Thanks, Mefites

February 12, 2012 7:46 AM

AskMe enriched my pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum experience (thus far). Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I asked Metafilter for advice on managing my Gestational Diabetes. I had a horrible dietician, but with your (collective) help, I stayed diet-controlled and managed my sugars extraordinarily well.

I asked Metafilter for advice on finding a pediatrician. I chose my baby's doctor on a mefite's recommendation, and I'm thrilled with them so far.

I asked Metafilter for advice on cloth diapering. We've now been successfully cloth diapering for over a month, and I know we wouldn't be doing nearly as well without the suggestions made therein.

I would have been far more uncertain re: my delivery and timid of expressing my needs without the many suggestions in this post.

And finally, after 7 weeks of exclusively pumping, baby litnerd is back to taking the breast, and we are on our way to a successful breastfeeding relationship. And I owe it all to the Metafilter community's advice and support.

There is no other online community like this one. Thank you.

posted by litnerd to MetaFilter-Related at 7:46 AM (73 comments total)

Excellent.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:50 AM on February 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

That's a cute little litnerd there.
posted by mintcake! at 7:50 AM on February 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Awww! Lovely baby, and congratulations.
posted by purenitrous at 8:04 AM on February 12, 2012

thus far, well that's a challenge if I ever heard one. Boys time to offer shitty advice
posted by wheelieman at 8:14 AM on February 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Newborns enjoy experimental noise music and raw limes. Remember to cement your bond by spinning your child exactly forty four times, clockwise, when entering a new room. Failure to do so may result in " Wandering Nosril."
posted by The Whelk at 8:19 AM on February 12, 2012 [36 favorites]

Baby litnerd has a very adult-looking face, which is unusual and adorable. Especially the picture one slide to the left, where the young person looks for all the world as if he's watching the news offscreen and mulling over the global economic situation!
posted by winna at 8:24 AM on February 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have been a lurker here for years, and it was my pregnancy that made me finally sign up. Metafilter is good at babies.
posted by that's how you get ants at 8:25 AM on February 12, 2012 [5 favorites]

When you gonna get him his own account?
posted by jonmc at 8:31 AM on February 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's great to hear that you have a healthy baby and that many of your questions and problems could be helped by this community. Congrats on everything, and I wish you nothing but continued success and good health from here on out.
posted by hippybear at 8:32 AM on February 12, 2012

What a cute little bug!

What kind of cloth diapers did you end up going with?
posted by chiababe at 9:29 AM on February 12, 2012

chiababe, I ended up buying a variety of brands--bumGenius, FuzziBunz, Oh Katy, and a cheap made-in-China brand called Alva Baby. I ended up liking bumGenius, hating FuzziBunz and Oh Katy (trying to sell them off now), and liking Alva Baby quite a bit, especially for the price. I also found a great Etsy store diaper called 3Monkeys that has excellent workmanship and works great for him too.

Trying multiple brands is something else that AskMe recommended to me that was SUCH a great idea. I'd have hated cloth diapering if I was stuck with a stash full of FuzziBunz.
posted by litnerd at 9:39 AM on February 12, 2012

Awesome! I am something of a cloth diapering evangelist and am so happy to hear when people find a way to make it work! I also am not a fuzzibunz fan. The good thing is they hold their resale value well, so you'll find someone willing to buy them off you.
posted by chiababe at 10:04 AM on February 12, 2012

Yeay! Winna is right, he is so mature looking, I am very curious as to what is going on in his cute little brain! Congrats!
posted by radioamy at 10:40 AM on February 12, 2012

I see an adorable future reader there! Congrats! ♥
posted by Lynsey at 10:48 AM on February 12, 2012

thus far, well that's a challenge if I ever heard one. Boys time to offer shitty advice

I believe that belongs in the cloth diaper thread.
posted by maryr at 10:50 AM on February 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yay AskMe. Yay babies.
posted by spitbull at 11:08 AM on February 12, 2012

Adorable!
posted by the young rope-rider at 11:20 AM on February 12, 2012

Awwww. What an adorable little man.
posted by MadamM at 11:34 AM on February 12, 2012

I havent had to ask most of the myriad of questions I had during my pregnancy because so many had already been asked. I also feel like I am way more prepared for the future of child raising from reading all the child/baby related askmes.
Baby HMSSM was born just a few days ago. Metafilter has been an invaluable resource for me (from anserwering questions to keeping me entertained at 3am when he won't sleep anywhere but my arms) and I am so grateful for all the wonderful people who answer baby related questions and/or add awesome content.
posted by HMSSM at 11:55 AM on February 12, 2012 [6 favorites]

Really beautiful boy!
posted by thinkpiece at 12:21 PM on February 12, 2012

Congratulations on your new baby! Very cute.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:39 PM on February 12, 2012

Congratulations! You made a cute thing!
posted by trip and a half at 1:14 PM on February 12, 2012

Oh yay, baby!!!!!! Congrats!!!!

It's been just long enough since my own son was born that newborn photos are making me all smooshy inside. I guess I'm getting over the sleep deprivation PTSD...
posted by sonika at 1:18 PM on February 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Your kiddo is unfairly adorable. Congratulations!
posted by MissySedai at 1:33 PM on February 12, 2012

We didn't evolve, and were never really meant, to safely raise babies alone. You are a very smart parent to reach out, and to reach out someplace where people are so generous with their ideas and support.

That baby is cute. Fully professional judgement.
posted by rumposinc at 1:40 PM on February 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yay! And congratulations on making a lovely new person.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:15 PM on February 12, 2012

It still amazes me what gorgeous things motivated people can make from a few things they have lying around the house.
posted by maudlin at 2:20 PM on February 12, 2012 [17 favorites]

Thanks everyone for your kind words :). We think he's a nice-looking kid too.
posted by litnerd at 2:27 PM on February 12, 2012

Awwwww. And those gorgeous eyes! Congratulations!
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:11 PM on February 12, 2012

Yay congrats!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:19 PM on February 12, 2012

This is probably going to sound messed up, but I seriously don't think I'd be up to being a parent ever without the stuff I've read on AskMe and other good forums online (my family lives 1,000 miles away). I may still not be up to it, I'm not sure yet, but AskMe is indeed an awesome resource when it comes to that stuff. I've read a lot of the pregnancy/childbirth/rearing threads and come away thinking about things I never would've considered on my own. I also really like how candid people are here about these subjects--I'd turn to my friends who've had kids but there's only 2 max I think would be that honest with me about a lot of it. So great.

(And just to chime in with the other folks, yes, your baby is so adorable. :D)
posted by ifjuly at 3:24 PM on February 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think we need a new rule, similar to the on about "all cat questions must include photos of the cat" --- my proposed rule would be "all new-baby posts must also include photos" (I'm lookin' at you, HMSSM, 'cause litnerd already gave us LittleLitNerd!)
posted by easily confused at 4:03 PM on February 12, 2012

I'd have hated cloth diapering if I was stuck with a stash full of FuzziBunz.

Oh, that's a shame, because I have been obsessing over how much I love the word "FuzziBunz" ever since you posted this this morning.
posted by liketitanic at 4:06 PM on February 12, 2012

I think it's particularly nice that parenting questions get answered by both moms and dads here - not to mention the generally high quality of answers! Looking forward to relying on askme for all my upcoming parenting questions too. Will probably be taking my smartphone with me into l&d just in case.
posted by yarly at 4:38 PM on February 12, 2012

Congrats! When is his first FPP?
posted by arcticseal at 4:58 PM on February 12, 2012

So cute! Congrats!
posted by bookwibble at 5:04 PM on February 12, 2012

How did the delivery go?
posted by bq at 5:21 PM on February 12, 2012

Will probably be taking my smartphone with me into l&d just in case.

There is a photo of me IMMEDIATELY post-birth that reveals that my iPhone was next to my head.

I had a really rough labor and while I had never planned on checking out anything, supportive messages on Twitter SERIOUSLY gave me a huge confidence boost and helped out so much more than I'd ever imagined.

I also immediately tweeted a photo to both indicate that the labor was FINALLY! over (47hrs... yeah, there were a few friends who were seriously concerned, for good reason) and also head off the "PEEEEEKKKTTTUUUREEESSS!" crowd. I then ignored the phone for quite some time. I recommend this strategy highly.
posted by sonika at 5:37 PM on February 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Delivery went pretty well--being a first timer, I have nothing to compare it to, but I was able to deliver vaginally, which was really important to me. I did end up getting an epidural about four hours after checking in, which did lead to pitocin, but we managed through it. The worst part was that the epidural wore off on one side, my nurse suggested I lay on my other side, helped me about halfway there, then left to assist with a pushing mother. My husband and I looked at each other, dumbfounded, while I lay uncomfortably on my back (epidural block and all). He ended up having to help me move the rest of the way. Of course at that point the fetal monitor was no longer positioned correctly. My husband called our nurse back over, who hurried in, glanced at the fetal monitoring, and said "oh, it's working okay," to which we replied that it most certainly wasn't, seeing as the heartrates were bouncing from 150 to 120 to 80 and back.

After several trips to multiple nurses stations, my husband was finally able to find another nurse to fix the fetal monitor. Of course, when the anesthesiologist arrived to balance out my epidural, he told me I was laying on the wrong side. So he moved me to the other side. Then he realized that without repositioning the fetal monitor, he wouldn't be able to track the baby's heartrate as he was correcting the epidural. And he refused to attempt it himself. So he moved me back to the other side. Of course since he corrected the epidural with me in the wrong position for it, I ended up even more imbalanced. Luckily enough, the next shift change brought me an amazing new nurse. I pushed for about 2 1/2 hours, and ended up with 2nd degree tears. Baby litnerd was 8lb, 12oz and 21" long (40 weeks 3 days).

To answer my own question re: labor and delivery, the biggest thing I would change would be to explicitly ask my doctor to inform waiting family of my status on his way out. As it was, grandmas flagged him down for some news, and he refused to tell them anything, not even if we were okay. This understandably pissed them the heck off. His name cannot be brought up now without one of them flipping their lid over that memory.
posted by litnerd at 5:47 PM on February 12, 2012

That kid looks awfully familiar :)
posted by timsteil at 6:24 PM on February 12, 2012

I'm five weeks until D-day, and have been grateful to AskMe for all six years of my baby-making challenges. The closer and closer I get to my due date, the more time I'm spending trawling old AskMe questions and emailing tips to my partner - I've barely had to ask any questions of my own. I've gotten through most of my pregnancy, I feel better prepared for labour, I have read specific books and bought specific products, and I have some strategies in place for life with my soon-to-be newborn. Thanks team!
posted by arcticwoman at 7:06 PM on February 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

AskMe got me pregnant.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:07 PM on February 12, 2012

We're still working on how that happened.
posted by The Whelk at 10:14 PM on February 12, 2012

Welcome to your adorable new bibliophibian.
posted by theora55 at 10:28 PM on February 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Congratulations! Baby litnerd is adorable.
posted by angiep at 12:22 AM on February 13, 2012

AskMe got me pregnant.

Actually, posting something on askme resulted in me now having a 3yr old daughter. With someone from a different continent.
So always wear a condom while posting on askmefi.
or not; she's the joy of my life
posted by joost de vries at 4:26 AM on February 13, 2012 [7 favorites]

Many congrats all the way around. MeFi is a wonderful tool for support.
posted by stormpooper at 6:43 AM on February 13, 2012

Dear heavens, that is one little sweetie pie! Congratulations. And as the little one grows, you'll find the advice here will remain incredibly helpful.
posted by kinetic at 7:12 AM on February 13, 2012

Metafilter: Support wonderful tools.
posted by The Whelk at 7:12 AM on February 13, 2012

Also one of Metafilter's weird 'helpful' qualities: It somehow, despite all the Ask Metafilter questions about the difficulties of pregnancy and child rearing AND being a community with many adults I respect who, like me, have no plans or conscious desire to ever have children, still manages to inspire weird 'baby want!' pains in me out of nowhere. Probably because that is one damn cute baby. Congratulations!
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:05 AM on February 13, 2012

I'm a new firt-time mom myself, and I can totally relate to how much it means to have a good resource. My baby is 16 weeks old and I swear I have a new quesiton almost every day.

I'm especially excited for your not having to exclusively pump anymore! I pump just to have a stash and to have milk for daycare, and boy do I hate it. Nursing has not only been a wonderful bonding experience for my baby and me, but I fully credit it with helping me lose all my pre-pregnancy weight and then some!

And your baby is a cutie pie!
posted by DrGirlfriend at 10:18 AM on February 13, 2012

Oh...and the best of luck with your l&d, arcticwoman!
posted by DrGirlfriend at 10:19 AM on February 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Um, Joost de vries? You gonna leave us hanging?
posted by amanda at 11:19 AM on February 13, 2012

You want a picture? Here's a picture from not too long ago.
posted by joost de vries at 11:35 AM on February 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Adorable!

I'm just a little bit concerned of inter-continental accidental pregnancy via MeFi. It's okay, though, I've got gloves on now. ;)
posted by amanda at 12:44 PM on February 13, 2012

Good lord, that is a CUTE baby. Congratulations!
posted by feathermeat at 12:53 PM on February 13, 2012

Remember folks: always wear your gloves!
posted by joost de vries at 1:02 PM on February 13, 2012

I want to jump on this bandwagon and say that these three AskMes: 1, 2, 3, really helped me prepare for the birth of BabyEnds (who popped out last night after a loooong 60 hour induction). Thanks to everyone who contributed.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:02 PM on February 13, 2012 [6 favorites]

Wandering Nostrils
posted by Johnny Assay at 2:08 PM on February 13, 2012

winna: "Especially the picture one slide to the left, where the young person looks for all the world as if he's watching the news offscreen and mulling over the global economic situation!"

Oh my gosh I am marveling at that same picture! Those eyes! They're incredible! Clearly there is great genius behind them!
posted by IndigoRain at 4:39 PM on February 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yay, congratulations, EndsofInvention!
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:00 PM on February 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have not yet had the need to ask anything, but would like to tell you about the brand new person!

Feb 14 2012 10am
*wormhole opens*
Thurston Iskander Topham has joined the HUMAN team.
You are in THE WORLD. It is very bright and loud.
There is a MAMA here.
There is a PAPA here.
XP: 0 / $: 0 / HP: 1 / INV:
>
posted by Meatbomb at 7:42 PM on February 13, 2012 [18 favorites]

<3

mazel tov.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:47 PM on February 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

My husband called our nurse back over, who hurried in, glanced at the fetal monitoring, and said "oh, it's working okay," to which we replied that it most certainly wasn't, seeing as the heartrates were bouncing from 150 to 120 to 80 and back.

FWIW, IANAD, but a friend of mine is, and I visited her briefly while she was on a 12 (24?) hour shift in labor and delivery on New Year's Eve. We brought her a beignet and a Coke and chatted with her a little bit in the break room. [There was also another doctor on the floor at the time and we were mostly distracting her from writing charts. My doctor friend is AWESOME. She is exactly who I would want as a doctor. Do not think she was slacking.] She had three cases going and a TV screen showed the fetal monitors, which we watched as we talked. I am a nerd and asked lot of questions. From her knowledge of the patients and the monitors, she could tell when one woman with a cold was coughing and that another woman's monitor was shifting a little (a very large woman, apparently, not a good fit). It was pretty amazing what she could tell from just that feed. So while it's obviously best that you found a nurse to fix the monitor, there is a chance that there was a doctor somewhere watching the feed, taking a moment to sit on their long shift, and telling their nerdy friend with all the questions, "See, that woman was turning over and the monitor slipped."

Graphs are cool.
posted by maryr at 8:00 PM on February 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

I loved the fetal heart rate monitor! They are pretty cool. After a scare we ended up with an internal one, too, which is amazing technologically (but I bet the babies are not as fond of them).

So, when I was posting this metafilter post I was in labor, which is really meta.

Congratulations, everyone, and good luck. Also BABIES! <3
posted by the young rope-rider at 8:32 PM on February 13, 2012

i came in here cause i smelled fresh baby and i am hungry.

...what? did i say something?

CONGRATS!!
posted by not_on_display at 9:01 PM on February 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

easily confused: my proposed rule would be "all new-baby posts must also include photos" (I'm lookin' at you, HMSSM,

While I would love to show off my new little man, I have some personal reasons for not posting photos online.

So I'll describe him instead: pretty much the most adorable thing ever. He sleeps a lot but every so often he opens up his eyes and they are big and full of wonder. He loves being swaddled up with just his little velvety head poking out.
posted by HMSSM at 12:17 AM on February 14, 2012

Your favorite baby sucks.

Properly.

Well done you!
posted by flabdablet at 2:02 AM on February 14, 2012

Yay!!!!!!! Thanks for this post. I am currently pregnant and am absolutely relying on ask metafilter for loads of information and advice. It's lovely.
posted by medusa at 5:35 AM on February 14, 2012

Thank you, everyone, for your posts and answers! I am newly pregnant and have been poring over every pregnancy AskMe post I can get my mitts on. I'm sure they will continue to be a fantastic resource. I love MeFites!
posted by apricot at 6:25 AM on February 14, 2012

Congratulations!

& pretty much what HMSSM said. My partner and I consult the askme archive with great frequency for such advice.
posted by safetyfork at 2:52 PM on February 14, 2012

I guess this is as good a time/place a place as any - I, too, am preggo, and although I've likely read all the Ask.Mes on this topic as they were written, I'm looking forward to the archive for the future.

Ask.Me is my favorite site on the internet, by far, so at least this won't be me just wasting time like it usually is. This will be for BABY! SCIENCE!
posted by tristeza at 7:11 PM on February 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

According to SCIENCE!, congratulations are in order!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:10 AM on February 15, 2012