Visits

[Kidneybean2016]

Just received a letter on Friday night from the local health visitor wanting to visit me at home on Tuesday morning. I'm 27 weeks today and it's my first child. I'm a teacher and work quite a distance from home so a visit before the holidays isn't really practical. I have most of the baby things in but the nursery isn't started at all. Is it normal for a visit this early on? Also what will happen during the visit? Any advice gratefully received.

You can call and rebook it for when you go on mat leave. They come and introduce themselves and what the HV service offers, when clinics are, safe sleeping advice and numbers to call if you need support. They sometimes do an assessment of need if your circumstances require it. In some areas they give you your red book that is a record of everything to do with your baby - weight, length, immunisations, etc.
They won't necessarily want to look at the baby room - many people don't have one anyway as the baby should be in with you for the first 6 months anyway.

You could go into school late as its its technically a Maternity related appointment.
She won't be interested in the nursery or anything you've bought or not yet. Don't worry!

Thanks for the advice Pathofleastresistance and ApocalyspeSlough. Reassuring to know what will happen. Planning on having the baby in with us for first bit but also hoping nursery will be finished by end of Aug rather than doing it once the baby is here. Unfortunately as the appointment is mid-morning. It would require half day off work. Hopefully can delay the appointment for another 3 weeks and then they can come pretty much anytime

I'm a teacher too. Mine was happy to wait until I was on maternity leave. She didn't look at where the baby was going to sleep.

I never saw a health visitor until baby was 10 days old

It's not common practice in my area - just went to see the midwife every few weeks. After baby was born, the midwife came to the house a few times and then signed me off to the health visitor who comes when needed. It's probably not urgent and you can always rearrange. But ApocalypseSlough is right - it's a maternity related appointment so you should get time off work if you want to meet with her.

It's just so they can give you the red book and gave a quick chat ( and gauge if you are likely to need any intervention) I'll be asking them to leave mine at GP surgery this time around. No interest in anything but the newborn hearing check and feel prick test.

Leave a message cancelling and ask them to rebook after x date.

I'm a teacher too and I just moved my app to be in half term rather than school time. They were fine with it!

Not common practice in our area, you go to see them and it's a very informal chat! Given your circumstances I'm sure they move it to the hols!

Common practice here. They start filling in the babies medical stuff so you don't have to do it post birth.

Thanks everyone. Feel bad rearranging but just know it would be very difficult to get time off work, even if I am entitled. Only a few weeks until the hols so will make a call in the morning and sort it for then. At least then I will be free pretty much all of the time as long as they don't mind coming whilst the DIY is going on lol