Life

Just a little more advice for new mothers. Also, this bit serves as a TMI warning for my few male readers.

Unlike what ‘they’ say, even if you are exclusively breastfeeding, it is entirely possible to get your period back shortly after you give birth. Look at me, two kids, both exclusively breastfed. I got my period 7 weeks post partum with Amy and this time around my period arrived at almost 5 weeks post partum, complete with period pain and PMS.

(Sorry Nathan, obviously last week you weren’t being a horrible partner from hell, I was just being a bitch. You may have been correct when you said that me bursting into tears over nothing was hormones, you simply made the mistake of saying it where I could hear it. Welcome back to the world of PMS and tiptoeing.)

Not fucking fair.

Your first period post partum is not fun. It is heavy and clotty and crampy and HEAVY. And you know what is worse? If you haven’t yet had your 6 week check, you are stuck using fucking pads still. I swear, I’ve gone through more pads and underwear than I did in the first 2 days after Isaac was born. And considering today is day 5 of heavy bleeding, I think I can safely say that it will last longer than a normal period too.

Fuck it.

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You know your toddler has been watching too much ‘Chicken Run‘ when she picks up the axe to carry around saying ‘It’s chickens! It’s chickens!’

Yes. There is a scene in Chicken Run with an axe that I think she has paid too much attention to.

[Oh and YES, we did remove the axe from her reach, right after we finished laughing.]

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A few of my readers are about to become first time mothers and they mentioned that they were pleased I was blogging my new mother stuff. Now admittedly, because Isaac isn’t my first, it isn’t such a steep learning curve this time.

I thought though, that maybe some people would benefit from a list of random advice I could put together. So here is my slightly skewed version of what you need as a new mother. Also, it’s out of order. I’m typing this with a sleepy feeding baby on my lap, forgive me.

Invest in a bunch of baby blankets that you can use as wraps. I originally bought muslin wraps, knowing that Isaac would be born in Summer. That said, I find myself using a stretchy cotton weave blanket MUCH more often than I ever pull out the muslin ones. Stretchy seems to work better for him because it leaves him some wiggle room without leaving him free to startle. I started with 2, I now have 6 and generally wash 2 a day.

Speaking of which, newborn babies startle quite often, mostly over nothing. It doesn’t always mean they are waking up. This is why swaddling/wrapping is so good.

Don’t bother buying outfits for ‘good’. Likely your baby will outgrow them before they have worn them more than 2-3 times. Instead, invest in the all in one suits. LOTS of them. Your baby will puke often and you will go through more of these than you think you will. I have about 15 of them currently in rotation through the wash and drier and that is with me doing at least 2 loads of washing every day.

Buy a cot/bassinet and have them set up. That said, be fully prepared to co-sleep. Actually, be prepared to sleep where ever/whenever you can. This time around Nathan volunteered to move out of our bed, with Amy he got all pissy about it, but seriously, sleep is worth a pissy partner. When Isaac is a little bigger, I fully intend to set the cot up with 3 sides like I did for Amy so I can have the best of both worlds.

Even before your baby comes, have some nappy rash cream on hand. If your newborn develops a nappy rash, the last thing you want to be doing is heading to the shops to buy some while their little bum hurts. Prevention is so much better than cure. I have Bepanthen and Sudocrem that I use in rotation. Bepanthen is lanolin based and Sudocrem is zinc based. Even better? Both of these can be used on your nipples if they crack.

Nipple care: Use the nappy rash creams for any cracks, grazes or uncomfortable bits.

Breastfeeding. Amy was the easiest dream baby to breastfeed. No cracks, no pain. Isaac however? I spent his first month telling everyone that I was so thankful he was a second baby and I knew what I was doing. He was difficult to latch and he cracked my nipples early. Sunlight, breast milk, air drying and healing creams all helped with the cracking. That said, every other feed was uncomfortable up until a little while ago. We weren’t doing anything wrong, my nipples were just being more sensitive this time.

Have ice packs and heat packs on hand for engorgement. Heat before a feed to help the milk flow and ice afterwards to help the swelling and pain. Newborn baby nappies make pretty awesome ice packs. Just fill them with water and freeze.

For immediately post partum, make sure you have a ton of maternity pads and underwear that you are comfortable throwing away. I bled through 4 pairs of underwear in my first night after Isaac and I’m not counting the amount of pads I changed.

For a vaginal delivery:

Use ice on your perineum for the first 24 hours after your baby. Trust me, you NEED to. Also, painkillers are your friend. Warm water will help to ease stinging after you pee as well.

Pelvic floor exercises!!! Do them!!!

Take your own soft toilet paper into the hospital. Hospital stuff is scratchy and the last thing you need.

Bi-carb soda in a few inches of warm water will help to ease stinging and itching. Salt water will help with the healing process, although it will sting. Don’t try it in the first few days.

I haven’t had a C-section, but I hear that the advice is: painkillers often, don’t lift anything heavier than your newborn and remember to ask for help if you need it. Also, more painkillers. Support your incision with a pillow if you need to cough or sneeze and MORE PAINKILLERS. Sheesh, you just had major abdominal surgery, take the offered drugs.

Your baby doesn’t need much stuff. Somewhere to sleep, clothes, nappies, food and cuddles. Really, that’s it. Some things make life a lot easier though.

A change table. Mine is a plasticky fold up one, but it saves my back on regular occasions. Even better, when your baby is bigger and you don’t use it as often, it can be folded up and chucked into storage.

I use my bouncer every single day. Mine looks somewhat like this one. Isaac sleeps in it of a day time and it is SO handy to have something to put him down in when he isn’t a big fan of laying down completely flat when there are things to DO and SEE!

If you are bottle feeding, you will need about a dozen bottles and something to sterilise them in. Again, I don’t know anything much about bottle feeding, sorry. Hopefully some one else can jump in with advice about bottle feeding!

AND….

That is about it for now! Feel free to add your own advice in the comments!

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Equipment –

Medium mixing bowl
A sharp knife and a butter knife (not shown)
Mixing spoons and cups
An oven tray, greased
A cheese grater

The Cast of Characters-

1 ½ cups of self raising flour
1 cup of grated cheese
1/3 cup butter
400ml (approx) milk
3 stalks rosemary
½ tspn salt

Preheat the oven to 220C (200C if using a fan forced oven) 430F

Place the flour and butter into a large mixing bowl together

Using only the tips of your fingers, rub the butter into the flour, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Strip the rosemary stalks by grasping firmly at the top and running your fingers down the stalk.

Chop the rosemary finely with a sharp knife.

And add to the flour mix, along with the grated cheese.

Stir through gently and then add around half the milk.

Grab a butter knife and using a cutting motion, mix the milk into the flour. You will probably need to add a little more milk, but don’t let the mixture get sloppy. You are looking for a dough consistency.

This is about half mixed. Remember if it is too dry you can add a little more milk, or if it is too wet you can add a little more flour. DON’T OVER WORK THE DOUGH! Or your scones will end up tough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured bench and using a rolling pin (or in my case a glass bottle) roll the dough out to be about an inch thick. Mine is a little thin.

Using a cutter, cut rounds out of your scone dough. I used a well floured glass to cut mine.

Grab the scraps and ball them all together.

Roll them out and cut more rounds. Make sure you use up all your scraps!

Place the scones onto a greased tray, making sure they are touching, even if this means you don’t use the whole tray. Brush them with a little bit of milk and put them in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Serve warm with butter.

Enjoy!

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