Crazy gestational kickback

We believe my wife is 6 weeks and 2 days. We called the OBGYN and the soonest they can get her in is Nov 20. Is it normal to wait that long for the first ultrasound? I think that would put her at 10 weeks 5 days.

Nursery is nearing completion! Last two photos are the before (we got a fixer upper lol). Now just need to put up some decorations!

I'm 49 and in good shape, but I worry about being 60 when my kids are 10 and 70 when they're 20. Dads who had kids later, what did you do to plan for that, and what do you wish you'd known? Any advice appreciated.

This bedroom used to run half the length of our house, but one day we thought, “what if we ate up 1/3 of it to create a walk-in closet?”

Some construction later, that leftover 11x12 room (ish, give or take) became our nursery. New accent wall, new crib, new closet system — old floors. Not all the way there yet, but it’s coming along!

The history of trying has been brutal

Lost the first one at 6 weeks about 2 years ago and about 5 months ago we didn't know there was one in there but it was lost shortly after conception

We feel different about this one

6 going on 7 weeks and we saw the heartbeat today

I wept tears of joy when the nurse said all is good and healthy and they can see the heartbeat

Im praying to every god I know the name of that this one sees it through

Мне просто хочется выговориться и услышать советы, потому что я уже вообще не понимаю, что делать.
Я с самого детства жила в маленьком городе. Мой отец ещё когда я была ребёнком сказал мне, что я ему не нужна, но при этом он всё равно поддерживал со мной контакт. Сам он всё это время жил в Алматы. Для меня Алматы всегда казался каким-то другим миром — город намного больше моего, и я с детства очень хотела когда-нибудь здесь жить.
И вот сейчас мне 18 лет, я беременна, уже 7-й месяц 😂
Когда я узнала о беременности, я сама предложила мужу переехать в Алматы. Мы очень молодые, но с самого начала сами за себя, всё оплачиваем сами и понимаем, что ребёнок — это наша ответственность.
Я связалась с отцом, рассказала ему, что мы хотим переехать. Он сказал, что поможет. У него есть такая возможность: он ездит на хорошей машине, живёт в дорогом районе, в хорошем ЖК. Поэтому я, наверное, где-то внутри себя рассчитывала, что раз он обещал помогать, то действительно будет какая-то помощь.
Но в итоге мы приехали буквально почти с нуля. Я сразу устроилась на работу, муж тоже. Я получаю около 200 тысяч, он около 250 тысяч.
И вроде бы 450 тысяч на двоих звучит нормально, но у нас только аренда квартиры 200 тысяч в месяц, ещё коммуналка, еда, транспорт, бытовые расходы и кредит, который уже просрочен. И я сейчас беременна, мне всё тяжелее работать.
Я работаю по 12 часов в кофейне и понимаю, что физически уже просто не вывожу. Но если я уйду, наши доходы очень сильно упадут, и я вообще не понимаю, как мы будем платить за квартиру и всё остальное.
И самое неприятное для меня даже не деньги. Мне очень обидно из-за ситуации с отцом. Я понимаю, что он не обязан содержать меня и мою семью. Мы сами решили переехать, сами решили рожать ребёнка и сами должны нести за это ответственность.
Но с другой стороны, я всегда думала: ну почему тогда, когда я была ребёнком, мне практически ничего не давали, а сейчас, когда я действительно оказалась в очень тяжёлой ситуации и он объективно может помочь, я всё равно должна справляться абсолютно одна?
Я не хочу выпрашивать у него деньги и не хочу выглядеть так, будто я приехала в Алматы только ради его помощи. Мы с мужем действительно стараемся работать и всё тянуть сами.
Просто сейчас я чувствую, что я на нуле. Я беременная, работаю по 12 часов, денег всё равно не хватает, квартира очень дорогая для нас, есть просроченный кредит, скоро роды, а я вообще не понимаю, что будет дальше.
Возвращаться обратно тоже не хочется. Если честно, для меня это будет ощущаться как будто я не справилась. Тем более я сама предложила этот переезд, сама хотела сюда.
Я не знаю, чего я хочу от этого поста. Наверное, просто выговориться и услышать мнение людей со стороны.
Что бы вы сделали на моём месте? Уходили бы с работы, искали жильё дешевле, возвращались обратно или пытались как-то пережить этот период в Алматы?

So, a few weeks ago, I drove 1k+ miles back to where I'm from after ending things with my now ex-girlfriend. We had a pretty toxic relationship towards the end, communication issues, and disrespectful communication, just to mention some of the issues. I reached out to her a little while after I got back - I knew that I heavily contributed to a lot of the issues in the relationship, and thought maybe we could work out the communication issues and potentially reconcile. We've had discussions and a number of arguments and a couple of close "I'm done with you" incidents while talking over the phone, but I've still been wanting to try.

Today she mentioned how she has been throwing up in the morning, how her breasts are sore, and that she had a low grade fever. Turned out the common cause for those things is.... Pregnancy.

She sent me a picture earlier of two tests showing two very clear solid lines. We didn't think this would even happen because she has an IUD. But... Here we are.

I genuinely don't know how to feel about any of this. On one hand, I was already considering going back up there if we are able to work out our issues, but on the other hand, I was also very much okay with us not getting back together if we can't work things out and living my life.

Now it feels like... I'm happy, very happy in a way - I never thought I'd have a chance to have my own biological child. But I'm also very anxious and worried because while we had talked a lot about marriage and having our own child while we were together, I'm honestly not sure I'm cut out for this. She has a young daughter who I very much loved and cared for, but she was a lot to deal with. I'm a horrible person for saying this, but honestly, I felt free when I left.

I have a lot of selfish tendencies, and my avoidant behavior has been a major thing plaguing the relationship since we started, although I've made some progress on it and grown during the time we were together.

But I don't know if I can change. I don't know if I'm ready for this. I don't know if I can go back and deal with any more contempt, disrespect, or belittling. I don't know if I can give her the emotional intimacy that she needs from me. I don't know if anything is going to be different. But I want to be there for her. I do.

She has been telling me "it's fine, you don't have to come" and things like that, but I've been adamant about wanting to be there for her, even if we aren't together. She has decided to keep the child regardless of if I want to be in their life or not. I'm really not sure what moving forward is going to look like.

Current status: partner is 8 weeks a few days with our first ultrasound in a few day

We all know a lot can happen from when our partners first find out theyre pregnant

The symptoms start emerging of physical body sensitivity and other things our partners experience. Both of us get excited

As a prospective dad, and partner, how do you help your partner manage her emotions and thoughts when the symptoms might be going away or if she thinks shes losing the baby?

I legit feel helpless and try to just listen and let her work through what shes going through and just be an ear to support. As an fyi, we had a chemical pregnancy a few months ago

What confuses me is seeing so many stories from moms-to-be who are in relationships that are emotionally draining or even abusive, yet they still struggle to leave because of the relationship, while I’m in a situation where my girlfriend and I haven’t experienced anything like that.

We’ve definitely had arguments, and there have been moments where we questioned whether we should stay together, but lately things have actually been good. I care about her, I want to be there for her and our daughter, and I’m trying to do my part.
But despite things being better, I still can’t shake this feeling deep down that she sees me more as her “baby daddy” than her boyfriend.

I also wonder if part of this insecurity comes from the fact that we aren’t married and don’t have the same commitment to each other that a married couple would have. We got pregnant relatively early in our relationship, before we really had the chance to build that foundation together. So sometimes I wonder whether she sees a future with me as her partner, or whether the pregnancy simply made us parents before we really became a committed couple.

I’m not saying she doesn’t care about me, and I know pregnancy can completely change the dynamic of a relationship. I just don’t want us to become two people who co-parent our daughter while the romantic relationship slowly disappears.
I want to be her partner, not just her baby’s father. I want us to eventually build a family together because we genuinely choose each other—not simply because we have a child together.

Has anyone else experienced an unexpected pregnancy relatively early in a relationship, especially while unmarried? Did you ever feel like you became “baby mom/baby dad” before you really got to become boyfriend/girlfriend? Did that feeling eventually go away as the relationship developed, or was it a sign that something deeper was missing?

We’re expecting due january and honestly i don’t know how to feel like im honestly scared shitless. I’m great with kids i’ve been with my girlfriend for a year now and i’ve stepped up and helped raise her now about to be three year old son and i’m the only father figure he’s ever known i’ve grown so attached to him and he’s literally my mini me but now that im expecting one of my own all i do is doubt myself. We’re staying with her dad because it’s been way harder than i thought to get our own place and that just feeds my feelings that i wasn’t ready to be a leader of anyone but myself. life was easy when i only had to worry about myself but now i gotta take care of everyone and i feel like im letting everyone down. Then i feel guilty for missing my old life i feel like the days of enjoying my life are over and the hard part hasn’t even started. i know it sounds selfish but i miss having hobbies, traveling and being a happy person now im just a depressed shell of myself. it makes me feel bad because my gf is just happy to have a kid with me she doesn’t care what i have or don’t have. it’s like she only sees the good side and i only see the bad. sometimes i think it’s because she already had a kid when we met so her being able to have hobbies and things like that went out the window not to sound like a asshole but now it’s my turn to give up my old life and dreams and just be a parent and it kills me to think about. i love my girl to death but i feel like she always wanted this life and i still had things i wanted to accomplish and experience that will have to go on the back burner for at least 20 years and by then ill be old and life will have passed me by. these are just some of my thoughts but at the end of the day ill be here with my family cuz they need me and i need them but i just feel numb when it comes to enjoying anything anymore…

After 6 tough years, 30+ hours of labour, epidural failure, an emergency C section, the wife and I can finally say we’ve joined the parent club! A feeling like no other. We’ve got a few more days in the hospital due to mum and daughter catching an infection but all is going well, then it really begins. Anyone who’s still waiting, keep trying and have hope. We didn’t think we’d get to this stage and the labour wasn’t exactly how we planned and hoped too but finally seeing our wonderful daughter makes up for everything. Words cannot describe what women go through and big props to all the midwives, doctors and nurses etc. who supported us so much. A long and patient journey begins but we can’t wait for every milestone.

Found out at 6 weeks, had our first appt and ultrasound last week 10/8. Next one is this week already! Can’t believe how fast and slow it’s happening. Can’t believe there’s actually a baby in there!
Wife and I are soo happy we’ve both wanted this for forever.

Little man came early! 36+4. October 12 (Canadian Thanksgiving).
Everybody is doing great and mama was a rockstar!

I can‘t describe my excitement. After 2 miscarriages, we are in week 24 and had an ultrasound recently. Baby looks perfectly healthy, all organs grow as they should and I am beyond thrilled. Everything seems perfect. Due date is in Febuary and we already agreed on names for both genders.

Still anxious that something goes wrong but I bet that‘s normal after our hopes were shattered two times in a row. I know chances are small now, but still… do you know what I mean?

I think I will cry my eyes out when our baby is born. I cannot wait for our little miracle to come out of my wife‘s tummy! Lol.

Just needed to get that off my chest. I know I will love that baby more than words can describe!!!

Hi everyone. This is actually my first ever dad post. My wife is about 5 months pregnant after we struggled with infertility for a few years so we are both over the moon with excitement for our little one to get here in March.

However I am already dealing with some pretty significant anxiety about the current climate in the United States when it comes to school shootings (and many, many other things but that's for another day).

It is driving me crazy that this just seems to be so accepted and normalized. I am a huge proponent of public education and we plan to use our local district. Homeschooling is not an option - I have personally experienced the harms that can do.

So my question to you all - how do you deal with this? I'm assuming my anxiety about this is only going to get worse as our little one is actually here and they approach school age.

When expecting my first, I didn't really know what to do in the labour room. I printed a bunch of notes but never really had a chance to look at them. Before our second I wanted something I could just open in the moment and follow, so I built it.

Steady is a free Android app for birth partners. It has:

26 labour positions (17 on land and 9 in water) showing where your hands go

audio-guided breathing you can do together

a contraction timer that alerts you at 5-1-1

60+ birth preferences you can tick through and export

a guide covering what to say, what to do, and how to speak up for her when it matters

It works fully offline, with no account and nothing sent anywhere, and it comes in several languages. There's one small banner ad, and $2 removes it.

It's not medical advice, just the stuff midwives and educators tell you, laid out so it's easy to use when your head's spinning.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jarogge.steady

I'd genuinely love feedback from anyone here, especially on what's missing.

We're getting the nursery ready for our first baby, and I'm at the point where every baby product seems to have ten different features. One thing I do want is a monitor that shows the room temperature since our house can get pretty warm at night, even with the AC running.

I'd prefer to see it in the same app as the camera instead of having another device to keep track of. Dads, which monitors have you used, and is the temperature reading accurate compared with a regular room thermometer? Hopefully this helps me narrow things down before we make a purchase.

we're getting ready for our first baby, and one feature i keep coming back to is breathing tracking. nanit's breathing band caught my attention because the camera reads the pattern on the fabric to track breathing motion, rather than having an electronic sensor attached to the baby. i can see why that would appeal to new parents, but i'm still unsure how reliable it feels during a normal night, especially if the camera loses sight of the pattern.

for parents using nanit's breathing band, how often do you run into alerts that turn out to be a reading issue? i'm trying to get a realistic idea of how it works in everyday use, because that's the feature we'd be paying extra for.