What week

6

How big is baby

12lbs

What’s something new this week

A few things we have noticed this week! Poets hair is really turning blonde, Poet is almost turning onto her back from her tummy and the smiles and laughs are coming much easier, we no longer have to work so hard at getting them! Oh, and another major new thing this week: CLOTH NAPPIES!

Most challenging moment

The ongoing nappy rash issue is really bugging me. I’ve never been so dedicated to any other cause haha! She has been sleeping a 5 hour stretch from 9:30pm - 2:30am and in that period she poops and pees a bunch. When she wakes up for a feed, I change her and then nurse her back to sleep. This prolonged period of sleep is what has aggravated the nappy rash again.

I did 48 hours of nappy free time again this week. That was really hard as we went through many towels, burp clothes, blankets and clothes! It was a day that we had Bodhi’s farewell at school, so she had to go in the car seat and then out and about without a nappy and with everyone offering up their cream suggestions. I have 2 of the most amazing nappy rash creams with zinc in them which is what has been recommended (thanks Megan Gale for sending us Mindful Life! And Moo Goo for your Nappy Rash cream too), but I have to heal the rash first by drying it out, and then using the cream to prevent it again. I just think she is the most sensitive little possum! Her rash is seriously relentless. I’ll clear up the rash by going nappy free and it dries up and once I put her in nappies again it comes straight back! At this point we think it’s Candida based.

I would love to hear suggestions from the Your Zen mama community for favourite nappy brands and wipes. The two nappy brands we have used so far which were our favourites with Forest are Tooshies and Bambo Nature. I’ve used Wot Not wipes and Water Wipes for the wipes, at this point I’m afraid to switch again as I’m unsure it’s the nappy and more just her sensitive skin. These brands were the best for Forest (we did cloth with Bodhi and NEVER had nappy rash!). We are thinking of switching back to cloth nappies when we get to the states as she just seems much more sensitive than the boys ever were! Hopefully it’ll all calm down soon. I just want her to be comfortable.

After two more days of being so diligent with the treatments and the plan of attack, her bum is just getting worse again. As soon as we stopped the nappy free days it comes back, even with the barrier cream so I’ve decided to switch to cloth! I spoke with this fabulous woman Rachel from owlbaby. She came to my house with her car stocked with options from Grovia and gave us the most comprehensive rundown of how to do it all (we needed a refresher!). We are actually excited to be back on this journey. Rachel stocks many cloth nappy brands and sends them all over the world. I found her to be so so helpful, and can’t believe she came to us. For anyone considering cloth nappies check her out she was so giving with her time (we ended up buying the whole lot, we were so impressed!). Stay tuned next week to see how we are going! I’ll still take suggestions for favourite wipes though, thank you!!

Favourite moments

Poet and I had some really beautiful girl time together this week. We took a 2 day trip to Sydney for a cover shoot that I did to promote Ride Like A Girl that I have coming out. I also did another day of press for Lovewell. Both days were really long and hectic but it was so nice having this time just P and I. She had cuddles with so many lovely women and I felt so elated showing her off to all these beautiful people, some I knew and others I was meeting for the first time. She fit right in on the photo shoot and during the interviews, her first little slice of mama’s work life. We snuggled in to each other every night, gazing at each other, I feel as though she really recognizes me now: my voice, my smell and touch. I can see how she instantly gets soothed with me and it’s such a beautiful and deeply connected feeling. I just stare at her sometimes and just can’t believe she is here.

Mama time

None! Absolutely none this week. This has been an insane week! 2 days of cover shoots in 2 different states in Australia, 2 days of Lovewell interviews and filming plus a bunch of other things I had to get sorted before we leave Adelaide next week. So. Much. Happening. Never been so busy!

My body

I finally stopped bleeding. I can go back to wearing my regular undies, yippee! I have all these cute knickers that I usually wear but they just didn’t work with pads, so now I get to say see ya to the beige granny undies and hello to my cute lacy ones. I got very jittery this week and felt very light headed and out of it for two days. It was one of a few things; A. Residual dehydration from the food poisoning I got Monday night (Poet and I both spent the night with terrible tummies!) B. I was or still am coming down with something or C. Just being overworked and wasn’t eating enough because of the food poisoning. Either way, it felt horrible and I had hot and cold sweats, felt like I was going to faint, had extreme fatigue and then just had to push through. At school drop off one morning, I had to sit down because of how horrid I felt. I’m concentrating on much more water, healthy foods and hopefully some more sleep!

What am I eating

Lots of Lovewell, salads, and vegan dips. Yummy home made bread (thanks Stepma!), veggies and salads. I’m definitely craving less heavy foods and more fruit and veg. Errrrm apart from the amazing vegan pizza and burger rings below hehe

What’s working

Everything feels pretty good this week aside from the nappy rash conundrum. Tag teaming with Mark has been great this week in particular. He had the boys the two nights I had Poet with me in Sydney, then I’ve been having the kids while he goes to the gym (it’s like his therapy). He had Forest and Poet during my photo shoot Thursday, and I’ve been doing school pick ups when he has had stuff on too. In the morning, he wakes up with the older two, gets them dressed, breakfast and lunches made while I wake up with Poet and get her dressed, day bag packed, school bags packed, get kids teeth and hair brushed, then we all get in the car for school drop off. Mark stays in the car with Poet while I run the boys into school and ELC. Same kind of thing with pick up. One waits in the car, while the other runs in. Mark cooks dinner while I tidy up the house and get jammies on. The teamwork is really working seamlessly right now. I know we will have our moments in the future, but so far so good!

Checking In

This week has been just crazy in terms of work and being busy (hence why this is a day late!). Work has been non-stop with promoting my movie Ride Like A Girl and Lovewell, plus packing and last minute catch ups. I feel as though every second of every day has been filled with stuff, not leaving me with enough time to just relax and be present in these last few days of being here in Adelaide.

These past few months have been the best of my entire life, I will never forget these precious days, in our home, all together growing our fam and enjoying the newness of it all. Meeting Poet, falling in love with her and seeing what she brings. We have so loved being around such beautiful friends and the kids’ grandparents, making long lasting memories and just loving our dream life here. I feel completely content and fulfilled right now. You know those moments in life where you wish time could just stand still and you’d get to stay in this place always? That’s where I’m at, but everything comes to an end at some point and although it’s bittersweet to be moving onto the next period of our lives and leaving behind these experiences, I’m excited to make more memories and have adventures across the seas. Our Adelaide home is always here and waiting for us. I know that we will have a new kind of experience here next time we get to come home, so I look forward to that. Thank you Adelaide, the most magical city. We will see you next time.

Week 6 Post Partum Vlog by Teresa Palmer