Hello
This is the first post since Meera was born. It is not a very exciting post but it the first of many to come.
The next post will be of more interest and I will add pictures of Meera over the last four and a half months.

Regards

Alex
(Meera’s Dad)

Hello

Meera was born on the 23rd March at 19.42 (BST) and weighed 5lbs.
Yummy mummy and daughter are both doing fine.
More news and pics to follow.

The UK government is presently attempting to continue its roll out of standarising health professions. It has already done so with professions such as osteopathy and chiropody/podiatry and now it is turning its attention on midwifery.
The problem here is one of insurance. Independent midwives work in a potentially highly litigious arena and at present are unable to secure professional indemnity insurance in the UK.
Midwives working for the NHS are insured via their employer but at present there is no insurance available for the independent sector.
It is a laudable idea to encourage insurance (although this will not make birth any safer) but surely the UK government morally ought to put its shoulder behind the insurance sector to nudge them into a establishing a solution which will protect the public and the profession.

Failure to do so will lead to the end of independent midwifery in the UK.

A petition has been set up on the Number 10 website, please consider signing it here.

For further informed discussion please check out the recent BBC Radio4 Womans Hour interview, available here.

This is a very clever combination of Dragons’ Den and X Factor

I’ve found a fantastic site.

Ever needed to turn on a tap at night?

or how about tattoos for your offspring?

or maybe a catapult?

The site is called Perpetual Kid and can be seen here.

JA Joshi the author of “Follow the Cowherd Boy” is giving a talk in Dallas today, so if anyone is in the area why not go and meet her. The email I received is quoted below.

Hi everyone,

Jai Joshi here. Most of you know me from the Lewisville Writers Guild or the Frisco Writers Group but some of you will know me from talks I have given on different aspects of writing.

I wanted to let you know about my next event which is tomorrow, March 7th, at Preston Royal Library in Dallas, 7pm. I’ll be discussing the craft of novel writing with tips on how to plan and write your own novel. I’ll also be discussing the pros and cons of self publishing in contrast to traditional publishing.

If any of you are interested in coming to the talk, it’s open to the pubilic.

Thanks,

Jai Joshi
Author of Follow the Cowherd Boy

With five weeks to go we are now in the twighlight zone.

We have everything prepared that we can prepare: the bags are packed, the route (and alternatives) to the hospital has been tested, the baby seat and cot and all of the other paraphernalia has been bought and the classes taken. We are armed with knowledge and plans and alternatives to these plans. We have dotted the “i’s” and crossed the “t’s”.

We are now waiting for Meera to make her appearance. Who knows when?
Each week is flying past, we can’t wait. Our life is about to change for ever.

I’ve started an arguement/debate on tripadvisor.com

Yummy Mummy, Meera and I are going to Paris for a few days in September. We are staying in an apartment near to the Jardin du Luxembourg which is one of our favourite parks in the city.

Yummy mummy hopes to breastfeed Meera and although we will have our own apartment I did wonder what the parisian attitude to breastfeeding in public is. So I asked.

For those not familiar with tripadvisor.com. It is one of the worlds most useful internet sites. We have had many holidays in Europe (and even one in New York) after first consulting the site.
The site features reviews written by travelers, links to relevant travel articles from newspapers, magazines and travel guidebooks, and has a very active traveler forum area (bulletin boards).

I asked a question on the Paris forums (some might say “lit the blue touch paper”) regarding public breastfeeding and have started a fascinating and at times funny debate. My favourite comment so far is:

Now - if you all excuse me I will put a blanket over my head and eat my breakfast – No! – lets live it up a little! I’ll take mine in the bathroom!

The debate is here.

Its been some time since I last wrote, so sorry for not saying thank you sooner to everyone who attended yummy mummy’s baby shower.

Everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves and this would not have been possible without the good spirits of those in attendance and the help that everyone gave in its preparation.

We must in particular thank Lish who single handed planned the event from start to finish. Lish is widely recognised by all that know her to be one of the kindest and most thoughtful people that you could ever wish to meet. She is a good friend and yummy mummy and I are very lucky to have her as a sister in law. Thanks Lish

Special thanks also to Barnes for the cake and to Debra and Rebecca for their multitasking help on the day.

Of course thank you to all for all the wonderful gifts for Meera. Together with the bags of clothing supplied by my sister Angeline, Meera now has more clothing than I have ever worn in my whole life!

Meera is still working on putting on weight during pregnancy week 36. While that may not seem very exciting, keep in mind this is her primary job from now until delivery. Round babies are healthy babies. Even more fat is deposited on her chubby little cheeks and powerful sucking muscles also contribute to Meera’s full face.

She may now be between 5-6 pounds in weight.

Most of the bones (soft skull aside) in Meera’s little body are now completely hardened, providing a solid support structure.

In physical fitness news: muscle tone has also improved over these past few weeks, and by now Meera will have an impressive steel-like Ulnar grasp (a reflex that occurs if you lay your finger in the palm of a newborn baby).

Finally, in the fluids/excretion department: the amniotic fluid-to-baby ratio has fallen over the past weeks, although she is still swallowing fluid (building up even more meconium for that historic first poo).

Did you know that some researchers believe babies actually releases a signal to trigger labour? There are actually several different theories.

Some believe that when a baby’s brain is completely mature it sends a signal to the foetal adrenal glands. These glands then start to secrete the hormone cortisol, which may alter the metabolism of oestrogen and progesterone, resulting in labour.

Other researchers have postulated that the foetal lungs secrete signals indicating they are mature, as well as enzymes that result in the release of prostaglandins, which help the cervix ripen and help the uterus to contract. This is highly likely as the body does release prostaglandins around the time of birth.