Tis the Silly Season

So, the days here in the UK are getting shorter and shorter, and the temperature is also dropping. Here's hoping for a white christmas!

Now that Christmas is getting closer, I'm trying to get organised with crafts and DIY jobs. I've been following some threads on the Vogue Forum about Xmas crafts to give me some inspiration, as all as Pinterest as well, both of which have fantastic DIY ideas.

So far, I've only made a few things. My fav so far for sure is my little sock monkeys. I've never made one before so wasn't quite sure how it would turn out but I was quite surprised! I'm making a few for presents and personalising them with bows in their hair, as well as sewing little hearts onto them with as well. I've not quite finished this one, as he needs a little monkey smile as well, but nearly done. Behold!

Isn't he cuuuute! I think these will make really great gifts, and they aren't even that hard to do, just a little fiddly towards the end. I just love making things like this, it makes gifts that little bit more personal knowing that someone has physically worked to make it for you. Love!

Are you doing any crafts this christmas? Please comment and share your ideas with me so I can keep making little creations while I'm on a roll.

Here comes the sun

Just stopped packing for a moment as I'm going away on a lovely holiday tomorrow. Cannot wait to feel the sun on my skin, living in England makes me miss that warming feeling so much. Looking forward to  lounging around, relaxing, cocktailing (that is not a word) and splashing about in the water. Pretty sure that I've never dashed out of work as quickly as I did today - rushed into town to get some last minute things and have a quick wax ready for my bikini and then came home to prepare.

In the meantime, I hope you all are well and happy and aren't too jealous that I'm going to be so relaxed I'll be horizontal when I come home.

Speak to you all soon, armed with some photos! xxx

Complementary Therapies Course

Since moving over to the UK I've really missed midwifery - talking about it and practicing it. So I jumped at the chance to attend a course run by the lovely Denise Tiran which covered Complementary Therapies in maternity care. For those of you who aren't yet students or midwives, Denise is without a doubt the leading expert in this field, you cannot do an assignment on this topic without having her name take up most of the reference list.

As a new midwife, I am often asked about the use of complementary therapies during pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period but feel that I have little to no knowledge about this field. I don't really think we covered it in any depth in university and have never felt very comfortable giving advice as it was outside of my scope of practice. Apparently up to 87% now use natural remedies during their pregnancy, though this is a major area that midwives need to learn about in order to advise women correctly about what is safe and what isn't. Although natural, these remedies often act in the same way that drugs do and for that reason should be treated as such, especially as they can have negative effects.

Some topics we discussed during the two day course were aromatherpy, moxibustion for breech presentation, massage and common remedies used during pregnancy (including raspberry leaf tea and ginger). Denise ran the course so professionally, and allowed us to ask any questions that we wanted and therefore guide the course to suit our learning needs. I loved that the level was appropriate for qualified midwives, students and wannabe students as well.

I learnt so much over the two days (trust me, I wrote pages of notes!) and now feel really comfortable and confident in providing women with advice when they ask questions about natural remedies. Doing this course has also really made me interested in this field and wanting to extend my knowledge even further. I am already looking at how I can possibly do more of Denise's courses before going home to Australia!

I would seriously recommend her courses to anybody interested in midwifery, whether you are a student or hoping to be accepted onto a midwifery course, a doula or birth partner or qualified midwife. The rates for the courses are very resonable, especially if you can get a group together, and you get a certificate to put in your portfolio as well, which makes it really worthwhile.

Denise has also just let me know that she has had such an overwelming interest in her 'Introduction to Midwifery' programme for those hoping to enter midwifery in the future that has she created another shorter version to be held in Slough in November and December.

Check out Denise Tiran's website http://www.expectancy.co.uk/ for more information about the many courses that she runs and prices. Not only is there all the relevent information about the courses but also some fantastic articles which give you a real insight into complementary therapies.

Keeping off the weight

As you may have read in one of my posts a few months ago, I was on a diet and exercise plan and managed to lose 6kg or so. Great news right! Bad news is, this weight is REALLY hard to keep off. It's almost like my body doesn't want to be that weight, but rather 4 or 5kg heavier than what I want. So begins the battle with my own body to keep off a few kilos.

I've just finished reading Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by actress Portia de Rossi, which outlines her own internal struggle with her body and ultimately, her self worth as a person. On the surface, this book is about battling an extreme eating disorder, but really I think it demonstrates the pressure that women are under to look a certain way. As I'm sure we all know, the pressure often doesn't just come from outside sources but is internal as well. I found this book so fascinating and it does make you question the line between having unrealistic body image and being motivated to look a certain way.

If you get chance, pick it up from your local library. It really is an insightful and interesting read.

The seasons, they are a'changing

The weather here in the UK has turned - summer has certainly finished for the year. The air has an autumnal feel, everything is a bit crisper and chillier and a sign that winter will be here in no time at all. We've had a few rainy days as well. Before I moved over here, I never knew that weather could have such an effect on your mood. Us Queenslanders know that even if the day is rainy, tomorrow will be a fine and sunny, no matter what time of year it is. Times like this I miss the feeling of the hot sun on my skin. Even though the weather has brought my mood down slightly, and increased my homesickness, there is still a lot of beauty in the world. I was walking home in the rain, when it stopped for a few minutes and I caught this photo on my phone.

I couldn't help but smile to myself and realise that even though living away from my family can be difficult and sometimes downright depressing, life is good and I am very blessed. OK, deep thoughts with the Travelling Midwife is over now, for the moment :)

I'm not dead!

Just being terribly neglecting to my poor, little, innocent blog. Thought I should reassure my readers that I am OK, I've just been away from home and not had a chance to post any updates. Rest assured though (as I'm sure you were all stressing and on the edge of your seat waiting for another blog!) that I have the day off tomorrow and will do a few updates.

Until then!

Bath

Thought I should finally update about my trip to Bath. The city itself is so amazingly beautiful and my pictures really don't do it justice (although that may be more to do with my lack of photography skills!) We stayed at Holiday Inn Bath which was not as bad as the reputation that Holiday Inns tend to carry. The room was cheap and cheerful and did the job perfectly for us - very happy and would recommend it. Accommodation in the UK is a lot more expensive, especially in the more popular cities, than Australia so I was happy to find a relatively bargainesque hotel.

We crammed a lot into the 3 day stay, and tried to do as much as possible. Like typical tourists we bought a ticket for one of those big red buses that take you all around the city with a guide. Tacky, yes, but so worthwhile as you get to see the whole city in a few hours and really get a handle on the place you are staying. After seeing all the main sites we I indulged in a little retail therapy which was fabbbbulous. Bath is full of cute little boutique shops as well as your mainstream high street brands so there really is something for all shopping lovers.

Random fun fact about Bath: the building above was designed to feature all three traditional England class systems. The top of the building on the far left represents the lower class, the middle obviously represents the middle class (obviously) and the far right shows architecture similar to a castle, so represents upper class. I found this so cute and interesting, and never would have spotted it if it hadn't been pointed out by the tour guide.

If shopping isn't your thing then this is more than OK, as Bath has so much history that you could spend weeks here if you really wanted to explore everything. Most famously, of course, are the Roman Baths for which the city is named. During September these are open for special night viewings, and this was so worthwhile. Although I'm sure they are beautiful during daytime, at sunset and nightfall there is so much energy around the baths that provides for really great atmosphere. You also get a set of headphones in the admission price which you can listen to while walking around, but to be honest after I've been looking for about an hour I got weighed down and just read the plaques instead of listening to the audio commentry. I don't want to bore everyone to tears with history so I won't go into it, but it is really fascinating so look into it if you are interested!

The Baths at, well, Bath

View from the Roman Baths of the Cathedral

I very kindly released B from his boyfriendly duties while I visited the Jane Austen museum. For those who are interested in literature, Jane lived in Bath for a short time in her life and it features in a few of her books as well. The museum is so sweet and I really enjoyed it, maybe because I knew it wouldn't feature any of Jane's belongings as there is next to nothing left. There is a lot to be learnt there, perhaps more about Jane's time period than any huge revelations about her, but still worth a looksie if you have time.

 Finally, we had afternoon tea near Bath's oldest house (what is a British trip away without tea and scones?!). The house, which dates back to 1482, has been converted into a tea room and is very quaint. Amazing to think how old some of the buildings are, especially when you think that Australia hadn't even been 'found' yet.

I want more of these right now