Monday 30 November 2009

MMMM that went well then!

Last day of November and how did my blog-a-day go?
between you and me, I think really well! O.K so I didn't make an entry EVERY day - but I averaged 1 every other day, pretty good going for a woman with 3 kids, one Mr.B, study and now full time work.

I feel I need to put in an explanation of what PLACEMENT means, I have been making the sorts of assumptions that the Uni tells us we mustn't do! (assuming that everyone knows the terminology we use). 40% of my university course is studying to be a midwife, this is known as block, when we are in uni doing the theory. The other 60% is doing the practical side of the training, this is known as placement. At the moment I am on community, I am working with a team of midwifes who work out of local surgeries, visiting mums at home who have had their baby's and in the clinics to check the pregnant women and occasionally post natal mums and baby's.
In February I start a 8 week placement, the first 4 in one of the hospitals I am attached to, on their ante natal ward. caring for pregnant mums who have had to be admitted to hospital for care during pregnancy. Then I will be at the other hospital I am attached to working in their delivery suite - where the babies are born!

Makes it all sound so simple doesn't it? Of course whilst I am on placement I still have the learning stuff to do, lots of reading on what I am learning during the day, my lovely mentors make sure of that!

Thursday 26 November 2009

Ouch!

How stupid do I feel?


VERY!

today I fell out of a house!

seriously! right in front of a patients husband!

collapsed into a pathetic heap on his drive!

oh boy am I in pain, grazed knees and sore hands.

but worse is the sprained ankle. I can barely move it, and putting weight on it is a no no.

Please don't let this get worse, I want to go out on placement tomorrow!

I am having too much fun to miss it!

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Bloody Brilliant!

Seriously, it's been bloody brilliant the last few days!

I have had the most excellent community midwife mentors who want to teach me so much. I have taken blood, done blood pressures, palpated women ante and post natal, measured bumps, helped with breast feeding, checked babies, weighed babies and so much more.

It's a rush! the lovely Midwife I was with today, took a back seat and let me take the clinic on my own! she told me she thinks I am great and will make a brilliant midwife - she wishes I were 'her' student (my mentor is on annual leave for a fortnight, so this one is looking after me!)

Now I have finished blowing my own trumpet I will also tell you of the young woman, only in this country 1 month - pregnant, ill and scared. Of the woman whose only hope to have a baby was through IVF, and although pregnant is now so anxious about it she can't allow herself to relax and enjoy it.

This job is going to really have its highs and lows!

Monday 23 November 2009

*YAWN* *SNORE*

I have had the best couple of days - midwifery experiencewise

But right now I am exhausted having not slept properly since Friday night, so I am not going to blog about it tonight.

Tomorrow I will try to tell you everything I have been up to!

Signed

Student Midwife Mrs.B!

Wednesday 18 November 2009

I'm not at all jealous!

Of the student midwifes who are coming to the end of their first placements, and have not only witnessed their first 5 births (we have to witness 5 births before we can start delivering) but are now doing their first deliveries (with the help of their mentors hands!)

Me I am not out of Uni until Monday - and then it will be community, which is fab in its own way - but doubt I will see many, if any, births!

Tuesday 17 November 2009

The one with no title


Had I not been so tired last night I would have blogged this then. The day we nearly had Niagra falls in our house!

It all began when........................................................................

I noticed a rather 'squidgy' feeling under foot in the bathroom when I went to the airing cupboard, this rang alarm bells, and true enough on inspection of the ceiling in the hallway I was faced with a huge bulge!

Cue mad panic clearing of hallway incase of cascade! Then phonecall to our landlord (the local council, some times I am soooo grateful to be a tenant!) for a plumber to come out. He was here within the hour and checked boiler (newly fitted in April) seems some condensing pipe or other was fitted properly and so has probably been slowly leaking since April. with that sorted and the ceiling bulged drained the best we can, we are left with a ruined flooring upstairs, holes in our celing downstairs, a bucket of murky water in the hallway (catching drips) and sodden squishy floorboards in the bathroom. Now I have to wait to see what our landlords are going to do about it - I will be jiggered if I am going to make a claim on my household insurance!

Sunday 15 November 2009

May Contain Nuts

Warning on our recently purchased bottle of Calamine lotion:

Possible side effects

most people will not have problems, but some may get some of these:
  • skin rash
  • skin irritation
I'm sorry, but is it just me?????

Thursday 12 November 2009

wow is it that time already?


Getting close to Christmas *shudder* and so the Christmas cake is made, wrapped up and ready for its weekly 'feed' of brandy!

Now when I say *shudder* to Christmas, don't misunderstand me, I love Christmas. The magic and excitement, the happiness and the fun. But I can not stand the way the pressure is put on, the commercialism and the greed. I used to buy into it - my children had more toys than they could possibly need, we had so much food we would eat ourselves silly and then throw lots away, and we would take the next year to pay off the credit card.

Now we have a far more subdued affair, in fact Christmas dinner last year, at the children's request was Macaroni cheese! and it will be the same this year, although we will have turkey and the trimmings on boxing day when my parents visit.

And I am at peace with this lovely quiet way of doing it - so why is it I feel guilty when I don't buy every Tom, Dick, Harry and theirs great Aunts a present!?!?

Tuesday 10 November 2009

New shoes



Aren't they a thing of beauty? and a billy bargain at £9! AND killer heels!

Not a lot else to add this morning, except to thank the lovely ladies who came out in the cold last night to support my fundraising card and book sale. YOU ROCK!

Sunday 8 November 2009

Fantastic day @ Milton Keynes


Yesterday I had a lovely day shopping with my sister in law. We went to 'The Centre MK' ~ SIL's second home and my favourite shopping centre.
mission (for me) was an outfit for mother in laws 60th birthday, a particular style of bag for placement and a notebook from paperchase.
achieved the first and last (in fact ended up with two lovely tops to choose from for party) couldn't find a bag, but did get some gorgeous shoes!

whilst there I saw a shakeaway~ have really fancied trying one for a while now, wow what an experience - not just the drink but the whole thing! I had a hot Norah and SIL had a hot Janet!
although to be totally truthful I couldn't drink it all it was a bit sickly (did I mention that a few hours earlier I had a hot chocolate at starbucks!??!)

I do believe all the walking I did during the day possibly counteracted the extra calories from the Norah mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Friday 6 November 2009

Really worried

that I will be punished for breaking a promise!
I didn't make a blog entry yesterday, even though I had a newsworthy day!

it was a long day though, and that is my excuse.

My day at Uni was spent in the 'skills lab', a building in Hatfield where health care students can practice their practical skills. Yesterday I palpated a pregnant mannequin, and listwen to the fetal heartbeat through a Pinard stethescope. We also learnt how and why to do urinalysis on artificial urine! and then we had a manual handling workshop - where we were able to take apart and try out a birthing bed, and push each other up and down the corridor on a hospital bed!

However throughout the day I was feeling worse and worse and by the time the children went to bed I was feeling awful - burning eyes, constant sneezing and a banging headache, the lack of blog entry can be mainly blamed on that!

Today I am having a duvet day with middle child as she is also suffering with this yucky bug. Lets hope we both feel better tomorrow (mainly for me as I am supposed to be going on a shopping trip with my lovely sister in law)

Wednesday 4 November 2009

If you like a lot of chocolate on your biscuit


join our club!

I really wanted to do something exciting today so I could tell you about it, but I am not well (all together now ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh)

I managed to drag my sorry butt to uni for a 2 hour lecture, and then in to town to run some errands - but that's about it!

So the kids are in bed, Mr. B is at scouts ~ and my evening consists of knitting my new hat, drinking tea, listening to a podcast or two - and maybe eating a club biscuit!

Tomorrow I have a really exciting day at uni, which I am determined not to miss, early night for me then! although I really wanted to stay up to watch the first episode of the new series of spooks but ~I will have to see how I feel.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Thought of the day

Is there a thought today? lots of them really, but do I want to share them? More to the point do you really want to know want I think about when I am alone?!

Making an entry every day isn't that easy, well it would be if I wasn't worried about boring you or waffling on!

today I made arrangements, wrote cheques, did some Uni work, changed beds etc etc.

nothing of any great magnitude.

on a plus note I had consultation with the smallest child's teacher today. Smallest is only 4 so I do expect any amazing academic achievements, however I was very pleased to hear how well she was doing and there have been big improvements on her behaviour (thankfully! as she had a difficult start to reception)

sorry about the mundaneness of this entry ~ I will try to do something exciting tomorrow!

Monday 2 November 2009

weyhey!

reporting in for day 2 of the blog-a-day-in-November challenge!

this is the result of the pumpkin carving - all lit up to welcome our ancestors

today was cold, when I picked up smallest from school (middle one chose to stay at after school club) we were very chilly. When we got home we snuggled up together on my bed to watch tiny pop I have to confess to dosing off for a few minutes!

Smallest child then had a lovely warm bath, and afterwards I wrapped her in towels which had been warmed on the radiators, sometimes you just got to love the 'cosiness' of winter. On our way out to pick up middle child, it was getting dark - the full moon was covered by clouds, but still visible. Smallest child asked why the moon was all 'smudged' - what a charming way to describe it.

Sunday 1 November 2009

Blog a DAY!


During the Month on November I am going to TRY and make an entry everyday!

O blimey those are bold words!

So here we are 1st November 2009, last night was Halloween or all Hallows eve and the celebration of Samhain for the Pagans out there.

the 2 littlies went out trick or treating to a few friends houses, but we did forget to carve the pumpkin - So Mr.B has done that with the girls this morning and we will use it to welcome our ancestors to the table tomorrow - all souls day

its a really miserable ( did I say miserable? read that as disgusting!) day out there today, lots of side ways rain. But the littlies are full of energy so Mr.B has dressed in puddle busters and gone for a splashingly good walk!