January 2012-Close encounters of the third trimester kind.... Too much nesting not enough resting!

[fishandlilacs]

Here we go ladies. A shiney new thread.

Eurgh the bleeding aftermath I have PCOS so can feasibly go nearly a year without a period, the afterbirth bleeding is like 3 years of menstruation for me!

I heard somewhere that the reason you're not supposed to swap maternity pads for normal night ones is in case there is a problem and they need to monitor blood flow and normal pads absorb quicker or something.

Does any else seem to be suffering with first trimester-like tiredness again? I could really do with an afternoon nap some days

My friend uses real nappies and says that a thin smear of Sudocrem first thing will be enough to protect his bottom for the day, though I had heard that Sudocrem type things affected the absorbency of real nappies...

Giraffe - yes. 3pm is the killer hour for me where I have to go lie down. You are not alone!

thanks fryn and cakes I'll keep that in mind too, though I'd rather avoid chemically things at first if possible (another reason to use real nappies if feasible). Having said that, I totally appreciate that if the baby is suffering from nappy rash then I'll do whatever is possible to fix it asap! I stand by my right to have unrealistic aspirations for the next couple of months

hee hee - ghost - I'm the same. I hesitate to mention this here, because I get very looks when I mention it in RL (although DH is completely supportive) but I want to try EC in conjunction with the real nappies, which hopefully means nappy rash won't be that likely. I just think it makes more sense not to 'nappy-train' a baby then later have to 'potty-train' them, but like I said, I am a bit of a hippy :)

god after stressing for an hour i decided just to pay the bloody thing online and change my address after. once they've got the money it should be fine, shouldn't it....? i need the car to go to sainsburys so it better be!!! i am such a bum head!!

I'm another real nappy attempter, although I too am thinking I might end up giving up....

red good plan-i'm sure that will be fine. I did a similar thing and had to get my car MOT'd at the 11th hour because i'd forgotten to do it.

Good tips on the nappy creams. Another thing I did was to make my own baby wipes-it's really easy. 1 pint of chamomile tea made using 4 chamomile tea bags steeped for at least 5 minutes. 2tsp of runny honey, 3 drops of lavender oil and 3 drops of tea tree oil. I keep this in a spray bottle in the fridge it will last about a week or so. I used cut up old pillow cases and some baby flannels from the £1 shop. Shake, spray the cloth and wipe. It can also be used as nursery surface cleaner for the changing mat etc. The used cloths can simply go in the nappy bucket if youre using re-usables or rinsed and put in the wash.

Matenity pads-I hated them and went almost straight onto "always nighttime ultra" (big purple ones) they suited me fine. I have bought some more this time.

Mmm time for lunch I have a farm shop pork pie and some delicious red onion and plum chutney made by a friend.

Oh yes, might get some more of that bamboo towelling and make some baby wipes too. Do not like the idea of branded wet wipes - they use them to clean up the aircraft at the nearby RAF base - great for grease and oil, apparently. Not sure I want to wipe that over my baby's skin (though useful for 'apparatus' the baby would touch I guess)

To add my American two cents into the nappy rash cream conversation, there's this AMAZING stuff called (rather unromantically) Boudreaux's Butt Paste. It is miraculous. I'm from a really hot, humid area of the US, and diaper rash is so common. It's zinc oxide and balsam oil, I think, made by a pharmacist originally. It works on any rash and just locks out wet completely. SO GOOD. I used to actually use it on pimples, spots, bug bites and any other rashes I personally have gotten, and it's brilliant for those as well.

Also, I'm having a bit of a guilt trip. My husband bought brie for his sandwiches, and I totally ate a brie sarnie for lunch. It was the most delicious thing EVER. I'm sure it'll be fine. I have a pregnant friend who quite deftly rejected all bans except smoking and drinking too often, and she's made it to 39 weeks with no problems, so it's probably fine.

missA pastruised brie from a supermarket is totally fine. Stinky proper french brie from a cave :) may not be fine and carries a very small risk of listeria. I really wouldn't worry, neither have been on my ban list. I ate a mass of stinky cheeses when holidaying in France while preg with dd. Apart from givig myself a tummy ache from too much blue cheese neither dd and I suffered.

When we were sorting out dds allergies she had really bad nappy rash (think cracked bleading bum, screaming when she wee'd and unimaginable when she poo'd as you had to wipe it out of the sores and cracks :()

I tried every cream I could get my hands on and finally found the magic formula!
Huggies pure wipes (the closest thing to cotton wool and water in a wipe)
Drying her bum with a muslin so nappies weren't going on a wet bum
Lots of nappy free towel covering the floor time
And finally no cream! I found whatever I used, it made it worse.

I'll second whoever mentioned metanium. Just don't get it on clothes! Bepanthen worked best on dd when things weren't too bad in the nappy department. Things like sudocream and supermarket brands didn't help her. Think its a case of trial and error really.like most things

MrsA - Sudocrem is a zinc ointment. Do you think it's similar?
I guess nappy rash is one of those things where prevention is def better than cure.

My poor little sister got Chickenpox when she was in nappies - now that was fun for my mum!

Hats off to those of you who do use real nappies - I have some at home which I washed the requisite number of times and then put back in the cupboard! Newborn baby poo really is something else... maybe I'll dig them out this time and see if I can face them.

cakes - apparently pretty much any nappy cream effects the absorbency of real nappies, so you may need to occassionally switch to disposables if your LO does get nappy rash, just until it clears. Annoying, but apparently about the only thing that works (based on my 2 friends who managed to stick with reusables!) Anyway, hopefully it won't come to that!

ghost - ahh, I remember those days. I'm too embarrassed to even confess what I do these days, given how I absolutely wouldn't in a million years have considered doing them when DD was a baby, ooo no!

mmmm, brie...

I think some of this proves that every baby and mummy are diffrent and different things will work for different people. (Eg always were fine for ghost, but for me I was in lots of pain! Nappy cream make dd worse, but clearly work for other babies) Hopefully the first time mums on this thread will see that and follow their own instincts. Just because one person does or doesn't do something doesn't mean its the right way of doing it for your child.

addicted DD had nappy rash like that for a while - it was just awful. In our case metanium was the only thing that worked - as shonno says, it really is trial and error. Very good tip about the bum drying - I'd forgotten that gem.

addicted - oops, xpost. yep - couldn't agree more! Certainly ask around, and just try everything until you find what works for you!

ooh ooh ooh - fish - you're famous!

Hi all, hope you having a good day.

I have just baked a lemon drizzle cake, it smells lovely!

Why is baking so soothing? In a way that cooking dinner just isn't? Not that I don't love that too, but baking seems to bring out the happy in me.

Got driving test on Friday, second attempt and last chance before baby arrives, I so want to pass know it will make my life so much easier for me when off on maternity leave if can just put baby in car and go and visit friends/family. Trying not to get too stressed, maybe will just have to bake alot over the next few days to calm self down!

Had first antenatal class last night, it was good to meet other expectant parents, but it went on for too long. Good to practice some birth positions, makes it all a bit real tho eek!

redheadbedhead - don't worry about the road tax there is a grace period I know this as we occasionally forget.

Brownwolf - sending you positive vibes for the test. Try not to see it as a test but to show what you can do. I remember I kept trying to look at the instructor so see how I was doing and that wasn't a good thing. I passed 2nd time so hope you will have good news for us. If not there is plenty of TLC here.

Thanks nanny really hoping I can just drive like a normal person, last time I was so nervous I drove like a 100 year old who had lost their glasses!! The stupid thing is that I drive our car all the time, supervised by dp obviously. It's the nerves, know will pass eventually but desperately wanted to be driving by the time I had the baby. but hey maybe I will be :)

Re: Waitrose bottom butter. It keeps going out of stock in my store. Mainly because it was recommended in Cosmo as a 'cheap' lux face cream a while ago. So if you are interested and it doens't work on baby then you can always stick it on your face!

Re: nappy reash. I know a lot of real nappy users and they all have used Nelson's Hypercal when LO gets rash. I certianly use it on my scrapes, mild burns and the likes and it works well on me! I'm giong to to my damndest to use real nappies, but have been told by RN users not to bother for at least a week or 2 in, until you can establish what sort of a weer/pooer you're dealing with (if they're an up the front, all in the gusset, up the back etc). That and my SIL is primed to send me her newborn real nappies from baby (due yesterday...SIL is beside herself with discomfort and fed-up-ness as previous 2 were born at 36wks - in for a "Sooty" [as my bro called it mistakenly] on Friday ), assuming I think they'd suit!

Congrats on the various achievments all (my friggin brain just can't remember things right at the moment) and comiserations on the tax? thingy? red

Brownwilf Good luck with the test. I've had to give up my quest to drive before Abi's here. What with headaches and flashing lights it's been deemed sensible not to drive 1) incase it is a migraine and 2) to reduce all stress. Ah well.

Went and got some maternity pads today - the boots ones, but thinner ones as suggested, though am now thinking maybe 2 packs isn't enough for the hospital stay. Will go and buy a shed load more. Also got some of those puppy pads you can put on the bed juuuust in case your waters break when you're asleep. Scary, scary shit...

I've now got a meeting Wed late (8pm) and again Monday morning, so woohoo! That's another day's lieu owed. MEANING my last day will now be 10 Nov!!!WOOOOOOOOOOHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Though that is frighteningly close considering the sheer quantity of stuff I'd like to have done by then.

brownwolf even...

oiesha good point about hypercal-Hypercal is actually Hypericum and calendula. Very good stuff. Also available as a tincture (although maybe not as hypercal-I think that may be a nelsons TM) which you can drop in your bath for post birth/post op healing.

here : www.makesachange.co.uk/gbu0-prodshow/hypericum-calendula-tincture-perineum.html