Baby is here!

Two weeks ago I was in labour and now I am propped up in bed with little Bonnie Anne Grace lying on my chest sleeping away.  She had been a bit fussy this morning so I tried feeding her (and was successful!) and then she fell asleep.  I popped her back to bed in the pram but she started fussing again so I brought her back to the spare bed and decided to relish in the time of her sleeping on me.  Happy days.

I have been watching the commonwealth games, but it is now the men's volleyball final between Australia and Canada which is not interesting me oh so much, so I am working through my list of jobs.

On Monday we went back to the hospital for an appointment with the infant feeding team.  While there we went back to the wards we had spent time on to drop off some cards and chocolates.  Having written the cards, I decided to photograph them and put them on here for a record. The care we received was phenomenal and we were keen to recognise it.

For the midwives on the Spires where we had our little girl:

For Dr Pedro who sewed me up after birth:

 For the midwives who looked after me on the observation ward:

 For the midwives who looked after us on the post-delivery ward:

And here is what I wrote on the online feedback:

Maternity Labour Ward

I had been unsure about using the Spires Unit, but am so pleased I did as I was so impressed with the staff the whole time who made it a great experience.  From ringing MAU during the early stages of labour, I was impressed with the care they took on the phone to listen to me and give me detailed advice.  At the Spires, our midwife Sandra, took the time to make us feel comfortable and gave us reassurance when needed and gave us time to ourselves when needed.  Immediately after the birth, I lost a lot of blood, but throughout that traumatic time, the staff (there were somehow suddenly about 5 of them in the room) remained calm and professional and explained what was happening to me.  I was taken quickly and calmly down to Level 2 to be stitched up, where I continued to receive excellent care. There seemed to be so many people in the room, but everyone communicated calmly and efficiently with each other and talked to me when needed.  Dr Pedro sewed me up and I was ever so impressed with his bedside manner throughout. 

Maternity Postnatal Ward 

Having given birth on the Spires, I was brought down to Level 2 for stitches and then spent 24 hours on the Observation Ward on Level 2.  Ceri was the midwifery student who helped look after us immediately after being stitched.  It was wonderful that she took the time to be with us and reassure us and helped us with our first breast feeding attempt.  We loved her demeanour and presence in the room with us.  It felt a very special time. In the observation ward we were looked after by midwife Chloe.  We were impressed and felt confident in her medical care, but it was her personal care and friendly nature which meant the world to us.  She took the time to be with us and was always smiley and calm which really helped us during this overwhelming time.   We were also grateful for the visits of Dr Pedro to explain my continuing care.

Maternity Postnatal Community  

I have been fortunate not to have to use the NHS very much and I had no idea of the postnatal community midwife service available till I gave birth to my daughter on 30th March.  I was amazed and delighted by the high number of visits and the phone calls I received during these two weeks.  Most of the midwives were so warm and encouraging and it was a wonderful experience to have them visit our home.  Being a new parent, everything seemed turned upside down and was so new with lots to get used to, that I really valued the midwives' visits as something to aim towards each day and to live off their encouragement.  I was particularly impressed with Alice who visited and called more than once, and also with Miriam who visited and with the students who came.  I was very impressed that there was a session in Florence Park on a Sunday where we were able to go to be discharged. 

I was very grateful to have the support with breast feeding my baby.  It was not a straight forward start and Miriam and Alice really encouraged me through this time.  I was very grateful to be provided with the breast pump and shown how to use it.  I was well prepared by Alice for my daughter to have lost more than 10% of her birth weight by day 5 and the feeding plan was already in place.  There were occasional differences in advice over feeding technique but generally the advice was the same.  I was really pleased with the referral to the Infant Feeding Team at the JR which was very useful to go to.

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