New Horizons

Please excuse any errors due to writing in a largely sleep deprived state due to the newest addition to the Mabbutt household, baby Connor, born on the last day of July. The whole labour experience wasn't very pleasant for anyone involved but that rant is stored for another day. Some friends have questioned why I haven't posted any pictures of him online as they are all very keen to see him. Well my friends in Australia notwithstanding, you can see him any time you like. He's in our house 24 hours a day. Also, with social media pictures, he doesn't have a say in whether or not he wants his pictures to go on facebook and therefore I don't want to put pictures up unless he wants me to. I know I wouldn't want unapproved pictures of me going on facebook. If you don't feel close enough to us to visit but would like to see what offspring I have produced then I don't mind sending you a picture, just not for the public domain.

Parenthood in general is pretty much what everyone painted it as. "You'll have no idea what it's like! Life changing!" I heard those two phrases ad nauseum whilst Abi was pregnant and now I know why. I'm bloody knackered. He is a very nice looking baby and I have fun interacting with him but he doesn't do much further than produce stuff from various orifices. He has also learnt we come running if he cries, so now does so just for attention even if he is full, burped and changed.   However since going back to work I do look forward to coming home to see him. He did start smiling recently but I'm pretty sure that's gas. Surprisingly, he is pretty cost neutral. The money I spend on nappies and formula *gasp from the breastapo* is mitigated by the lack of money I spend on socialising. Also, we get 20 quid a week from the goverment just for procreating, which I find astounding as I think the government has better things to spend their money on than. The money could probably far more benefit somebody else as opposed to a family who are relatively comfortable. I won't say no to free money though so I'm not that saintly.

I have also started a new job in a new hospital in a city an hour away. I have decided not to move there as we currently have a good social support network in Northampton and I'm not exactly a fan of Leicester having lived there for 4 years and being burgled and robbed plenty of times. I've never worked in a large teaching hospital before and it is definitely a step up. In complexity and number of patients. I'm working in Paediatric surgery which is immensely interesting and rewarding, and being a parent myself definitely helps me know what parents of sick children go through. However as it's a new place I need to gain the trust of my bosses before I'm allowed to do anything, and still getting to grips with drug dosing and differences with children as patients. The nurses are very experienced and are quick to provide feedback on how best to position patients and cannulate them etc. Also, all juniors from FY1-2, CT1-2, ST1-3(paeds) GPVTS1-2 are all on the same rota, so I get a feeling not much is expected of us if a house officer can do the job, and sometimes feel like I'm treated accordingly. No offence meant to house officers but you gain some insight into how a hospital works if you've done it for 5 years already. I did an elective module in Paediatric surgery as a student and wanted to be a paediatric surgeon, but the lack of jobs and wide geographic area over which they work both put me off.

As for the hospital itself. The computers are standard hospital slow, the parking is terrible, the lifts are haphazard, the ceilings are too low, the neonatal unit is a 10 minute walk from the paediatric ward, the canteen is extortionate and all the catering staff wear silly looking flat caps. Other than that I like the new hospital I work in. I've also been assigned to do an audit, one that isn't related to my specialty which is odd as I'm normally pretty proactive in starting my own. I guess it's to make sure everyone gets one done so the department looks good.

Another gripe I had from the last week came in the form of an email I received. I was sent am email with a poster for a local conference and there were 100 spaces. The price was £40 for nurses and other health care professionals and £70 for doctors. Now why the bloody hell do I have to pay almost double the amount of money that a nurse has to for what is exactly the same list of lectures and seminars. I don't get anything extra and before people say "but doctors get paid more, so should pay more" I say a band 8 nurse consultant or matron is on a damn sight more money than I am, so should they pay more as well?

I've also had my supervisor meeting where my masterplan for ST3 applications was formulated. All in all the last few weeks have been all new and exciting.