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!