Have you contacted his friends? If he texted you and said he was coming home and then his location was at a bar and it hasn't changed since, I'd say he lost his phone or something bad happened and would consider calling the police. Jumping to conclusions that this is a relationship issue is not helpful.

My child is defective, she slept through all of it like a champ and we live in a fireworks war zone. I'm so sorry for the suffering of basically everyone in this thread...yowza.

For me, it was nothing like pregnancy. The first month was BRUTAL, first two weeks had me contemplating if I really wanted a kid. She woke up every hour and took 40 minutes to go back to sleep. She would scream from 11PM-2AM like clockwork each night, and then still wake up to feed and change and take forever to go back to sleep. I didn't sleep more than two hours at a time for quite awhile, and it was the worst thing I have ever experienced, to be quite honest. I used to exclusively work nights and thought that would help...and it did NOT.

Sleep didn't get better/easier until maybe 10-12 weeks. She naturally put herself on one night wakeup at around 1AM then weaned herself off of that and sleeps through the night now at almost 5 months.

Why does she get to have an opinion? Stop listening to her, it's your baby.

I was never measured, the fundal height is a super outdated and unreliable measurement. Body shape changes the measurement and if you have any natural belly at all, it's totally useless.

Does NICU count? She was there all the time and I went up every few hours. After we came home, I went out maybe 3 days later for groceries.

None at all. If I was available, it wouldn't be called leave. They should not be contacting you and if they can't hold to that, I would contact HR.

So now it's not about the statue but about the byproducts of birth that the statue doesn't show?

That is an emotional manipulation technique; poor him, he did something bad and now you are feeling bad for him versus keeping the focus on that your husband keeps assaulting you.

You need to get away from this man. He is dangerous; family annihilators start off like this. Nothing you do will convince him you are a good person because he does not believe you are a good person. He is either ill or doing all of this because he is a shithead, either way you are not safe.

Additionally, you are communicating to your children that how he treats you is okay. Is this what you want your children to believe?

You leave him, that's what you do. He is not a good husband, a good father, or a good man. Find yourself a divorce lawyer in silence, move out with the kid you're raising on your when he is away, and file for child support. Fuck this guy.

They had already lived together but it didn't work which is a massive red flag.

It sounds more like folks are sexualizing something natural. There is nothing shameful about the body that God created, nor is there anything filthy about nudity or depictions of childbirth. It is only European derived cultures that have serious hangups about folks seeing people nude in non sexual situations. This seems to be about people sexualizing a statue versus the statue being created as a sexual icon, and that's what's gross.

Yeah, I don't get it either. I had a high risk pregnancy and a semi emergent c section and it was a breeze and recovery was simple. I am so thrilled I didn't have to go through a vaginally birth. Folks have this weird attachment to the process of vaginal birth as if it is somehow inherently meaningful across the board.

NIPTs are predictive, not definitive; they give odds but not certainty. There are thousands of chromosomal disorders that can cause physical differences, and a dozen other reasons why an appearance might be outside of the average expectations.

Ask for a referral to a pediatric geneticist for your own peace of minds.

How is birth filthy?

Absolutely Not. Do not marry this man, this is only.the first thing he will expect you to comply with. You cannot trade independence for the perception of love, since this is NOT love...this is abusive control.

I had a job where our checks were late or would bounce. I left and the agency was shut down by the state 6 months later for embezzlement. Get your check and find another job.

Yup. You are expending a massive amount of energy creating a human from scratch and it takes a huge toll the older you get.

I gained no weight. After I delivered I was 35 pounds lighter than I was pregnant.

Vintage baby gear sells well. Get that bag.

This. No running after men who leave and who don't want to be fathers.

Depression is depression, baby blues is depression. The first 6-8 weeks are a grind, it gets better..lack of sleep, pain, adjustment to something totally new. I resented the fuck out of the baby keeping me from sleeping, and it passed.

Give yourself grace, and keep a watchful eye on your mood.

My husband wouldn't fucking dare. Your guy is trying to control you. Don't let him. Where what you want.

You have a good doctor.

Why are you angry when your body is trying to protect you? That's what is happening. Your body is aiding your wellbeing, and you're beating yourself up for that! It is trying to make sure you are safe, and it realizes that safety for you is different.

You don't know whether you can have a successful vaginally birth for any number of reasons. No one does until they are in it. But you have the blessing/luck of planning. Imagine going into a birth scenario and having to process trauma in the middle of it and have the birth be about the trauma of birth versus your baby arriving. You have the opportunity to sidestep that.

I am sooo grateful I did not go through a vaginal birth for so many reasons. I was able to be present for my kid versus falling apart.