June 23rd, 2011
Just a quick one from me. You might have realised that it’s National Breastfeeding awareness week (even the Daily Mail picked up on the breastfeeding ‘flashmobs’ around the country). I thought I’d share a little story with you, which happened today in my Doctors surgery.
I’d taken Aerin for her first round of jabs and, not surprisingly, the poor bubba objected to having both of her starting-to-be-chubby thighs speared by the quite scary nurse. It was the same scary nurse who administered my flu jab, in the waiting room, javelin stylie, but that’s another story.
You have to wait around afterwards, so I promised Aerin a bit of booby to take her mind off her trauma. I’d forgotten my mamascarf and obviously she was a bit grumpy, so she fussed a bit latching on, pulling my cardigan up which I was trying to use to feed discreetly and generally not being terribly helpful.
The waiting room was full. Directly across from me sat a lady in her late 40’s with her teenage daughter who smiled reassuringly when she saw I was breastfeeding and obviously having a few ‘issues’ with my wriggly daughter. To one side sat a lady in her 70’s who had previously informed me that she never bothered with any vaccinations for her kids, back in the 50’s they didn’t have any and it didn’t do her lot any harm. Hmmm.
As she got up to leave she stopped and said ‘I think it’s a shame, they should cordon off a bit of the room and put a screen around you’.
Now, I *think* she was trying to be helpful and supportive, suggesting that we might have been more comfortable in private where we weren’t in full view of everyone. And she was of a different generation, where breastfeeding in public wasn’t the done thing. And luckily I’m not an overly sensitive person or a first time Mum who might have taken it differently.
But if you see someone like me, with a little wriggly one just remember it’s always better simply to smile reassuringly and say nothing.
Tags: breastfeeding, breastfeeding discreetly
Posted in Family Life, baby | 2 Comments »
June 21st, 2011
I think we’re edging further and further into ‘too much information’ territory here but I’m going to plough on regardless. We’ve covered off breastfeeding and jelly bellies but this time I’m thinking more about the birth itself and your poor nether regions.
Call it what you will, there’s no denying that your vagina (noo-noo in our house!) will never be the same after birth. (Why do you think Tena lady pads sit right alongside maternity towels in the supermarket?)
After my eldest son was born by forceps with the accompanying episiotomy I literally couldn’t sit down for a week. Pain from my stitches was SO much worse than labour and only industrial strength paracetamol helped, plus baths with lots of salty water which stings like a bugger but apparently it helps heal quicker.
I made the mistake of checking out the damage about 4 weeks post birth and was horrified by what I saw. ‘That can’t be normal’ I thought in my naivety, so I mentioned it to my Doctor at the 6 week check. Unfortunately he confirmed that it was normal and that I should ‘keep doing my pelvic floor exercises’ by stopping weeing mid-flow.
But gradually it did get back to normality of a type, only to be punished again by delivering children no 2, 3 & 4. This time round my noo-noo was able to squeeze said children out without artifical help and without tearing, possibly because I was able to have the water birth that I had so wanted first time round. What a delight to be able to sit down without flinching! Or maybe things were just that bit slacker down there!
Whatever the reason, there’s still a penalty to pay. I have to be really careful when I’m exercising (star jumps are the worst) in case there’s any leakage….yuck!
I know now why my Nanny had mahoosive knickers with long pads in them and have no wish to aspire to the same. Not a good look under your jeans methinks. So I’ve put a little note ‘PELVIC FLOOR’ on the car steering wheel to remind me to exercise those little internal muscles which are so key in many aspects of your life. Â So if you see me driving along making strange faces, you’ll know why.
Tags: birth, delivery, labour, pelvic floor
Posted in Family Life, baby | 5 Comments »
June 16th, 2011
…a quick update from me on the stock position. Following mucho hard work we’ve finally got through as many of our back orders as we could and our mountain of stock is all gone!
Our next shipment is due to arrive in the UK on 7th July. This is our big shipment, arriving by sea so the good news is that we’ll have oodles of stock once that clears customs.
All orders for full kits up to and including 24th May have now been posted. All orders for full kits placed after that time were pre-orders and you’ll receive them in July. We managed to get through a few more mini kits, up to around 6th June. Again all mini kits ordered after that time will be dispatched in July.
It has been incredibly stressful here as I hate to be in a position where we can’t dispatch orders immediately. Combining that with a new baby hasn’t been much fun as you can imagine, so thanks to everyone for their patience to date.
Tags: stock update
Posted in Cheeky Wipes News | No Comments »
June 7th, 2011
…has just arrived at Cheeky Wipes HQ. Well not actually HQ, I’ve had it delivered to my humble abode as I can’t take 9 week old baby Aerin to the warehouse to pack there!
For all you people who have waited patiently over recent months, we’re going to be getting through this lot and getting it out to you by the end of the week. Look for a package from Royal Mail, they’re all being sent via first class post.
Only anyone who pre-ordered Cheeky Wipes after 24th May will now be on our waiting list for delivery in July.
Just shout if you have any questions…
Tags: stock update
Posted in Cheeky Wipes News | No Comments »
June 7th, 2011
Last week, I looked at breast-feeding and how no-one tells you that it can HURT. Initially anyway, but it does get better…
If the rest of me looked this good, I wouldn't mind my jelly belly...
Working backwards a little then. Why did no-one tell me that I’d have a big old wobbly jelly belly for a good while after having my baby. (Maybe forever?) I think I thought that everything would marvellously snap back into place immediately. What a disappointment when I came out of hospital, still looking a good 6 months pregnant. Causing my lovely father-in-law with his usual tact to enquire whether he’d ‘be seeing a return to the usual slim and slender Helen’ 5 days post-baby. Ouch.
Thank the lord for breast-feeding which soon started contracting everything back down (along with the after-pains, mini-contractions just to keep you on your toes and another little detail which no-one mentioned.)
Two and a bit months in and I still can’t even call my tummy a muffin top, more like a blancmange which wobbles disconcertingly like it has a life of it’s own. Looking down while I’m put through my paces by the smiling and slightly irritating Jillian Michaels my tummy hangs down, wrinkled and sad, like a forgotten apple at the bottom of the fruit basket.
Long vests and cardi’s do their bit to help cover up and protect an unwary public from flashes of white pasty blancmange. But I fear that nothing short of a miracle will get rid of my wobbly tum. Mind you, looking at the lovely Aerin, it’s all worthwhile…
Tags: jelly belly, mummy tummy
Posted in Family Life | 1 Comment »
