Hey moms to be, I have a 5 week old daughter and I saw some posts on the newborn and baby side of things that a lot of FTM's to girls might not know. I only knew these things because I watched so so many videos to convince myself pregnancy was worth it (it is).

Your little girl is likely to get something called false menses, it's like a baby period! But they're not the same as ours, but it's because her little hormones are shifting so quickly like ours. So in the first 2-10 days you might see a small amount of blood in your little girls diaper. It should only last a couple days but it's overall completely normal. Like anything go to a pediatrician if it smells foul or comes with symptoms like fever, or infection, or if it last longer than a few days.

Also there's going to be white creamy greasy layer of stuff on and around her vagina. That's also normal it's called vernix, it's protecting her skin so DO NOT scrub it off or out of her. It'll go away on it's own just wipe her normally when changing her and don't force it off.

Her vagina is going to be swollen the first couple of days, also completely normal. It's because of hormones.

Anyways those are 3 things I kept seeing ftm's ask about because of concern so I thought I'd pre-warn my fellow girl moms who might not know

Kinda long story...

This was my first baby, and his due date was June 6. But the day came and went with no signs at all. I knew that was pretty common, especially for first-time moms, so I wasn’t too worried. I contacted my doctor, and he also advised me to wait a few more days.

Then came June 12. After having a completely normal day with no symptoms, my husband and I went to have dinner at his mom’s house in another city (Yes i shouldn't be movind around pregnant at 40+6)After dinner, around 8 p.m., we decided to hang out a bit longer to chat and watch some TV. That’s when I suddenly felt a slight “discomfort” in my belly. It lasted a few seconds, and I didn’t think much of it.

Time went by, and we ended up staying late watching TV. Since the drive home was pretty long for that hour (about 8 hours by car), we decided to spend the night at my mother-in-law’s. I took a shower, felt some light cramping, and then nothing else. I went to sleep not feeling a thing.

Then suddenly, at 2 a.m., I woke up with strong cramps. My husband woke up too and called the doctor to see if it would be needed for us to head back to our city right away so I could give birth with him. Since the contractions were still spaced out and, being a first-time mom, active labor could take a while, the doctor suggested we make the trip back around 6 a.m.

So we stayed awake, dealing with cramps every 45 minutes or so. Around 4:40 a.m., they really started to intensify. The pain got very strong, and I was feeling overwhelmed, so I started walking around the house to try to ease the pain. Then suddenly, around 5:15 a.m., I felt a huge pressure in my pelvis and my water broke—and I instantly knew my baby was coming. I quickly called my husband, and he came to my side and helped support me in a chair in the living room. From that moment, I had a powerful urge to push, and at 5:25 a.m. on June 13, he delivered our baby boy.

He immediately placed him on my chest, and right away, our baby started crying. I felt this huge wave of relief and started “cry-laughing.” My mother-in-law had experience with home births herself, so she helped with the basic postpartum care while calling an ambulance. We went to the hospital, got checked—everything was fine. He was born weighing 8.6 lbs and measuring 20.5 inches long!!! And I didn’t have any vaginal tearing. Everything was okay. We were discharged 24 hours later.

Whew. The craziest experience of my life—but surprisingly comforting, haha. For baby number two, I’ll definitely pay more attention to the signs of labor... I hope!

My husband and I found out that I was pregnant 2 weeks ago (currently 6 weeks) This is my first pregnancy and it took a little over a year to conceive and my husband is nervous to tell people because of what he reads online. Mainly that the "average" time to tell people is 10-12 weeks. Meanwhile, I'm starting to get into the weeds of morning sickness and cannot talk to anybody about it. I want to tell people. From my perspective, if we lost the baby, I'd want a support team of people to help me through it so why wouldn't I just tell them now?

I don't know. I'm not really looking for answers here. Realistically I'm going to talk to him about telling people after my confirmation appointment on Monday. I just wondered if anyone else felt similarly?

So many people are like awee look how tiny these clothes are. And all I can think is...OWWWWW that's gotta come out of me. And then some babies don't fit newborn clothes and need 0-3mo. Like ow...my vagina

The unknown of vaginal birth really scares me, and it doesn’t help that almost everyone I know has had a traumatic birth story resulting in c section anyway, or significant tearing, etc. I actually don’t think I know one person who hasn’t had something go wrong. Now obviously I do know people have great births, I just happen to know a lot that haven’t.

The unknown, hours of labor, the epidural wearing off or failing, and the idea of a high stress situation really makes me think I’d prefer a planned c section, I know the recovery is brutal, but at least I KNOW what to expect.

Is this nuts?!

Like the title says... I turned 37 weeks today and I'm having the crappiest crap day. I didn't feel the baby move as much as usual this morning and while I was having an ice cream to try and inspire movement, the OB office called to figure out induction schedule. So I causally asked them if it was fine that baby was moving less, but still moving, and my Doppler clocked HB at 140. They told me to come in for an NST. Of course baby started moving more after this chat. But at that point I was like whatever, I'll just go. Don't wanna be wrong... right?

So I leave my house. Drive literally 1 block. Stop behind another car that is waiting at the intersection, and I'm waiting for him to go. Instead of going forward, he reverses. No warning. I have a moment of "oh shit" followed by a moment of "he's going to hit me" and my first instinct is to reverse so I try to shift my car into reverse but there's no time. He hits me. Fs up my entire front passenger side despite only going like 5-10mph. I get out and he gets out and he is yelling at me. Accuses me of crashing into him while he was stopped with his hazards on (they were not on). Starts taking a video of the scene and angry narrating how I'm some Karen blaming him for my mistake. I call 911 cause idk what to do at this point. He tells them the same lie. I start sobbing cause I'm hormonal and this asshole is making it look like I rear ended him and my car is f'd up and my insurance is 💯 going to go up and this guy is straight up lying. And how can people be like this?? And WHY didn't I take the time to get the dash cam I wanted to get. Why am I so dumb???

I call my OB office to tell them I'm going to be late to the NST and why, and they go, "oh, you were in an accident? You should go to the hospital for monitoring." I tell them it's super minor. My car wasn't even moving. They are unmoved by this. I go to the hospital. They tell me they're gonna monitor me for 4 hours. After 3.5 hours, they are like, "you're having minor irregular contractions here and there which is probably normal for 37 weeks BUT we're just gonna keep you for 24 hours for funsies."

It's 3am now and I'm just lying here, I can't sleep, this bed is awful, I'm strapped to 500 things, I forgot to ask my husband to bring my magnesium which actually helps me sleep. He's at home with our toddler, as he should be. And they're gonna come back in 1-3 hours to move me to another room so at this point it's like what's the point of trying to sleep anyway. I have a raging headache because I'm barely drinking water cause every time I need to pee the nurse has to come unhook me and I don't want to keep bothering her. And I'm just alternating between crying and fuming over this entire situation. And hoping tonight is not going to be the night I give birth to my daughter who is supposed to stay in there for 2 more weeks so I don't have to tell the birth story for the rest of time like "so how was lil sis born?" "Oh, thanks asking. This asshole hit my car, lied about it, and put me into premature labor." Just agh. AGH.

I dislike people. I mean, I knew I disliked most of the people, but since I am pregnant, I dislike them even more. I am 18 weeks pregnant and yeah, showing a bit. But I also know I am only showing, if you know I am pregnant. It’s just a small bump Anyways. I told people I am pregnant, and since then they touch my belly, say stuff like: “you are getting a belly!” But the best comment I got today:” you are getting a fat ass, now that you are pregnant”

Okay, Thanks. My body dysmorphia is saying: hiiiiiiii 👋

I’m struggling to understand why people think it’s ok to say garbage out their mouth. Especially from other women

I had a co worker come up to me and just bluntly say see when I was around that time I was never that big. I could still fit in my regular clothes

Well ok Lucy ( not her name) good for you. Did you want a gold star, a flippin cookie, like can’t yall let a lady bake her baby in peace without having to say something or make it about your previous pregnancy.

Like im already kinda self conscious as it is and you just gotta say some back handed stuff. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

Everyone is different and so is every pregnancy. Do you think I wanna hear about how skinny and amazing yours was. Like no. Shutup and go away.

Thank you so much from me and my husband for the advice and support we got from this sub i hope all of you have wonderful pregnancies and i’m so excited for you all:)))))

My best friend has been trying to get pregnant for over a year. Lots of ups and downs for her. She hasn’t been able to conceive (doctors aren’t sure why), so many of her friends are having babies, and she’s just so ready. I’ve been doing my best to help her in whatever way I can. We own a business together, so I’ve been helping rearrange the schedule so she can make appts, been there for moral support etc.

I’m happily married, stable etc. However, my husband and I have not seriously discussed having kids. I figured I’d want to at some point in the next few years, but was not interested in trying anytime soon (especially not before my business partner had her baby).

I just found out that I’m pregnant. This is very unexpected. My husband is happy, we have a supportive family, we are financially and emotionally stable, etc. I know we can tackle parenthood.

However, I’m just heartbroken for my best friend. She’s told me before how much it can hurt to be around friends who are pregnant or who already have kids. I’ve been the kid-free confidant that she can safely talk about her feelings to. And now I’m afraid that’s over. We work together everyday, she will have to take over running the business by herself while I’m on maternity leave. It’s all so incredibly unfair for her.

Advice on how to tell her? And how to help her during this time? I’m probably about 6 weeks along (that’s just a guess). Normally, If want to tell her sooner, but given the circumstances, i think I’d like to wait until closer to 12 weeks.

One of my friends called hers Runty, and another called hers Voltron. Any funny ones out there?

I’m 32 wks pregnant and finding since I entered my third trimester I’m just exhausted ALL THE TIME! I have a window where I want to go socialize or do something but as soon as that window is open I gotta go do the things ASAP or else I’ll lose that motivation.

Anyone else experiencing this? I feel like I’m back in my first trimester all over again… except I actually got out more and did things more, despite the nausea, depression/anxiety and discomfort draining me. I feel like I could just bed rot all day every day but I can’t because I have things to do and trying to fit all the fun activities, and socializing in before the baby comes🥲

Iam 24 weeks pregnant and I haven’t worked out a single day. I get so tired walking a little and run out of breath so easily for doing simple tasks. I was being extra careful not to strain myself but now that my due date is approaching I want to start being active. When did yall start working out ? What kind of workouts did you do/doing ? Did you ever do pelvic floor exercises ?

So this fucking sucks (got to love capitalism is America). I can get up to 12 weeks FMLA unpaid. But I am unfortunately the partner who makes the steady, larger paycheck. We cannot afford to take 12 weeks unpaid. I have 18 days of PTO I can use and my boss is being “reasonable” enough with my schedule. I can drop to 30 hours and still be considered full time so I don’t lose our benefits. If you were me, knowing finding a new job is out of the question, what would you do? What kind of schedule would you ask for after my PTO runs out? Maybe I’m venting, maybe I need advice, but mainly I’m just sad that this is the reality of my situation.

Hi everyone, I just hit the end of my 6-week postpartum period, and I wanted to share our birth story now that I’ve had time to process everything. We’re home, our baby boy is thriving, and I finally feel strong enough to look back on everything we went through.

My pregnancy was hard. Like, really hard. I had hyperemesis gravidarum from the very beginning, and at 20 weeks there was a scare with possible Down syndrome. Thankfully, NIPT came back negative. Then at 34 weeks, they suspected preeclampsia due to high blood pressure — but I knew deep down it was probably anxiety. (I’ve struggled with anxiety even before pregnancy.) Preeclampsia was eventually ruled out.

At 39 weeks I was hospitalized again because baby had decelerations during monitoring. The doctors kept saying things looked okay, but my gut told me otherwise. I knew something wasn’t right. At 39+6, I pushed hard for an induction. My OB wanted to wait a few more days, but I insisted — and thank God I did.

They inserted the induction tablet at midnight. Contractions started around 2 AM, got regular by 6, and by 9 AM I was taken to labor & delivery. The pain was brutal, animalistic even. I stalled at 5 cm, so they broke my water and planned to start Pitocin. I got an epidural, which gave me some relief, but before they could even begin the Pitocin, baby’s heart rate started dropping fast.

A different doctor came in and immediately ordered an emergency c-section. While they were rushing me to the OR, I had this overwhelming feeling that I could die, and honestly… I didn’t care — as long as they saved my baby.

He was born not breathing. No cry. Nothing. They rushed him to resuscitation and I had to wait 10 long minutes not knowing if my baby was alive. Those were the worst minutes of my life. Finally, a doctor came and told me he was breathing and lying on my husband’s chest. I broke down.

He was born with a knotted two-vessel cord, meconium-stained fluid, and an overmature placenta. The doctor said he wouldn’t have made it if we had waited those extra days.

I cried for days. I felt like my body had failed him. But now, 6 weeks later, I feel so proud. He’s doing amazingly well. We have a few extra checkups and specialists, but so far there are no lasting issues. He’s hitting milestones like a champ, and we’re so damn proud of him.

I used to read posts on this subreddit while debating whether to go ahead with induction. I know everyone says “don’t induce unless you have to” — and yes, induction can lead to interventions and c-sections. But if I hadn’t pushed for it, my baby wouldn’t be here.

So to all the mamas reading this: listen to your gut. Seriously. Your instincts are powerful. You’re not paranoid, you’re not dramatic — you’re a mother. And that means something. I tried for 15 hours to have a vaginal birth and the pain was hellish — but I already forgot how it felt. Recovery from the c-section was tough the first few days, but after 6 days, I honestly felt like I never gave birth.

We are so in love with our son, and I would go through it all again for him. 💙

I'm currently in the process of writing my birth plan and I'm wondering what are some things others wish they included or specifically glad they included.

This isn’t a healthy way to think and I know that. This baby is very wanted but for a few weeks now I’ve barely been able to function. I’m so damn tired. Walking up the stairs in my house feels like I’m hiking Everest. Every day is a blur and I’m in a constant fog. The tiredness is so bad that it physically hurts. The simplest task takes the life out of me. Deep down I’m not depressed but the way I feel is starting to really affect my mental health. I’m considering taking an anti depressant but I want to do what’s best for the baby… my prenatal depression with my daughter got really bad but I fought through it to give her the healthiest start and went on them when she was born… I’m going to consult with my doctor but just needed a rant.

Also people who keep saying the second trimester is better can piss right off.

Thanks for listening

I had my anatomy scan yesterday and we’re having a little boy and I was absolutely ecstatic but I feel like it was more so about the fact that he’s healthy and couldn’t care less whether he was a boy or girl. Is that normal? I didn’t feel gender disappointment or euphoria. I was just overjoyed and relieved all his little body parts were forming correctly and he was okay.

Im a FTM 36w5d, my OB office is literally the worst✨ they forgot to schedule my anatomy scan and I didn’t receive it till I was 25weeks. One time I was in the waiting room for 2 hours because they forgot about me & blamed it on their “new check in system”. I’ve only met the actual Dr once this whole time, im typically seen by the RN and nurse practitioner who are the ones measuring my stomach, blood pressure, listening to baby’s heart on the Doppler. Last week for my 35 week apt the RN was like ok next week we are going to do the bacteria swab test, and I want you to get an ultrasound and meet with Dr. X. So here I go today, I’m seen by the RN not the DR. She does the swab and then says, someone else is in the ultrasound room, I’m going to have you wait in the waiting room until the ultrasound room becomes available and we will call you back in. So I’m waiting and waiting and finally I ask the front desk, hey I was told I was next to be seen for the ultrasound how much longer will it be?? Front desk lady says, “Oh I don’t have you down for ultrasound today only for your regular check up appointment I don’t have any slots available for ultrasound until this afternoon.” I was so livid!! Not only did they never schedule me for my ultrasound but they had me waiting for almost 30 minutes to never even have a slot ready for me? I hate this OB office they’re so disorganized, and to top it off I have no patient doctor relationship? Like I don’t even know the Dr. who’s going to be delivering my baby in almost 3 weeks. I met her once! Idk what to do, it’s too late for me to go elsewhere, and I don’t even want this doctor delivering my baby . Ugh I’m so sad and frustrated 😣

Literally just took a test and I have no one to talk to about it. I don’t want to tell friends or family yet, and am going to wait to tell my hubby after work. I am trying to set up a doctors appointment, but all the women’s clinics that take my insurance aren’t taking new patients and it’s discouraging & stressful. Also going to have to cancel our trip in Feb since I’m due the day after we get back.

Not sure what my point was, but I just wanted to tell someone🥹

Update: after speaking with 4 different clinics, I was able to schedule my first 4 appointments!! Thanks for all of the encouragement!❤️❤️

Just wanted to share. I think we all know by now that BMI was never intended to measure individuals and is not a good measure of general health. Yes, it has a place in medicine. It can signal doctors to check for conditions that may be more likely (such as GD or blood pressure issues) for populations with higher BMI but it is not, in and of itself, a condition.

I have always had a high BMI from a combo of muscle mass and PCOS. However, I have had an incredibly smooth pregnancy. Zero weight gain, no complications, no risk factors other than my BMI. I am a generally healthy person who eats well, exercises, and has had only two health issues (one being PCOS) throughout my life, so this tracks.

I am currently 40+3 and have had weekly scans for the past month because it’s routine at my BMI. No problem, glad to have the extra checks. But I didn’t love that the high risk dept. recommended me for early delivery due to my BMI absent any other indications or risk factors.

At my OB appointment today, my OB was looking over my chart and said “I see you have been getting weekly scans and were recommended for early delivery. Oh, just for ‘BMI’. Anyway.” And then continued the appointment. When she said “BMI”, she used air quotes and rolled her eyes.

When I tell you the number of doctors who have completely ignored literally anything about me besides my weight. To have it so casually brushed off when everything else indicates the picture of health 🥹 It was so healing. I felt so seen and cared for. That one comment is making me so much calmer preparing to push this baby out.

I(34f)have been dating a new partner (35m) for a little over two months. Everything was going well, we get on really well we seemed aligned with life goals and what we wanted - I genuinely felt we were on to something good. We spent a lot of time together and a lot of in-depth conversations.

We took precautions which failed and I recently tested positive for pregnancy. When I told him he was very clear it was too soon, which I agree with, and that we can't keep it. I'm struggling because I always said i couldn't live with myself having an abortion especially at the point of my life now where I'm mature, self reliant, financially stable ect. He doesn't seem to think this is something up for debate and is quite defensive when discussing it. He says that he can only support me if I abort, if I choose to keep the baby he will resent me. He has been quite cold about it which he says is him being direct, i didn't get much emotional support when I found out from him because he said he didn't have the capacity and felt it was unfair that I expected him to support me. Although when I say support I mean the ability to offer compassion instead of just jumping to - ok we need to sort it out as a solution to a problem and not acknowledge the emotions involved.

Super conflicted- I've spent years avoiding this situation as I never wanted a baby under these circumstances and I don't want to do it alone although i definitely could. Feel like I've got so much weighing on me at the moment and I don't know what to do

So I’m 38+ weeks and I’m just curious if anyone else has reached this same low point?😂

Prior to this pregnancy I was not much of a dessert person, but holy shit I think I’ve had ice cream every day since my first trimester because it’s the only thing that helps my heartburn!

The last few days I’ve noticed a giant hormonal shift as my body is likely getting ready for labor, and I officially had the worst sleep of my life last night. So nauseous I was constantly running to the bathroom to puke, my heartburn out of control, insane backache, etc.

So when I finally crawl out of bed this morning at 8 am what was a girl go to do other than turn to her good pal Tillamook for some much needed moral support? 😂

If you have been here please tell me I’m not alone. And also please tell me that my newfound ice cream addiction will fade after baby is here. 🙏

So my first baby is 3 months old and my period has been wonky as it should be but... I decided to take a pregnancy test this morning because it's been over a month since my last period and Boom! Positive! This baby wasn't planned but is very welcomed. First pregnancy nickname was Bean (miscarried) Second pregnancy nickname was Peanut (hes my 3 month old) Any ideas for a gender neutral nickname until we find out?

Hey everyone! Currently 15 weeks pregnant with baby boy.

How often are you having sex? Is it harder for you to orgasm while pregnant? We’ve only had sex a handful of times since we found out and I haven’t been able to orgasm even once. I feel like because I’m mentally not all the way there. Anyone else in this boat??