Makeup & Beauty Monday: Power Trio: Lactic Acid + Retinol + Vitamin C

Monday morning whine: I managed to hurt my back late last week (no idea how) and can barely walk without eyes watering and gritted teeth. The pain is taking up a corner in the back of my brain even sitting. I have one court appearance to get through this morning and than it’s heating pad and desk chair. I seriously considered urgent care last weekend, but suspect they would just give me an opioid painkiller, which I can’t take bc I’m pregnant. I guess I just ride it out, right? I have never had this before, but now I have major sympathy for people with chronic back pain. This is terrible.

Did any of you have “late” positive pregnancy tests? I am 6 days late currently (day 39),and I have peed on too many sticks that have come back negative. My breasts have been super sore the past 2 weeks which is unusual for me. Also highly unusual for me to have an irregularly long cycle. I feel pregnant (maybe wishful thinking), but I also know in theory that I should have a positive test by now.
Did anyone not get a positive until week 6+?

Strategies for when nothing in life is going as planned?

In the past ~6months we’ve had 3 big things fall through for our family: DH’s overseas assignment, a promotion for me, and baby #2. Theoretically everything could work out in the end (especially baby #2, I’m sure it’ll happen eventually it’s just currently insurance and my non functional ovaries are wreaking havoc on our ideal schedule which is now 1/2 year behind what we intended). I think it’s mostly my type A, obsessive planning mindset is causing me to anxiety spiral, so I’m going to schedule some time w/ my therapist.

But wondering if the hive has any wisdom? Logically I know literally nothing has changed, so there is no reason to feel sad. I’m just worried about getting my hopes up about anything now, and frustrated that I can’t really “do” anything to accelerate any timelines.

I have an 18 month old, a highly demanding full time job, a dog, a very supportive husband… and just life stuff. I’m exhausted 100% of the time. I’m asleep by 9/9:30 (actively preparing for bed by 8:30 most nights), and first alarm goes off at 5:30am. Increasingly I’m staying in bed until 6/6:15 (I’ve never been a snooze–hitter either) – but arguably that’s a reasonable amount of sleep. I can’t find the time to workout outside of the house and now it’s so dark in the mornings that I’m not comfortable going out at 4:45am/5am alone to get some exercise.

SO. That all said: Is this state of exhaustion just a new normal for me/new-ish parents? I need to eat better, I need some exercise, but I can’t find the time/muster the energy for either. DD goes to bed at 7pm and I could crawl into bed most nights right then (which is doing wonders for my marriage, let me tell you…). I’m also just about to start fertility treatments for #2, which I very sincerely want, but surviving pregnancy also feels so impossibly exhausting. I have my annual physical in December. I could ask to have hormone levels checked, although I’m near certain they were checked as part of the fertility treatment prep recent. I’m going to ask at the primary care appointment to interpret those results from their perspective, but I fear it’ll just be dismissed as, “haha of course you’re tired, kids, amiright?!” Thoughts? Solidarity? Totally normal or nah?