Thankyou Professor L, Robyn, FYI and Tik

[RudeEnglishLady]

Hello Again

Just wanted to thank you for the information that you gave me last month on BFing.

My baby boy came 3 weeks ago and so far (touch wood) BFing is going really well. Midwife weighed him this morning and he'd put on a pound in the last week.

I had problems at first which I don't feel like going into because I'm just glad they are over. Mostly to do with other people making horrible comments or being really negative like a couple of really overbearing nurses and the utter b*tch I had to share a room with. But also some health stuff. Your info and encouragement did stick in my mind though, and so I just discharged myself from hospital early and got home so I could go at it in my own time and without the scrutiny. And I had some good midwife support at home.

Anyway, thats about it really - just really happy I stuck with it and thanks for your part in helping me do that.

Hope you are all well x x x

That's lovely. It's always good to know how peopel have got on.
Sorry that the first few days of your baby's life were marred like this. When you are feeling more up to it, it might be worth writing to them if there are breastfeeding issues in particular which need addressing. Might save another poor woman from your experience.

Just reread that - it sounds a bit stupid sorry. I'll explain better - the health stuff made it physically difficult to start and maintain BFing. The silly people made me feel worse when I was struggling and feeling like I was starving my child / completely useless / completely knackered.

Didn't mean that to sound like I struggled just because of the people. That would be a little over-sensitive!

Congratulations! And glad things are going so well now (I had to look back to see what I'd actually said ).

Thanks Moondog!

As for writing - I had such a great birth I don't want to bring up the behaviour of a couple of people, it seems a little mean when some of the other staff acted with such care and love. As for wretched woman I shared with, hospital can't ban b*tches unfortunately. She won't get the benefits of BFing and I will so... karma...

REL, but look at it another way-wouldn't it be great if all the nurses were like the great ones. They could be-it;s not a matter of personal whims, it's a matter of doing the job right. It doesn't have to be a whinge-merely a statement of facts and maybe some suggestions on how to address them.

:) :)

I see your point Moondog - it is always a bit of a lottery with hospitals, for any procedure not just birth. Are you going to get nice people or not? Your right, it shouldn't be like this. I'm going in next week for some stuff and I'll speak to someone then and see what they say. I was going to write them anyway to give thanks because, like I said, most of the staff were outstanding and the birth was just brilliant.

If you do write, you can make a large chunk of the letter about the good people who went out of their way to deliver exemplary service and how you want to draw that to the hospital's attention. And then mention the couple who didn't do so well and how great it would be if they were given the support and training to emulate the good ones.

Yes, and personally I think a letter easier as you can control and formulate your thoughts, which is hard to do in a conversation, especially with a new baby and feeling hormonal.

I write a lot of letters and emails and am quick to criticize but always single out and comment on good things that happened to (as a nice example, was in Dubai in transit a few months ago. Dd left her teddy on the plane, but too late to retrieve. She was very upset as were we all. She loved that teddy. A few hours later, we were boarding onward flight and what was propped up at the plane entrance but the teddy! It blew me away that someone had gone to so much trouble, adn I worte a long email praising airline-Emirates- to the hilt.)

Anyway, whatever you do,it's great it worked out.

Thanks for your comments - I've considered and I'm going to stick to a thanks letter. Two reasons, 1. this is not my native country or language (getting the tone right will be difficult for me) and 2. I think its more important to dwell on the positives, of which there are many :)