Posts by hiddentiger80

Kimberly Ward said:Are we talking private or public sector?

Honestly, I wouldn't mind either one, provided they actually do a good job... Thanks.

Thanks 🙂 In the meantime, I went ahead and picked up some Glucerna, but honestly, it’s been a struggle. It causes so much bloating and just completely wreaks havoc on her stomach... it feels unsettled. I've tried having her sip it slowly instead of drinking it all at once, but it makes absolutely no difference... I'm just not sure. Is there actually any meaningful difference between the different varieties? What else can I possibly give her?

Jeffrey Hernandez79 said:I’m honestly curious about this too.

Jeffrey Hernandez79, I’ve been looking into options like Ensure, Prosure, Dipsip, and Glucerna... but it’s getting confusing because even though they're all nutritional shakes, the sugar content varies so much from one to the next. I've found some that are supposedly marketed toward diabetics, yet they still seem to have high sugar concentrations, and then you read online that they aren't actually good for people managing blood sugar levels. Does anyone here have any actual insight on this? I really need to find a high-protein supplement that won't cause issues. If anyone could weigh in, I'd truly appreciate it. 🙂

I have a question here, if anyone might be able to lend some guidance... How does one go about trying to raise albumin levels when dealing with hypoalbuminemia? Are there specific high-protein supplements or perhaps certain types of recovery formulas available that can be purchased and taken specifically for this purpose? Thank you.

I am looking for a private pulmonologist, but they really need to be top-tier if I'm going to seek a second opinion... it's an incredibly complex issue. Thank you.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a solid private neurologist? I'd really appreciate any leads you could share. Hvala

Timothy Barrett6 said:So, I'm not the only one without a gut. And you're already 26 weeks along.
I can tell you that my anxiety levels spiked a bit over the weekend. Might sound ridiculous, but they did.

My husband calls me fat.😁 Just being honest, I guess—but let’s be real, she only says it because she knows I’m completely obsessed with the scale and my weight.

I honestly can't get enough of him.

I'm in.

I barely had any bump at all until I hit 30 weeks, and then overnight it just grew... even though people still call me "tiny," and say I'll stay that way for maybe 7 months tops. and eventually I... look, let's be real, I don't feel thin or anything like a willow tree 😬 especially with the weight fluctuating week after week 🤣

I know people love to gossip about others constantly, but I am honestly stunned by how some individuals obsess over my life down to the tiniest details—details I don't even pay attention to myself. It has reached a point where it feels like pure pathology... just straight-up stalking...🙂 and then, when I finally speak up (which I would do regardless), their response is always some condescending remark about how my "pregnancy hormones" are just making me irrational.😕

Prenatal massages, everyone waiting with bated breath to see how my labor will go because all the midwives in the surrounding area have dealt with nothing but absolute disasters... the endless questioning about how I’m going to deliver, the method, every single tiny detail that I don't even bother to tire myself out explaining... and finally, the frantic obsession over everything I'm buying (or planning to buy) just to stock up so they have everything ready right when they need it 😲

My husband works a ton, including full weekends and on-call shifts, or he'll work regular hours during the week or pull long days... then when he finally gets home, he plays some video games, goes for a run, and eventually settles down to catch up on court cases and other stuff 😁 but if we want to keep things peaceful on this forum, let's just get back to talking about mothers-in-law again 😬

Reading through these threads, I have to say—and please, kill me now, because I still just don't get it—where is this supposed "sanctity" of grandmothers? Why is there this intense pressure that a grandmother absolutely must be present in a child's life at any cost? My own grandparents passed away before I was even born, but based on everything I’ve heard about them (my mother always spoke highly of them, though you can't hide certain truths forever, and other people talk too), I wouldn't be able to honor or respect them, let alone love them the way I loved my other grandmother. And that was purely because they were terrible to my mother. (They were her parents, after all.)
How can anyone claim to be a "good" grandmother when she spends her time badmouthing the child's mother, stirring up drama and gossip before the baby is even born, refusing to speak to the mother, and ultimately turning the child against their own parent? 🤷
As far as I'm concerned, I never went looking for my mother-in-law to love me or fully understand me; I simply expected her to respect me the same way I respected her (though, unfortunately, I didn't respect her much at all). I considered that to be the bare minimum. Until recently, I was never rude or disrespectful toward her, nor did I ever instigate a conflict. 🤷People need to realize that boundaries are essential if they want a functional family. If they aren't willing to set them, then I truly believe it isn't good for a child to grow up in such a toxic environment. But that's just my opinion, and I won't ramble on about it anymore... 😁

Angela Davis74 said:Mine will do the same. But hopefully, the welfare of their fragile children will eventually outweigh their mother's mental health—which, frankly, is already a disaster if they're resorting to these methods... ☕

To be blunt: I wouldn't be surprised if my own child tried to force-feed me a bottle. As unbelievable as that sounds. 😢.

Anyone who hasn't dealt with someone like this truly has no idea. 😢.

And regarding that logic—just because she gave birth to him doesn't mean he's a good man. Even murderers have children, and those children aren't necessarily killers.🤷

I’m looking at this from an outside perspective, knowing he’s her son, so I’m sure he doesn't think she actually intends to harm the child—I don't think that either. But he really needs to see past his own selfishness, his stubbornness, and that hint of malice... and realizing that is incredibly difficult. For instance, you tell someone, "Don't feed the dog scraps from the table," and they look you straight in the eye and feed him anyway (they know better, they have their own pet, so I won't get into manners or upbringing 🙄), and then they just start doing it behind your back. And then you realize they clearly have this issue where they always have to be right and know best. So you ask again, explaining, "Look, I'm disciplining him for this, so please don't encourage behavior that's going to get him punished here" (you just think to yourself, damn, I guess they just don't care about the dog)... but there's no discussion. In the end—and this is the truth—you find out the dog gets an allergy or diarrhea from all that junk from the table, and guess what? They keep doing it, just more sneakily, while the dog's body doesn't lie when it ends up sick 😁. The worst part of this whole ordeal is that I didn't truly realize who I was dealing with until the dog moved in (I won't even get started on the mistreatment regarding the dog or the lessons learned...) and now, with the pregnancy, things are escalating, and I am genuinely terrified of what happens once I give birth 🙂... I'm scared they'll be dead 😬... and honestly, the most infuriating thing is the total irrationality of these people; from the outside, it looks ridiculous and insane, especially considering our age and education level (and I mean that regarding the dog, but also other health issues for the kids...) so I have made my decision 🙂... even if I end up losing my head, they will stop 😬

With all due respect, we eventually run into that classic scenario where someone would leave their kid with their own family instead of some stranger... they'll throw a massive tantrum about it, even if everything was perfectly fine before, especially if health issues or other complications hit... It hurts to see, but I know his conscience is going to eat him alive regarding his son, and he isn't made of stone either... and I just get it, at the end of the day, she's his mother...

@feralmoose32
I really wish I could say the same, but unfortunately, my experience with the song has been the exact opposite. No matter how much we begged them not to do it, they did precisely what we asked them not to... which resulted in my child almost getting run over by a car (not exactly a coincidence, considering they just left him tied up right there on the shoulder of the highway without a single thought...). And don't even get me started on the fact that even today, they still claim it's their song 😢—I wouldn't leave it with them for a single second longer. To this day, they act like what they did was perfectly fine and that the fault lies with the song itself; they've never once offered an apology, shown any remorse, or admitted they completely screwed up. How on earth am I supposed to trust them with my child 🙄

feralmoose32 said:You can limit how much time she spends with the baby, but at the end of the day, that woman raised your husband, and she is going to be the grandmother to your child—like it or not.

I honestly don't understand how your husbands turned out so wonderful despite growing up with such toxic people? 🤷

I knew someone would say something like that, and I get the sentiment, but there is one specific detail that changes everything. Despite having plenty of money, a decent house, a solid marriage, and a full-time job, this woman still sent her son away from their prosperous suburb to live with his grandparents out in the sticks. Even though she gave birth to him, she'd just drive out to visit him on the weekends while he was actually being raised by his grandfather and grandmother. I truly believe that's where the real issue lies; she's just trying to clear her own conscience and wash her hands of the past... There is so much more to it, but I won't go into all the details here...

The way she manipulates her other child (the one who was raised by a different set of grandparents) absolutely makes my blood boil...

Sure, visitation is one thing, but manipulation is quite another....

Nathan Kelly said:Look, you shouldn't be quite so hard on her. At the end of the day, she’s just an old lady, much like your own mother 😉

I listen to this debate constantly because I have an unofficial mother-in-law who went absolutely ballistic, and I finally cut her off after trying to handle things nicely several times. Now, I know I'm being subjective, but can someone please explain to me why I shouldn't have done it? My own mother hasn't tried to dictate what I should do or how I should live my life; she hasn't meddled in a single decision regarding my pregnancy so far, nor does she call me to interrogate me about every little detail. Instead, she calls just to ask how I am and how I'm feeling (not asking how big my belly is, if I'm burping too much, or if I've put on weight, etc.). She doesn't call people around town acting like she's the one pregnant—making things up or taking half-truths from others and then acting like a spokesperson for misinformation. She even tried to "slightly" badmouth me, 🙄 (read: I snapped because I couldn't swallow certain things, and that was apparently her way of venting)... she would align herself with my father-in-law to assert her 😲, claiming that once I give birth, she'll be the one in charge of everything and doing this and that (a twenty-minute monologue, mind you, where she isn't actually offering help, but rather insisting on watching the baby so that I lose sight of what my actual role is in this whole situation... I realize I'm 😬 unimportant to her). She avoids telling the truth to my face and acts incredibly sweet, but behind the scenes, it's a complete disaster😁. I don't need someone like that near me during such a sensitive period of my life because she isn't well-intentioned, let alone polite. And above all, she isn't thinking about her grandchildren or their well-being; she is just terribly selfish and trying to heal her own complexes. 🤷 On the other hand, I have my mother, who told us, "You two have your own lives, and we are here if you need us—call and I'll come over, or if you don't, I'll just drop by to clean or whatever else is needed." And believe me, she isn't any less excited about the arrival of a little girl... I just worry that she might start badgering my unmarried partner and try to direct his life, and honestly, after a few hours of that, someone might end up getting thrown out of the house..... We are already middle-aged, established adults, so that aggressive interference shocked me even more...

My mother-in-law actually dropped by my old office yesterday (I’ve been retired for two years now) and started acting all crazy about how she’s finally going to become a grandmother 🤦 I find myself wondering if there will ever come a day when she just stops being so dramatic... but clearly, it serves her just fine if we stop speaking altogether... the constant acting, the martyrdom, and these endless little power games..............

Peter Adams58 said:It really bugs me when people ask how much longer is left...
And then they act all shocked about my size... honestly, they can just go jump in a lake

As for me, I find myself worrying that once I finally start looking like a pregnant woman, people will point at me and say, "Where is the belly?" because even though I have one, it might not look big enough for how far along I actually am according to the calendar 😕 🤷

And don't even get me started on the scrutiny over whose stroller or crib we bought... just talking about strollers already sends my blood pressure through the roof, and if they hear what I think about today's overpriced cribs, they'll lose it 😍. I truly cannot wrap my head around why people feel the need to nitpick and debate every single little thing... I'm not out here trying to manage everyone else's opinions or prove how pregnant I am 🤷 I don't even bring it up to anyone, but since I'm constantly being interrogated, I'm actually starting to lie about it just to avoid dealing with such sheer stupidity...

Yesterday I found out she’s been calling every single family member, acting like the self-appointed expert on what our baby should be named... even though we haven't spoken in six months, nor have we seen each other, thanks to her constant manipulative games. Honestly, I am biting 🙂 Lastane just to keep myself from ripping her into a million little pieces if she ever decides to show up at my front door demanding to see the child.🙂
edit: In the meantime, her son has gone and completely lied to her about 🙂

Paul Campbell3 said:Honestly, I have the exact opposite experience. 🙄

Everything we own was handed down from relatives or friends who already had kids—double strollers, cribs, even a bassinet with a bath, plus a mountain of clothes and car seats. And what do I get? People hitting me with comments like, "You can't use that," or "You really need to buy a new stroller," or "How do you know it isn't worn out?" They act like because we don't buy everything brand new, we must be blowing our money on winter tires or weekend trips to a spa resort instead. Just total nonsense. 😬

At the end of the day, how someone spends their money is their business. It seems insane to me to drop thousands upon thousands of dollars on stuff that’s only going to be used for a few months when I have the chance to get it all for free.

I know some people find it beneath them to let their kid wear "used" gear.

Me? I'd much rather open a savings account and put a few hundred bucks away for my kid every month. Because let's face it: the faster they grow, the more expensive they get.

To be perfectly honest, I couldn't care less if someone drops 15 $0.00 on baby gear before the birth or 30 $0.00 on a private hospital, regardless of whether I would personally do the same.

Everyone does what they can and what they think is best. Priorities vary from person to person, just like life philosophies, and that should be respected. 🙂

People just feel this desperate urge to stick their noses where they don't belong and talk absolute garbage 😳 while acting like experts when nobody ever asked for their opinion. Looking at what was said here, it seems like there's no winning—if you buy new, it's wrong, and if you don't, it's also wrong... I honestly have nothing against anyone's personal perspective, but I truly don't understand the need for people to explain things to me when I haven't asked a single question. 🤷