Vets and Midwives

Again, I am very sorry that I have been AWOL for the last week or so;  things in our household have been a bit haywire recently and the three of us (and Rufus) have been rather occupied with settling into our groove ( I shall post separately about an especially 'interesting' 36 hours in particular). 

Pippa in her snowsuit, ready for her first Babybjorn outing
(taken about 10 days ago - pre 16oz weight gain)

Pippa has been doing very well and,  as of Friday, has put on a total of 15oz since birth (15 days at that point),  so I guess I must be doing something right with the breastfeeding!  The midwives in our area visit you at home the day after you get home from hospital and then again on days 5 and 10.  On the first visit they do various checks, including a 'heel prick test'.  This is where the baby's heel is pricked and blood is taken to test for different illnesses / conditions.  Poor Pippa did not enjoy this and turned a distressing shade of purple through her extreme crying..... I am really not looking forward to her jabs in a few weeks' time where she gets 3 injections in her thighs.  I know a few people who delegated this delightful trip to the Dr's to their husbands;  I think Husband might also be in line for that job.  

             

Some favourite sleeping poses at the moment!

On day 15 I got discharged from the midwives' care and handed over to the Health Visitors, who look after Philippa until she's 5.  They're our first port-of-call for any non-urgent concerns and all her growth / development measurements.  On Friday they visited for the first time and stayed for... two...and...a...half...hours!!!! The health visitor had a student with her so I think much of the time was spent explaining and teaching,  and whilst I am definitely in favour of students learning and helping that process where I can,  both Pippa and I were pretty shattered by the time they left.  I even had to whip out a boob halfway to keep Pip going!

I have decided as a result of that visit that I need to be a bit more assertive.  

The health visitor was very pleasant but ( and I don't mean to be rude ) what I'd probably term as a 'wet blanket'.  Every bit of information was whispered, delivered veeeery slowly, meekly and almost apologetically and a good hour was devoted to telling me things I already knew, backed up with the subsequent provision of a pointless leaflet (a separate one for each possible topic imaginable) further detailing the exact same information in print.  I politely nodded, smiled and ooh'ed and aah'ed my way through the painful exchange,  not wanting to offend,  but I think in future I shall be brave and put everyone out of their misery and save the poor lady her time and effort!!  

A favourite present this last week
(she hasn't quite mastered the whole upright thing just yet!)

But the outcome of the visit was all good - Pippa is piling on the ounces and officially has perfect hearing.  Our next check-in is planned for the 18th when she gets weighed again.  It's bizarre how many of us spend all our teenage and adult lives obsessing over losing weight and then become oddly competitive over how successfully and quickly our babies gain weight. There's certainly nothing more satisfying or 'right' than a chubby baby,  yet at some point a 'well-rounded' and healthy looking toddler becomes an overweight child.  When does this happen?  Just one of the worries and potential sources of guilt that come with parenthood I guess?!

Rufus' favourite seating position -
the "I'm not technically on the sofa" pose

As for the other part of my post...the Vets.  Poor Rufus came down with Kennel Cough just after Pippa was born.  This has been the source of much frustration and annoyance for both him and us!  Amazing timing too!  He was really quite distressed at the height of his coughing,  so a £108 vets bill later and Rufus has had a course of antibiotics and has been recovering steadily.  He has now stopped coughing which is brilliant,  it was horrible to listen to him spluttering around the house.  But the worst part of the whole thing is that he hasn't been on a walk for the grand total of 2 weeks now.  He is pretty insistent and 'in your face' every morning until he is taken out and is nearly unbearable if he isn't walked for one day....just imagine what he's like after two weeks!  Well,  he can now go out again so I am really looking forward to getting rid of his pent up frustration and walking the park with the pram and BabyBjorn.  Yey! No more annoying ginger, whining, sighing shadow following me everywhere! Poor Rufus.

Wow, what a long post....I suppose that's what comes from not blogging for a while....my 'creative energies' haven't had their usual outlet...pah! Haha!  In any case I shall endeavour to do better and blog often from now on!