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Late Pregnancy Comfort
The baby countdown 8 ways to ease discomfort at the end of pregnancy For most women, the last months of pregnancy aren’t exactly comfortable. Your baby is large and heavy, which puts pressure on your organs, joints, and muscles, causing pain and discomfort. Eating can be difficult because your stomach is constricted, and you may have very low energy levels. Even worse, it can be tricky to get enough sleep – your changing body can make it hard to get comfortable in bed. Even if it seems endless at the time, pregnancy doesn’t last forever. And while you are coping with the various aches and pains of late pregnancy, there are a few ways to make yourself more comfortable (or less uncomfortable, at least). Here’s our guide to getting through the last few weeks: 1: Better sleep There are a few options when it comes to getting comfy at night. Many women swear by pregnancy-specific body pillows that help support the belly, while others use a couple of standard pillows – one under the stomach, one between the legs – to help them find a comfortable sleeping position. You can also try sleeping in a different place – a couch or recliner could be more comfortable than a flat mattress. 2: Nap time Whether you’re sleeping at night or not, a daytime nap can make a huge difference to your energy levels. Of course, if you’re working full time or have older children, this may not be so easy. If you can’t nap, lie down as much as you can – this takes pressure off your hips and lower back. 3: Ask for help There’s no shame in asking for help. Get your partner to tie your shoes or rub your back, ask friends or family to babysit older children so you can nap, and consider using a meal delivery or cleaning service to take some of the pressure off. 4: Food choices Try to eat a good breakfast with a mix of proteins, fats, and carbs, to help give you the energy you need to make it through the day. The rest of the time, you may want to eat smaller, more frequent meals – if the baby is constricting your stomach, it can be uncomfortable to eat full-size meals. 5: Make time for movement Now is not the time to hit the gym, but some form of gentle exercise can help relieve bloating, ease aching muscles, and boost your energy. Slow walks are a good option, and swimming is even better – it won’t impact your joints, and because you’re supported by water, the heaviness and pressure on your body is temporarily alleviated. 6: Pain points Many women suffer from back and hip pain in late pregnancy. Warm baths or showers, foam rollers and back rubs, and even gentle pregnancy-yoga can help lessen this discomfort. Or try sitting backwards in a chair, with your arms on the backrest and your belly on the seat. This gives your belly support, and relieves the pressure on your lower back for a few precious minutes. 7: Stress less Physical comfort isn’t the only thing that suffers in late pregnancy. The last weeks before birth can be a time of stress and anxiety, particularly the first time around. It’s a good idea to read about the birth process and talk to experts, but try not to listen to birth stories shared by friends and family. People love to share their horror stories, but they’re more likely to scare you than help you prepare for your own birth. 8: Take it easy Give yourself permission to take it easy for the last month or two. The house doesn’t need to be perfectly tidy, older kids will survive with a bit more screen time, and you don’t need to entertain friends or go to every social event on the calendar if you don’t feel up to it. Don’t forget to treat yourself too – you might want to do some online shopping or send your partner out for your favourite snacks. There’s nothing wrong with staying in and focusing on your comfort for a few weeks. When the waiting is over and your baby finally arrives, everything changes. Be prepared for bringing your newborn home with our Essentials Checklist here .
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Summer Sleep
Keeping your baby safe and comfortable when it’s hot Summer brings holidays, beach trips, swims and sunshine – but it also brings higher temperatures, which can be hard on your baby’s sleep. Make sure you’re ready by organising your baby’s room, sorting out summer clothing and bedding, and being aware of summer sleep safety while you’re out and about. Cool, comfortable, controlled Babies sleep best at 18-20 degrees Celsius (use a room thermometer to keep track). In the summer months, a baby’s room can rise above this temperature very quickly, even without direct sunlight. Fortunately, there are a few ways to keep your baby’s bedroom cool and comfy. If you have air conditioning or a heat pump with cooling function, simply set it at the right temperature before baby’s bedtime, so the room has time to cool down. If you don’t, a small fan can help with temperature and airflow – just don’t point it directly at your baby. Bonus – the noise of a fan can help some babies drift off. You can also keep the temperature down by leaving the windows open and curtains closed – this lets air circulate, but keeps sunlight out. Just remember to use mesh screens to prevent mosquitoes and other insects coming in. The best baby bedding Summer bedding is pretty straightforward. You’ll need light cotton sheets for the cot, bassinette, or Moses basket, and not much else. Depending on the temperature, your baby may need a cotton top sheet or a light muslin sleeping bag as well. Avoid synthetic fabrics, as these don’t breathe, and can make babies sweaty and uncomfortable. If your baby is very young and still needs to be swaddled, use a thin cotton swaddle , and consider leaving their legs free to regulate temperature. As always, keep unnecessary toys and blankets out of the bed. Clothing choices For clothing, think loose, light, and cotton. Depending on the heat in your house, your baby can sleep in just a nappy and singlet, or a light sleepsuit. Avoid synthetics, and keep everything loose and breathable. If you’re not sure, check the back of your baby’s neck – if it’s sweaty or hot, remove a layer of clothing or bedding. Out and about Summer means outings and disrupted sleep schedules. If your baby is happy to sleep in the pram or car, you’re lucky – but don’t forget to think about the temperature. Prams can get hot and airless very quickly, so park yours in the shade if your baby is asleep. Carry a mesh pram cover or light muslin throw for extra shade, but always leave an opening to allow air to circulate in the pram. Never use a heavy blanket or cover, as this could prevent airflow – which can be dangerous. In the car, use a sunshade over the window to keep direct sunlight off your baby’s skin. Crack a window or use the air conditioning to keep air flowing inside the car, and never, ever leave your baby asleep in the car alone. The temperature can rise to dangerous levels extremely quickly, even with a window open. Keeping your baby cool and comfortable should help them sleep better and feel happier during the day – so you can both enjoy the fun parts of summer. Get sorted for summer with Dimples’ range of clothing, bedding, and sleep accessories.
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From Hobby to 'Family' Business
As the first few of her fourteen children came along, our founder Jane Anne McAllister found that store-bought clothes just didn’t have the quality she wanted for her babies. They also lacked the strength to endure being passed from one baby to the next and still look good, or even stay intact. So she sourced the best fabrics and began making her baby clothes, lovingly embroidering each item by hand. That was the start of Dimples. Founded in 1992, today, we still dedicate the same care and time that Jane gave to those first garments. We’re one of the few clothing companies that still manufacture in NZ, which lets us make sure each garment is of the highest quality. It also means that our manufacturing is inherently ethical – no unknown, offshore factories with little oversight of working conditions, wages or environmental issues. So who makes our clothes? Our sewing machinists are part of our family, and all highly-skilled craftspeople. Karen has been with us for about seven years, putting her five decades of experience into every garment. Meet Karen – a Dimples sewer As a teenager, Karen finished school in December and reached school-leaving age in January, with dreams of training as a hairdresser. Her parents had other ideas – the hairdressing job didn’t start until mid-February, and they weren’t having her underfoot with nothing to do all that time. “I had to do what my parents told me to. So they marched me into town and got me a sewing job, and that’s where I stayed. I started in the city – 50 years ago. Yes, it was a craft.” ‘Made-in-NZ’ – an endangered species Back when Karen started her working life, a trained machinist could walk out of one job and into another almost immediately. That’s changed now. Textile, leather, clothing and footwear manufacturing make up only 5% of New Zealand’s manufacturing sector, down from 8% in 2008. [1] The number of jobs filled by paid employees in the clothing and knitted-product manufacturing industry fell nearly 60 percent – from 9,550 to 4,120 between 1986 and 2012 [2] . Taking pride in the quality As a professional machinist, Karen says the shift towards international production might make clothes cheaper, but they’re often very poorly constructed. The difference, she says, is that she was trained to complete a whole garment rather than doing piece-work. International garment factories tend to have a group of people just sewing collars, cuffs or hems, for example. “Everything’s done on the big stitch, no back-tacking. Within weeks the seams come apart.” At Dimples, we can turn out high-quality garments because we employ craftspeople like Karen – they have very high standards and the skills to back it up. Karen, in particular was known for her precision and was often used as a sample machinist. “Everything had to be spot on. It was an example – then other sewers had to make it exactly like the sample.” The Dimples family The inclusive culture we foster at Dimples helps our engaged and committed staff produce their best work in a happy, supportive atmosphere. Karen truly thinks the Dimples ‘family’ are lovely people to work for. “I’ve worked for a lot of people, and some of the other bosses were terrible. But Jane is just fantastic. When my grandkids were born, I got a beautiful gift for each baby. At Dimples, they care about you. They’re just nice people.”
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