Last baby of the year

2008 is drawing to a close and I have just welcomed my last baby of the year into the world – a beautiful girl born into water. The last two days have been a little busy on the birth front with two of my December babies deciding to arrive in December after all!

2008 was a bit up and down at times, but overall has been a pretty good year – getting engaged has to be the highlight of the year, and I’m looking forward to 2009 which is looking set to be quite exciting (albeit somewhat busy on the wedding front).

Patronising advertising

I have just seen the most bizarre advert for cervical screening on the back of a bus. It has a picture of a man with the slogan “Be cervix savvy”. Being a midwife, I would say I’m quite cervix savvy but I wasn’t aware that men possessed them, so why the advert features a man is quite frankly beyond me. The website has also left me quite stunned. Its rather patronising implication seems to be that women need men to tell them to go for cervical screening which should be part of their “health and beauty regime.” Words fail me.

The calm before the storm

I was quite convinced that I would be spending Christmas Day or Boxing Day at a birth, but here we are three days after Christmas and I am still waiting for those babies that were due before Christmas. It has been lovely to have a few quiet days, but this means I now have three babies due very imminently and January is already set to be a busy month with five babies due (not counting any late December babies!) I’m making the most of having free time now as suspect it won’t be the case for the next few weeks!

Farewell to Woolies

Our local Woolworths closed today which was quite sad. It had always seemed to be the one thing that never changed in the High Street as I was growing up. As a child, it was the Pick ‘n’ Mix section that was the main attraction, and then during school days there was always a visit to Woolworths at the end of the summer holidays to stock up on stationery ready for school to start up again (although why I needed a brand new geometry set that never got used every year is a mystery). It’s the end of an era.

Relaxing on Boxing Day

Another lovely relaxing day which has been spent mostly watching old films and playing the piano. I love Boxing Day – all the stress of preparing for Christmas is over and it really is a chance to relax with no extra pressure to be ultra-cheerful and chirpy just because it is Christmas (which usually means that I’m less likely to be grouchy because I’m not feeling under pressure!) Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas itself but sometimes it just seems that it gets lost in a whirl of preparation and high expectations leaving everyone feeling just a little bit frazzled.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Day is drawing to a close and I have managed to go to church, open presents, have Christmas dinner and spend the day with Michael’s family without being called out to deliver any Christmas babies. I always miss being with my family when I am away from them over Christmas (despite spending three out of the last four Christmases with Michael’s family), and particularly seeing my nieces and nephews getting all excited about Christmas, but that said, it has been quite a nice Christmas and at least I got to enjoy it without having to work! Merry Christmas everyone.

Posada journal - the journey nears its end

Over the last few days, Mary and Joseph have been lodging in my flat. We have spent time together in prayer as they await the birth of a very special baby boy. I feel that the birth cannot be far away now and perhaps my midwifery skills will be required soon, but for now, I have made this young couple comfortable as they reach the end of a long and arduous journey. They tell me this child is God’s Christmas present to all mankind – a saviour to lead us out of the darkness. Could any Christmas present be more wonderful?

Nesting

There’s something about this time of year that leaves me with the urge to clean everything in sight. Michael keeps asking if I am nesting! Maybe to some extent, that’s exactly what I am doing, making my “nest” ready for the winter. I just can’t feel ready for Christmas to arrive unless my flat is spotless. It must be a female thing though as Michael’s mum is doing exactly the same (whereas my mum is extremely house proud so I never notice any change with the seasons) and I’ve yet to see much evidence of this particular phenomenon in men.

Finally feeling ready for Christmas

I’m finally starting to feel ready for Christmas. The decorations and tree are up, the presents are wrapped and I have been cleaning like mad (the clutter around the flat was being to irritate). I’m going home for the night tomorrow to visit family and do the remainder of the pre-Christmas visits, and then will hopefully manage another visit home between Christmas and New Year. If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m on call over Christmas and it is looking increasingly likely that I will have a Christmas baby this year, I’d be feeling quite relaxed about Christmas now!

Posada

This Advent at church, we have had a Posada. Posada is a Mexican tradition where figurines of Mary and Joseph are given lodgings at various homes throughout Advent to represent their journey to Bethlehem. We have kept a diary with our Mary and Joseph to record their journey. On Christmas morning, they will be taken to church and then they will be placed in the Nativity scene in the window. From now until Christmas morning, they will be staying with me. It seems somehow appropriate that Mary should be lodging with a midwife on the final stage of the journey!

Christmas preparations

I have been a little lax in updating this blog over the last few days. The run up to Christmas has been a little hectic, leaving me wishing that a day could have 36 hours instead of 24 just so I can get everything done. However, most of the Christmas cards have now been sent, the presents have been bought (or made) and some of them have been wrapped and whilst the Christmas decorations are still gathering dust in the loft, there is some hope they might appear tomorrow. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, I’ll be feeling ready for Christmas!

Car repairs

I seem to be having a bit of an unlucky time with regards to the car at the moment. Having had the broken wing mirror replaced, I have now discovered that the wing mirror motor on that side is also broken and will only move the wing mirror from side to side (I have to adjust it manually if I want to move it up or down). I’ve decided this is going to be a repair job for the new year. I have also had to have a chip on the windscreen repaired after a stray stone hit it yesterday.

Pre-Christmas family visiting

I had a brief trip back home last night to do some of the pre-Christmas rounds of visiting the family. I managed to catch up with two brothers and two sisters, plus a few nieces and nephews (and great-nephew!) and had a lovely evening, even if it did feel somewhat hectic at times dashing from house to house trying to see as many family members as possible. I have one more trip home planned before Christmas so hopefully will see my other siblings then that I didn’t get to see yesterday. Fortunately they all live near each other which helps!

Christmas parties

We had our work Christmas lunch today in the pub near where our old office used to be. When I first joined the practice, we used to have our team meetings at the office and then go to the pub afterwards to chat over white wine spritzers. Being there again brought back some memories, although it feels very strange to be the only midwife left out of that particular group. Tonight is the tap studio’s Christmas party so I am heading off to another party this evening. I’m on call though so will have to stick to soft drinks only!

Minor disagreements with refuse trucks

It wasn’t a great start to the day. I was driving along on my way to my first visit (feeling quite calm as the traffic had been surprisingly good) when a refuse lorry in the nearside lane tried to squeeze past me and in doing so, broke my nearside wing mirror. Despite my attempts to signal him, he remained oblivious to the fact he’d damaged my car and proceeded on his journey. Unfortunately I couldn’t read his number plate properly so I will have to take my car into the garage tomorrow and pay for a new wing mirror myself.

Incorrect initial impressions

It can be easy sometimes to assume that your initial impression of somebody is an accurate one. Sometimes we start off on the wrong foot with others, harsh things are said and taken to heart and just being civil can then be a challenge. I find it difficult to forgive people who have bruised my feelings and can have a tendency to bear grudges. When something then happens to make me see the vulnerable person that can be hiding behind a tough exterior, it makes me realise that sometimes I am too willing to judge a book by its cover.

Non-existent nativities

I am finding it more and more difficult each year to buy Christmas cards which have any reflection on the real meaning of Christmas. This year, I visited about a dozen shops before I finally found some suitable cards. I didn’t want cards with Santa, reindeer or snowmen. What I wanted were angels, wise men or a Nativity scene (although preferably not fine art style as that’s not really my style either) but finding it proved almost impossible. In today’s consumer society, it seems the real reason for the season has become almost completely lost beneath the baubles and tinsel.

Wedding dress shopping (almost)

I have spent most of today going fabric shopping with my mum and one of my sisters, who will be making my wedding dress and my bridesmaid dresses. I have had to slightly rethink my bridesmaid dress design as we couldn’t find any suitable fabric to fit with my initial design, but we have managed to find something in the right shade and have also found the right material for my dress as well. Michael and I have one last potential reception venue to look at tomorrow so hopefully we will be making a decision on that soon as well.

False awakenings

I often have lucid dreams and recently have been dreaming about writing amazing stories (perhaps I should try to write things down as soon as I wake up – who knows what I could come up with!). This morning, I had the very odd experience of having several false awakenings, where I was convinced I was awake and getting up, only to repeat the experience. After several repeats, I was getting quite frightened that I wouldn’t wake up for real as I couldn’t seem to waken myself (unlike with lucid dreams). Of course, I did eventually, but it was very odd.

Customer service

Throughout my search for reception venues, I have been struck by how poor some places are at selling themselves to potential customers. One venue invited me to view their facilities whilst there was a wedding reception going on (not exactly the best time); at another the reception area was dingy and unwelcoming with no-one at the reception desk during the time I was waiting there. I have only received what I felt was a good level of customer service at two out of the five venues visited so far. Funnily enough, they are the only two to make the shortlist.

The Christmas newsletter

Last year I came up with the bright(?) idea of writing our Christmas letter as a poem. Michael liked it so much that he thought we should do it again this year. Given that my preferred style of writing poetry is rhyming couplets, trying to fit in all the news that we want to include is always a bit of a challenge, but it is very satisfying when I finally manage to do it. I have spent most of this evening writing this year’s Christmas poem which means that I can now at last start sending out my Christmas cards.

2009 - the year of the weddings

I had some great news last night – my best friend is getting married as well next year and has asked me to be her maid of honour I’m quite excited that the two of us will be planning weddings together. It means that next year is going to be quite a busy one for me as far as weddings are concerned – three weddings definitely booked in the diary so far and I will be a bridesmaid at two and the bride(!) at the other! I have also heard rumours of two other family weddings which may take place next year.

Road rage

I spend lots of time driving around between visits and some days can spend several hours in the car, particularly if the traffic is bad. This evening I shocked myself with how aggressive my driving was becoming and the fact that it was accompanied by some very unchristian hand gestures. Realising a moment of calmness was needed, I tried praying for the safety of road users, and calmness and courtesy for myself (rather than my usual prayer that all the cars in front would evaporate) and perhaps unsurprisingly, my anger and frustration evaporated. I should try this approach more often!

Reasons to be cheerful

The news always seems to be quite depressing at the moment with recession, child abuse cases and terrorist attacks dominating the headlines at the moment, so I’ve decided to focus on cheerful things instead. Here are some of my reasons to be cheerful today:

* Petrol prices have come down – only 88.9p per litre when I filled my car earlier today (never thought they’d be this low again!)
* I’m finally managing to get the hang of the level 5 tap routines (having felt a few weeks ago that I was never going to be able to do them)
* Christmas is coming!

The advent of Advent

I can’t believe that we are already in December and I’ve only just started thinking about Christmas! Usually, I’m very organised and start writing my Christmas cards in November ready to send at the beginning of December, but I haven’t even got that far yet. The last two weeks of November seemed to disappear in a haze of wedding planning and Advent has crept up on me without my realising it. Still, having now realised that December is upon us, I’ve got into the Christmas spirit already and have been digging out my Christmas CDs to play in the car.