Week of 11/29 Randoms

monstera13

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! 

Blondesweety444

I feel this meme so hard today. I don't wanna work!

monstera13

@Blondesweety444 Me toooooo! 

My randoms:
- Why are maternity pants so short?? I’m not even that tall (5’6”) and they are all high waters on me. 

- It’s so much harder to resist over-eating holiday sweets when pregnant. Pies, cookies, cakes, candy….it’s all so good! 

Blondesweety444

@monstera13 I'm also 5'6" and have noticed the same thing. I feel like that's very average so why are the pants all too short?
I don't have an issue overeating sweets though. This kid definitely prefers savory, which is a little bit of a bummer because I don't enjoy the sweets that I used to.  

SmashJam

@Blondesweety444 and @monstera13 I tend to purchase skinny jeans or joggers for this exact reason. I wonder if they shrink more easily? 

I am also finding it hard to resist all the sweets but not actually trying...lol. I know my need for sweets typically subsides later in pregnancy so I'm going with it now.

minnie_yoga_mama

Ditto to the maternity pants!! I tried on 3 pairs yesterday and 2 of them were way too short at the ankle!

I’m also with you on the sweets— I’ve been craving Christmas cookies since September and will literally inhale them anytime o give in and make them!

doxiemoxie212

y'all are wearing real pants? I'm definitely solely in leggings and sweats lol 

monstera13

Glad to know I’m not alone in this struggle. But why do clothing designers think pregnant women don’t need their ankles covered??

@doxiemoxie212 Only when I go into work! 

constantinabee

I'm with @doxiemoxie212. Can't tolerate pants at the moment. I'm always in loose dresses. Fortunately we are coming into summer here so that is working for me now.

jessabelle05

I'm also on team leggings/sweats/dresses. I have been considering venturing down the maternity aisle...but idk. I can count on one hand the number of times I've worn actual pants/jeans since COVID. 
Also -- it makes me laugh a little in that when I was young, I couldn't stand wearing pants/jeans, and only wore leggings and dresses and my mom thought I was so weird. My first foray into pants wearing was overalls and corduroys in the 6th grade before finally wearing jeans in the 7th grade. And I realized I've reverted back to my younger self...and I love it.

Blondesweety444

**TW** MC/Loss, not me

I haven't shared my pregnancy on any form of social media yet. I've mostly just been sharing one on one as I've talked to friends and family. I feel like there has been a ton of late term losses around me with people who would have had similar due dates. I can't help but feel guilty that I'm having a healthy pregnancy so far and it makes me not want to blast it all over social media. I also get nervous about jinxing it. I'm not super close with these families, but I can still feel how painful it has been for them.

- Family #1 - Loss at 13 weeks due at end of March, has had a ton of fertility issues and had just announced on social media the week before
- Family #2 - Loss at 20 weeks found during anatomy scan
- Male Coworker on my team - wife due 2 weeks after me had a loss at ~15 weeks. He just told us yesterday.

robbenson

I feel like the comedian Ali Wong when she says her husband gets praised for being at the doctor's appointments and no one cares that she also is at all of them.
During the anatomy scan my husband asked ONE question and the doctor went on for 2 minutes about me having a gem of a man who gets so involved...I love the guy but is that the bar we set for men?!

hoosiermamajayden

@Blondesweety444 that’s so hard to navigate! My heart goes out to all of those families. Good on you for being sensitive to what season they’re in, but please don’t feel guilty! Appreciate that sweet baby you’re growing— despite any jealousy I’m sure that’s what they’d want you to do.

hoosiermamajayden

So I homeschool my kids and usually things go pretty smoothly but oh my gosh you guys, today has been THE WORST in a long time. We switched curriculums this year for the sake of convenience and my 6th grader is doing much better in the language arts department (finally!) but math has become a huge struggle. He failed a test so he’s supposed to be doing review in order to retake it. Apparently this is the end of the world. We’ve been through multiple meltdowns and multiple hours of me sitting through review problems with him (most of that time has honestly been me redirecting him because he’s so easily distracted) and he still isn’t finished. The kicker is that I don’t think he’s actually struggling with the content— after sitting with him I think what happens is that he gets sloppy when left to his own devices and makes copy errors. 🙃 And now he’s bored doing problem after problem of the same types of questions. 

The last curriculum we used worked really well for us because it focused on skill mastery and didn’t require a lot of drill (although of course I’d supplement if he needed it). But now he’s online and I don’t have any way to override a section or extra practice problems if I don’t feel they’re necessary. Hopefully we can work through today and be better off for it but if he keeps running into similar issues I’m going to have to switch us back. 

Blondesweety444

@hoosiermamajayden is there any way you could make it slightly different by changing something unrelated? Maybe a way to change some of his sensory inputs to help with overall processing. My mom used to let us use a giant white board for HW sometimes because it helped to be standing and write on something other than paper/pencil. Or what about in a fort with a flashlight? Bouncy chair? Lying on his tummy on the ground? race against the clock?

hoosiermamajayden

@Blondesweety444 yes, those things do make a difference! Usually he works best when he can lay on his belly and take frequent breaks, which he’s allowed to do. I will ask him tomorrow if he wants to try a whiteboard/chalkboard or sitting on my exercise ball. Just got a new one Black Friday because my first two were popped. In hindsight I should have ordered two. 😐 I have tried the clock thing in the past but it made him panic so badly he literally got nothing done. It’s just tough. 

Pre-covid we had him in a great OT program I was really happy with that helped with all of these things immensely— without that I wouldn’t even be able to get him to write out his problems. It’s something I wish we could pick back up but it isn’t practical anymore. We tried virtual and it was terrible. Then when they opened the office back up it was students only and I couldn’t justify a 45-minute drive each way plus keeping my other two kids occupied in the car for an hour-long session. Unfortunately there’s no real outside area and even though parents can’t come in we can’t actually leave in case something comes up. Not to mention that it’s $95/session out of pocket and our income has gone down. And yes there are closer/cheaper OTs but they don’t have the same specialization training/qualification for what we need. #everythingsucks 

TLDR: Autism is hard, “high functioning” is misleading, and even though things are getting better we still have our hard days!! 

lemonlove86

@hoosiermamajayden that’s so tricky. I hate that you can’t skip through questions! I was a teacher for 7 years and I always skipped questions or had kids do odd numbers only, etc because some curriculums just have way too many practice problems! If he gets a few correct in a row will it let him advance? What’s the curriculum? 

Also re: maternity jeans. I found out that Abercrombie makes maternity jeans and they’re actually so cute 😂😂 I just bought a pair. 

Blondesweety444

@hoosiermamajayden hugs momma, you're doing a great job! Even on the hard days

I'm sure you know all of this already - maybe try to get in some heavy sensory work before the most difficult portion (math) like taking out the garbage, carrying full laundry baskets, vaccuum, etc. I heard once that drinking a smoothie through a straw even counts as heavy work. 

monstera13

@Blondesweety444 That’s really thoughtful of you. Remember that it’s perfectly normal to feel both the joy of your baby and the grief for your friends ❤️

hoosiermamajayden

@lemonlove86 yes, it seems like I should be able to control that from my parent portal! We were using Life of Fred but now we’re doing Acellus/Power Homeschool. Anyway it was having him do 7 of each type of question. I sat with him through 4 of those 7-question sets and I know he was working on it for a while before I intervened. That just seems like a lot to me, especially knowing his tolerance level. 😖

@Blondesweety444 that’s a good reminder! I’m trying to set a new routine for myself now that I’m not working, because so far I’ve been taking advantage and staying in bed until 8. But he’s still getting up most mornings when I was getting up for work (around 6) to take a shower and start on his schoolwork. Usually he’s done by 10 or so, which for me is great, but on days like today he really needs that heavy sensory input. I know he wants to be able to self-regulate so I’m sure we can come up with some things for him to have in his back pocket if he gets frustrated before I’m readily available to help him. 

Also I want to add that I’m not super strict on schedules or anything, but he has to get his schoolwork done, read for 20 minutes, take out the trash, and put away the clean dishes in the dishwasher before he gets access to audiobooks/electronics, so.... he’s motivated to get school done early. lol 

Blondesweety444

I found a bedding set on sale at target today that I love!! I had already picked out the starry wallpaper. This is what our nursery is going to look like. 😍

monstera13

@Blondesweety444 I love that theme!!

constantinabee

@Blondesweety444 That's so cute! You're making me reconsider my planned animal theme.

Avrilmai

@monstera13 @Blondesweety444 @SmashJam where are you finding these short maternity pants. I have the exact opposite problem. They're all so long...

also @Blondesweety444 Love the theme. you'll have to show us pics of your finished room!

Blondesweety444

It's going to be a while before the room is ready. Current status is that I can't even see the carpet  Hoping to put in some work this weekend though!

Blondesweety444

@Avrilmai the one pair I'm thinking of were hand me down Blanqi yoga pangs. TBH they are probably a size too small but I wear them anyways.

hoosiermamajayden

@Blondesweety444 adorable!

missa_lyssa

Anyone else getting the urge to chop all their hair off before the baby comes? 💇‍♀️ My hair is currently just above my shoulders, and I can’t stop thinking about pixie cuts lately. (I’ve had a pixie cut several times before and always liked it, so I know it’s not just a whim that I’ll regret.) 

It would just be so much quicker and easier to wash, dry, and style, would never be in the way, and would be less grab-able by tiny baby hands. The more I think about it, the more I want to make an appointment IMMEDIATELY.

minnie_yoga_mama

@missa_lyssa YES. I actually already acted on this impulse. I had Rapunzel-like below-the-booty length hair for years until getting the urge to chop it to armpit length a couple months ago, so I did it! And I was 100% happy with my decision. Not as short as a pixie cut, but it feels super short to me, and it’s SUCH a relief! Now that pregnancy hormones are making my hair grow more rapidly though, I think I’m going to cut it even shorter right before baby comes simply for ease.

I was unsure at first too if this was a valid impulse, but I did not regret it! I say go for it! (It’ll grow back quickly if you don’t like it)

dinomeetsjedi

@missa_lyssa Yes, and I also already acted on it. Not quite a pixie, but I cut my hair above my shoulders and I am happy with it! I felt less worried about cutting it because I know my hair will most likely fall out a whole bunch once I give birth so I'm going to hate my hair regardless so I might as well take the risk. Short hair is nice! Do it!

hoosiermamajayden

@missa_lyssa before I found out I was pregnant with my oldest I cut it from not-quite-shoulder length to REALLY short. It was super cute at first but as it grew out and I got bigger, I REALLY regretted that decision. By the time he was born it was about shoulder length again and I refuse to even look at pictures of me late pregnancy or with him as a newborn. That probably won’t be the case for you but it’s my experience. 😅

doxiemoxie212

Just a heads up that for me postpartum my hair stopped growing entirely. From birth to 6mo pp (right when I got my period back) absolutely none of my hair grew - at all. Not my leg hair, not my armpit hair, not my head hair. And then I started losing hair (which is totally normal), but then it regrows in little poof spots. So for me continuing to have the option to put it up in a messy bun was reaaaally important. Also babies grab absolutely everything they can, so I know a lot of people really like shorter hair with babies, but I think unless it's a legit pixie cut (so they cant really grab it) it's just not worth the hair pulls.

hoosiermamajayden

@doxiemoxie212 yes, not being able to pull your hair back is a huge pain. 

Ivorytower2

Does anyone else have a slightly Grinch DH and argue? My H always wants the smaller tree, less lights, and I am the polar opposite! But this year I am too preg to hang all the lights so I have to defer to his half-assed-ness 👎 I am for sure Clark Griswold. 

constantinabee

@Ivorytower2 You will just have to redouble your efforts next year and make an even bigger deal of Christmas to make up for this year haha

hoosiermamajayden

@Ivorytower2 it’s me. 🙈 I’m grinches.

monstera13

No grinch here! I had a wonderful evening wrapping presents last night, and I am
in love with how our tree looks this year 😍 I also ordered customized stockings now that we know what the new baby’s name will be!

rbflei

Omg. Went Christmas shopping today for DD5's teachers and grandparents. Husband and I agreed to small presents for each other and the big gift was two nights in a hotel and a dinner of fine dining after Christmas as a baby moon. And now we wrap! Then of course my child picked out the 3 townhouse multiplex of Target's premade gingerbread houses. How is that even an option? 

Blondesweety444

@Ivorytower2 my DH has one foot in grinch territory. He enjoys Christmas and putting the tree up with presents. But he hates hanging Christmas lights on the house. In our 12 years of marriage I think he’s done it 2 or 3 times even though I ask every year. 

This year I threatened to hire a Christmas light hanging company. He said he would do it since my brother is now here to help us. But then we couldn’t find our lights 🤦🏼‍♀️  So likely not getting lights on the house again this year.

bluecampanula

@Ivorytower2 @Blondesweety444 My DH tries to be a grinch, his family is very sentimental and I joke they used up all his sentimentality early. But having kids has warmed him back up. He fussed and dragged his feet about hanging lights, until his dad came and helped. And even though he started off that year saying Christmas lights were dumb - he ended being the one who wanted to keep them the longest and admitted it was really nice coming home in the dark at the end of the day to see them. 

That said, he stubbornly refuses to take them down and leaves them up all year so he doesn’t have to put them up ever again. 

Ivorytower2

Omg so glad to see I am not alone in this. I’ve had some really sad Christmas seasons at the hospital with my Dad who was sick and eventually passed away so I was very anti-Christmas for a few years- like flying to Miami and partying instead of acknowledging that Christmas existed. 

Finally having my first daughter brought my Christmas joy back and I think I might be so full on just because of everything I’ve been through.

Happy to report back though that my DH did eventually put all the lights up and was proud of his work and keeps saying how great the house looks (and he let us get the BIG tree which my kids keep including in their daily list of things they are thankful for) so win win!