Noah

Scuppered

Well, I was all set to go to see the Head on Thursday when James phoned soon after getting to work to tell me they have changed his delivery time. As this is the main part of his job, he has to work around it and consequently his boss has said no to him working a 2-8 shift. He will be allowed to work 5-8 for now, but as the delivery will be sorted first thing in the morning they will probably want him to work then. Of course, this leaves us scuppered in terms of looking after Noah so will probably mean James will have to quit his job.
I called the school and cancelled my Thursday appointment and went today instead to withdraw my application to work part time. Wouldn't have made much difference any how as the Head turned down my application any way. When we first heard about James's work I was really upset at the thought of going back full time but now I kind of feel better as it appears working part time was never going to be an option anyway.

Summoned to the Head's office.

Well, I received a call from school today asking if I could come in tomorrow to see the Head. I'm hoping it's about my application to work part time and that he's going to say "sure that's just fine!" Something tells me it won't go that smoothly.

A few explanations!

Thanks for your comments everyone, it has encouraged me! Lori asked for a few explanations in her comments about my previous entry so I thought I would post them here in case there are other people who are wondering the same things! First of all PGCE stands for Post Graduate Certificate in Education and is the British teaching qualification. It takes a year and is a combination of lectures and placement work along with essays and other assignments. I was really looking forward to starting in last September, especially since Swansea University is a great place to do it and there is a lot of competition for the places. However, not long after I had my interview for the course, I found out about Noah and so had to defer for a year. I'm currently supposed to be starting this September but I don't see how it's going to work out as I would be gone during the day and James would have to work full time to (barely) support us. That would leave Noah by himself all day, which doesn't seem quite right?! Any how, I'm looking at other possibilities.
Onto home birth! Yes, I had Noah at home! The idea was planted when James and I started going to ante natal classes and the first topic was "Active Birth". This is pretty much the opposite of drug controlled birth and encourages women to move around as much as possible, using breathing and different position to make labour easier. The midwife also said that the key to a shorter more comfortable labour was to be relaxed and as a result many women find being in their own home more relaxing than being in a hospital. This struck a chord with me and so I talked to my health care team about having a home water birth as warm water is not only relaxing but an effective pain reliever. Also, it's less traumatic for the baby as they emerge from a small, warm, wet environment to a large, warm, wet one before they are gently picked up by mum and put on her chest. They were pretty supportive so that's what we did. Having the pool in the front room was certainly a talking point and it gave James something to do whilst I was in the early stages. It was amazing! The midwives who attended me were fantastic and it went really well, although I didn't manage to have Noah in the water but on the dining room floor instead. In all I was in labour from about 9 a.m. Friday morning until 6 a.m. Saturday. I went for a walk with James during that time and watched tv. In fact I felt pretty good until the early hours of Saturday morning! Throughout Friday I kept thinking, "is this really labour? surely now they're coming less than 5 minutes apart I should be in a lot more pain!" Anyway, Noah was 11 pounds 1 oz and I think if they had known he was going to be that big they would have taken be into hospital!
Finally, Pentrehafod. It's the Comprehensive School I work at. I am the Librarian and a Cover Supervisor. That means I get the pleasure of covering classes when the regular teachers are absent. It's hard work. Pentrehafod is in one of the roughest parts of town and our kids are quite difficult. I have enjoyed being there, especially in the library but I am ready to move on!
Well, I think that about covers it! Hope that helps!

Long time no see and a revamp to go along with it..

Well, it has been a year and a half since my last entry and so much has happened, I don't know how to write it all down!  Luckily for me the few people who will read this know all my news anyhow so I don't have to worry about reviewing the last 18 months.  The major events I suppose have been third anniversary; miscarriage; acceptance onto PGCE; pregnancy; Noah's arrival (in the front room with the aid of a large inflatable pool of water)!  I'm still at Pentrehafod, although on Maternity Leave, James is still at Boots and still looking for a new job.  Life doesn't change that much does it?  The tree in our garden referred to is gone and we have spent many hours digging out it's remains.  This summer is about getting the garden sorted I hope!  

We have started some work on the house interior also - Noah's bedroom has been recarpeted and repapered and repainted.  The downstairs bathroom is also in the process of being ripped out to make room for a new kitchen.  So I guess we have progressed.  

Noah is a fantastic baby; very content and easy going.  He is sitting up now with a little help from me to steady him and prefers that to being on his back.  He is also happiest when completely starkers and shows his approval by vigorously kicking his legs about!  He has started singing too!  It sounds a little like a dog really going awoooo arrooo but is very cute.  He is the apple of my eye!  Well, I'm going to try and write on here regularly but I made need encouragement so comments would be welcome.  Until next time this is Naomi signing out.