Feria del Nino, San Pedro

This weekend ( 26th, 27th and 28th of Feb ) there is a children's fair in San Pedro!

Attractions include stands, bouncy castles, fairground rides, workshops, crafts, bar and cafe area, performances, puppets, magic, clowns, storytelling, dance and a cinema!

The fun kicks off every day at 11 and the fair closes at 8pm. Enterance is just 4 euros per person.

The event takes place at the Recinto Ferial de San Pedro / Main San Pedro Feria ground!

Sounds like fun!

Preparing for baby books ....

There have been some complications during my twin pregnancy and although I'm keeping my fingers tightly crossed I still wonder whether the two of them will make it. So long as they are fighting away in there though I have to start to get a little bit prepared.

Luckily my acupuncturist has twins so she kindly lean't me some of her twin books! The first Double Trouble by Emma Mahony immediately grabbed my attention ( it started with a list of 10 great reasons to have twins! ) and I have just finished it so thought I'd post a little review.

Double Trouble is one of those great books that reads more like a novel than a guide book. Instead of long lists of do's and don'ts, detailed descriptions of what to do if you get various aches and complaints and what to expect at each months scan, Mahony's book is more a funny tale of her own experience of having twins and indeed being a twin herself. Much of the book is very humourous and frank and what it lacks in detail it makes up for in warmness and passion.
Mahony's chapters cover things like how to deal with nosy people who want to know if your twins are natural or ivf, the pro's and con's of various prams, hiring help after the birth, eating for 3, birth and breastfeeding and most importantly keeping your hubbie happy when you feel totally knackered!

The con's of the book are it's very London based and anyone who can't afford or doesn't want a personal maternity nurse might find it a bit offputting. Similarly Mahony is clearly an advocator of natural birth and pushes this option rather zealously which could alienate those mums to be who would prefer more intervention.
However the pro's are that it's warm, funny and her personal accounts of struggling with breastfeeding, sleep patterns and life after twins will give hope to pregnant mums in 'twin' shock everywhere!!

I'm not sure where you can buy Double Trouble in Spain but it is easily available on amazon, who are now offering free shipping to Spain ... so order away!!!

When I was pregnant with my daughter I read 'What to Expect While Expecting'. This is a long and very detailed book which basically tells you what to expect while expecting every month ... you can practically look up anything too and it will be covered in the book ... from discharge and dilation to painting your house while pregnant or looking after your pet.

The book is American, so expect some differences in medical care etc but 5 years on my issue of the book is still current and relevant and it's a good overall guide to pregnancy .... recommended!! I bought my copy in Bookworld Espana but again it can also be ordered via Amazon.

Just yesterday I was on a forum where the old baby guide book debate was raging as fiercly as ever!! It's amazing how animated mums can get when discussing Gina Ford V everyone else. My personal opinion is that what I read of Gina Ford ( The Contented Baby Book ) did seem very regimented and unnecessarily strict. When I had my daughter I went for an altogether more relaxed book called The Baby Book by Rachel Waddilove.

Rachel did advocate a four hourly feeding routine which is similar to Gina but she's much more relaxed about the rest of the time, the emphasis being on enjoying your baby while getting them into a good sleeping routine. Whereas Gina encourages mums to put their babies to sleep at the same time everyday in darkened rooms, Rachel's suggestion was that the baby slept all over the house in lightened rooms with the tv blaring, hoovering and daily household activity going on. This made more sense to me and mean't that my daughter quickly became used to sleeping in her pram, in the car, in shops, at other's houses etc ... this mean't we were not tied to the house at nap times and could be as flexible as we liked. And yes she slept through from about 3 months and was a very happy ( and contented ) baby.

I think you you should take advice from the books and then do what works for you. I never ever saw the point in waking my daughter at half 6 or 7 when she'd been up at 4 or 5 ( and so had I ! ) and so I never did. I let her sleep in the mornings till she woke up. This mean't she often woke at 10 and so happily did I! This didn't seem to interfere with her sleeping in the night even though the books said it was an absolute must to get your baby up by 7 and napping by 9. We missed all that!!!! I'm not saying this would work for everyone but it's an example of where I deviated from the books and found my own 'style'. But the books for me were a godsend when giving tips on feeding, weaning, bathing and even going out with a new baby.

Whatever book you choose you can be ensured the Baby Book debate will continue until your little one is preparing for their own children!

Back to Front ....

Currently my 4 year old sits in the back of the car in either her main car seat or a booster seat.
As I am now expecting twins I have to think ahead to how I'm suddenly going to go from one child, a buggy and a dog in the car to 3 children, a double buggy, and if possible a dog in the car!! The obvious awnser would be to get a bigger car but unfortunately for the time being that is not really an option!

I reckon that I could get two baby car seats in the back with my daughters booster seat in the middle but it's not idea. While my daughter will probably enjoy this at times, I can imagine that at other times the option of sitting in the middle of two screaming bundles won't be very attractive, so I started wondering if it's legal in Spain to sit a toddler in the front?

Luckily I have a friend whose husband is in the Spanish police so I asked them. After double checking he confirmed that it IS legal for a child to sit in the front so long as

* They are sitting in a proper ( ie not booster ) carseat which has been certified as going through the safety checks
* The airbag is turned OFF

Finding out what's legal or not is hard in Spain so I thought I'd share this bit of info. I don't particularly want my daughter sitting in the front all the time and it's not ideal either but at least we now know that it is a legal option. ( I can't imagine I'll be brave enough or energetic enough to go out with the 3 of them alone for a long time anyway!!! )

At least I have my trusty See Me Driving mirror which I am totally addicted too and which allows me to keep an eye on my daughter in the back. Don't forget www.indybel.com stock a wide range of driving accessories for mums in Spain, including the See Me Mirror, Easy View driving mirror and another favourite of mine, the Stow n Go, absolutely essential when travelling with children and all their bits and bobs!

So problem solved, but not sure where the poor dog will go :(

Public or Private?

In Spain if you have private medical insurance you can usually opt to have your pregnancy under private medical care if you want to that is! This means that many of us are in the rather unique situation of being able to choose between private or public health care or in many cases to have both.

With my daughter I had all my care under a Sanitas gynocologist. This involved monthly scans and all the usual blood tests and monthly checks. I had his phone number in case of an emergency and gave birth in a private hospital where I had my own very nice 'hotel' room!

This time round with twins I have opted for both private and state care. I started off going down the private route and then at 15 weeks my dr recommended that I register under the state system. The main reason for this is that as my pregnancy is now classed as high risk ( age, twins, dodgy cervix ) I will have to have my babies in the best hospital equiped for a high risk pregnancy. The privates don't in general have premature baby units and so the best place to have my babies is one of the state hospitals. In my case either the Costa del Sol or the Materno. ( In Marbella and Malaga respectively ) I'm happy with this, I want to have my babies in the place best equiped to care for them and me and didn't particularly enjoy my private hospital birth, although the cushy private room was a big bonus!!!

Now in Spain you can have private treatment throughout your pregnancy and then turn up a state hosptial for the birth with a folder of your notes. A lot of people do this and you don't need to have visited the hospital before turning up for the birth. Or alternatively at some point in your pregnancy you can register with the state system and receive your scans and care from the State as well as privately.
This is what I am now doing at 16 weeks. The bonus is that when you turn up at the state hospital for the birth they will have all your details in the computor and be aware of anything that needs special attention. Also with high risk pregnancies they may want to call you in more at the end and organise your birth for you, so it's important that if you are high risk that you are under the State as well as your private doctor.

Yesterday I had my first matrona ( midwife ) appointment and it was great. The matrona was really nice, quite young, spoke perfect English and amazingly the appointment was bang on time!! ( Don't often get that at my private clinic!! )

She took a really detailed gyno history and asked all about my daughter's birth and the ivf. So now I have my little Salud Embarazado book with all my notes in it. I have to go back tommorrow at 8am to do the diabetes drink and urine test. Then in March I have an appointment to see the pregnancy dr who will listen to the heartbeats and do some other checks and also that week I have an appointment with the scanning center to come in for their 20 week scan. So all in all I thought it was very thorough. If I was only going public I'd feel I was getting a good service although I guess it's luck of the draw as to who you see and the time of the appointment.
The matrona said a lot of people these days go private and public and it's a good idea.

Comparing the public and private systems is quite interesting .... here's what I've discovered so far!

* Appointment times - you can book your private appointments at times that are suitable to you and convienient. With the state system it seems to be a case of take what you are given and don't ask if you can change it!!

* Scans ... privately you have a scan every month and more if you need them. The State system offers a 12 week scan and then a 20 week scan ... not sure yet what happens after that! I do know that friends who have had 'problems' have been called in for extra scans on the state for eg at 16 weeks ...

* Quality of care .... going by my matrona appointment which was incrediably thorough, at this stage I can only say that the quality of care seems to be equal

* Hospitals ... in the private hospitals you can enjoy a nice cosy private room with your baby, in the state hospitals expect to share with at least one other person and their baby too!

More as I find it out .....................

Acupunture, Pregnancy and Fertility

I started having acupuncture last summer as after our first ivf attempt failed. I'd heard a lot about the benefits of ivf and acupuncture and acupuncture in general when trying to concieve and so decided to give it a go!

Acupuncture works to do a number of things in fertility for example stimulate follicle growth and aid implantation. Ideally your acupuncturist will discuss your individual case with you and work out a plan to maximise your fertility chances. They should also discuss things like general health, diet and lifestyle with you.

In my case my first ivf attempt had shown poor quality embryo's and the plan was to try to increase my egg count. So my acupunture was tailored around this. As well as this my acupuncturist worked on my general health which included a bit of a dodgy digestive system and my thyroid problems. Her aim was also to increase my energy levels, stop any blockages, work around my C Sec scar as this could block energy and also help me sleep better.

I wasn't too nervous about the acupuncture itself as once you've had ivf you become a pro at sticking needles into yourself anyway. Plus you'll do anything to help it work! But I know a lot of people are nervous about the prospect or find it a rather bizarre thing to do to your body!

The needles don't really hurt when they go in, occassionally I would feel a bit of pins and needles if a needle hit a nerve but on the whole it doesn't hurt. Once they are in place my acupuncturist would aid the blood flow by warming the area around the needles with something that is hot, smells nice and gives a very plesant sensation! After 20 mins or so the needles come out and you go home! My acupuncture sessions only last for half and hour. I usually feel mildly relaxed after but personally I feel the benefits later on ( better sleep, more energy etc ) whereas some people say they feel fantastic the moment they get up. Some say they go to sleep during the sessions. Depending on my mood I do find I often get a bit drowsy!

During the run up to my ivf treatment I had weekly sessions for around 2 - 3 months. The needles tended to be in my wrists, legs and toes and around the ovaries. The week of my egg collection and egg transfer and during implantation I had sessions tailored to my treatment and the needles were often put on my face in this period and rather disconcertingly my least favourite needle which is placed on the scalp. I've never liked this one!!! A couple of times I had needles in my ears too!!!
I won't pretend to know the in's and out's of acupunture but my ivf worked and worked splendidly! All my embryo's were top quality, I had more eggs, a troublesome cyst which threatened my cycle at the last minute disappeared after an acupuncture cycle and both my embyro's implanted meaning I am now carrying twins!!!!

Of course I can't claim acupunture is directly responsible for all this but I'd say it def had something to do with it.

I continued to have weekly acupuncture up to my 12 week scan. Due to past history I was scared of miscarrying so my acupunture treatment changed to help my body support the growing embyro's. At 12 weeks I did stop acupuncture but missed it so am now having monthly sessions during my pregnancy. Monthly sessions can help support the different stages of pregnancy and of course relax the mum to be. At the end you can have acupuncture to try to bring on a late labour or indeed encourage your body to hold onto baby for longer!!

I have to say my experience of acupunture has been an extremely positive one. If you are considering acupuncture for pregnancy or fertility treatment here are a few things to consider

* Make sure you choose an acupuncturist who is experienced in fertility, some have studied fertility acupuncture more than others ...

* Ask around for recommendations amongst friends

My acupuncturist is Rachel Cohen and she is avaliable in the Costa del Sol area. She charges around 40€ a session which seems to be around average.

Good Luck!!