Posts by Ronald Lopez10

Me? Or maybe Jay?
I’d say me, first and foremost.
We’ve started playing matchmaker for each other, so we’ll just see where things go, I guess.
I think I’ve finally settled down a little bit.

blueraven4 said:I totally get why you're frustrated. I was just trying to say that the epi isn't even that great anyway 😉 I have no clue why my dose didn't last longer, but I distinctly remember from the training they said it should last 45-60 minutes and come in two doses. It’s basically just that little breather before things get intense—that moment where you can actually catch your breath. My session went on forever, so I really needed that break. Honestly, if only the epi lasted until the final buzzer, haha! But nope.

Look, I know you were just coming from a good place, and I really didn't mean to sound like I was getting all worked up about it. My apologies! 🙂

I have to admit, I was just a bit overwhelmed by that news today. It really caught me off guard, and honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything. I guess I just need a little more time to process it all before I can really make sense of it.

blueraven4 said:Ugh, I tried the epidural too, but it barely lasted 45 minutes. No idea why, but they told me at Washington, D.C. General Hospital that I was only allowed two injections total. So, you get two little breaks of about 45 minutes each, and then comes the fun part 😬

Forget the epidural!

I don't know, pretty much every woman I've talked to who had one seems to swear by it, 🤷 including my own aunt. Not a single one of them said it was useless, unnecessary, or that the relief didn't last long enough.
But honestly, that's almost beside the point.
What really gets to me is how frustrated I am that they took away my right to make my own choice just because the administration is totally incompetent. They forced this decision on me because the entire healthcare system is broken—money is being wasted on God knows what, with corruption everywhere, while the actual patients are left completely screwed.

To hell with them!

As for me, I’ll find a way to get that epidural, whether it's through official channels or otherwise. I don't care.

Jesse Johnson15 said:Do you really have to be at that specific hospital in that particular city, though?

Well, I suppose there are other options nearby, but I’m hesitant because they either come with terrible stories about the staff, or they can't even guarantee that an anesthesiologist will actually be available. It's a bit of a toss-up, maybe they will, maybe they won't 🙄, and honestly, that's a risk I just don't feel comfortable taking. In my hometown, that's the only hospital we have. Word is, the maternity ward team is actually quite decent, but man, they are just short on anesthesiologists.
The safest bet for me would probably be driving a few hours out to Washington, D.C. Or maybe Seattle, though I don't have any family or friends out there.
There is also the possibility of pulling some strings; I'd actually be willing to pay an anesthesiologist to be there with me if necessary, since it clearly doesn't work any other way around here.
I'll see how things go.
Right now, I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed, and I'm really trying my best to manage a panic attack. Throughout this entire pregnancy, I've never once felt this uncertain about something as routine as getting an epidural.

Glo, I totally get why that over-the-top enthusiasm about having a son gets on my nerves too. Honestly, I’d love to just tell people to tone it down when they come over acting like that.

The fact that I can't even get an epidural at the hospital here in my own city.

I honestly don't know how much more of my monthly tax dollars I can hand over to a system that fails to provide basic, consistent standards of care across every single facility when it actually matters.😠

I am just so incredibly fed up with this country. Truly. Once I deliver this baby, I’m out—you all can deal with this mess without me.

silentnomad8 said:I think part of the older generation of women is just jealous and bitter. When they were pregnant, nobody showed them any respect, and they probably couldn't even afford to take a break. They likely had mothers-in-law acting the exact same way, forcing them to work through a high-risk pregnancy. So they figure if they didn't have it easy, no one else should either. Like, "if I survived that, what right does she have to complain about how easy her life is now?"
I'm not making excuses for them. It's still pure spite. I'm just saying I get where they're coming from.

Well, I can see where those older women are coming from, I guess. Maybe acting this way serves as a sort of therapy for them.
However, I absolutely do not understand or condone it. I have no excuses or positive feelings toward older women who have NEVER even given birth but feel entitled to lecture others, nor do I have patience for the younger crowd who make comments like, "Oh, pregnancy was never that hard for me." That goes for anyone making inappropriate remarks about weight (regardless of whether they think it's too much or too little), belly size, childbirth horrors, or any other kind of verbal diarrhea.

Whether it's malice or just plain stupidity, when I tell you 😉 🤷

Rebecca White said:Man, reminds me of this one time at a local festival. This old lady starts tearing into a pregnant woman like that, acting all tough, but then the woman's mother-in-law—who happened to be the old lady's next-door neighbor—totally shuts her down. She just reminded her that after seven pregnancies, she only actually made it to full term twice. After that, the lady went dead silent about her "wise" advice.

Talk about a total reality check! 🙏

I honestly don't know. I can't quite wrap my head around why people feel they have the right to say such nonsense to pregnant women, or even what could possibly motivate them to do it. 🤷
Is there truly someone out there so misguided that they believe they're actually helping with comments like that? Because if it isn't pure ignorance, I guess it might just be plain old malice.

Amy Green4 said:I feel like I’m losing my mind lately, and honestly, I can’t stand being in my own skin anymore. 🙂

I can't even tell what's driving me crazy—is it the pregnancy itself, the medical complications, or just this hyperactive baby constantly kicking me?
The hardest part is the crushing guilt; it seems like everyone around me is absolutely loving every second of their pregnancy and the lead-up to birth, celebrating the arrival of their little ones, while I’m just sitting here feeling miserable and wishing someone would just knock me unconscious so I could get some peace. 🤦

I’ve grown to despise those random women at the grocery store or the park who feel entitled to interrogate me about my due date, only to pivot into unsolicited stories about their own stitches, stretch marks, or tragic losses. Even worse are the ones who have never even been pregnant, yet they act like experts, lecturing me on how "blessed" pregnancy and motherhood are supposed to be.

It’s easy to preach about blessings when you aren't the one spending the entire night in agony because the baby is kicking so hard you're practically wetting yourself, all while you're hunched over a sink trying to stop your stomach from turning inside out from the constant nausea.

Is there anyone else out there who will be honest enough to admit that pregnancy can be absolutely horrific, and that you're just counting down the days until it's finally over, without being judged as a terrible person for feeling that way?

Me too! Reading your words actually makes me feel a bit ashamed, because my issues are probably much smaller than yours, yet I am still desperately waiting for this to be over. I've even seriously considered the idea of having only one child.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say that pregnancy is this "wonderful, blissful state" that "completes them as a woman," or that they're "enjoying every single minute because it goes by so fast." Well, if only it actually went that fast!
And then I read all these articles about childbirth and the postpartum period, and I honestly wish Mother Nature had designed the whole thing to be a little more elegant and dignified.
Don't get me wrong, the baby is very much wanted, but everything leading up to it (aside from the sex, obviously) doesn't feel remotely fulfilling, beautiful, or sublime like everyone likes to claim.

So, let people type away or judge me if they want to; I can't change my actual experience, and I'm certainly not going to apologize for how I truly feel.

cosmicpanther71 said:I went in for blood work this morning, and a pregnant woman arrived to take her glucose test.
She walked up to the counter with this ice-cold attitude and just asked, "I'm pregnant, do I get priority?" The clerk froze, and the rest of the patients were just stunned.
I suppose I should give her credit, though—she’s certainly given me some inspiration for how to skip the line next time.😉

I actually do something very similar quite regularly at the hospital where I work. I make sure to claim my priority so I don't have to rely on—well, usually rather rude—other people.

Today, though, I got totally torn apart by my own mother. She doesn't have even an ounce of tact; she dismisses every single thing I say or any opinion I hold as just being "hormones" because she doesn't agree with me. She’s turned into one of those awful people who acts like you won't see them again once you actually give birth.
Right now, I am so incredibly angry that I don't even want to see her until the baby arrives, and maybe even longer after that. If she keeps trying to lecture me, she seriously might not see her grandchild until they are walking.😠

Oof.🙂

Slow, copperdrifter5, thank you both for this! To you and all the sensible women out there who don't go for those extreme grooming trends 🙂
I really try my best to just tune out those kinds of comments, but I have to admit, they can be quite frustrating sometimes! It’s just like those remarks from that last marina sentence.
Exactly, we'll see about that—so maybe just stop trying to lecture me until then. Honestly, I should probably build you a monument right now just because you survived such an incredibly painful labor, and somehow managed to stay sane while dealing with a little monster at home; none of those critics could even come close to what you've been through 🙄 🙂

John Fisher7 said:I honestly find belly rubs to be the absolute best.
What really gets under my skin, though, is when people start treating me like I’m some kind of invalid. They tell me, "Don't vacuum, don't clean the windows, stay off the floors, don't carry anything heavy..." all while I'm having a perfectly healthy, normal pregnancy.
It drives me absolutely crazy. It makes it feel like my only job is to just lie around and sleep all day.

Shot on my LG-D505 using Reddit

I don't mind people touching my belly either. To be fair, I haven't had any total strangers just lunging at my stomach out of nowhere, but I honestly don't find it as bothersome as I originally thought I might.😁 And it doesn't happen constantly; most people around me are quite polite and usually ask first.

What really irritates me is when people insist on emphasizing how much labor hurts. It’s like, you have no idea what those intense struggles are actually like—oh boy, every single minute is pure agony, blah blah blah, poor you in your blissful ignorance.🙂

I’m certainly not expecting childbirth to be a walk in the park, and I am mentally preparing myself for everything. There's no turning back, and I don't see the point in dying of fear thinking I'll be in pain for days on end or that it will be some ultimate horror movie scenario. Not everyone is built the same way, pain thresholds vary, and no two births are identical. So many variables exist that I truly feel it isn't healthy for me to obsess over the absolute worst-case scenario. Yet, it feels like certain commenters are trying their hardest to make sure I do exactly that.🙂

So, yeah, I just don't get it, and it's incredibly frustrating.

Lawrence Torres56 said:Thanks for sharing your thoughts!😉
So, what, I should just go ahead and become illiterate too? Is that the plan?🎉

Who on earth is bringing up politics and democracy here? Seriously... let’s just cut the crap and drop the insinuations and the political demagoguery, alright? Look, you don't have to agree with my take—that's your right—but why the hell the sudden accusations?😲😁
Look, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we aren't actually going to be a true secular nation until we finally draw a hard line between the state and the church. Honestly, as long as we keep talking about separation while simultaneously leaning on phrases like "God willing" or keeping religious education in our public schools, all this talk about being a secular country is nothing more than empty noise. It's just pure theater, you know? Can we really claim to be separate when our very language and school systems are still wrapped up in religious tradition? To me, it's all just talk until we actually walk the walk.😉 And honestly, I just don't see any point in us clinging to something that isn't even true, you know? Why would we bother pretending when the facts are staring us right in the face?

Honestly, I don't even have an issue with most people, whether they belong to the majority or the minority groups out there.
I’m honestly just asking from a purely human perspective here—is this actually okay? Like, does it make any sense for twenty-two students and their twenty-two parents to all have to bend over backwards and adjust their entire lives around one or two people? We're talking about everyone having to coordinate afternoon trips to religious education classes twice a week, just because. Is it really reasonable to expect that many families to shift their schedules, or shouldn't those one or two people—and their parents—just stand their ground on their beliefs? Why can't they just let things be and not cause a whole scene while the kids are hanging out in the library during those classes? Seriously, which way is actually more practical or even remotely doable for everyone involved?
I mean, honestly, would the same people demanding all this from everyone else actually have the guts to say the exact same thing if the tables were turned tomorrow? Would they really stand by those same principles if they were the ones sitting in the hot seat instead of pointing fingers? It makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Look, I’m saying this with total sincerity here—and please, don't take this the wrong way because I'm really not trying to offend anyone—but I honestly get the feeling that if we just let kids be kids and actually let them make their own choices for once, this whole mess wouldn't even be an issue in the first place. Isn't it funny how we adults act like we're all about preaching tolerance from our high horses, while we're simultaneously the ones fueling all this intolerance and hatred? We're basically creating the very problems we claim to be fighting, aren't we?

So, is my kid actually going to go through with getting baptized, start talking about God, or whatever? Honestly, it’s not even on my radar, and it's definitely not something that's causing me any sleepless nights. I mean, let him do his thing, right? As long as he isn't out there hurting people or causing chaos, why should I care? It honestly cracks me up when people make such a massive production out of this stuff—like, why all the heavy drama and the intense scrutiny over something so personal?
It is honestly hilarious—like, laugh-out-loud ridiculous—that someone actually thinks they can strip away rights from an entire class of kids just because it doesn't suit their own kid or their personal agenda😉, right? I mean, where does this even end? Tomorrow, someone’s going to decide math is too difficult, so why not just scrap math altogether? Then it’ll be English lit next, and before you know it, we’re looking at the total abolition of the school system itself☕ because there will always be someone out there who’s unhappy with how things work.

My little one isn't going to participate in PE tomorrow because she’s got this cough and feels like she might be running a fever... so she’ll just be sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else play... and what am I supposed to do here, really? Should I go demand that the teacher or the school cancels PE for the whole damn class just so my child doesn't feel isolated or left out?

If you look at it through a certain lens, it’s the exact same headache we deal with regarding religious education, just applied to a different subject... and would it even be decent of me to make that demand? Even if, by some twisted logic, I technically have the right to ask for it?

If a political decision back in the nineties hadn't prevented religious education from being integrated into our public schools, we probably wouldn't be sitting here debating who needs to accommodate whom. People wouldn't even know that having religious classes during school hours was an option; anyone who wanted them would just attend at a local church, while other kids were busy with soccer practice, music lessons, or language courses.
I honestly don't see how there is any significant sacrifice or adjustment involved in making religious studies the first, last, or perhaps second period of the day. Since teachers in other subjects have much larger schedules to balance, I imagine organizing a slot for religious studies shouldn't be such a monumental task.

I remember being a kid in the nineties, sitting out in the hallway during those periods. I know from firsthand experience that those situations still happen today. There was absolutely no teacher supervision—nothing at all. During those 45 minutes, I could have been testing the effects of various substances on a thirteen-year-old, and frankly, nobody would have cared. I could have been playing games or running across the street against a red light; I could have done whatever I wanted because there was zero oversight. Fortunately, my parents raised me to be sensible enough to stay put in the library, but I suppose that isn't something we should expect from the average thirteen-year-old.
When it comes to what happens to students during regular school hours, the responsibility lies with the school. Not the parents, and not the children themselves, but the SCHOOL.
And expecting a school to actually fulfill its basic obligations shouldn't be dismissed as someone just "making a scene."

So, I think the solution is quite straightforward: either move religious studies to a time that is acceptable to EVERYONE (not just the majority, but EVERYONE), perhaps as the first or, ideally, the last period; or, for the students who aren't enrolled in religious studies, offer elective courses like a foreign language, art, drama, or home economics—you name it. But, of course, providing those options costs money.
The most logical conclusion seems to present itself pretty clearly, yet for some reason, it doesn't seem to be happening. I wonder why that is? Well...

rowdypanther12 said:You didn't actually have to take religion class; thankfully, it was never a mandatory subject
I think it was presented that way, but you could always opt out

That’s quite true. I finished elementary school about fifteen years ago, and I ended up opting out of those religious studies classes during my final two years. Back then, things weren't quite as intense as they seem to be nowadays, but our local priest—or whatever title he went by at the time—tended to have these sudden outbursts of temper, so I decided I just didn't have the patience for it. Plus, I had pretty much stopped believing in all that back in second grade, so it felt a bit pointless. I remember spending that time hanging out in the hallway with a friend who also skipped, or just wandering around the school grounds. Honestly, there wasn't much oversight regarding where we wandered off to.🤷