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I recently found an old thread on Corporette where readers were raving about these “period undies.” (Thinx is another similar brand.) I just placed my first order and haven’t, er, tried them out yet, but according to the website, they’ll hold from 1-3 teaspoons of liquid (depending on the style) and can be rinsed, then machine washed/tumble dried. Obviously, don’t try to wear these things for the 4-8 weeks postpartum — but if your postpartum life includes issues from unpredictable periods to fear of leaks, these undies could help. They’re $32-$48 per undie and go up to size 3x, and it’s pretty easy to get a 20%-off code if you sign up for the mailing list. They also offer free U.S. shipping. Dear Kate Underlux Underwear (L-2)Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
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- Zappos – 29,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
See some of our latest articles on CorporetteMoms:
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
Curious says
I’ve noticed a lot of commenters say that they pump right after the first morning nursing session and I’m curious – for those that do, are you nursing on just one side and then pumping on the other? How does this work? Because I usually try to pump midway in between nursings since I don’t usually have it in me to do both back to back. Am I missing something?
Anonymous says
you should switch to pumping right after you nurse as otherwise you are cutting into the milk available for the next feed if you pump in between feedings. Why are you pumping? more info on that might help provide more specific advice
Curious says
This is more of a curiosity thing. I’m not really looking to do this since my routine seems to work for me. I usually pump at work for the next day and that’s it; when I need to have some extra milk I just squeeze in an extra session when I know my little one is down for a long nap or is down for the night. I just noticed a lot of women here say that they pump right after and I am having a hard time imagining how I would do that because I’m usually pretty depleted at that point.
Anon at 9:30 says
I’d say keep doing what you’re doing if that works for you. No reason to change.
milk says
I HAVE to pump in the morning because I’m so engorged after 12 hours and my son never nurses enough to give me relief. What I decided to do to be more efficient is have my husband give a morning bottle while I pump. I pump 15-18 ounces in the morning and he eats 6. This is actually great because then I only have to pump 2 times to his 3 bottles while I’m at work.
Anon in NYC says
This is what I had to do in the mornings for a while. Even after nursing I was still so full that I was nursing + pumping. It just made sense for me to exclusively pump in the morning.
In House Lobbyist says
I always pumped right after the morning feeding because I could get extra milk to stash away. I nursed both sides and then pumped both sides right afterwards.
MomAnon4This says
Yes, I pumped in the morning because the baby slept the night through and I needed to, too, and Husband is more of a morning person, so he could do the morning routine while I pumped a LOT of milk — even more than the baby drank (baby would drink a 5 ounce bottle, me with both breasts in an electric pumper could get 8 ounces or more in a typical morning after 6-8 hours sleep). This allowed me/us to bank the milk that wasn’t getting drinken right then.
But please do what works for you! It’s not a contest!
Curious says
Thank you. Definitely not treating it as a contest, haha. Just was curious what I was missing and I think it’s the fact that your babies are sleeping much longer than mine ever does! We still wake up 3-4 times to eat each night and so I am not that full in the A.M.
Meg Murry says
You can also send your body the “demand” signal by pumping after nursing at around the same time every day, even if you feel pretty empty. When I first started morning pumping after a feed, I only got 1/2-1 oz total between both sides for a 10-15 minute pump. By doing it every day (including weekends) I worked my way up to 4-5 oz total in a couple of weeks, which was an extra bottles worth and meant I could then only schedule 2 pumps a day instead of 3. The only thing is that you have to keep it up – skipping 1-2 days in a row would lead to either a major drop in supply, clogged ducts/borderline mastitis and/or leaking issues. And that’s with me usually being an underproducer that just barely pumped enough each day – the morning pump bought me 1-2 oz to spare, and the weekends gave me 8-10 extra, so I had some buffer for the days I spilled or the milk got left in the cooler in the hot car overnight.
CPA Lady says
… $32 to $48 PER PAIR????? Good grief! The day I spend $48 on one pair of underwear is the day I win the lottery.
Anyway. Just wanted to vent– getting out of the house this morning was a disaster. My previously chill and happy baby has turned into a psycho toddler, and the hour between waking up and leaving the house today was one long tantrum, complete with screaming so hard she almost threw up several times, kicking, flailing, refusing to get dressed, and spitting out her medicine. The fact that I did not shake her or yell (though I may have muttered some obscenities under my breath as I was frantically trying to get myself ready while she was screaming on the floor) basically means I deserve a parenting medal. I still feel awful. Ugh. This gets better someday, right? Just lie to me if it doesn’t. She’s 19 months old.
Anonymous says
It gets better. Strategies I’ve used include parking toddler in exersaucer in front of television in my bedroom while i get ready and/or bringing child to daycare in pjs and getting them dressed there.
Has there been a change at daycare recently? Toddler who was previously happy to go to daycare and now hates it would be something to keep an eye on.
pockets says
It was kind of a revelation when I realized that it could take me over an hour to get out the door, or I could put on one 22-minute show, stick my 20 month old in her high chair with some cheerios, and be entirely ready (including coffee and some phone time) by the time the show was over.
L says
I hear you. If the change was rather sudden, you might want to have a pediatrician visit. Our 23 month old has been steadily building up to the “toddler personality” phase, but at one point, there was a step change to EVERYTHING being a tantrum. I took her to the pediatrician after a few days of this, and sure enough, she had an ear infection.
Lurker says
This is true for dogs too! Any major behavioral change, particularly growling/nipping, the vets will first rule out an ear infection.
Philanthropy Girl says
Mine just hit 20 months. We have great days. We have awful days. Very rarely is there anything in between. On the bad days I’ve been known to toss mine in the crib with books/toys and go do my thing. He’ll scream, and then get over it (or not), but I can at least get through my stuff quickly without him pulling my pants down, grabbing my straightener or tossing valuable items in the toilet. These are the days I opt for whatever he puts on easiest – like a one-piece romper.
Hang on to the good days. Forget the days that make you feel like a terrible mom. The terrible days won’t last – and I promise when she’s all grown up, you’ll remember the good days way better than the bad ones.
Sarabeth says
Practical tip – we don’t change our daughter’s clothes in the mornings. She goes to sleep in the clothes she’ll wear the next day. This obviously limits her outfit choices a bit, since it means that all her clothes need to be comfortable to sleep in, but it works really well for us. She has a winter uniform of fleece pants, longs sleeve cotton shirt, fleece hoodie. Summer we switch to cotton knit pants or shorts and short sleeved cotton top.
MomAnon4This says
Brilliant.
RDC says
Mind. Blown.
Anon says
Ugh I hear you. 18 to like 22 months is really really hard. I have to keep telling myself this. I’ve already had one and remember how hard this time was. I have another, and I still have to remind myself. Because it is just SO HARD with the screaming and the tantrums. My older turned a corner at 2 and it was delightful.
Jen says
My daughter didn’t start revolting until she was a little older, but the most reliable way for me to shut things down (absent some underlying problem, like illness) is to tell her once to stop it, tell her I will leave if she doesn’t stop it, then I leave. Instead of locking her in her room (which could totally work but makes me feel icky), I make sure the gate to the stairs is shut and lock myself in MY room.
Our upstairs is kid-proofed (to the extent it needs to be- she could theoretically unroll all the TP in the bathroom, but this is not a Thing She Does). She comes to my door and wails and cries and I tell her once she calms down and does what I asked (or stops doing what I asked her to stop doing) I will be ready to spend time with her. And whatddya know, she does. 80% of the time she calms down and knocks nicely on my door, the other 20% she goes back into her room to mope and play with toys. If we had been battling over getting dressed, she’ll go back in there and start trying to get dressed.
Something about the separation really works. And I like that i’m not trapping her, just getting MYSELF outta there.
Jen says
I should say this REALLY works when she does something like hitting or throwing toys etc where it is just Not Good Behavior. Also when she throws a fit about wanting to watch some show on TV I just leave the room and tell her I’ll be back when she calms down. She usually comes to get me when she’s calmed down (I’m just in the downstairs bathroom enjoying the peace!)
NewMomAnon says
I remember posting something similar at about that age…and it did get better. I also got some better strategies for morning prep. The biggest ah-ha for me was to minimize transitions; I bring her from her bed into my bed to cuddle, then we do asthma medicine in my bed while watching a cartoon, she gets dressed in my bed and if she is particularly cranky, I’ll give her crackers or toast to eat on a blanket on my bed (on a good day, we eat at the dining table). I also drop her off at school and then go home to prep myself alone most days. If that is a possibility for you, try it. Drop offs are so much easier when she doesn’t have the stress of being separated from me while I shower and get ready.
And some days my darling is a little monster. It happens. On my good days, I am able to remember that she is learning about the world and that is hard and sometimes scary, and then I take a few extra moments to explain how something complicated works. For instance, yesterday I was freaking out about hand washing and appropriate use of a toothbrush and finally stopped to say, we don’t put the toothbrush or our hands in the toilet because there are germs in the toilet, and germs make us sick, and here’s a picture of a germ from the internet and here is a book about a bear who is sick. If we touch the toilet, we wash hands before we touch anything else. Momma will be sad if you don’t wash hands because she doesn’t want you to get sick. And magically, the struggle turned into lots of questions about germs and hand washing techniques.
L says
I agreed with CPA Lady on the cost issue, but when I was pregnant, well, there were “issues” with sneezing and coughing, plus everything was REALLY “moist”, so I broke down and snagged a pair of these. I then went back for four more, because they were by far the best underwear I’ve ever worn (I have mostly the Hazel in bikini style.). Really comfortable, and really durable–I wore through the entire pregnancy, and then have worn them for two years since–and they were not ruined by stretching to accommodate my large belly.
Anon says
Regular poster, going anon – do these hang onto smells? I’ve noticed that since having a baby, my undies get really ‘musky’ and the smell doesn’t come out in the wash. I’ve done hot water, baking soda/vinegar, bleach, changed detergents, everything I can think of. I’d love a more absorbent pair of undies, but concerned that it would exacerbate the smell issue?
L says
I’ve not had a problem with this, but I’ve heard of it being a problem with gym clothes made of performance fabrics. These are made of similar fabrics, so it may be a concern
Ss says
Cotton undies FTW. They do not hang on to smells.
Back pain says
Reposting from late yesterday, in hopes of even more ideas (thanks for the suggestions so far. I did cat/cow last night and this morning, and it helped at least for a half hour or so!):
Send me your best tips & exercises to relieve pregnancy-related lower back pain! I don’t remember it ever being this bad in previous pregnancies, so I’m horrified that I’m in so much pain already with months to go. I started wearing my “support belt” full time this morning, but no substantial relief so far. The only thing that helps is swimming, and unfortunately I cannot spend all day in a pool.
Has anyone tried PT for this specifically? Worth it?
back says
My OB gave me a script for massages but the catch was I had to do PT for 30 mins to get the massage. I worked out pretty hard throughout my pregnancy, so it was fine, but it was also annoying and I’m not sure the PT really helped. I will say, though, that I started around 36 or 37 weeks and do think all the squats they had me do combined with deep pressure massage helped push me into labor early (12 days), which you could either see as a good or bad thing…
Anon with back pain says
Google “Anterior pelvic tilt” and you’ll find a ton of exercises to do. If you go to PT they’ll give you the same stuff. You just have to do them every day. I find doing this type of stretch: http://fitnessreloaded.com/best-hip-flexor-stretch-anterior-pelvic-tilt-kyphosis-lordosis/ as well as plain old pelvic tilt floor exercises to be best for my back. And I’ve done a medical PT dr, chiro, etc.
Long term, when I was regularly doing Pilates, I had NO back problems. But I’m not right now and it’s come back.
Clementine says
Self massage with a tennis ball and not sitting for too long.
Spirograph says
+1 to not sitting for too long. My pain was always worst in the first 5-10 minutes after I stood up from sitting. It would almost – almost- go away completely if I were walking for at least a half hour or so. I tried converting to a standing desk, but standing still didn’t seem to help as much as real movement, unfortunately.
MomAnon4This says
For this – not sitting too long – try drinking a lot of water… but then we’re back to the original post about leaking in to your underwear.
Womanhood/motherhood FTW.
Vi says
I used PT for this – so worth it! Three sessions and the pain is totally gone, I’ve been given targeted exercises to do to keep the pain away.
JEB says
My chiropractor was a life saver during pregnancy. Make sure you find one trained to work with pregnant women. I highly recommend it!!
Katala says
Ditto. I did chiro, massage, and acupuncture so hard to say what helped most but my pre-preg back pain wasn’t worse and even improved somewhat till the end when I was huge and on modified bedrest.
My chiro also said that with the loosening of ligaments, tight muscles can be even more of an issue since the ligaments aren’t keeping them in place as well (or something like that). So he recommended stretching, yoga, and using a foam roller. I found working my hips especially helped – figure 4 (ankle crossed over knee) with glutes on the roller, lean toward the stretch, slowly roll up and down, and hold at the tight spots.
New daycare mom says
A prenatal yoga class might be in order – in addition to the usual cat-cow and other pelvic poses, I found they offered a lot of (usable at home) strategies to relieve my back pain.
SoCalAtty says
Yep, PT. I already had a fantastic PT from some sports injuries, so my OB just wrote me another referral for it. After my sessions the pain would be totally gone, and she gave me stretches and exercises to do depending on my pregnancy stage.
Samantha says
+1 for prenatal yoga, also a lot of walking eases the pain from sitting all day. Try and stand up more if possible, and go for (short, but relaxed) walks during the day.
My Leachco back and body pillow (a curved pregnancy pillow) was what eased my backpain, I highly recommend it.
hoola hoopa says
Get in water!! Walk in the pool, water aerobics, whatever. Just get in and get the weight off your spine and pelvis.
Chiropractor. Repeat often as you’re all loose from the pregnancy so that no adjustment will last.
First Trimester Blues? says
I’m 7 weeks into my first trimester and feeling awful. There are a lot of women who have it much much worse than I do, and I’ve implemented all the morning sickness tips and they’ve helped a lot, but I’m still spending the majority of every day feeling ravenous/nauseated/dizzy/gassy/constipated, or a lovely combination of the above. And a thick layer of exhaustion all the time, to boot.
All that has me struggling to get through my days and feeling pretty bleak. Anyone have any tips on getting through this period from a psychological perspective? How do you keep your mood up when every day you feel yucky physically?
Clementine says
Remember, those feelings are reassurance that Things are Happening. They’re caused by surges in pregnancy hormones.
Barring that- you won’t feel like this forever. I promise. Do what you’ve got to to make it through the day. Go to bed at 7, subsist on saltines, drink tons of decaf iced tea with whole lemons cut up in them over inappropriate amounts of ice, whatever!
ADE says
Just take one day at a time and do whatever you need to do to get through it. Eat whatever you need to (or don’t), sleep whenever you need to and pamper yourself as best as possible. I know it feels like there is no end in sight, but, I promise, before you know it, you will be 12-16 weeks in and you will feel a LOT better. And a few weeks after that, you will almost completely forget how miserable you are right now. This is the only way that people end up with more than one kid.
Anon says
I worked from home as often as I could, snacked constantly and tried to get myself outside for a walk – I never wanted to actually go exercise or get moving (rarely wanted to get off the couch) but found that when I made myself it made my mood better all day. Try to make appointments with friends or to do something fun if you feel up for it – having something to take my mind off of how lousy I felt really helped. I felt exactly the same though and did not do much at all for a few months except suffer through work, lay on the couch and sleep as you’re describing much as possible. But the good news is by 12 weeks most of this had gone away and I am feeling great at 21 weeks now. Hang in there – you’re definitely in the toughest part. Weeks 6-11 were the worst for me.
MDMom says
Have you told anyone about your pregnancy? If not, it might help if you confide in one trusted friend for moral support. I think part of the reason this phase is so hard is that you usually aren’t ready to tell anyone about the pregnancy so you’re suffering mostly in secret. Plus telling someone other than you and partner helps it feel more real and exciting.
Jen says
Assuming this is your first? Look at photos of cute babies. Figure out what (if anything) is a “treat” for you- could be edible (mine was a greasy bacon/egg/cheese and a non caffeinated pretty much like ice cream drink from dunkin donuts), physical (mani/pedi, yoga, etc), mental (shopping for baby clothes/maternity clothes) and try and reward yourself for making it through each day/week.
Sleep as much as humanly possible. The more you sleep, the more you don’t have to be awake and miserable. If there is a partner in the picture, let them know you will be working from X-Y and after that 100% of everything is on them. Write a list (my DH needs one). Sit on the couch and wallow and watch TV or surf the internet. Go to bed at 7:30pm and do not feel guilty. Sleep all weekend long. (if this is NOT your first kid, all bets are off. My toddler watched a lot of Special Treat Movies at this time, and did a lot of “helping daddy”). Get partner to give you a backrub/foot rub. Insist on this. My DH is not a natural caregiver and this took some begging on my part. Then it took a Stern Lecture about it. The second time around, my OB told me she was prescribing “husband intervention” ie doctor ordered dad watching of the kid, cleaning of the house and foot massage. I handed him the written Rx :)
If you can WFH, do so every once in a while. It helps to not have to dress yourself.
Once you get past the nausea and onto the other fun symptoms, find little treats. After you’re far enough along, massages. When your feet start to hurt, new shoes. Pedis are one of my indulgences because not only do I get a foot rub, but I can’t easily reach my toes anymore (and while she tries her best, my 3 year old does a crap job.)
know you are not alone. This is my second kid and I’ve had classic/textbook/”easy” pregnancies both times (I’m in the 3rd tri now; hello heartburn!). But I seriously hate pregnancy. I’d have 4 kids if I didn’t have to be pregnant 4 times but truthfully, I’m selfish and I hate sharing my body and this one may be our last. DH may be able to bribe me into a 3rd but it will be serious negotiations. I have/had constant heartburn, gassiness, bloating, swelling, general discomfort, and cant’ do anything fun (bike riding, skiing, wine tastings, amusement parks, travel to anywhere potentially Zika infested–including two killler all expenses paid work trips– the works, awkward time off work at the worst time during the year, etc etc).
I liked BF to the extent it’s good for the baby but I was sick of not having my body to myself and being chained to the pump. We made it to 8 months (9 months before using formula thanks to freezer stash…my supply was shot, My kid didn’t love it and started to fight it. Who am I to push something *neither* of us want when there is a perfectly healthy alternative!) and I gave myself the BF Mother of the Year award and literally skipped to the drug store to buy formula.
Betty White says
I would just add that weeks 6-11 were the hardest for me so there may be a light at the end of the tunnel!
OP says
Thanks everyone for the encouragement and tips! Your thoughts made me feel (emotionally) much better and I will return to this when I need cheering up. This is my second but feeling much worse with than with the first child.
Love the story about the written prescription for husband intervention!
MomAnon4This says
Do NOT compare yourself to others — well, I’m grateful to be pregnant, or, other women have it harder.
If it’s hard for YOU – it’s hard for you.
Meds (Zofran?), rest, small meals of whatever you can eat, whatever you need, ask for help.
There will ALWAYS be someone better off (those women who don’t even know they’re pregnant?!) and worse (bedrest, staples, shots, etc.). Focus on YOU and YOUR well-being and do what YOU need.
Anon says
Peppermint tea and jolly ranchers got me through many a meeting when I was hiding being pregnant and throwing up in my office trash can regularly.
Betty White says
So, I guess I’m just looking for reassurance. Somehow, at 39 weeks, I just realized that my prenatal doesn’t have fish oil in it and that my doctor had recommended that I get one with it or supplement. Somehow, I not only completely forgot about this but also was unfortunate enough to remember last night and am just GUILT spiraling. I am telling myself that I’m being ridiculous, that while not ideal, it’ll be fine and that I have had a pretty balanced diet with a decent amount of fish throughout (the right kinds) but I know I haven’t had enough and now I’m worried that I screwed our baby out of important nutrients.
Blueberries says
If it helps, as of 2-3 years ago, a great ob told me the science wasn’t there to recommend it. I think she said it wouldn’t hurt if I wanted to take it, but she was waiting for better science to tell patients that they should be taking it.
Samantha says
My doc said the same, no harm but so far no direct evidence to recommend.
Anon in NYC says
You are totally fine! Your baby will be fine!
FWIW, after some bloodwork, my ob or her nurse apparently told me to go see an endocrinologist about my thyroid levels because she thought I had slight hypothyroidism. I literally do not remember this at all. So I spent about a month of my pregnancy without meds – and the potential complications are scary!
MomAnon4This says
I’m in the South.
I was faced with an impending miscarriage, and asked about prenatals, and the midwife said, “Honey, the Baby Jesus didn’t have prenatals!”
I mean, I’m sure she prioritized them, but just not at that moment. The kid’ll be fine.
Anonymous says
haha, this is my favorite Calm Down, Mama line, ever! I miss the south…
Lurker says
If prenatals are being sold without fish oil then fish oil can’t really be a required part of a prenatal.
Spirograph says
Be glad — my prenatals have fish oil and they are disgusting. The smell hits as soon as I take the lid off the bottle, and I have to gulp them down with a ton of water asap so I don’t get nauseated by the taste.
I didn’t take fish oil prenatals for my first two pregnancies and my kids are great. I’m not buying more once the current bottle is gone. Your baby will be fine!
EE says
There’s a PBS special on the supplement industry and it goes into over the counter fish oil. A disgusting smell like this in fish oil, while fairly common, is actually a sign that something is off with the pill. I’d try a different brand.
Alternatively, I take a prescription prenatal (actually two different pills per day, one of which is fish oil) and those don’t smell. Perhaps something to ask your doctor about. I like the citranatal prescription brand, and they have a coupon to cover a lot of the copay (plus other perks for joining their club).
Betty White says
Thanks, all! I would like to blame the hormones for my extreme anxiety! :)
Katala says
Agree with all this, plus our bodies are really good at getting nutrients from wherever if that’s what the baby needs. Calcium from mom’s teeth/bones, iron from..wherever we store that, etc. Baby will get what it needs! Especially if you had a healthy diet before/during pregnancy, it’s totally fine.
anon says
Just found out I have gestational diabetes – positive experiences? tips? This is only my second baby and I am feeling like a failure right now!
pockets says
I had GD. Once you have GD the medical establishment treats you like a ticking time bomb that’s just waiting to explode in a huge malpractice suit. IMO, there is an incredible amount of over-management.
That said, once I changed my diet I actually did feel much better overall (I don’t doubt I had GD, I just think the whole testing my blood 4x a day was overkill, and almost lost it when the endo told me I needed insulin). You can speak with a nutritionist or dietician to figure out meal plans. You can still eat carbs, you just need to balance it with a fat or protein. It’s a very strange diet – you can’t eat an apple, but you can eat an apple and cheese. You can’t have frozen yogurt, but ice cream is fine.
On that note, eat a lot of ice cream. It’s one of the few dessert-y type things you can actually eat.
hoola hoopa says
Ditto that the (very large) silver lining is that once you are on a GD diet you will feel so much better!
I also think it helped me keep my weight down since I couldn’t mindlessly graze. And gave me better eating habits in general. It was a wake up call for me, since I really had to examine my diet. I was a really healthy eater pre-kids and continued to think of myself as a healthy eater even though the six years since I’d had my first (I got GD with my third) had really taken it’s toll. A GD diet isn’t necessarily the perfect diet when you don’t have GD, but it got me thinking and looking.
What worked for me was to carry around a paper with List A and List B, each with an ingredient and quantity. So then I just had to pair one A with one B. I also had a List C of balanced items, like a glass of milk. And a List D of suggestions of food that I could eat in essentially unlimited quantities (fresh vegetables, basically. Soon I didn’t need it physically with me.
OCAssociate says
I had GD with both pregnancies. Honestly, it sucked, because I love carbs. As pockets said, it’s way overmanaged.
However, since you asked for positives: I completely stopped gaining weight once I went on a diabetes diet, so I didn’t put on a tremendous amount of weight while pregnant.
Keeping the GD under control in both pregnancies also kept both of my babies under 8 pounds, and neither kid had GD-related complications.
Also – don’t feel like a failure! There’s nothing you can do to prevent GD – it’s hormonal. Get a good diet plan from a nutritionist, and remember that it’s ok to occasionally cheat and eat cake at your shower.
Saguaro says
I had GD with both my pregnancies, and on insulin for the second pregnancy (probably should have been on insulin for first as well). As others said, it controlled my weight gain, as I was on the fast track to gaining like 60 lbs, enjoying everything, but instead gained only the recommended 25-35 lbs (not sure if that is still the recommended amount). In the end I was very happy for this and happy to not having to lose over 50 lbs after the baby was born!
However, I still had very large babies: one was 10.9 lbs and one was 9.0 lbs. The GD causes that, and the better you eat and manage the GD, the less likely you will be to have a big baby. I was very lucky that I was physically able to deliver my first with her being that big (dr would absolutely not do a C-Section). There were some serious complications (all resolved now). My second was a C-section (I changed drs).
So, my advice is to stick as closely as possible to the GD diet. It’s not for that long anyway, just a few months. The GD goes away within one day after delivery.
Pogo says
Did anyone ‘test out’ their HCG trigger shot? I see a lot of it on the internet when I google but I cannot/don’t want to wade through a million mommy boards to see what the deal is.
I had a wedding this weekend, so I took a test at 8 dpo, and got a faint positive. Same thing the next morning. I decided I didn’t want to risk it, since it could be a ‘real’ positive and had just 1 glass of wine at the wedding. Then yesterday at 10 dpo the faint positive seems to have disappeared (i.e. test looked totally negative)
Is it possible the trigger was still around at 8po to cause the positive? Trying not to get my hopes up, especially with the definite negative yesterday.
Long time lurker... says
Last week I went through a similar situation where I tested positive at home 2 days in a row using an early predictor test, then went to my dr. for a urine test in order to confirm and get a referral to an OBGYN, and it came back negative. I was really confused and concerned that I had maybe had a “chemical pregnancy” (where conception occurs but the zygote doesn’t implant/stick around for some reason–hCG levels initially increase and then decrease), but then I went for a blood test and it gave a positive result. False negatives apparently are much more common than false positives, and can happen if your urine is too diluted (which is what I think happened to me at the doctor’s office).
Did you use your first pee of the day for your 10 dpo test? If not, your urine may have been too diluted to pick up the hCG in your urine. Maybe try another test at home using the first pee of the day (or after several hours of not peeing if you can hold it that long) and see? I really liked the First Response digital and ClearBlue digital Early Pregnancy tests – it was very easy to read the results when I did them at home (I’ve used the ones with the lines before and they always drive me a bit crazy trying to decipher them). If you get another faint positive or negative maybe see your doctor/go to a lab for blood work.
My fingers are crossed for you that you get the result you are hoping for!
EE says
While it’s generally true that false negatives are much more common than false positives, that’s unfortunately NOT the case with a trigger shot, which guarantees a positive pregnancy test until it’s mostly or entirely out of your system. I typically started testing at 4-5dpt to watch the trigger positive disappear, and only after seeing it disappear would I have considered a positive pregnancy test the real deal. The trigger can cause a positive for 10 or so days (HCG is on the longer end, Ovidrel on the shorter end due to differences in typical dosing).
That said, fingers crossed for your cycle and very much hoping your tests turn positive again soon!!
Long time lurker... says
Ugh…this is why I should just stick to lurking! My apologies Pogo…I totally skimmed over your mention of “trigger shots”.
Pogo says
OK yeah, that seems to be what the internetz were saying. I had Ovidrel so I wasn’t sure if 8-9 dpo could really still be the trigger. But then it went away, so probably trigger. But maybe diluted pee!
My beta is Friday so that’s the only real answer. I’m just not dedicated enough to test every day to watch my trigger leave so was hoping one of you ladies had done it :) I honestly wouldn’t have even tested at all (they tell you not to test til beta) but I didn’t want to get smashed at the wedding if I was pregnant.
If I am I will consider that my first act of responsible parenting, lol.