Category: Babies

28
Dec

This made my baby’s eczema go away.

Posted by / Babies

Which isn’t to assume it will make your baby’s eczema go away, but if you’re anything like me (scales, big eyes, cute blue fins) when it comes to trying to soothe and help your baby’s eczema – yes, I have spelled that word incorrectly every time I have written it thus far because I always think there is an x in it – then you will try anything.

Those who know or care about eczema know the dos and don’ts…  I use super super sensitive, organic baby washing detergent for all of Sonny’s clothes and bedding. QV in the bath. I use super natural balms and creams (my own Go-To Exceptionoil really helps, but more on that later). And I am mental about his body temps, because, like his papa, when he gets hot, oooooh, does he gets rashy. After bathtime especially – he’s covered in red splodges, all over his back and trunk. And eczema is exacerbated by heat etc etc.

Sonny’s had eczema since about three months old. This is extremely unremarkable; eczema is very common in babies. It got real bad when we were in Greece and Italy because of the heat, has been consistently bad back home, but got even worse when we arrived in NYC the other week, which was a surprise, because it was snowing. I put it down to the being too hot indoors all rugged up, and sweating and gnashing around in his cot with jetlag for a few nights. But that’s just a guess.

Anyway. It started to get bad. Spreading and cracking and flaking off his body and horrible. We started to get panicked; was it a yeast infection? OHMYGOD IT’S A YEAST INFECTION. No, hang on, wait, didn’t our friend’s baby have something like this and it was fungal? Should we be using something other than the earnest organic eczema creams I was using? Did we need to see a dermatologist? Can you tell we’re first time parents? Does my panic look big in this?

So, we did what any self-respecting parent did, and Googed.

Next day we bought some cortisone (0.5) cream which DEEPLY DISTURBED ME. I don’t even use cortisone when I have a rash. We also bought some new eczema cream, Aveeno being the random pick.

Husband is a man who knows about rashes because he’s had around 4638 of them, and doing the post-bath ritual that night he said, ‘I just think we need to get back to using the powder.’ I agreed, although I didn’t think it was really doing much – surely the thick moisturising creams and oils were far more beneficial? Anyway, it’s a cornstarch powder, from Gaia. We have used it on and off, and that was probably part of the issue, not sticking to one treatment for long enough to see if it was working.

‘Kay, let’s do a night of just cream and powder and see what happens before we try those the nasty ‘roids,’ I said.

We did, and within two days our boy had perfect, juicy, gorgeous baby skin again, the likes of which we haven’t seen on him for months. In fact, ever! He has never not had some rash on his trunk or back. Oh, it warmed our hearts ever ever so much! He looked like a god damn Huggies TV ad baby.

We’re not sure which exact thing did the trick, but here’s what we did and have been doing, both in cold NYC and now back in warm Melbourne, should you wish to try it on your sweet little eczema baby….

  • A tepid bath with a few drops of Go-To Exceptionoil (a blend of over 10 beautifully hydrating, nourishing, completely pure oils). I know you’re meant to use QV etc but I found it wasn’t nearly moisturising enough. Very dry skin needs oil and moisture.
  • Dry him off completely.
  • Apply Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturising Cream all over the body – not just the affected areas. (We do this in the AM when dressing him also.) This is not for sale here in Aus, but you can buy it here, or maybe try buy their Baby Soothing Relief Cream, which has similar if not exact same ingredients.
  • Remove damp towel, and just have him on the bed/change table.
  • Apply Gaia powder generously all over the affected areas.
  • Pop on PJs.
  • Kiss a lot.

Here’s what he looked like before, but not at his worst…

eczema

And two days later…

eczema_cleared

 

And the day after that.

baby_eczema-gone

Pure stinkin’ peaches and cream. Ahhhh.

Responses to this drivel: 50 Comments
05
Dec

Don’t take four serums overseas.

Posted by / Babies, Makeup, Tips + Tricks, Travel

As a beauty editor, frequent flyer and now mother, I wrote a piece for Expedia on the golden rule of travel beauty, which is: take heaps of bubble gum.

No, wait. It’s: keep it simple. Or, pay the price. (Literally. In luggage weight charges.)

Preparation is king.

Travel isn’t the time to be wasting precious minutes on boring stuff like applying mascara, blow-drying hair, fake tanning, manicures and so on. So, do all you can before you leave to make your holidays a, ‘I’m up, let’s go!’ experience, rather than, ‘Just give me half an hour.’ Get eyelash extensions. Have a keratin smoothing treatment put through your hair. Get a spray tan. Get gel polish on your toes and get a nude manicure (no polish or clear) on your fingers so you won’t have chipped, skanky nails a week in. (Natural is the new black anyway.) Waste time on your appearance before you leave, not once you arrive.

Pack everything a week out.

Then, the day before, when you’re adding your daily essentials, (sunscreen, cleanser, foundation etc.) remove 30% of what you packed. You do not need four serums. Nor do you need your hair curler and hair straightener, plus three brushes. Travel provides a wonderful opportunity to do a beauty detox. I’m not asking you to look like a banshee for two weeks, but I am asking you to reconsider how much of your suitcase you are dedicating to stuff you don’t need and won’t use during two weeks in Peru.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE.

DON’T READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE.

Responses to this drivel: 6 Comments
02
Dec

Me and my pregnancy-induced Osteitis Pubis: a novel.

Posted by / Babies

You’ll hear women start many a sentence like this when they’re pregnant: “No one tells you that….”

Could be the fact you will snore. You will get fat fingers. You will go up a shoe size and may never come back down. You will enjoy far better treatment at airports. You will get small skin tags on your neck.

But what I didn’t realise was that your body might buckle a bit. Seems obvious now, but as a rookie, I had no idea. I probably didn’t help things much by being a wild woman on book tours and doing events and launching a skin care line just as things (my belly) were getting super big. But life doesn’t stop just cos you are up duff. In fact, quite the opposite. I felt compelled to finish EVERYTHING before my teeny dancer arrived.

HOW I ENDED UP ON CRUTCHES WHEN HEAVILY PREGGO

I now know many pregnant women have pelvis or pubic symphysis issues (such as SPD) but I didn’t know what my these things were or did before I fell pregnant. My own dang sister had these issues and I had no idea! But the weight of a baby plus special pregnancy hormones can mess shit up, so I wanted to write about my experience in the hope that others need not go down the same path. I think once we women have the baby we kind of forget about our pregnancy issues and don’t tell our pregnant lady friends to be aware that it can get bad and to keep an eye on it.

I won’t bore you with the details, except for this whole post, where I will bore you with the details. (I LOVED reading big long stories like this when I was researching my injury, I would voraciously inhale every detail in the hope it would help or relate to me. So, feel absolutely free not to read on if this topic has absolutely nothing to do with you. Bye babe. Love you!)

So… It began back in the summer of 2014, when the melodious strains of Avicii’s Wake Me Up had domination on the wireless and ice cream was popular. I was in my second trimester and started to feel:

  • A niggling ache in my left hip region
  • Worsening pain when I walked
  • Sore pelvis/groin something-in-that-area
  • Pain when sitting
  • Like some more chocolate, actually

For the most part, I just tropped on like a fool, assuming the baby weight was making stuff sore, but that was standard. As it got worse I had some physio and did some clinical pilates, and I did my pelvic floor exercises, wore support shorts, and even switched physios, but opposing opinions and, I think, a general ambivalence about the enormous array of issues under the umbrella term, ‘pelvic instability’ and the expectation of loosey-goosey joints that stem from all the relaxin shuffling through your body during pregnancy led to nothing much being done, except being told to stop lifting stuff, no walking for longer than necessary and no more exercising.

I get the sense a lot of preggos get these sort of pains and they are told the same thing, but I urge you to keep getting treatment and consider a new health professional if you’re not getting any relief or it gets worse or spreads. I left it too long and paid the price. (Approx $4.95.)

The pain got far worse as the weeks went on, it was now in my groin and back, and once I realised I was limping non-stop (around 34 weeks) I saw a third physio, who immediately put me on crutches for the last five weeks of my pregnancy, which sucked a doz. (Some women are given wheelchairs, so I got off lightly.) (Also: Imagine being on crutches plus pregnancy plus having other children! Christ on a cracker!)

 

CrutchesMe on crutches. Thankfully the filthy paps were there to document it. Phew!
(Hair looks shit cos it was in the setting phase of keratin smoothing. Beanie worn to hide it. Beanie ride up and become gnome hat. No hands free to tug it down. Good fun.)

I assumed once my baby was out the issue would rack off, (like my gestational diabetes did – magic! ) but it didn’t, it became inflamed again within a couple of weeks. I noticed I was limping again after something as nothingy as a walk around the block to get some fresh air, I got very shirty indeed, and my husband and I asked everyone in the world we knew who could help. Professional athletes and personal trainers especially. (Bakers and hairdressers not so much.) I dearly wished to roam the streets with Sonny for sanity and exercise and to buy more cake.

NO TO PHYSIO, YO TO OSTEO

I had a bad taste in my mouth from physios so I decided to try an Osteo by the name of Daniela Distefano in Bulleen (Melbourne). I’d been recommended her as she specialises in pregnancy and paediatric Osteo. Long story short, Daniela is absolutely phenomenal and I pretty much attribute my recovery to her. Dan and I have become friends, we gossip about Survivor endlessly, and we both know all the words to every TLC song. See her if you live in Melbourne and have these kind of issues, whether pregnant or post-partum or whatever. She’ll kill me for that cos she is already booked solid until 2089 but I love recommending good things and people.

From having never tried osteopathy, I am now evangelical. Dan quickly got me getting X-rays and MRIs etc and as she suspected, it was chicken pox. No, wait. It was Osteitis Pubis, a chronic pubic condition caused by inflammation of the pubic symphysis (the joint between the left and right pubic bones), erosion of the joints, and calcification of the muscles joined to it. Also had fracture of the left pubis and tendinitis of the adductors and glutes blah blah blah. Osteitis pubis is a common overuse injury in runners and AFL footballers, which figures since I kicked heaps of footballs ’round while preggo. It’s complicated to treat though, the pelvic girdle and surrounds is so brilliant and complex and so much of the body’s movement stems from it.

Pelvicgirdle

Using soft tissue, myofascial release, muscle energy techniques and articulation, Dan has helped me get movement back in the pubic symphysis and greatly improve the biomechanics of my pelvis and lower back. I began complementing this with weekly Myotherapy sessions (very strong, uncomfortable sports massage), with Rick Saunders in Richmond. This helped with the crazy tightness, and the strengthening exercises he gave me to do each day (to open the hips and strengthen the glutes) have helped loads. His philosophy: it’s an instability issue. What’s the opposite of unstable? Strong. So make it strong, woman!

People with OP get very, very down about it, because it can take a very, very long time to heal, and may never heal, in fact. I was in a bit of a dark place one day, suffering cabin fever and unable to walk without pain even upstairs to put Sonny down for his naps, (holding his delicious, pudgy frame was “unadvisable” in general because it inflamed things … I’m all like, yo, have you seen him? He’s impossible not to hold and squish) so I went into Nuclear Google Mode, which is like normal Googling, but with desperation, caffeine and no set time limit on finding what you want.

THE MAGIC MAN

After hours on far too many AFL and running forums I discovered Garry Miritis, who is known for “curing” OP. He was Cathy Freeman’s masseuse her entire career and is very OP-focused. People have flown from all over the world to have him treat / fix their OP. I’d read he was no longer practicing because he’d had surgery on his hands and back, but piffed him an email all the same. He called me and offered me a massage that weekend. I was SO, EXCITED. Fixed? Really? In one massage? Shut your big gorgeous mouth.

I went to his home in suburban Melbourne and had the most painful ‘sports massage’ one can probably have and it still be legally called a massage and not ‘torture’. Garry is a lovely, kindhearted, generous, wise, inspiring man who should not still be doing treatments due to ongoing hand and back surgeries, and does very few of them in fact (he took pity on me being in so much pain with a new baby, for which I am very grateful) which is a crying shame, because he has a very, very special gift. He spent 12 years perfecting his osteitis pubis treatment, nay, fix in which he manipulates and pushes the pubic symphysis back into alignment. This has resulted in professional athletes getting back on the field after being told their career was over, and mums going on to have three or four kids with no further pubis issues. I must have asked him at least 10 times, “You ARE training someone in this, right?” but he would just laugh. Oh, Garry.

osteitis_pubis

In the days following Garry’s work, I felt incredible. I dared to believe I was healed, (the mind is a big player in chronic injury, something Garry is very adamant about) but when the pain snuck back in, I requested one more treatment. Gaz obliged and the same thing happened again, after a few PAIN FREE!!!!!! days, a niggle came back, but in a new area, up higher, on the iliac crest. Two weeks later I saw Dan The Osteo, and while Garry had done incredible things for my PS and pelvic floor and adductors, because of the very rapid, strong change to the biomechanics of my pelvis and hips, the surrounding joints and ligaments had decompensated, because they were so used to holding the fort while my pubic symphysis was out of whack, that when it went so rapidly back into whack, they toppled over in exhaustion. It was pain, but it was progress pain. Huzzah!

Obviously it’s shitty of me to talk up Garry because as I mentioned, he is not taking new clients (especially since he has just undergone more surgery) but there are others around with OP specialisation, and they are the ones you need if you have OP. Not others, them. Because OP is highly specialised.

WHERE IT’S ALL AT NOW

That was three months ago and despite a much better sacroiliac joint (lower back) and stronger glutes I still have pain each day around my iliac crest, hips and groin, and the inflammation worsens with bad weather (really!) period pain (unfair!) and overuse (IKEA visits!) but it is much, much better. I have some hip bone stuff I’ll need to keep an eye on but with strength I should be able avoid that worsening.

I now only see Dan every 2-3 weeks, and Rick every now and then. I get acupuncture and massage when possible. I can walk for about an hour without pain. No running yet. I do my strengthening exercises and stretches and all that boring stuff every second day, but it’s that boring stuff that is working.

Soon, SOON, I will be back to the dang gym! A year after farewelling its sweet, sweaty walls.

THESE THINGS HELPED

  • Theraband exercises and stretches given to me by Osteo
  • Wearing Solidea compression shorts during pregnancy, and their recovery shorts for six weeks after birth.
  • Heat packs.
  • Pelvic floor exercises. You know the ones.
  • Regular Sports massage by a gun massage therapist.
  • Acupuncture.
  • Putting shoes on while seated.
  • One at a time up stairs.
  • Not aggravating things by walking around Baby Bunting to try and finish the nursery.

THESE THINGS DIDN’T

  • Ke$ha
  • Cornflakes
  • Puppies
  • Bubble blowing

Apologies for the essay. I guess the headline is that you mustn’t tough it out assuming it’s “normal” to feel incredible pain when you’re preggo or post-partum, or be afraid to try a new specialist or a new kind of specialist if you have pain that isn’t getting any better. I highly recommend that whoever you see specialises in pregnancy issues, too. Don’t just suck it up. I did. Silly. And don’t assume it will rack off once you’re post-partum: your body is still behaving like it’s pregnant for quite some time after giving birth.

Fun fact: My OB-GYN told me that while you still have the dark line going down your tummy, your body is still very much in ‘pregnancy mode’ and the relaxin is still flowing.

Unfun fact: The dishes need doing.

What did you wish you’d known about pregnancy? Or, more importantly, what would you like to warn other preggos about?

Aside: Hypoxi has been my saving grace while I have not been able to exercise. I signed on as ambassador while still pregnant and could have had no idea how much I would rely on it once Sonny was out and I was cleared to get on the machines. (I had to wait until Dan was happy with the inflammation levels of my pubis – around 12 weeks post-partum.) Even just that 30 mins light pedalling felt fantastic. PLUS I get toned without doing a zillion lunges. PLUS it firmed me up and I lost weight. PLUS, it means I know it works, cos I got results without any complementary exercise. Win win winnnn!

 

Responses to this drivel: 98 Comments
20
Nov

I loved doing this Chrimmus shoot for The Australian Women’s Weekly.

Posted by / Babies, Charity

And not just cos I got to wear a breathtakingly glamorous Paolo Sebastian gown and have Brad Mullins do my hairs and Annabel Barton do my face and get to have some ‘keeper’ photos of me with my dumpling as a pudgy baby when I’m not in tracksuit pants with one side of my maternity bra still unhooked under my t-shirt, although that’s a valid reason.

I did the shoot to support Redkite, an important charity that supports (financially and emotionally) children and young people with cancer, but also their families and carers. They receive no government funding at all, and rely solely on the generosity of The People. (Donate here, if you choose.)

There is a behind the scenes video here but not here.

And me aside, it’s a bloody cracking issue of The Weekly. It’s Christmas on Red Bull. Incidentally, The Weekly has become my favourite magazine of late (largely because of the brilliant Caroline Overington), and not just cos of all the cake pictures.

 

 

Responses to this drivel: 1 Comment
14
Nov

Yes. You CAN travel with a baby.

Posted by / Babies, Tips + Tricks, Travel


As part of my fun role as a travel-type writer for Expedia, I decided to write a piece reminding new parents they are allowed to travel with their baby. Especially if that baby is about four months old – the golden travel age. It’s ambitious, but worth it…

‘We’re heading to Europe for a month!’ I’d say to friends.

‘With your baby?’ they’d say, incredulously.

‘Nah, he’ll go back to the family of possums we found him in ‘til we get back. Ha ha ha! But seriously. No chance. Babies are the worst at traveling. He’s going to stay home and mind the cat.’

And so went the hilarious back and forth prior to our trip with a four-month old. But guess what! We DID take him to Europe! And he was excellent. Especially considering he had to deal with jetlag, teething, flying to the other side of the world, and a new home every couple of days. (There’s a reason people say travel before they can crawl; I understand that reason very much.)

In fact, he even made us better travellers. We had to keep it together for his sake. And in stressful situations – say, a cancelled ferry and a six-hour wait on a stinking hot day at a filthy, windy, dusty port – his calm, smiley, no-idea-what’s-happening mood actually made us calm down. He reminded us that really, not much mattered so long as we were safe and had each other and he had food. (‘Me.’)

Here are a few tips I have if you’re about to do some summer travel with your baby.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE.

CLICK HERE TO LOOK AT MY LITTLE PONY CAKES.

Responses to this drivel: 5 Comments
15
Oct

Rather Good Things.

Posted by / Babies, Beauty, Skin, Spa + Salon, Travel

Here’s a list of some Rather Good Things. I’ve mentioned before how much I crave recommendations on everything, so I just arrogantly assume others feel the same way.

Oh come on. I know you love lists. Seen you on Buzzfeed, getting your list fix. Cute animals. Seeing if you’re a real 90s baby. Etc.

1. Cinnamon Scrolls from Oregano Bakery in Sydney.

Oregano_Cinnamon_scrolls

I found these cult scrolls when my friends bought me a six pack of them the day before The Logies a few years back. Which seemed a bit cruel at the time, but they weren’t to know I was in pre-event tight-dress sashimi and berries only mode. I of course ate two the moment I got back to my hotel room post-Logies. Obviously. That Gelato Messina did an Oregano Cinnamon Scroll flavour earlier this year has only strengthened my adoration. Obviously.

 

2. The iPhone 6 Plus.

IMG_0154

Oooh, toooo big, I thought. Then I got one. Day one started off with ooh, too big, why am I using an iPad posing as a phone? And then, by lunchtime I had changed my tune to, ooooh, so big! I LIKE THE BIGNESS IT WOULD SEEM. I like it because I can see more of everything. More of my emails. Text rallies. Webpages. And Instagram pictures look phenomenal.  While I am a complete Apple tragic, and I have a Macbook Air and an iPad Air because of their lightness and littleness and ease-of-use-anywhereness, I seem to still do everything on my phone. All my emails. Millions of texts. Researching online. Social media. All of it is done on my phone. (Especially since I am often breastfeeding or holding my tiny giant and have only one hand.) Now I am not peering, now I am reading properly. Everything feels fresh and new!  You Samsung kids were really onto something after all. (AND, it has a ‘recently deleted’ photo album in case, like me, you always accidentally delete pics you didn’t mean to.)

NB: I bought a case for it because the bigness and slipperiness made me feel like I was going to drop it all the time.

3. Surrender, by Slow Dancer

I found this album by serendipity on Rdio and it has been thrashed in our house. Because it is marvellous. Slow Dancer is an Aussie lad, it transpires, which is great but mostly I just want to say that this perfectly edited ten-track wonder is smooth as heck and the perfect dinner or driving music. (Listen for free here.) I tend to pop it on at about 5pm and it makes the whole evening feel groovy and pour-us-a-winey. Put in on and impress your friends, why don’t you.

SlowDancer_Surrender

 

4. Bright Starts Lots of Links

Another mum gave me these when Sonny was about three months. Said she found them useful, maybe I would too? Since then they have proved themselves invaluable about 17 frillion times. I go to text her daily to applaud her vision. They are perfect for his fat little paws to gab onto, they make anything playful, you can jam any toy, teething ring, soft toy (by the tag) and dangly whatsit on a ring or five and you have instant toys. They hang off prams and activity centres, (those play mats you lay on the floor with the overhanging bridges) cots, and they keep muslins clipped over the pram when Sonny sleeps. And they were a bloody lifesaver on our international flight/trip last month because we had new toys and new variations thereof hanging off errthing always to excite our baby and we were total hero parents. That’s what I’ve heard anyway.

BrightStartsLinks

 

5. The DermaQuest Power Alpha Peptide Resurfacer treatment

Zopigmentation
Cool turban, babe. Not so cool pigmentation.

 

I have had two of these at Me Skin and Body in South Yarra (Brooke, the owner, is pretty much in charge of my skin these days) in the past fortnight since I got back from being overseas in a sunny climate which, as usual, made my hyperpigmentation come out, and because of all the flying and sunblock, made my skin dry, dull and just so shit. The idea being that it will help bring out and fade that pigmentation but also brighten the skin in general, clear out all the grubby clogged pores, retexturise the skin and make it JUICY with hydration.

The professional-only treatment (in other words, you have to have it in a clinic or salon) combines lactic and glycolic acid to perform a gentle peel (this is pretty much the ideal combo of AHAs in my opinion for visible results but no flaking or swelling or even redness afterwards) with peptides, the darling of anti-ageing skin care, to rebuild and strengthen the skin, stop inflammation and diminish fine lines. The perfect treatment to get skin looking happy and healthy again. (Peptides become more important for us when we are in our forties, but they certainly don’t hurt to get into if your skin needs some extra TLC.)

I will likely have one more (since it’s racing season and I am doing some events it doesn’t hurt to have nice looking skin, ay) and then just maintain at home with my Go-To cleanser/face cream and Exfoliating Swipeys, plus a brightening serum, like Aspect Extreme-C. Triffic!

 

 

 

Responses to this drivel: 13 Comments
22
Sep

Rookie Birth Tips: Stuff for the hospital.

Posted by / Babies

If you’re anything like me, (furry, long tail, fond of eating ants) you love a good recommendation. Especially with something like giving birth. So, here are mine, keeping in mind I have done it a grand total of once, hence the title of this post.

HEAT PACK.

Man, contractions are a real P in the A. Or more accurately, pain in the uterus and lower back. I was using this incredible electric heatpack during pregnancy for my pelvis issues, and this proved a tremendous saviour during the many hours of writhy, wild woman contractions. Takes 15 mins to heat up, then stays hot for hours. Makes hot water bottles looks incredibly shit. Husband held it on my lower back and massaged the area as I pretended the stupid fitball was helping. I appreciated its heat SO, MUCH.

WELL-PACKED HOSPITAL BAGS.

I was clueless on this front. Totally overpacked on some stuff, and underpacked on others. For example, because our hospital room was oddly cold Sonny needed a warmer blanket than we’d packed (wool or cashmere ideally, not the light cotton one we had packed… and if you do go cashmere, by God this Sheridan one we were given is unreal. Still use it every day in some capacity ) and half the cute, novice mum clothes I packed were FAR too big for him, and impossible to get on and off for very sleep deprived people with zero experience in the land of press studs and cross over bloody onesies. (Highly recommend the Bonds Zip Wondersuits. HIGHLY. They come with little feet and hand covers so you don’t need socks/mittens.)

Bonds

  I did, however, get some stuff right, with the help of the clever rascals at Bundle. They make tailored (you choose the bits you want in there from their site) maternity bags, for both baby and mama, and it includes all the necessities that I would have forgotten for sure (maternity pads, breast pads, breast gels etc etc). They also offer GREAT checklists of what to pack and what you need for the nursery and car and pram etc. I found that wildly helpful as a rookie. Plus, the bag is rad and we use it for travel now.

bundle3197_v2_low

Just on maternity pads, I feel VERY strongly that the Tom’s maternity pads ones are the best. Very strongly. Tried them all, they were by far the best.

In the end I had the Bundle bag for Sonny, and a medium suitcase for me (with my Bundle sack of stuff in it.) I bought some nice PJs from Country Road and J.Crew (nothing tight around waist and nothing I needed to wear a bra with) before I went in so that I would feel a little bit noyce when people came to visit, and no I did not get dressed in Real Clothes for them, and nor could I for about five days such was my SWELLING and PUFFINESS, oh dear God the puffiness. I just fit into my shoes and pants and top  when I left the hospital, such was my marshmallowness. I had no idea this would be the case but luckily wasn’t quite so stupid as to pack jeans (HA!) or non-maternity-ish clothes. And as I had my hair keratin smoothed a week out from having Sonny, I was a total wash and go (or stay, more accurately) women with no need for any more styling effort than a quick blast with the hair dryer and some hair powder for texture.

TRAVEL/COMPRESSION SOCKS.

For the puffiness mentioned above. My feet were like pillows. And not those sassy little ones you bought for your sofa; big, filthy European ones.

HIMALAYAN SALT LAMP.

This is something some friends were given by their friends, who then gave us one, and we will be paying it forward big time. It’s a small pink salt lamp you can pick up at light stores, online, or from one of those new age crystal type shops. It makes the birthing suite all chilled and relaxing (yes, really), then acts as a nice cosy lamp and night light in the hospital room, and then becomes the baby’s night lamp at home. It’s a small thing, but was a BIG thing while in the hospital, genuinely calming me and adding a lovely tranquil vibe. Also, and perhaps more importantly, they act as an ioniser, purifying the air it by clearing it of airborne particles and dust, which makes them especially good for asthmatics and allergy sufferers.

Saltlamp

RECOVERY SHORTS.

I’ve already mentioned these. They help a LOT with separation and support in the weeks following birth. I wore my Solidea shorts from a day after birth for 6 weeks, a lot of girls like the SRC ones, my physio said they’re much of a muchness, which I’ve always found to be a silly saying, but nonetheless. By three months, with zero exercise or strengthening (banned and impossible due to my Osteitis Pubis) I have less then half a cm separation now.

AN EXCELLENT LIP BALM AND HAND CREAM.

Never will you wash and sterilise your hands more than as a new mum. My word. And the lip balm is vital when you’re doing all that panting and deep breathing during birth and labour. Obviously the best option for that is Go-To Lips! and I love the MV Organics hand cream. Chuck in some relaxing face mist too – lovely during labour. I like Sodashi’s.

GoTo_Lips_Purple

HAND STERILISER.

Big bottle. Choose one you like the smell of, because your baby will basically smell like this product for the first few weeks.

PHONE CHARGER &  iPAD.

I liked having the iPad for mindless net skimming and playing Rdio during quiet moments in the hospital, and also for music in the birth room. (I had a few ‘birth’ playlists ready to go from other Rdio users, but ended up just listening to a Ray LaMontagne station made of all his songs. It was the perfect soundtrack from frantic, painful labour, to snoozy post-epidural dozing, to the actual pushing bit.) Darling husband recently reminded me we watched a few Simpsons episodes on it during that dozey post-epidural bit, which I definitely forgot about, but am sure I enjoyed at the time.

SNACKS/MINTS.

My husband made me a Hero Mix (like a trail mix, but subbing in childbirth for the trail) of nuts and Rocky Road chocolate and we had Endura electrolyte drink ready to go, but I didn’t eat a thing during labour – I preferred to shake uncontrollably and vomit if you don’t mind – but as soon as Sonny was out BRING ME FOOD ALL THE FOOD NOW NOW NOW. There is a “beautiful” shot of me moosing down toast as he has his first suckle. The midwife was resistant to feed me since I would probably just vom it up again, but after all that hard work I gently indicated that she should please BRING ME SOME TOAST RIGHT NOW DO NOT FUCK WITH ME I WILL EAT YOUR SOFT LITTLE HAND IF YOU DO NOT BRING IT TO ME SOON AND SO GOD HELP ME I WILL. A friend advised I should take some mints to freshen up during all that heavy breathing and vomming, and I’m glad she did.

CAR SEAT CAPSULE.

(You know, to get the baby home in.) We chose the Maxi-Cosi Mico (for newborns to 6 months) and it is bloody fantastic. It is SO safe, and SO airbagged up, which is very important… but a YUGE reason I love it is for the fashion colours. Kidding! No, I love it best of all because it clicks out of the car, as a capsule you carry around and can click directly into the pram (more on prams later) so I don’t have to wake the tiny giant when I take him from the car to the pram or house. He also sleeps in it at people’s houses and cafes etc. God I love that bit. That was a dealbreaker for me, that clip-in to the car/pram thing. (I think they call it a ‘Travel System.’) After six months, the capsule was loaned to a friend til we need it back, and we installed a Maxi-Cosi Euro, which will last Sonny til he is four.

 

maxi-cosi-mico-nxt-infant-car-seat-steel-grey-25

Oh and DEFINITELY practice all the seat belts and getting it in and out of the car before you have the baby. We pretended to, but didn’t really, and when I tried it myself for the first time on a day I was insanely sleep deprived but full of bravado and set off with Sonny to Baby Bunting, I had a meltdown in the car park because I could, not, get, it, to, click, in. I can do it with my eyes closed and backwards now, but it would’ve been much smarter to learn all my toys before adding a live baby to them.

SPARE BAGS.

You know, like those heavy duty shopping ones you get at Howard’s Storage. To carry home the lovely gifts/flowers and cards you will be sent by loving friends and family and members of The Black Eyed Peas and Madonna.

SPARE BABY.

In case you don’t like the one that pops out. What have I forgotten? What do you swear by?

Responses to this drivel: 21 Comments
03
Sep

I updated some stuff.

Posted by / Babies


Like, I realised I had no children, for example, so I quickly had one and named him Sonny. That he is the Absolute Gold Standard in tiny human cuteness is irrelevant.

Also I updated my online life, which you probably guessed, because you are currently wading around in it. I realised I had too many digital mouths asking for dang burgers all the time, so I decided to consolidate. So there is no more Tumblr. There is no more Basic Information Website. And no more fruitybeauty. (Don’t panic, all eight years of my beauty posts live here now, under the beauty tab. Search for a product or keyword to find what you need/faves/that one about cold sores that continues to bring me terrific traffic years after posting it.)

But! Who cares about those stinky old sites.

Now I have this gorgeous bastard, where I can write about everything, anything, something or more likely, nothing.

Maybe I will write about beauty. Maybe I will write about some excellent Nutella pikelets I found over the weekend. (These do not exist to my knowledge. Get on to it, world.) Maybe I will write about book stuff. Maybe I will write about baby gear. Or clothes I quite fancy. Or a holiday I am on. Maybe I will just write a fake conversation between me and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Or maybe I will write about slugs. Who can say? (“Me.”)

Anyway. Here is where I live online now. Sorry about the ugly garden gnome out the front. It was a present from Zac Efron and he always asks where it is when he visits.

 

Responses to this drivel: 5 Comments

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