options in all kinds of styles and colors, and all ended up sitting under my bump nicely. I stayed away from the ones with a ton of elastic/seams or the ones that looked like they’d feel tight if that makes sense. 

@thirdtimesacharm2019 Because they’re assholes lol thanks for posting those—gonna order now. I had seen those before but wasn’t sure if they were good. 

purplg8r

Should I be worried that only one ankle/foot is reallly swollen but the other isn’t at all?  I know swelling is normal but wasn’t sure if it being only in one leg was