changing towels/tampons/mooncups in cubical with kids!

[luciemule]

What does everyone do when changing towels or whatever in a loo cubical with their kids? I'd never leave DD and DS outside of loo on their own whilst I go in so always go into disabled loo that I can get the pushchair in. However, DD is now 5 and it's geting tricky to change towels. I ask her to turn around but this won't work forever. I know it seems a bit of a weird question but a few months back she accidently saw during 'transition' and burst into tears and broke down, thinking I was really poorly!
Haven't yet bought mooncup but can't imagine emptying that discreetly in cubical without DC's noticing. Perhaps I'll just never go out during AF!

Ds (2 1/2) joined me in the loo recently in the later stages of a missed miscarriage, when I was using pieces of folded towelling (the same ones that I stuff his Heinies with) to cope with bleeding.

'Oh no!' he said. 'Mummy blood! Mummy ow!'

I winged it & said it was a tummy ache & only a little ow. He seemed quite OK about it.

I think that whilst it was distressing for me, it's not going to scar him for life...obviously, I didn't leap into a detailed explanation of the circumstances, but I'm with nooka on the 'if they ask, answer honestly'.

DS is 3.4 and has seen me changing sanitary towels. He knows that Mummy has blood that she stops going on her pants with towels and that he is fine with that at the moment.

Oh and I'm another tampon refusnik. Never been able to cope with them .

NannyL, I feel very odd making suggestions about another woman's personal hygiene, but just wanted to check that you knew you should be emptying and cleaning your Mooncup every 4 to 8 hours? It sounds like you are only emptying it once a day, which would be unwise as far as hygiene goes.

Raven I am sorry to hear about your miscarriage.

heres a good one for you-was in pizza hut today with d.h and the two kids.when dessert was served(chocolate fudge cake mmm!)it had on one of those sugar straws on top(sorry don't know what you call them,they're a sugary wafer in the shape of a tube-you know the ones)
my lovely daughter decided to shout at the top of her voice"oh look mammy thats those things you put in your fairy!"
of course she meant tampax.i wanted the ground to swallow me up,the whole place heard!i'm very careful not to do that sort of thing in front of the kids but i guess in public loos you don't have a choice,i just try and distract them by chatting and hope they don't see-obviously this hasn't worked!

PMSL! I am imagining how red you went. Not much gets past those DD's!

I think part of the problem here is that you have not been open with your children about it at home which is why your DD got so worried when she saw. My personal issue in public loos is whatever 2yo DD decided to pipe up with at the top of her very carrying voice. Lots of why questions and a request to look down the toilet is usually the bare minimum. I usually just use an ordinary cubicle because I ,either don't have the pushchair with me, or I just leave it outside and take the DC in with me.

Franny I thought it was OK to go longer with mooncups. I only get the opportunity at the very end of my heavy periods because even a mooncup requires changing very regularly.

I also do this in front of mine & have never made a secret of it. I never get a minutes peace so its a matter of having to. When my kids both asked why, i told them "as mummy has a poorly belly and this happens every month. All ladies experience it & i will explain in more detail when you get that much older"

Franney and Zoe!

Thank you! (i mean that!) however i have decided that given that (so far) there have been excatly 0 incidences of TSS associated with mooncups, i have decided to think that they are advising that on the side of caution.

I also sterilise mine every night, and the way I look at it is: Its sterile when it goes in, its sterile while its in, and only has the chance to get 'germs' when exposed to the air, loo roll etc!

So far its been fine

I also previously regularly wore tampons for 10+ hours with no problems at all, (but was more 'worried' about that)

also at one time (when i was run over and unconciouse and in hopsital) i had a tampon in for 4 DAYS and was ok!
(also there are insidenced where woman forget about tampons and they may be in there for weeks or more )

So yes i AM aware that that is what they advise but i have made a personal decision to do it "my way"! also im so light anyway and my mooncup is rarely even 1/4 full over 24 hours, so it seems a bit rediculouse to do it more often. On my heaviest day it doesnt even get 2/3 full (in 24 hours)

That is a bit minging though NannyL, doesn't it honk?

nope it doesnt not at all

things dont 'honk' until they are exposed to the 'outside air' ie outside of our bodies.

god NANNYL i wish i had your periods,i leak with a superplus tampax in and a pad on-thats usually after 3 hrs max.
LUCKY GIRL!

OMG HAVE HAD MOONCUP IN SINCE YESTERDAY AND HAVE HAD TWO BATHS AND HAVE NOT CHANGED IT

I told my Ds 6 all about periods when he was quite little as he seemed interested. Does anyone else find Tampax completely useless, my period just comes round the sides and I have to wear a towel anyway.

gawd, MP, you are a honking minger.

I had to change a tampon in front of DS2 (aged 4) on Saturday in some public loos. I thought he wasn't paying attention until he started shouting at the top of his voice "Mummy, you've done a red poo!", I was trying to ignore him and then he noticed some blood on my knickers (sorry TMI) and he shouted "Oh Mummy, you've got red on your pants, have all girls got red on their pants". I think he was remembering a previous conversation that we had about periods when I explained that it was something that just happened to ladies. I had red on my face when I came out the loo.

I AM minging

Those Mooncups though, I always FORGET about it

I should have left the tail on it and then it would stick out from under my skirt to remind me