To ask how you deal with nappies and potty training etc if you're squeamish?!

[7upluck]

I know I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but I promise I'm not being goady!

Pregnant with my first and I'm already worried about how I'll cope with changing nappies, potty training, wiping bums etc. I am honestly the most squeamish person, I can't abide my own bodily fluids let alone someone else's.

It's something that no one talks about because it seems everyone else doesn't mind. I was out for lunch with a friend yesterday and there was a little girl on the table next to us with her mum and dad. She announced very loudly 'Mummy, I need a poo.' (which when I was eating and am suffering from nausea anyway left me feeling a bit

I had this issue too, but it's absolutely fine because it's your own for some reason. I was also fine with my grandchildren. Anyone else's though....

You just do it. You don't even think about it. The baby will be sure to tell you if they're uncomfortable and dealing with a pooey nappy is a walk in the park compared to a grumpy, grizzly uncomfortable baby

@welshladywhois40

You will be fine. Baby poo is pretty inoffensive and actually (even bottle fed) doesn't actually smell that bad.

Has anyone told you about poonami? These are baby poos that explode and cover everything, their backs, their clothes. Stock up on Milton for soaking clothes

This is why babygros have those wide, stretchy necklines. So you can pull the suit downwards off their bodies after a poonami and not get poo all over their heads and hair.

Newborn poo is fine as others have said. It does begin to get pretty bad when they are weaning. Not dealing with pooey nappies was one motivation for me to potty train early (21 months). Obviously you still have to wipe their bum but it was much better flushing poo down the loo than having it stinking in a nappy. Some people seem to think this is strange or impossible and won’t work for all kids but has worked brilliantly with dd2. Will definitely try with dc3.

Two bits of wisdom I was given/learned…

1. It’s like your poo but not, it’s not like changing someone else’s kids nappy. I couldn’t do that!
2. You will be doing so often, and I mean that, you will have a baptism by fire and it will harden you up. You’ll be changing a nappy every two bloody minutes and it will become like second nature just to get on with it.

Don’t overthink it, I was worried like you are but with your own child it will surprise you what you can handle x

You just do it. I hates hated changing post weaning poo so my kids were both pooing on the potty by 20m and out of nappies by 2! I found it much easier that way. Newborn/bf poo before they start solids is genuinely nowhere near as bad. Formula poo is worse but still nowhere near as bad as when they eat food.

Ventilation is key. Do it with a window open as if you can reduce the smell its easier.

If the smell is an issue, a smear of vick just under your nostrils helps

Another tip - you cant really truly potty train in the western sense (ie communicating needs and holding more than a minute or two) much before about 21m but what you can do from even 12m is have a poo routine. Most babies poo 20 mins or so after a meal, you can sit them on at this time & just read a book to them etc and they will often go. DS did this and I found it much easier than cleaning pooey nappies.

I didn't find nappies too bad in the newborn days - they don't smell all that unpleasant (it's not the same as "normal" poo IYSWIM)
However only a few years ago we were on a ferry and my 12 year old threw up. I saw (and hadn't felt all that sick before) and immediately threw up as well. But I've rarely been sick when they've had sickness bugs.

Oh grow up.

Has anyone told you about poonami? These are baby poos that explode and cover everything, their backs, their clothes.

Ds had these in disposables, DD we used washable and it genuinely never happened.i was amazed.

Lots of people mind! No one actively enjoys changing nappies, dealing with sick and excavating snot/mucus from baby’s nose.

You just steal yourself and cope with it.

I had the same worries before giving birth. I couldn't think how I would deal with poos and vomit.
I still don't know how but you really get so used to it you don't even notice! I mean, you do notice, but it becomes no big deal.
It's a progressive adaptation I guess. Baby poo doesn't smell too bad and then you slowly just accept it as there is so much going on that you don't even have time to think about how disgusting some things are!
You'll find yourself trying to balance your relaxed attitude around smells etc with the need of keeping it acceptable for others (see all the threads about changing baby in public etc - you can get TOO used to it!!).

Basically, It's fine because you love your child which means you'll find you don't want to leave them sat in their own poo.

*Steel!

It's not bad at first - my newborn's very first poo was horrific because of what he had ingested before he was born (his own hair I think) and it was very hard to clean off. After that it had no smell, was kind of yogurty in smell and texture. When they start eating food, it's still not too bad - if anything is quite interesting to see what might come out the other end - I saw a lot of watermelon seeds, and then most awful thing was a stringy piece of sweet potato!

When it starts to firm up and become more poo-like you'll either be too preoccupied with the consistency and what they're eating, or wrestling them while cleaning them.

We're now at the potty stage, and honestly I'd love to see my kiddo poop in a potty - it's such a milestone. And you'll be focusing more on praise, and again checking the consistency. 🙄🙄🙄

Honestly it's not bad, and then you normalise it. And it's your baby, you'll be so enamoured you'll be cooing over their poos. 😁

@sharksarecool

In a few months you will push your bsby out of your vagina, along with a load of other blood and fluid. It will be very messy. Either that, or you will have the baby cut out of you, which is a different kind of messy. Either way, you will continue to bleed from your vagina for several days/weeks following birth, whilst producing milk from your breasts. Sometimes you will wake up covered in leaked breast milk, sometimes the milk will leak out when you're out at the shops or whatever. After all that, you'll feel much less squesmish about a bit of baby poo.

Sorry OP, this is just the beginning!

Its honestly not the same when its your own. It is natural. It is still gross when its someone elses kid, but your own baby doesnt invoke same revulsion. Human race wouldnt last long if people couldnt care for their own baby in this way.

It’s a bit of a boiled frog situation.

First, I got someone else to change the meconium poos.

Then newborn poo. Doesn’t really smell, doesn’t look like normal poo, there’s not a lot of it.

Just as you’re getting used to it, it changes to a bit more smelly, and continues to do so until suddenly they’re 18 months old and doing poos a 19 stone trucker would be proud of and you’re not phased by it.

I remember one of the first nappy changes I was doing with DC1 one- I needed (much more experienced) DH to help, and as I was dicking about trying to avoid touching the poo on the baby wipe, DH just lost it and shouted “Oh FFS Terrible, just accept you’re going to get shit on your hand!”

He was right like.

It's basically as gross as dealing with your own poo. Don't worry.

You'll laugh that you worried it about it so much!

@DrSbaitso that’s what my mum said about breastfed babies (and baby was exclusively breast fed). I disagree entirely, I’ve always found breastfed baby poo revolting. I think the power of parental love (and I guess, doing it so often) is really, really strong.

Your learning curve is going to be very steep if this is what you’re bothered about.

Also, this is how men get out of nappy changing, by claiming they feel squeamish.

When it comes to it, you will get used to it.

You'll be fine, you just crack on and when it's your own child it's somehow less grim?

I'm fine with poo (although I have nails and have had poo under them before from nappy changes which was grim but again, thorough cleaning and hand washing and it's fine!)

Im less fine with sick but I've been fully exorcist style puked all over so many times and you're just more upset for your baby and it doesn't bother you as much.

I also felt like I'd be squeamish with breastfeeding as I hated my breasts being touched or shown in any sort of way before kids and honestly, after a few weeks, it didn't bother me and still bf 16 month DD now!

Poo/wee/blood has never bothered me, so your anxiety around it does seem a bit strong. But otoh I'm really bad with vomit, and had a similar anxiety about how I'd deal with that. It turned out it was ok because baby sick is just milk so you get used to it gradually. Now the kids are older and vomitting is rare, I do panic if one of them feels sick, and my DH will deal with it if he is around, but if he isn't then I can manage, the worry about it is always worse than the reality.

Similarly, breastfed babies poo is much less offensive than formula poo, it isn't like adult poo and doesn't really smell, after 6 months of that and all the poo explosions, you probably will be desensitized and won't even think about it. I mean there will be the odd insane one that will make you bork, but you just call for help in those situations 😂.