Tonight Matt and I did our tour of The East Surrey Hospital Maternity Unit.
Last week I booked us in for the 8pm tour by calling the Antenatal Day Unit telephone number (01737 231726) on the front of my pink pregnancy papers. We got there nice and early which was a good idea as I hadn't really been told on the phone where to meet up! We wandered around for a bit without success but luckily my bump telepathy kicked in and we soon located a crowd of bumps in the Antenatal reception area.
The tour started ten minutes late (I suppose running to a schedule must be difficult in a Maternity Unit!) and was hosted by a very nice grandmother-esque lady who proceeded to tell us about the facilities at East Surrey and showed us around.
Like all hospitals I have heard some good stories and of course some bad ones. My main concern and what I was most interested in during the tour was the Birthing Pool as I want to have a water birth. I had heard recently from the NCT lady that the likelihood of the pool being available (as there's only one) AND that a trained mid-wife would be available was low. I asked the tour guide about this and she said that if you tell the staff when you phone in that you want a water birth they will make sure that a water birth trained midwife will be available. That is good but... what if they aren't available, I think to myself... or what if they are on holiday in the Maldives...? Or doing their weekly shop...? On recollection I should of asked how MANY of their midwifes ARE trained. Doh.
The tour was good and very useful. My man found it a bit boring and strung out (probably like most of the other men present) but I would recommend it to all first time mums as there were things I was told about that I never knew... like for instance that all women give birth in private rooms. I didn't know this but now I think about it, it makes sense!
At the weekend we are taking a tour at The Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford to compare. I am all set up to use East Surrey but apparently it is very easy to transfer if you want to. We'll have to wait and see...
Wednesday 25 April 2007
Friday 20 April 2007
Aqua Natal @ Dorking Leisure Centre
On Thursday at 10.30am I ventured to the Aqua Natal at Dorking Leisure Centre.
I had visited the Aqua Natal once before (and wrote about it on my March 22nd post) and found it cancelled, as Rona the instructor was ill. This time I was more fortunate as not only was Rona there but my new found friend 'Francesca' was there too! We had arranged to meet up at Aqua Natal after meeting at the Early Pregnancy NCT class the week before.
So back to the Aqua Natal class... it cost £2.50 and was interesting. It lasted half an hour and was a little laid back for my liking but very focused on you and your baby. I found the funniest bit when we were doing our pelvic floor exercises at the side of the pool... to any innocent onlooker it would have appeared that we were just doing nothing but hanging on to the side for ten minutes! Of course it was all going on below the surface, lol... in more ways than one ;-)
I think I will go again as I like being in the water (and am considering a water birth) and can easily do some lengths afterwards to use up a bit more energy. Also the group seemed friendlier this time round so it's good for socialising!
Question is - can I drag my lazy a*se out of bed in the morning for it again!?
I had visited the Aqua Natal once before (and wrote about it on my March 22nd post) and found it cancelled, as Rona the instructor was ill. This time I was more fortunate as not only was Rona there but my new found friend 'Francesca' was there too! We had arranged to meet up at Aqua Natal after meeting at the Early Pregnancy NCT class the week before.
So back to the Aqua Natal class... it cost £2.50 and was interesting. It lasted half an hour and was a little laid back for my liking but very focused on you and your baby. I found the funniest bit when we were doing our pelvic floor exercises at the side of the pool... to any innocent onlooker it would have appeared that we were just doing nothing but hanging on to the side for ten minutes! Of course it was all going on below the surface, lol... in more ways than one ;-)
I think I will go again as I like being in the water (and am considering a water birth) and can easily do some lengths afterwards to use up a bit more energy. Also the group seemed friendlier this time round so it's good for socialising!
Question is - can I drag my lazy a*se out of bed in the morning for it again!?
Sunday 15 April 2007
Early Pregnancy NCT Class
On Thursday my friend and I went to the NCT Early Pregnancy class in North Holmwood, near Dorking, Surrey.
It was typical that my husband couldn't make the class, he had a meeting with a client that evening that had been arranged for ages. This resulted in me taking my already very baby knowledgeable best friend along. She was worried that the group may think we were gay so happily announced upon arrival that we weren't... and added 'not that there is a problem in being gay' ... lol.
The one off evening class was attended by four other pregnant ladies and was hosted by a very friendly NCT lady named Christine. It began with us all picking three topics from the written list displayed. The list contained: Pregnancy Gripes, Paternity & Maternity Leave and Where To Have Your Baby. I can't remember all the subjects on this list but I was primarily interested in 'Where To Have Your Baby'. Unfortunately this was not one of the shortlisted subjects but it was touched on at the end of the evening.
The class was really useful. Not only did I enjoy meeting up with other mums-to-be but the information given was really useful. The best thing for me was being able to easily talk up about individual experiences and issues. I know I can talk to the mid-wife about anything but I always seem to forget what I want to ask her or just feel like there isn't enough time to ask. Apparently this isn't the case with every ones mid-wifes.
The NCT group also had a library facility which I thought was mighty handy! The books I currently have are all pregnancy books and as the time to drop is approaching fast (nice terminology that - my mum complains every time I say it!) I am increasingly interested in baby info so borrowed one more specific to caring for your new born in the first three months.
One of the most interesting parts of the evening for me was when we touched on where to have your baby. I expressed my interest in having Bob in a birthing pool at East Surrey Hospital but was informed that there was only one and the likelihood of it being available to use being very very slim. This is apparently due to a) availability and b) the small chance of having a mid-wife that is trained to use it! I haven't done my tour of East Surrey Hospital yet but will be asking questions about this as I may opt for changing the place of birth to Guildford or a birthing centre such as Crowborough...
The evening cost £12.50 and was well worth it. Next is my Antenatal Classes which start on May 2nd - the day before the 28th birthday. Thank God it wasn't on my birthday as that isn't my idea of a birthday evening to remember!
It was typical that my husband couldn't make the class, he had a meeting with a client that evening that had been arranged for ages. This resulted in me taking my already very baby knowledgeable best friend along. She was worried that the group may think we were gay so happily announced upon arrival that we weren't... and added 'not that there is a problem in being gay' ... lol.
The one off evening class was attended by four other pregnant ladies and was hosted by a very friendly NCT lady named Christine. It began with us all picking three topics from the written list displayed. The list contained: Pregnancy Gripes, Paternity & Maternity Leave and Where To Have Your Baby. I can't remember all the subjects on this list but I was primarily interested in 'Where To Have Your Baby'. Unfortunately this was not one of the shortlisted subjects but it was touched on at the end of the evening.
The class was really useful. Not only did I enjoy meeting up with other mums-to-be but the information given was really useful. The best thing for me was being able to easily talk up about individual experiences and issues. I know I can talk to the mid-wife about anything but I always seem to forget what I want to ask her or just feel like there isn't enough time to ask. Apparently this isn't the case with every ones mid-wifes.
The NCT group also had a library facility which I thought was mighty handy! The books I currently have are all pregnancy books and as the time to drop is approaching fast (nice terminology that - my mum complains every time I say it!) I am increasingly interested in baby info so borrowed one more specific to caring for your new born in the first three months.
One of the most interesting parts of the evening for me was when we touched on where to have your baby. I expressed my interest in having Bob in a birthing pool at East Surrey Hospital but was informed that there was only one and the likelihood of it being available to use being very very slim. This is apparently due to a) availability and b) the small chance of having a mid-wife that is trained to use it! I haven't done my tour of East Surrey Hospital yet but will be asking questions about this as I may opt for changing the place of birth to Guildford or a birthing centre such as Crowborough...
The evening cost £12.50 and was well worth it. Next is my Antenatal Classes which start on May 2nd - the day before the 28th birthday. Thank God it wasn't on my birthday as that isn't my idea of a birthday evening to remember!
Monday 9 April 2007
Eak – it's a new born!
Yesterday Matt and I visited his Dad and Step Mum's new born child at Worthing hospital.
Little T (as I will call him) was born on Thursday 5th of April at 10.30AM through cesarean section and is gorgeous. I was strangely anxious about seeing him for various reasons. Firstly as I didn't want to hear his mother's story of the childbirth, and also because Matt and I were going to have a glimpse of the very near future... and if we didn't like what we saw... well, tough sh*t!
Thankfully 'mum' didn't go into too much detail about the birth, she also commented that she would easily 'do it again'! Couldn't of been that bad then I say! I mean - there are already experiences in my life that I would quite happily say I wouldn't do again. For instance - chili sauce on a kebab, therefore I equate that childbirth is fine. Lol, watch this space!
It was strange being in a hospital with new borns all around me. As I watched Matt's step mum in bed with cards, presents and baby nestled around her I visualised myself in her position (I have never been in a hospital bed before, nor had any kind of operation). Would I be happy with everyone holding Bob? Will I be sitting there with a scar across my belly like mum? Will it be Bob or Bobbi!?
Ultimately seeing little T and mummy was great - I am now able to visualise the maternity ward, the bed, where Bob is going too sleep for the first few days. Oh and my husband can hold a baby as you can see in the pic - so that's a bonus! Although he did seem more interested in the poster on the wall exclaiming 'breastfeeding drop in' sessions. He wanted to know if it was open to everyone...
Sunday 8 April 2007
Nursery Material
For the past week I have been concentrating on getting the nursery sorted... and have been a bit lax on the blogging front. Sorry!
Our soon to be nursery used to be our office/study so now our dining room has been converted into a dinningstudy. It isn't ideal but it's easier than moving (next time we move it will be to a house we buy rather than rent - that's the plan anyway!). Recently my husband and I have spent most of our free time lugging furniture around the house. Or in my case observing Matt lugging furniture around the house... far easier!
I have found some nice nursery material to have my curtains made by my fab mum. It is white canvas with prints of jungle animals on it. In particular a giraffe! They are beginning to be the theme. Poor child. We are going to give him/her a complex about being tall at this rate! Or short... I do have a few jockeys in my family on my mums side.
I found the material in a local (expensive) material shop and fell in love with it. I knew I wanted something bright with giraffes but had struggled to find anything online that was contemporary whilst still being bright. The style seems to be very neutral at the moment, which is good for your front room but not for a nursery I say! The material was £10.25 in the shop and being the bargain hunter that I am I found it online at www.kidsfabrics.co.uk for £8.25. Its called 'Roar primary'. Lets hope it turns up at some point soon...!
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