sillywoman

Here, here. We ARE a lovely bunch (mostly) ;)

Another voted or Polhill here, we used to go when our children were younger. Though I must say the others look good too - might take a trip out myself!

Maybe . . . . :D

Kate that sounds like a great idea, this forum is a really good place to start, but also can I suggest that handing out flyers at school out time might get to your target audience? I hope you can get your plan off the ground as I think it sound wonderful. SWx

Ooh, that's lovely WoD. Thankyou. Where did you read/hear it?

I agree. I doubt very much that anyone in ED will have children going to school that far away, especially when the schools hereabouts are so good, but you never know. Maybe Bickley has it's own forum you could ask on? As an interesting aside, we did the move the opposite direction 20 years ago. We lived in Bickley pre-children and moved here as soon as we could once we knew we were pregnant, never regretted it for a moment :D Good luck with your search. SW x

Come & we'll explore it! . . .

We are so very lucky to have the case loading midwifery teams that we have in this area, but if you can't get into one it seems that the 'neighbourhood Midwives' offer the same kind of care. It is at a very reasonable price, but my understanding is that they are hoping to prove that the caseload team model works well and then, when they have the background stats to prove it, persuade Hospital trusts to buy in their services. I think in a similar way to the deal that Kings and the much missed Albany group had? SOme of the Midwives came to the last ED Birthtalk and were telling me about their model - it sounds great. Anyway, they sound like they're definitely worth knowing about & maybe chatting to if you want a named Midwife, but can't get into The lanes, Oakwood or Brierly teams. SWx

Good morning Spring 2014 Babies, I'm just dropping into your thread to remind you that the monthly "ED Birthtalk" session is coming up on Thursday evening. This month we will be discussing Induction, so if you feel that this is something that interests you and you'd like to sit & chat about it with some others over tea/coffee/cake & biccies then please feel free to come along. The discussions are usually lively and interesting, everyone is welcome, and there's no charge. What's not to like :D Please PM me for venue details, or just come if you've already been before and know where I am. Thanks for reading this. SWx

Good morning Summer 2014 Babies, I'm just dropping into your thread to remind you that the monthly "ED Birthtalk" session is coming up on Thursday evening. This month we will be discussing Induction, so if you feel that this is something that interests you and you'd like to sit & chat about it with some others over tea/coffee/cake & biccies then please feel free to come along. The discussions are usually lively and interesting, everyone is welcome, and there's no charge. What's not to like :D Please PM me for venue details, or just come if you've already been before and know where I am. Thanks for reading this. SW x

Just to remind anyone interested: This coming Thursday Evening is the next 'ED Birthtalk'. We will be discussing Induction - How; why; the history; UK guidelines; Stats; terminology; how to have a 'good' one; what can be done to speed the process/increase effectiveness, & any stories people would like to bring. It'll be interesting one to consider with a positive slant. If you fancy an evening of tea/coffee/cake/biscuits and chat about Induction please PM me for venue details or just come along if you know where I am. :D Everyone welcome. SW xx

For those thinking of retraining in Midwifery I'd also mention to factor in that you don't get University holidays while you're training. In fact I heard that the midwifery degree has the most required hours over the three years of any degree. DOn't get me wrong - it's worth it. If Midwifery is your calling then you HAVE to do it whatever, but prepare for three years of hard work. My other tip would be - if you're juggling family and Midwifery study - go to Greenwich Uni if you have the choice. Greenwich students get an extra 3 weeks over the summer - they have to do a project which is supposed to take 100 hours during those three weeks, but most of the students I've spoken to say they can manage it over a few days leaving the extra time to have with their children.

Hi Jayjay5, I think that the threads and posts about Midwives and the services available locally tend to have different titles such as "where should I have my baby?" or something like that. So, you may need to dig a little deeper, but bluesuperted is right - it is a popular topic/theme on this forum.

Stands. I see your post has been viewed a few times but no one has replied yet (unless I cross posts). I don't know what to say - I've never been in your position, but I can imagine the visceral pull of your babies would be incredibly difficult to cope with while you're having to be somewhere else so you can put food on their table and a roof over their heads. I hope you are being kind and gentle with yourself: having lots of breaks and making sure you give yourself plenty of small treats? I'm sure that a routine will emerge and gradually it will all feel more manageable, but for now I'm sending you lots of love and sympathy via the internet. I suspect that you will have a lot of people shortly posting, as what you are describing must be a common experience of Mums having to return to work?

Apply Otta. If you get interviewed/offered you can tell them you need and extra 3K to make it work. They'll say yes or no. If 'yes' then it's a win-win. If 'no' then you've lost nothing but the hope for that particular job, and you never know they might come back to you in future if things change. Take the chance - g'waan . . .

I am retaining, after years at home with children. I'm doing Midwifery, and it's been a revelation to me quite how many older returners there are on my course. Also I've noticed that there seems to a link with women who were in the performing arts - particularly Theatre, and Midwifery, but maybe because that was my original background I just notice it more? Anyway. The oldest of our cohort is 54 and was made redundant three years ago from her job of 30 years as a marine insurance specialist. SHe's an inspiration. Jennyh: give yourself time; keep questioning; you'll find the right direction to go.

Hi Saffron end everyone, sorry I've been quiet. I've been up to my neck writing an essay and haven't lifted my head any further than a word document! So, the topic for the up-coming Birthtalk ED group is 'Positive Induction'. A toughie perhaps, but it will be interesting to see what we can come up with. I might see if I can find some aids to discussion. The meeting is on Thursday March 6th; 7-9pm at the usual venue (my house, so please PM me if you'd like the address). EVERYONE WELCOME, whatever your views or experience. If you're interested in hanging out & talking birth for a couple of hours then this is the place for you :D Tea/coffee & biscuits provided, you just bring your ability to chat, or listen - or both!

Maybe not so silly ;), but definitely with Saffron on the dying brain cells front. I do struggle with being an - ahem - 'older' returner. The sheer joy of doing what I'm meant to be doing, and the exhilaration of learning new stuff (albeit rather slower than the younger ones in my Uni cohort) makes up for that though. I'm glad I was able to have time in a less taxing job when my children were younger. BellendenBelle - That's such a sad post, and I think you're very brave to post so honestly about your situation. At the risk of pointing out the bleeding' obvious - can you maybe go back to what you were doing before?

If you are happy now, then I would say enjoy your time with your children. It passes so very quickly. You can always return to the full time training when they're older. In the meantime, if you know the career path you'd like to take in future, maybe you could look at getting some other, less intensive but related, qualifications in that area to update your skills and make you a more desirable candidate later?

Has anyone seen this? http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2001532-Things-you-NEVER-hear-a-teenager-say I read some of them out to Mr S - it helps to know we're not alone . . .

Heehee Simone. YOu could threaten that he'll find his pocket money 15% lower than normal if he doesn't complete the chore. I sometimes add "with good grace" but am losing the battle with that one!

I think I recall that the way they work will be more akin to The Lanes team than to The Albany, but still - caseload care with an aim for 1:1 midwifery. Bite her hand off Alison :D SWx

This is an excellent starting place. They do such good work. http://www.uk-sands.org SWx

Beautifully posted Saffron. I speak as one who has a slight inclination toward woo-ism. :D

Well this months 'Birthtalk ED' has been and gone. We had a lovely, busy session with Midwives, Mums and Babies coming to chat and eat cake. Our focus was 'Birth as a right of passage' and some interesting ideas were discussed around this, ranging from questioning whether we felt it was 'birth' that was the right of passage or the early weeks of motherhood, through anthropological concepts of 'what is a right of passage' - linking with the notion of time out of your community to emerge as something different - to how/whether we as a society are any good at preparing women for this time, allowing, or encouraging them to have this time (pressures from media and celebrities to get back into shape/work), or even recognising that birth IS a time of change for a women - particularly with the first child. So a busy, and well attended session. Thankyou to all who could come. It was lovely to see so many new faces as well as some familiar ones. The next session is an evening one. It will be on Thursday March 6th, 7-9pm. For venue details please PM me. I'll update with news of the topic once I hear what it is. Thanks again, SWx