Family Friday: Stack Up Baby Cups

I’m newly pregnant with my second (I’m that poster who got pregnant with an IUD and a condom, then had an ectopic, and then got pregnant with a nuvaring and a condom) and trying to distract myself while I wait to make sure this pregnancy is not trying to kill me a bit by maternity shopping.

The last time I was pregnant, I was due in winter in NYC while working full-time in an international law firm. I have a bunch of (now dated) black and gray basics. This time around I have a more casual job and am back in Austin with an October due date, so am thinking I’ll buy a few dresses. I want to buy dresses that are both maternity AND nursing dresses this time around and layer with open cardigans/jackets, but it seems like nursing dresses are hard to come by. Are there certain brands that are known for that? Is it not really a thing?

First time parent navigating making a potential daycare/preschool change. There are reasons I’ve been wanting to switch but now that we have spots elsewhere, I’m weirdly feeling hesitant. Probably because it’s the first daycare for our first kid and it was a bit scary to leave them the first time. Can anyone weigh in on how you’ve decided to move centers, what made you choose to move, and any advice you can offer on how to make the decision? If helpful, current place is affordable, extremely convenient, healthy foods, issues have been with transitions to different rooms and what almost seems like hiding the transition or lack thereof and refusing to engage on it and confrontational when asked but that was later somewhat resolved (it’s mostly due to ratios it seems) academic type programming but also some creative stuff too. They’ve also been willing to individualize a lot for my kid (sound machine etc). New place is a lot more expensive, little bit further away, well established, more activities but less academic, very hard to get off waitlist, seems like teacher turnover issues (not uncommon now in our area), but very kid focused.

I posted previously about my upcoming IUI – we learned yesterday that it didn’t work, so I’m now awaiting financial clearance to hopefully start the stim cycle for IVF with my next period. Honestly, I’m not even that disappointed since I knew that the success rate for IUI was low, but man is the prospect of IVF exhausting to think about. I would love to hear successful IVF stories, especially if you were older (I’m 41, and have really AFC/etc. numbers for my age, but still – I’m 41). I have one child already, conceived without medical assistance at 39, but we’ve been trying 9 months for a second without luck…

Just a vent or a scream into the void. A coworker is taking his two little kids camping this weekend, and he was SO excited to tell me all about it (it’s pretty well known around my office that I regularly camp with my kids). But…..guy, it’s going to get really freaking cold. We live in North Carolina, and 30 degrees overnight with rain is actually one of the greatest hypothermia risks. It gets sneaky cold, and it’s easy to get caught unprepared if you are wet, especially. His kids are little (2 and 4 yr old boys) and inexperienced campers, and they do not have the proper gear to camp out in this weather. I know this because he told me what he was taking, and spoiler alert, it’s not enough. I offered him our extra gear and tried several different times and several different ways to tell him it’s a bad idea, even saying straight up, you are putting your kids at risk of hypothermia. BUT he (used to) camp ALL THE TIME. ALL OVER THE WORLD. IN ALL KINDS OF WEATHER.

Ugh, I’m both annoyed that he wanted to mansplain how to camp to me — even though he’s never camped with kids, and it’s a totally different ballgame than a bunch of 20 year olds going out — and being legit worried they will put themselves at risk. I think he’s camping close enough to home that he can bail if needed, but ugh, he’s at least in for a long night.