We went to London today to apply in person for Imogen’s passport – which was OK but I am shattered from the whole experience! I have learnt that preparation is the key and last night spent most of the evening ensuring we had enough nappies, change of clothes, bottles and all the rest of the paraphernalia that you need and also that you only need when you don’t have it!
We went by train, but it was exhausting just worrying and thinking about all the aspects that normally when I went to London weekly for work just weren’t an issue! The main dilemma was parking and getting from one side of the station to the other, as at our station there is no lift and pedestrian access between platforms involves very long distances if you can’t manage the stairs. In the end, I parked the side we needed to leave from and carried a very heavy pushchair and baby up the other side when I got back – and still have the scars on my fingers to prove it as unfortunately there were no friendly strangers to help me!
Overall, it was all fine and I can now proudly say that we have travelled on trains, busses and black cabs, all of which catered for disabled passengers fairly well so it was OK. I was feeling very proud of myself and positive as we conquered the transport, passport office and even made lunch with Leigh and a show round of Imogen to his office.
I treated myself to a new book, chocolate bar & huge cup of tea at Waterloo for the train as Imogen was sleeping for pretty much the first time since we left home, due to the excitement of her trip. However, it started to go a little pear-shaped just outside of Waterloo when she woke with a very dirty and leaky nappy that needed urgent attention! The nappy changing unit is a tray that pulls down over the loo with no straps and the floor was very wet with dubious content, so we had a challenging time changing her and all clothes whilst keeping the change bag dry, surfing a moving train and trying to be hygienic – they should try that one on the Crystal Maze! I can’t imagine now that anything can top that for changing challenges for me (& hope not!), but would love to hear others stories!
Interesting night! Leigh went to give Imogen her dream feed and she started projectile vomiting like something from the Exorcist, which as you can imagine scared us massively! After several debates and full soakings with our daughters stomach contents (and more, but who knows where it came from, I’m sure she hadn’t eaten anywhere near that volume!) we decided to call NHS Direct for advice. Once we described the situation, we were very alarmed to hear that a rapid response vehicle and ambulance were on their way.
It was fantastic the speed with which someone arrived though, especially as we live in the middle of nowhere. The paramedic was great as well, put us totally at ease and checked Imogen thoroughly – although of course by now she was smiling and flirting rather than looking like the incredibly sick child she had been 5 minutes earlier!
The ambulance team were equally great and all spent ages cooing over the now very happy, jolly baby, whilst Leigh & I looked on in our dressing gowns coated in regurgitated milk! They strongly recommended we went into hospital for a check over, so we hastily got dressed and then I was strapped into the stretcher in the back of the ambulance whilst holding Imogen, with Leigh being sent to follow us by car.
At the hospital the staff were also very friendly, although we felt a bit stupid, especially when people kept asking if she was our first child, which made me feel that I was a paranoid parent (again!). They did all reassure us many times though that they would prefer to check out a child of this age.
Needless to say – and very luckily for us – everything was fine, she recovered immediately and we were left relieved, tired and grateful it wasn’t more serious. Also feeling a bit more confident we can deal with situations like this if they should arise again – and the advice form more experienced mums is that they will!
Had a ‘Keeping in Touch’ session at work today, which was very strange! Leigh’s parent came to look after Imogen as they live further away than mine so it’s nice for them to be able to come and spend some quality time with her. Luckily it was only a half day, so that made it easier to manage – although I have a full workshop day coming up! I really enjoyed catching up with what’s been happening and was feeling excited about the new challenges facing the team this year and looking forward to getting stuck in when I return to work. It’s really hard though to reconcile that with the fact it means I won’t be seeing Imogen for more than a couple of hours a day, four days a week. I guess you can’t prepare for that until it actually happens, but I do worry about it as I love being with her so much. I’m not planning to go back until late May, so hopefully by then I’ll be more used to the idea, although not sure you can ever be prepared!
How hard is it to get a passport for a baby!?! Getting the photo was the first major challenge! The parent cannot be in shot at all, even a supporting hand, so that pretty much rules out the booth. A baby can have their eyes shut, a small compromise to the age and difficulty! This led me to the discovery of a service at most photo counters that I never was even aware of and I proudly went to one in my local supermarket where they placed a sleeping Imogen on an especially designed inflatable white cushion to take the photos. Fantastic!I was then organised enough to send the completed forms and photos to a friend for authentication, even remembering to enclose a stamped addressed envelop to receive them back. All well so far.
Then today I went to the post office to have the forms checked and sent and the assistant seemed to take great pleasure in telling me that it was not acceptable. The main reason being that Imogen’s eyes did not fit within the exact diameters of the photo as stipulated by the rules, even though the shot is of a full head and shoulders! I mean this is a 2 month old baby we are talking about here! If she was moved up the cushion, more of her body would be in view which also flouts their rules as well! I have now been round every supermarket / camera retailer / general store in a 10 mile radius and discovered that when a shop has a sign saying they take passport photos, it does not necessarily mean they include babies! Eventually we have taken our own photo and digitally edited to meet the sizing criteria. I decided as well to take the extra cost and go to the passport office in London to ensure we get it processed properly and within a reasonable timescale.
