New life & Causeway Maternity via my gardening
I have been trying to gear myself up for the new growing season. Last year’s attempt at “grow your own” went many seedlings too far. I will never grow pumpkins in the poly-tunnel again. It was like Day of the Triffids in there and if you stood too long beside the beans they wrapped climbers on you … I jest you not. They were climbing and clinging onto anything and everything. I planted too many tomatoes and chillies. I had lettuce that shot. Clearly I didn’t harvest it fast enough or it should have been grown outside. Peas are better outside, beans inside. My purple sprouting broccoli shot but produced the most wonderful green and tasty leaves that they sustained us through the winter. And lo and behold they are producing flowering heads now. Growing potatoes in tyres was perhaps not my best idea and forgetting what was where left the long suffering husband swearing that he is growing sweet damn all this year. I did go mad at the start and then my interest waned a bit when I found a particularly good book to read and he was left to tend and water for days on end.
But the plants thrived despite me. Nature has the most wonderful survival mechanism I have ever witnessed.
Much as I am awed by it I have to tell you about the best new life experience I have ever had.
My baby sister Kelly was taken into the Causeway Maternity Unit to have her third baby’s birth induced. Her blood sugar levels were a concern and the team wanted to monitor her and make sure everything was ok. And what a wonderful, caring team they are.
I came to see Kelly at afternoon visiting time and they were taking her to the delivery suite to do some sort of gel rub to induce delivery. She got out of bed, looked and me and said I've peed myself ... Happy Days! The Nurse said she means her waters have broken. I stayed with her as long as possible while Johnny tried to get a grip ... He doesn't cope well with the birthing thing until it’s over ... Bless him. It was around 5.00pm when I finally had to go and Johnny rang just before 7.00pm to say the baby had popped out in short order. According to Kelly she knew it was coming and Johnny nearly ran out and she had to tell him to take deep breathes and calm down. Men!
Mother and baby are doing great. I am ... I can't describe it ... Awestruck and tearful and happy. I would spend all day in the hospital if they would let me.
Summer Isabella was born on March 16th and weighed in at 7lb 14 & 1/2 ounces. She is beautiful. Her big sisters and her Granny Eileen came to see her. They are as taken with her as everyone else. I can’t thank the Midwife Jenny and trainee Laura enough for the care and support they gave Kelly. Doctor Rami was lovely. And I want Heather the tornado to come and live with me. Boy can she whizz round and clean and tidy and dress babies. I bet she would have my house spick and span and the seedlings in before I dragged myself out of bed.
There are many beautiful babies born at the Causeway Maternity Unit and sometimes the staff are hard pressed because nature takes its natural course and they can be inundated with mums in different stages of labour. They don’t always have enough beds. Many mums need Caesarean Sections and it’s clear it can get pretty hectic. Thing is … everyone was smiling even though they were in pain, before, during and after giving birth. Thanks to the team of dedicated carers and deliverers of little bundles of joy they made it all worthwhile.
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