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Original poster

dd9 started her periods today, i am a bit surprised! she is only my little one.

116 replies

piratecat · 21/02/2012 19:12

I am not totally shocked, but it still seems so young. She began with her boobs hurting alot at 8, then pubes started about 6 months ago.

I thought i saw a little brownish stain at the front of her pants a few weeks ago, and we talked about it and i got her a nice little book which we read together.

It was such a surprise when she called down from the loo, I was more shocked becuase i could hear the panic in her voice. Then she ha a cry, bless her.
It was all so new, talking to her about hygiene, and how she is going to change her pads at school. She tells me there are no sanitary type bins in the toilets, only a handtowel bin.

She has dealt with so so much in her little life, with her dad. Mumsnet has been here all the way thru, and its unreal that i am not posting this tbh!!

She isn't even dry at night yet, so not altogether sure how this is going to work with pads, and drynites Confused.

Is very pleased she gets to bunk off swimming tomorrow tho.

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Annunziata · 22/02/2012 20:30

Poor wee soul, that's a lot to deal with. If I were you, I'd keep her off until Monday, it should have ended by then.

My DDs like Always ultra, they are quite thick and soft and they also are supposed to stop leaks.

Feed her lots of chocolate!

fuzzPigwickPapers · 22/02/2012 20:30

Can I just say, you sound like a really lovely mum. I have a lot of issues with my own mum but I have to say when it came to periods, bras etc she was fab and it's really helped me feel comfortable with these things.

My DH's ex is the opposite though, and I can see my 13yos DSDs being damaged by her attitude towards these things. She won't let them talk about it, she yells at DSD (only one of the twins has started) every time she has a leak - which is a lot because she is struggling so badly she doesn't wear any protection at all most days.

One morning she came down and quietly said "there's a stain on the sheet". I told her not to worry and she burst into tears :( she was so shocked that I didn't shout at her.

Sorry, that turned into a rant. But yes, you are being really lovely and because of that your DD will be ok :)

Hattie11 · 22/02/2012 20:33

Aw piratecat,

I have a 9 yr old dd and have been fully expecting her to start soon, as she has other signs for some time now. She also wets the bed, and the combo of the two hadn't occured to me! I feel for your dd it seems unfair doesn't it, hasn't been allowed to master one milestone yet, before moving onto such a 'grown up' seeming one!

Lots of nice messages on here, i've benefited from reading too.

And i agree - the old fashioned sanitary towels seem much better at holding it in! i spose maternity ones are too long?

xx

fuzzPigwickPapers · 22/02/2012 20:34

Oh and somebody recommended something on a previous thread - how about getting her a special hot water bottle cover or microwave teddy hear thing? Helps with the pain and indulges her a bit, while letting her still be the little girl she wants to be by having a cuddly toy :)

fuzzPigwickPapers · 22/02/2012 20:35

Bear, not hear Blush

hellymelly · 22/02/2012 20:42

Its quite shocking how young girls seem to be starting now.I had assumed it was due to weight,as we are so well nourished,but from the postings it seems thats not the case.Nine is so young to have to deal with periods,your DD sounds as though she is doing really well and you sound a lovely Mum.I still haven't told my Mum I've started....

Original poster
piratecat · 22/02/2012 20:45

fuzzpickwick, you have made me cry thankyou so much. x

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Original poster
piratecat · 22/02/2012 20:46

haha hellymelly. me and d just laughed at that!

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Original poster
piratecat · 22/02/2012 20:48

i am surprised its such a proper one tbh, stringy stuff, no wonder she's a bit Shock

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VickityBoo · 22/02/2012 21:03

Oh your poor daughter bless her. I think I was 12 and totally unprepared for it. I think mum had tried to explain the way she could best but I'd turned a deaf (embarrassed) ear. My worse memory is it happening at school and some people saw Sad It was a full on proper period too.

You do sound fabulous and just what a little girl needs from her mum at a time like this. Bless her heart...I think telling her that her favourite celebs, singers etc all have periods just the same is a good idea as mentioned above.

I hope she doesn't suffer too badly with any of the nastiness that can go with it.

hellymelly · 22/02/2012 21:15

Yes and i'm 48 and have two small dds,do you think she's guessed?! I'll probably miss the window as they will stop in a couple of years...
I also remember the body shaped bodyform,that's why they had the name.they were the first towels I used actually,slightly quilted and raised in the centre,I still think they were the most comfortable I've ever used.Shame you can't get them anymore.Most towels now are so wide,I can see that is a problem for a wee girl. Naturecare's ordinary towels are on the narrow side,but thicker and fluffier than most,you can get them in health shops.I guess its worth buying lots of different types and letting her see what suits her.
Oh and if your DD is still awake,tell her that I have promised my two a large present when they start !

ChippingInNeedsCoffee · 22/02/2012 21:35

Yes - she has been through enough and being 9 is hard enough without this so early. I would try the Drs myself and see what they can offer as I think 9 is far too young to have to deal with it, if it can be avoided without any problems.

I was 13, the last of my friends - and I thought that was too early! LOL My Mum started at 17 and I was rather hoping to follow suit!

I just can't do the whole 'oh you're a woman thing' with her, because she's not. She doesn't want to be yet, she wants to be a little girl

I would go with that all the way, this is an inconvenience, not a passage to being a woman at 9. I'd indulge all the little girl things she's still happy to have/do.

I'm sorry I can't recommend a particular product - I use the thin ones myself, but have to have wings to keep them in place - but I can see with a 9 year old that might be a bit tricky (I have enough trouble!). The natural ones might be worth a go though.

The resusable have quite an MN following :)

Can I ask you something? Does DD eat a lot of dairy? (not necessarily right now, but generally.)

Original poster
piratecat · 22/02/2012 21:55

not sure with the dairy, she has milk on cereal once a day, cheese on toast maybe twice a week, and pizza at the weekend. She eats alot of tuna, salmon fingers, cod.

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Original poster
piratecat · 22/02/2012 22:02

helly!

about 2 hours after the start we were ebay ordering some of her most coveted Pokemon figures, from China if you please!

I am very sure there will be more treats to follow. Love to get her a 3Ds but they are a crazy price.

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fuzzPigwickPapers · 22/02/2012 22:12

I think it's worth trying lots of different pads - let her know there's no need to stick to one brand etc. As I mentioned earlier there are teen ones by Lillets, they do seem a lot smaller and the packaging is cute too.

I've been thinking about washables actually, though only for when I'm at home, as my body seems to resent having synthetic papery pads since having my DCs. As I still leak a lot (night times are the worst!) I figured washing cotton pads is hardly different from washing stained knickers!

One more thing - she will always be your little girl, y'know :)

Original poster
piratecat · 22/02/2012 22:18

gosh yes, she is just my little girl, always will be.

The Natracare pads look good, selection mainly on amazon.

We have 3 different types of pad picked from 2 supermarkets, but they are from fairly small stores. I will check out the health food shop tomorrow.
The pads are always and bodyform and tho they are wide- ish, she is still leaking at the sides. i don't think smaller ones either in width or length would be good, the bodyform for anyone interested are longer. They seem to be more useful.

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BarnMummy · 22/02/2012 22:27

It does seem young (I was 12, and the first of my friends), but then again my grandmother, who was born in 1902, started when she was 10. Can you imagine what that was like, when NO-ONE spoke about such things to children - she thought she was going to die I think.

There is a pill (I think its called primolut - it's related to the mini pill) which you can take on a short term basis to delay periods: I used to get it from the doctor for school camping trips etc - would definitely be worth investigating if she's going on trips away or whatever.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 22/02/2012 22:27

When I first started I always leaked at the sides until I discovered wings...

QuincyMincemeat · 22/02/2012 22:32

Dd started when she was just 10 and was also still wet at night. She struggled at first but is an old hand at it now!
We recently got some Lilet Teen pads from Boots. She really likes them.

She'll be alright you know, esp with such a nice mum :)

SkiBumMum · 23/02/2012 00:14

Clicked on your thread in active convos as the title struck a memory chord. I was 9 too and the only one and the only one with a bra Sad.

What really helped me was "Are you there God? It's me Margaret." by Judy Blume. My godmother sent it from the USA as we didn't have Judy Blume here then. Hope she's ok - I still remember the worry of pads at school; I brought them home. At least it's winter and tights weather so no worrying about short skirts.

Original poster
piratecat · 23/02/2012 08:25

morning all, thankyou again for posting, it's helping me so much.

she is in alot of pain this morning, so am keeping her off. I feel guilty, but there we go. It's heavy, its crampy.

Now tell me if i am going bonkers but have booked to see our gp at 11.30, just to be able to talk. About the periods, about the wetting at night. If there's a better pain killer etc. I am sure i will come out fairly none the wiser but i do feel it would be good to speak to her.

I will check boots out thankyou. We live in a small town so hopefully we can get to the city and look there for more choice, becuase these Bodyform are not cutting it.

Skibum, i will look on amazon for that one, i have heard of it, i had a Judy Blume book in my teens it was one of my faves.

Quincy, how did it go with your dd's weeing at night? Di this resolve itself?

My dd has been in with me the last two nights. On both occasions she has stirred, and been semi awake so i have woken her to get up and go to the loo.
This is encouraging weeing at night i guess, when i thought the idea was you are just meant to be dry till morning, but at least its not in the drynite with erm everything else.

sigh Smile

OP posts:
fuzzPigwickPapers · 23/02/2012 09:10

I think it's right to go to the doctors. I hope the appointment goes well :)

HSMM · 23/02/2012 09:30

When my DD started I found a kind of selection box thing at the supermarket, which had a few different shapes and sizes of pads and tampons. She experimented a bit and uses pads for general wear and tampons for dancing. She started late-ish, so was more ready, but went straight into a 4 week cycle.

I showed her my mooncup and she looked at me like this Hmm Shock

She did have a couple of friends who started at Primary School and they weren't teased or anything, which I was really pleased about.

QuincyMincemeat · 23/02/2012 11:28

She still wets occasionally, some times when she has her period. It makes a bit of a mess but she's great at sorting herself out and sticking stuff in washer etc.

We've been to enuresis clinic and tried EVERYTHING. We're just happy now to wait for it to sort itself out, which it will eventually.

We have a Kylie type bed sheet like this.

She doesn't use dry nites, mainly because she won't and we were advised against it at enuresis clinic.

gnushoes · 23/02/2012 12:09

Two things -- Asda used to do a teen pad which was brilliant as it was a more sensible size (but took a heavy flow). Our Asda seems to not stock them any more. ;(
The other thing is that my daughter told us about the "period party" featured on their growing up video at school. So for fun we made a period cake to celebrate. I think lots of her friends asked for the same thing later. It was nice to make something good of it.