Second pregnancy

Hello, mamas! I found out last night that I’m pregnant! ❤️

I currently do not have any health insurance. I applied for state insurance but was denied like 3 months ago. Any advice on what my next steps should be would appreciated

in our community

Why is my last name the price of marriage?

I’m looking for some outside perspectives on a situation in my longterm relationship.

My partner and I have been together, on and off, for 12 years and have lived together for the past 7 years. We've talked about marriage, but we've reached a disagreement that neither of us seems willing to budge on.

He has told me that he doesn't want to get married unless I take his last name. The problem is that I want to keep my maiden name as part of my identity. I’m the last person in my family line with my last name, and it means a lot to me. My preference would be to hyphenate our names so I can honor both my family and our marriage.

He feels strongly that a married couple should share his last name, while I feel strongly about keeping mine in some form.
I'm curious how others would view this. Is it reasonable for him to make taking his last name a condition of marriage? Is it reasonable for me to want to keep my maiden name through hyphenation? Would this be a red flag to you, or just a difference in values that couples sometimes have to work through?

I'd appreciate honest opinions and experiences from people who have dealt with similar situations.

Genuine question not trying to be hateful but HOW and why would you marry someone that doesn’t care about making you o during sex?

Sometimes I sit and wonder, with how most men are just… the way they are, how do people commit to a lifetime with one who’s not even good in bed? And follow up question if you *don’t care about sex* why?? Unless it’s trauma related which I understand.

No friends

I'm 39 and have no friends!
I used to have lots of friends but as I've got older, I seem to have lost contact or life has just got in the way as we have different things going on.
I've tried everything to meet new people but nothing ever comes of it.
I thought I would meet other Mums at baby groups and things, which I did, but again no-one really that I clicked with.
Is anyone else in this situation? Any ideas of how to meet new people please?

What are we eating in this weather?

It’s way too hot to be standing over a cooker or have the oven on… What are we eating? 🫣 I need my solid three meals… 🤣

Paternity??

Has anyone ever had doubts from the father of their child , no infidelity , just randomly requests a paternity test at the end or anytime during your pregnancy and starts treating you differently ? I’m giving him one but it makes me feel like have you had doubts this whole time ? Were those moments even real ? And just the uncomfortable feeling of him being in the room holding the baby he had doubts about :/ .

When to go on maternity leave

Hello! I was wondering at how many weeks do most women go on maternity leave? I work from home at my desk so my job is not physically demanding. Any advice would be appreciated! 😊