May 2016 Moms
doozer1345
member
FTM's Come On In...Don't Be Scared
doozer1345
member
You should actually be totally scared! OMG what I had to do this morning!!! I think there are things that the books, friends, doctors, articles, etc don't tell you about taking care of a child and I have a suspicion it's motivated by meanness. First, I still haven't gotten over no one telling me pre-baby about full panel pants that are like Spanx when you're not pg (selfish!)! No one told me when LO's (meaning baby LOs) get a stomach bug their vomit is projectile and you should use puppy pads underneath them in your bed so you don't have to clean your blankets and sheets every 20 min (guess how I figured this one out!). Toddlers do not want to drink when they're sick. I think it's bc they know it's good for them and it sends us into sheer panic when they won't drink. They (mine at least) hate Pedialyte. No one told me to put half juice and half Pedialyte in a baby bottle and it's like magic. DD drinks like she's in a desert with this method. Lastly, what brought this post on, no one, NO one told me that when my child is constipated and it's already poking out of her butt that I would have to dig poop out of her butt (while she was screaming for me to help her...absolutely one of the most horrible moments of my life...and it involves poop). Yep. I'm a mom and I love my job. I feel that these things need to be passed on and not kept secret bc when it happens to you at least you'll know what to expect and you know what can happen. Be brave ladies. It's a hard job but someone's got to do it!
Any other veteran moms have stories/remedies about things that aren't passed on??? This secret stuff has gone on long enough!!!
Any other veteran moms have stories/remedies about things that aren't passed on??? This secret stuff has gone on long enough!!!
Re: FTM's Come On In...Don't Be Scared
Oh, the puke. Somehow, DH still gets woozy at the sight of it. I, on the otherhand, have caught it in my hands too many times, have had my face puked on, have had it in my lap, dripping down my back, etc. Really, there are two things to know if your child is that sick. 1) wash your hands all you want, you're getting it next, so buy Gatorade and 2) at that mess level, it's easier to just strip everyone down clothes inside out and jump in the shower while holding the baby/toddler. Just be sure to have a towel in arm's reach. Oh, and be careful about the carseat angle while traveling with a stomach flu child. More upright is better in case they vomit in the car so that in comes out rather than being stuck in their mouth or on their shoulders.
Let's talk about cradle cap a bit, shall we? When DS got it, I was told it would go away, just wash his hair a lot. That made it worse! What worked was coconut oil and a brush, then putting some breastmilk on his scalp after I washed out the oil and flakes. Both of those things are magic on the skin: coconut oil and breastmilk. It's the lauric acid.
Just like with the poop, sometimes you have to pull half-stuck stuff out of their nose too. It helps to use a saline spray a minute or two before suctioning though.
Sleep. Have solid routines and start them early. However, even if you do thia, you still may have a kiddo who wakes a lot. If this hsopens, just stick to it and know that very slowly it gets better.
Childproof and have some toys in every room you plan to be in with LO. (If you want to poop in peace, keep toys in there. Otherwise they'll want to be on your lap, or, when they're older, they'll flush the toilet a billion times and destroy the toilet paper.
I could probably write a book on breastfeeding at this point. When we get there, if you have trouble but want to make it work, talk to me. I had a very rough start with DS breastfeeding but after trying lots of things in different combinations, we found what worked for him and just weaned at 19 months when my milk changed at the end of the first trimester.
Aaaand I have to go. DS decided to kiss as ornament and got the natural bitter-apple stuff we spray on the tree to keep the dog away on his mouth, gagged, and puked on the Christmas tree train.
Seriously, motherhood is messy. But wonderful.
Edited typos
Been married since 2009.
Unicornuate Uterus (yes I menstruate glitter)
Several MCs
DD born 2013 (our miracle "you can't have babies" baby!)
You can’t “save up” sleep. There will be nights that you are up ALL night long completely exhausted and still have to go to work, run errands, etc. the next day.
If you plan to breastfeed invest in some pads. I usually bought the disposable stuff because I would soak straight through the cotton ones. The sound of a baby (any baby) crying can trigger a milk letdown at the most inconvenient time.
If you have a baby boy face his penis down when diapering or else, it will spray out all over the place.
Baby puke will end up everywhere… with you knowing it or not. Same thing with baby poop. Sometimes baby has a “blowout” and it ends up all over you.
Sometimes you will wake up in a panic wondering how long you’ve slept, if LO is okay… it’s a horrible feeling.
If your BFing, eating things like broccoli, asparagus etc. will make your LO very uncomfortable and gassy. I had to ditch coffee because it would make my baby extremely fussy.
Kids are messy and gross but the best thing ever. I almost don't want to say this for fear of jinxing myself, but DS has only puked once in almost 21 months. However, never use the Nose Frida after a bottle. Projectile vomit is guaranteed.
Also, when your milk comes in you will be engorged and it is painful!!! I used large zip loc bags filled with water and ice to ease the pain (I heard cabbage leaves work too). Also when your milk comes in you will be an emotional wreck. I cried bc I was crying and didn't know why. I big thing for me with BF was practicing calming breaths bc my milk wouldn't come down unless I was completely relaxed and unstressed.
Been married since 2009.
Unicornuate Uterus (yes I menstruate glitter)
Several MCs
DD born 2013 (our miracle "you can't have babies" baby!)
One of my biggest pet peeves/things that gross me out is when people have food on their faces. How am I going to handle the grossness that is baby hood?
My mom likes to tell the story of when my grandfather babysat me and left me in the bouncer swing all night. I pooped and by the time my parents got home, I had bounced so much that there was poop everywhere...
They should rename Babies R Us to Babies R Gross.
Also, get a waterproof pad for your bed. I leaked a lot at night-- and had horrible night sweats the first week post-partum. It's not a bad idea in case your water breaks overnight too.
Been married since 2009.
Unicornuate Uterus (yes I menstruate glitter)
Several MCs
DD born 2013 (our miracle "you can't have babies" baby!)
Been married since 2009.
Unicornuate Uterus (yes I menstruate glitter)
Several MCs
DD born 2013 (our miracle "you can't have babies" baby!)
@yogahh I was a really squeamish person when it came to puke and poop and snot before DD. Blood I could handle but the other bodily fluids I could not. I promise that whatever comes out of your LO will barely bother you and you won't think twice about wiping snot off his/her nose with you hand and you will probably clean up poop off of every surface imaginable. Did you know that babies can poop all the way up their back and it can end up in their hair?! Yeah I had no idea that was possible!
Also, @kbrands7 thanks for the offer of BF help! I was never able to BF DD. We tried EVERYTHING. The girl would just not latch. I think it was a combination of a few things. I was induced due to pre-e and they classified her as "late preemie" and the LCs said she was acting a lot like most premature babies act with BF. I also found out when she was around 15 months that she had a pretty bad lip tie. I didn't even know what a lip tie was! So I'm really hoping it goes better this time and circumstances are different.
Been married since 2009.
Unicornuate Uterus (yes I menstruate glitter)
Several MCs
DD born 2013 (our miracle "you can't have babies" baby!)
If you breastfeed try bottle feeding 1x a day or you may end up with a kid like mine who had a complete aversion to every bottle known to man. I couldn't leave my kid for more than a couple hrs well past her 1st year of life since no one else could feed her.
I'll definitely share whatever I can! Like I said, we tried all sorts of things in different combinations to get a fit. I wrote everything down in case I have to go through it again. We also had a small variety of hurdles from the tie, to a sleepy latch, positioning around a csection incision, biting, temporary supply dips from going back to work/norovirus/etc.
I hope we all have easier experiences this time around!
The water proof mattress pads though are a win though. We already have one b/c one of our dogs (she passed away in July) would get mad at us and as revenge would pee on the bed, which then made one of the other dogs decide to mark it repeatedly. After having to replace a mattress, we paid extra for a water proof mattress pad. And let me tell you, even with just dogs, that thing has came in super handy! It has saved our mattress more times than we can count. Now if we could just own more than one set of bed sheets at a time, I'd be happy. One of our other dogs likes to destroy the bed sheets. DH doesn't want me keeping him in a crate all day and I can't keep him out here in the living room while I work b/c he is a super distraction. So sometimes he rips up the bedsheets into pieces. But anyway, I'm off topic. lol
First Pregnancy
Second Pregnancy
- BFP: 09/11/2015
- EDD: 05/25/2016
Baby Born04/15/2016
PGAL
My nurse taught me to run a tea bag under hot water and place on my nipples for 10 minutes, 3 times a day. You do it too much and your nipples never "toughen up" but something in the tea helped relieve the pain and bleeding those first few days. Wow, but did my nipples bleed. I felt like I was going to turn my DD into a vampire as she kept getting blood too when she'd nurse.
The lack of sleep that first month is hard. Not just, "Oh, I'm tired" but with the broken sleep and changing hormones, it's like being in 1st trimester again only with a crying newborn. I was so angry that first month just from a lack of decent sleep. Newborn crying just plain got on my nerves. My DH had to take over for an hour or so every evening when he got home because I just needed to not deal with it for a little while. After sleep leveled out/I got used to it and the hormones leveled out again, I was fine. But that first month was seriously rough. One thing that I did that helped was not change up things too much. We still went and did things. If I had just stayed home that first month, it would have been so much worse. I honestly think that is part of the reason my DD has always been great at being in the car, going new places, etc.
Married: 1/2008 ~ DD#1: 3/2012
TTC #2: Started 4/2014 BFP 7/30/15 MC 8/3/15 BFP 9/4/2015 EDD 5/16/2016
These pads are amazing! They are thin so more comfortable than the bulky ones but have serious absorbancy. https://always.com/en-us/shop-products/menstrual-pads/infinity-pads-with-flexfoam/always-infinity-extra-heavy-overnight-pads-with-wings
Married: 1/2008 ~ DD#1: 3/2012
TTC #2: Started 4/2014 BFP 7/30/15 MC 8/3/15 BFP 9/4/2015 EDD 5/16/2016
Buy all the supplies and hope you don't need half of them!
Hahaha....honestly, it isn't as bad as it sounds. In some ways, it is far worse but in others, not a big deal. I find labor and postpartum better than pregnancy and the newborn stage. Other people are the exact opposite.
As far as kids and puke, expect to clean up a fair amount of it. When they are toddlers and older, you start to recognize the signs of when they are going to puke and can rush them to the toilet or over the tub. One of the best things I've learned is that when I start to see the signs, I line the sofa, floor, etc. with beach towels or extra bath towels. Putting a waterproof pad under the towels is also a great idea. My 3.5yr old started getting decent at actually getting it into the bucket last winter just before she turned 3...but not until she had already thrown up once or twice.
Another tip with the puke: just use the tub to throw sheets, blankets, towels, pjs, etc. until the end of the day/night. Just because you think the puke is done...you are probably wrong. Also, buy extra sheets for their crib/bed. We only have 2-3 sets for our bed that we rotate through. DD has 5 sets for her bed. For some reason, they always throw up in the bed and always more than once.
Married: 1/2008 ~ DD#1: 3/2012
TTC #2: Started 4/2014 BFP 7/30/15 MC 8/3/15 BFP 9/4/2015 EDD 5/16/2016
DS: Born 5-17-16
Fun fact/tip: My DD's doc ok'd 1 teaspoon of milk of magnesia when no other constipation remedy worked. We had to do this the first time at 1 month old. The mess after was crazy but it moved things along after 10 days of nothing else working.
Married: 1/2008 ~ DD#1: 3/2012
TTC #2: Started 4/2014 BFP 7/30/15 MC 8/3/15 BFP 9/4/2015 EDD 5/16/2016