Posts by Rebecca Vaughn7

I am constantly terrified and worrying about this baby. It’s just one thing after another... bleeding, what I eat, medications, hair dye, whether I’m exercising too much or not enough, if I’m getting enough sleep, her heartbeat, why I can't feel her yet, then why I suddenly feel her so intensely, will I catch CMV or toxoplasmosis, what about a shortened cervix, or if there are issues with the pregnancy being a high-risk case here in the USA... if she's born now, will she survive being this tiny? And if she does, what kind of long-term consequences will she face? If we actually make it to the due date, will the placenta hold up? Will she turn head-down? If she stays breech, will they force a C-section on me, or will some overconfident doctor try a vaginal delivery? Will there be hypoxia? Intracranial hemorrhaging? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa😢

I absolutely loathe the non-standard tile height in this new apartment. It’s completely wrecking our entire kitchen layout!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😠 😠 😠 😠 😠 🙂 🙂 😵

edit: And it's driving me crazy knowing I have to be up before 6 AM tomorrow because our shift starts at 7. 😠 Now I can't sleep, which means another inevitable blowout with my husband over the kitchen, then staying awake until 3, inevitably needing some Xanax, passing out until 5:50, and basically being a zombie all day tomorrow....aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!😠

I ended up driving myself absolutely insane digging into research about third-trimester fetal loss. 😢

Ran into an old neighbor today—haven't seen her in ages. She gives me this long, judging look and asks, "So, what's new with you?" I tell her there's plenty... and she just goes, "Oh, I see you've put on some weight... so, are you married yet?"

🤦

Do I seriously look like some prize-winning heifer to her? Is this what happens when you spend 40 years being swallowed up by life in a big city like Chicago?

Anthony Watson35 said:Right this second:
The phone rings—good afternoon, this is so-and-so from [redacted] Corp, we’re calling to let you know you've won a free gift bundle featuring a magnetic bracelet that helps with... ughhhhhh... (wasn't really listening) and some "French women's perfume" (absolute riiiiiiiip 🤣 🤣 🤣); everything is totally free, delivered right to your door, all you gotta do is cover the shipping fee of $31.
🤦
Alright, starting a contest here—anyone want to guess how I responded? ☕
Seriously though, are there actually people out there where this kind of scam works?! 🤷

😂😂 my husband's friend actually replied, "Awesome, but don't bother mailing it, I'll just come pick up the perfume myself, distance isn't an issue," and they just hung up on him...😂😂😂

Sarah Adams3 said:Oh noooooo 😠
🙂🙂 against that witch of a mom.
I guess everything will be okay 🙂

😂 That actually made me laugh until I cried... picturing someone trying to exorcise my mother with sage smoke.😂😂

And what really gets on my nerves is that Chase should be releasing the funds for our mortgage to the home seller tomorrow. I tried calling them to make sure everything was set, but their phone lines are completely down.😠

So my mom shows me this photo of some celebrity woman today—can't even remember her name—and starts telling me how she lost her baby at seven or eight months. She didn't just sit around wallowing, though; apparently, she threw herself straight back into her career instead... I mean, seriously, Mom? What is the point of that story? What am I supposed to take from it? Is it meant to "encourage" me? 😠
Thank God she doesn't realize I'm absolutely terrified that my baby won't make it. I spend half my life listening for every tiny movement like a total lunatic. If she knew, she’d probably dig up fifty more examples just to prove her point: that for a woman in that position, the only real lifeline is a high-powered career. (God forbid you actually had support from your husband or friends instead.)
I got so worked up that on the drive home, I ended up smashing my car because I swerved to avoid a damn ladybug. Screw ladybugs. 🤦
Now I’m spiraling, thinking maybe she’s sensing something is wrong and trying to prep me. She’s a bit of a witch, honestly—she always seems to know when something terrible is about to go down. 😢

driftingcobra7 Asks:
Then comes the digging through everything being moved from room to room as the painting progresses. What business is it of yours how many pairs of shoes I own? Why I have a box overflowing with old concert tickets? Or why I’ve got a pile of black—and I quote, "funeral" style—shrouds? Mind your own business.

😠😠😠

driftingcobra7 said:..and honestly, I am just so incredibly frustrated right now..
..first off, my in-laws.. we spent from Monday to Thursday painting four rooms and the hallway, but the work keeps getting interrupted constantly because of coffee breaks, visitors, or just whatever else comes up... and then there are those million pieces of advice I never asked for, followed by all that huffing and puffing when I don't take them. Like, seriously, why are you meddling? If I want everything white instead of trimmed where it’s dirty, please don't suggest it a hundred times—just tell me you don't feel like helping, and I'll hire a professional and maybe we'd actually be done by now..

..then there's the constant digging through my stuff while we're moving things from room to room to keep the painting going.. what business is it of yours how many shoes I own, or why I have a box full of old concert tickets and memorabilia, or why I have these black (quote: "funeral shrouds") clothes??? 😠

..and last night, they were interrogating me about why my husband owns three air rifles, why they are even kept in the house, why he hands them to other people, why I don't just forbid him from having them.... look, he's your son, for heaven's sake! Tell him yourselves, don't come at me!!

..and oh, why am I supposedly so "cruel" and "selfish" for making him go to the family reunion with me? What is he even going to do there?! WTF??? If he was man enough to help move things in, he can be man enough to pull them out! ..besides, I already explained to him that his only job is to be there for me; he isn't there to watch people eat pizza or judge anyone's lifestyle... he won't see anything anyway... and he agreed to it himself... but noooo, apparently I'm just being cruel!!! :2up:

..and the absolute peak of it all happened today... my father-in-law tells me: "get the cat out of the house before the baby arrives." I told him the cat is staying.. I mean, are you actually sane? Why bring animal hair and diseases into the house? He started telling these horror stories about how someone lost a baby because of a cat, or a baby choked on fur, or some third kid had their leg amputated because a hair got stuck somewhere... 🤦 ...so I said again: the cat stays, she isn't a killer, she's clean, I brush her constantly, she never goes outside, and she only eats dry food, so there are NO diseases.. "Yeah, sure, 🙂 God forbid anything happens, but if it does, you'll regret it, and you'll never forgive yourself!" ..it's almost like they want something bad to happen just so they can say they were right. Our child, our decision. If things don't work out, we'll find the cat a new home, but until then, stay out of it. My brothers and I were all born around cats and nobody ended up in the hospital, and you guys didn't get this worked up over anything more important than this.... 😳 ...and then, dammit, I really poked the bear there.. "What haven't we worried about then?" ..well, apparently, both the daughter-in-law and the daughter smoked during pregnancy and gorged themselves on sweets and soda, so the little girl has skin issues and the little boy has allergies to everything living...

..and now, there's just silence.. and everyone is giving me the cold shoulder 😁..but let them.. mm, my husband is on my side... and that's the most important thing.. it's just that he's such a pushover that he won't actually say anything to them 🙄

..and the icing on the cake.. my husband.. I was working myself to death last night, trying to finally finish the painting and the cleaning and get everything in order.. and he's just sitting there, acting like I can't do any more... yeah, I told him, "Oh, I guess it'll just finish itself!?" Since my fifth month, I've been saying we need to get this painted, but everyone acts like there's plenty of time, plenty of time... and then he looks at me all confused and offended, "Well, what do you expect? Is it magically finished?" Yes, it's finished, but look at what I look like after three days of this in 95-degree heat!!! ...good grief, the way he went quiet... but wow, he's wonderful today, everything is going smoothly and everything feels possible and everything passes... ugh 🙄

..maybe it's the hormones or whatever, but I've been losing my mind these last few days 😵🙂

😱 For God's sake, did he actually explain to them that this was his own choice? (I really hope it was.) And what kind of twisted logic is that? Where is the actual cruelty in it? It isn't cruel to leave a woman to suffer through labor alone, but apparently, it’s "cruel" to a man if he decides to stand by her side? Give me a break. 😱

driftingcobra7 said:..and honestly, I am just so incredibly frustrated right now..
..first off, my in-laws.. we spent from Monday to Thursday painting four rooms and the hallway, but the work keeps getting interrupted constantly because of coffee breaks, visitors, or just whatever else comes up... and then there are those million pieces of advice I never asked for, followed by all that huffing and puffing when I don't take them. Like, seriously, why are you meddling? If I want everything white instead of trimmed where it’s dirty, please don't suggest it a hundred times—just tell me you don't feel like helping, and I'll hire a professional and maybe we'd actually be done by now..

..then there's the constant digging through my stuff while we're moving things from room to room to keep the painting going.. what business is it of yours how many shoes I own, or why I have a box full of old concert tickets and memorabilia, or why I have these black (quote: "funeral shrouds") clothes??? 😠

..and last night, they were interrogating me about why my husband owns three air rifles, why they are even kept in the house, why he hands them to other people, why I don't just forbid him from having them.... look, he's your son, for heaven's sake! Tell him yourselves, don't come at me!!

..and oh, why am I supposedly so "cruel" and "selfish" for making him go to the family reunion with me? What is he even going to do there?! WTF??? If he was man enough to help move things in, he can be man enough to pull them out! ..besides, I already explained to him that his only job is to be there for me; he isn't there to watch people eat pizza or judge anyone's lifestyle... he won't see anything anyway... and he agreed to it himself... but noooo, apparently I'm just being cruel!!! :2up:

..and the absolute peak of it all happened today... my father-in-law tells me: "get the cat out of the house before the baby arrives." I told him the cat is staying.. I mean, are you actually sane? Why bring animal hair and diseases into the house? He started telling these horror stories about how someone lost a baby because of a cat, or a baby choked on fur, or some third kid had their leg amputated because a hair got stuck somewhere... 🤦 ...so I said again: the cat stays, she isn't a killer, she's clean, I brush her constantly, she never goes outside, and she only eats dry food, so there are NO diseases.. "Yeah, sure, 🙂 God forbid anything happens, but if it does, you'll regret it, and you'll never forgive yourself!" ..it's almost like they want something bad to happen just so they can say they were right. Our child, our decision. If things don't work out, we'll find the cat a new home, but until then, stay out of it. My brothers and I were all born around cats and nobody ended up in the hospital, and you guys didn't get this worked up over anything more important than this.... 😳 ...and then, dammit, I really poked the bear there.. "What haven't we worried about then?" ..well, apparently, both the daughter-in-law and the daughter smoked during pregnancy and gorged themselves on sweets and soda, so the little girl has skin issues and the little boy has allergies to everything living...

..and now, there's just silence.. and everyone is giving me the cold shoulder 😁..but let them.. mm, my husband is on my side... and that's the most important thing.. it's just that he's such a pushover that he won't actually say anything to them 🙄

..and the icing on the cake.. my husband.. I was working myself to death last night, trying to finally finish the painting and the cleaning and get everything in order.. and he's just sitting there, acting like I can't do any more... yeah, I told him, "Oh, I guess it'll just finish itself!?" Since my fifth month, I've been saying we need to get this painted, but everyone acts like there's plenty of time, plenty of time... and then he looks at me all confused and offended, "Well, what do you expect? Is it magically finished?" Yes, it's finished, but look at what I look like after three days of this in 95-degree heat!!! ...good grief, the way he went quiet... but wow, he's wonderful today, everything is going smoothly and everything feels possible and everything passes... ugh 🙄

..maybe it's the hormones or whatever, but I've been losing my mind these last few days 😵🙂

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 🙂 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA God, I hate it when people stay stuck in the Stone Age, AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

Rebecca Vaughn7 said:Peeing. Along with incontinence. 😠

God, I can't go anywhere for even twenty minutes without a bathroom within arm's reach.

edit: and my husband 😠

The whole damn day we talk about hitting the beach in the afternoon, and he gets sucked into playing around with some software (he's a programmer), and he just won't move... at first I thought it was work, but no, he's doing it for his own soul... and the WHOLE DAMN DAY, since this morning, he's just been hunched over that screen; doesn't eat, doesn't drink...
...I made lunch, ate, washed the windows, ran the laundry, hung everything out to dry, worked myself to death in the process, cleaned the room, did the dishes (from yesterday—he was supposed to do them 😠)...
...at 4:00 I ask him if we're going to the beach, and he snaps at me saying he already told me he didn't want to get out in the sun too early (referring to our chat this morning when we said we wouldn't leave before 2)...
...now I've finally forced him to eat lunch, and suddenly he's looking around like an idiot asking if we can at least go to the beach for a little bit. I tell him, no, it's too late. By the time we pack up, get ready, drive thirty minutes... we won't be on the sand until 6:00, and we'll be heading back around 7:00; it's pointless.
And he responds: "By the time you finished all that talking, we could have been at the beach half an hour ago!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA you moron!!!!!!!! WE COULDN'T!!!!!!! Because you spent the last eight hours staring at a damn computer!!!!!!!!! And you only remembered I existed five minutes ago!!!!!!! And when I asked you an hour ago if we were leaving, you barked at me that it was too early!!!!! Go to hell, plug yourself into a USB port and enjoy it, go ahead and jerk off to pleasure, since that stupid computer in the damp kitchen is such better company than me at the beach! 🙂🙂

Jack Hill10 said:So, when’s the best time to take a test in my situation? We didn't actually have sex, but things got a little heated... I get that sperm isn't exactly leaking out of a finger, but there's a chance some pre-cum was left on his hands, I don't know... 🤷 basically, this happened on June 11th, and I was supposed to get my period on the 14th. It hasn't shown up yet, which is weird because it’s never been late before and I'm not even stressed out. I honestly have no idea why, and it would be pretty ridiculous if I were pregnant since we didn't even go all the way... 😲
Anyway, I just want to take a test so I can stop overthinking everything in my head... can I take one now, or should I wait a bit longer?? thanks 🙂

So you're about a week late? You can take a test today. Or, if you want to skip the guesswork, go to a private lab like Quest Diagnostics this Friday and get a blood test for beta hCG. You'll get results the same day, and they're 100% accurate. It costs about $50, no brainer. 😉

Peeing. Along with incontinence. 😠

God, I can't go anywhere for even twenty minutes without a bathroom within arm's reach.

Linda Ward312 said:Don't sweat it 🙂
I see you're over 18 weeks... I was stressing about the exact same thing, so I checked with my doctor and they basically told me that given the placenta position and my own little extra padding 🙂 it's totally normal. For me, things didn't really start kicking until around 21 weeks 😍 and then it was intense. Now? Let's just say the baby is making up for lost time by absolutely wrecking me 😁 every single night.

Thanks! 😘 Hopefully it works the same way for me... though being the paranoid type, I guess I'll just keep staring at that crib...

coastalowl212 said:I’m just frustrated because I can never tell if it’s actually the baby moving or just my digestive system acting up. 😢 :not_sure: 😬

Tell me about it!
That’s my issue too! Just when I think it's the baby, I get undeniable proof that it absolutely isn't....😁🙂

It’s driving me absolutely insane that I can't feel the baby yet.

I know, I know—it's still early. It's my first pregnancy, the placenta is anterior, and I've got a pretty thick abdominal wall... but I just want to feel those little kicks. 😢

The whole mortgage application process and all the endless bureaucratic nonsense attached to it is a nightmare. It’s been dragging on for weeks, and it looks like I’ll be stuck in this loop for at least another month, if I'm lucky.

I'm about to lose my mind. 🙂😵

It drives me absolutely insane that the dermatologist didn't just tell my husband he needs to get that mole removed IMMEDIATELY. Instead, the doctor—probably just trying to keep him calm—said it wasn't urgent and could wait until after summer.
For God's sake, I'm going to die of anxiety waiting for that. 😢😢😢😢😢 We're heading out on vacation in September; he’s going to some chess tournament, and before you know it, I'll be heading into postpartum... he won't get it checked until he grows a melanoma the size of Texas. How am I supposed to pressure him to go now? I tried explaining how much this stresses me out and how it isn't good for the baby—didn't work. I told him I love him and want him around forever so I don't have to deal with being a widow before my time—didn't work. So what now? Should I tell him we're taking out a mortgage and the monthly payments will be $2000 and that if he kicks the bucket, the baby and I will end up on the streets because I can't handle it alone? 😠😠😠😠

Morgan Kern61 said:My female coworkers and friends are really starting to get on my nerves with comments like this:

"Wait, you're still working?!" — I've been at it for months now. I'm 27 weeks along, and I have a desk job; it's not like I'm out in the fields or hauling heavy sacks of potatoes...

"Why haven't you gone on maternity leave yet?" — Well, I haven't even dealt with morning sickness, so...

"You should just rest, you'll need the energy".... I suppose I should just sleep all day to build up a reserve for when the baby actually arrives.

And then there are those who already have kids and give me that "it's such a beautiful thing" nonsense. It’s exhausting.

Add to that the fact that I can barely turn over in bed at night,

and my already low tolerance for stupidity is becoming non-existent.😂

😍 🙏 🙏 🙏: 😍

...I am beyond stressed, worried, and completely worked up because my husband has this ugly mole that's gotten thicker and harder, and he refuses to get it checked out. 😢 😢 😢 He has dysplastic nevus syndrome, which means his risk for melanoma is at least 10% higher than the average American. I haven't slept a wink because of this. I spent half the weekend crying and hiding from his mother so she wouldn't see me falling apart, yet he won't even visit his doctor just to give me some peace of mind. Look, I know I can be a difficult doctor myself, but I'm his wife—apparently, my medical opinion doesn't count when I tell him that mole needs to come off, but once HIS doctor says it, then suddenly he'll listen. He's already had suspicious moles removed three times before and everything turned out fine, but now he's just too lazy to deal with it. I guess he has to catch melanoma and die right when the baby is born for him to realize how much of an idiot he's being toward himself, the kid, and ultimately, everyone else who loves him—including me.😠 😠

Happy girl :) said:What kind of calories are we even talking about? What fat? I was raised believing stews were healthy and great for weight loss. And bacon... well, that's just part of the stew. 🤣

That’s exactly how I’ve laid it out in my head, too.😍

Now I’m actually annoyed. My husband just blurted out that we're heading to Martha's Vineyard this weekend, completely blowing my plans. I was fully intending to hunt down some maternity leggings on Saturday morning. Between work and everything else, there is absolutely no way I can squeeze that trip in during the week.😢

My blood pressure is driving me insane.
It’s been high my entire life—I barely dodged intensive medication a few times thanks to white coat syndrome. But now that I’m pregnant, it’s just plummeting... 100/60... even lower. I am nowhere near used to numbers this low. Every time I try to get up from a chair, it takes two or three attempts before I stop feeling like the room is spinning. Now I finally realize why those salt cravings are hitting me so aggressively. I barely made it through the day, and the second I walked through the door, I whipped up some stew with thick bacon. I stuffed myself, and honestly? I finally feel human again. 😍
But the weight gain and the fat intake... 🤦

Anthony Watson35 said:And seriously, it’s the same thing every two posts... threads about donations and all that... I mean, just start a new thread if you need help, right? If I were in one of my usual moods, I’d probably write a whole manifesto on what—and I mean what, not some miracle 🙄—actually causes pregnancy, plus a little something about teen moms or being unemployed and pregnant... But yeah, better to just keep my mouth shut 🙂

I’m probably just as cynical as you are 😬, but this is actually getting under my skin... Maybe it's because I'm not exactly a religious person, but I can't shake the feeling that if there is a God, He looks out for those who look out for themselves... He doesn't just let pregnancies slip through pills and condoms that easily. And let's be real, those are way cheaper than baby gear...

I'm terrible... but there's no point pretending I'm any better than I am...🤦🤷

Bought a mountain of vegetables today, thinking I’d actually force myself to eat healthy. Big mistake. At this rate, a whole new ecosystem is going to evolve in my crisper drawer before any of this hits my plate. My passion for nutritious food has officially evaporated; honestly, the only thing keeping me going right now is beef . And all the processed junk that comes with it. 🤦
It’s infuriating, too 😠

The only silver lining is that I can at least drag myself to the stove to cook this damn meat properly, instead of just eating it rare like I usually prefer...😢