April 2011 - Food Glorious Food, Sleep Glorious Sleep <subtle key change> They're our babies, we'll obsess if we want to!

[fraktious]

Thread 4 - that's one a month!

The feeling is mutual arch :)

I agree. It's been a blessing to have all of you to share my rants, stresses and good times with.

I've found this group a godsend when I've hit the periodic lows that I think everyone sometimes gets.

Sounds like you've done your research Arch. The hospital where I gave birth got tons of bad press recently and is about to be expanded so I'm hoping the issues I had will be resolved. But until government recognises that we need more midwives and that frontline staff should be trusted to input on key cost decisions nothing will change.

The midwives from thebirth centre here have been moved to community or to women and children's hospital. We had a big campaign with press etc at the end of last, beginning of this year and thought it had a years reprieve but the trust has gone back on it :(

Ditto arch

Yeah star calpol calmed him right down. Reckon it was his gums bless. It's a constant guessing game this parenting lark.

Good luck tomorrow Arch

Beetle I forgot to say how impressed I was with the poonami photo, S looks as happy as a pig in the proverbial

I agree, our April Family has been an amazing support, I don't know what I would have done without you all here. Go crazyer?!

Arch What you're doing sounds amazing, good luck for tomorrow! Delivery here is pretty good but postnatal is terrible. Having said that I know that midwives are over stretched after talking to my community midwife when I was pregnant. She was the shift manager just before I had S (they take it in turns) and she had to take the decision to close the MLU because there wasn't enough staff. She was obviously upset that she'd had to close it for the 24 hour period.

All these sitting/rolling/crawling babies are making me jealous! Poor S is getting more and more frustrated, between that and the wanting to eat food we've had some amazing temper induced meltdowns! I have a feeling the terrible twos are going to be...fun!

I can't believe some of you are only just giving in and flicking the switch on the heating! I've had mine on for the odd hour boost since last month!

Was just talking to DH via Skype about what we'll do at Christmas (sorry to bring up the C word again!). He doesn't want to go up North and would like it to be just the three of us, then go up at some point between Christmas and NY. Which on the one hand I love the idea of (and would hopefully mean that I can get a real tree!) but I just can't imagine not being with the families. It's like my brain does not compute the possibility! A non-chaotic, relaxing Christmas, with no arguments and sniping? Can that really happen?!

Oh, and S is very proud that the poo'splosion photo has impressed you all! Just to note that was only a 4 day build up, the previous one had been 10 days, I don't know where he puts it all!

Good luck tomorrow Arch.

I too am really grateful for the support you've provided . With the exception of DH and my mum, I don't think anybody in RL would have have listened to all my stressing and moaning without telling me to shut it!

Oooh, Christmas...I can't wait! Confession time - this will the first one DH and I have ever spent together . Even since we've been married, he's gone to his family and I've gone to mine. Can't do that now we've got a baby! We're going to spend Christmas Day with one set of parents and Boxing Day at the other. I'm really looking forward to it. What's not to like about celebrating twice?!

No heating on here. We live in a ridiculously warm house. However the temp gauge in P's room did drop to an unheard of 19 degrees today, so who knows...

We've got the heating on here too, the house has got really chilly where it has been so windy.

T had carrot batons and broccoli 'lollipops' for dinner. The carpet was green by the time he finished.

He has been asleep for 3 hours - why am I not in bed????

Two more screaming fits from S in the night bought on by farting. Will be glad to get home today. It's been a nice break but I'm having to do all the settling cos of DH's knee and last night I had s in with me for a few hours.

Another night with H on me for most of it. The cold is still bad and he's just so bunged up. He's napping in his cot now after waking at 6am despite the bad night. DP was a star trying to settle him last night but I think we'll have to ride it out until he's not so bunged.

DP and I have only spent one Christmas together in 11 years Star and that was when both my sisters were away so we hosted Christmas dinner in the flat as my parents were flying off on holiday early on Boxing Day. I didn't want mum to stress about washing up etc beforehand and dad wasn't well at the time so couldn't help.

I'm jealous. Dh and I have spent most Christmases apart because he's usually been working or as with others I've headed to my parents and he's gone to see his family and we've met back at ours in evening! As soon as I found out I was pregnant I told him this year it would be me, him and L at home just, however he's bloody working nights over the Christmas period and can't get leave!!!

I has a really positive experience at our hospital both with the birth and the postnatal care. The mws couldn't have been more helpful and I stayed in for two nights so they could help me get the hang of bf and sort Lucy's latch.

My birth was handled well but, again, my aftercare was shocking. I got a two page apology from the PCT after a formal complaint. I was forgotten about and left in an unchanged bed for six hours and wasn't fed for nearly 10 hours (luckily I'd brought a bag full of cereal bars, dried apricots and the like so ploughed through them). Again though, it was purely a lack of staff and I made sure the midwives who handled the delivery were praised as I'd remembered the student's unusual name of Dorcas.

They attempted to keep me a second night as my blood pressure was up a bit but I got mum to throw a strop on my behalf as I was exhausted. h had been signed off as fit to leave so she marched up to the desk and haughtily exclaimed 'Fetch her notes, we're leaving. Right now.' And we did

Much better night here last night. I did a dreamfeed at 11 when I went to bed and it saw him through til 6.30 when DH clattered about getting ready fro work . Fed him and he went back down til 9ish. I thinka dream feed might be the way to go, if only to avaoid the 2am wake ups. They are a killer.

We are now cheering on Scotland in the rugby. I forgot again!! There is something funny about watching rugby under floodlights! Doesn't seem right! Maybe thats why Scotland are playing rubbish!

Good luck today arch. Maternity services are so so important. When they tried to induced me I was was made to feel like a nuisance and more or less left on my own for 2 days. My hospital is the overflow for Edinburgh Maternity. Twice when I was there they were switched to standby, I walked along the corridor and every bed was taken, where they were going to put anyone was beyond me. The Edinburgh maternity unit is practically new, but they didn't build it big enough for the birth rate, which seems just crazy to me. So my hospital has to pick up the slack. They don't get the option to close their doors when they get a bit busy.

Cycle Dorcas is a fab name!

Vaguely remember exclaiming 'That's a Bible name!' enthusiastically when she and the senior midwife introduced themselves (I was 10cms and already pushing).

I'm back from the meeting....

How did it go arch?

We forced them to keep the service open...we won!!!!! :D

X posted, that's great news, well done!

You how you feel when you've just had a really big emotive fight, sort of shaky and cold after the fight-or-flight hormones have worn off? That's how I feel just now.

Fab news. Well done.

We are home from Nottingham. Hope I get some better nights now

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Congratulations Arch!

Thank you. I've been spending about 4 hours a day on this campaign and I'm quite teary to think that women are going to get a midwife when they need one now. I'm so relieved!