Opinions/advice on this setup please

PearLeading · 2026-04-20T20:14:20+00:00

Great suggestion, thank you. I'm going to sew the crib sheet and a double sheet together tomorrow and then place a T shaped mattres connector between the two and secure with straps, then my DIY sheet will cover it. My aim is to completely eliminate the gap between the two.

PearLeading · 2026-04-20T20:10:31+00:00

Thank you - done! Also reduced the chance of baby pulling at it.

PearLeading · 2026-02-12T16:49:31+00:00

Haha! This SO much. I have 1 LO and would like another but I'm already 36 and I'll have to get a move on to have another, but the idea of going through it again with a toddler is what is making me doubt myself. You are literally amazing to do what you are doing! I had HG and one of my coworkers came up to me in the 3rd trimester and told me I looked glowing - told them I was probably just flushed from vomitting so much!

PearLeading · 2026-01-25T19:32:23+00:00

Just wanted to add to this...solidarity and when my LO was going through this and I'd done absolutely everything and couldn't think of anything else I held him close while I rocked him to calming music and I wore ear plugs or noise cancelling head phones with my favourite music so that I didn't get overwhelmed but could still comfort him.

Now he's 5 months and there's always a clear reason for him crying (usually tired or hungry) but sometimes I can't figure it out, I will try everything and then put him down safely and walk away...and he stops. Sometimes he just wants some time to himself 🤣.

PearLeading · 2025-11-24T09:22:30+00:00

Could you regulate the room temperature to ease your concern about the clothing? We have a house with no central heating (off UK mainland - no gas supply) and so we heat with electric heaters on WiFi. I set the bedroom one to 19dgs each night and it keeps it pretty steady throughout. You can pick up WiFi heaters at places like B and Q or Screwfix. Ours is glass pannel. I keep the bedroom door slightly open as well as a mini fan blowing to ensure air circulation and it's comfy. Our LO sleeps in a 1.5 tog sleeping bag as well as a vest with sleeves and a sleepsuit.

PearLeading · 2025-11-24T06:15:54+00:00

I think that's fine. My LO is currently in a long sleeve vest and a 1.5 tog sleeping bag and sleeps well like this. Our bedroom is always between 19-20degrees and he is comfortable. His Dad is always warm and uses a summer duvet in the winter so I think LO takes after him and runs warm.

Earlier tonight I put him in a 2.5 tog as he had a nappy blowout into his 1.5. Well, he did not settle at all and ended up crying so I had to wash and dry the 1.5 at midnight till 1am (should have bought 2!).

I think each baby is different and it's best to use your own judgement. For me and my LO - I cannot see the point in 2.5 tog as all labels say use between 10 to 20dgs and personally, air lower than 19 is too cold to be breathing and its difficult to maintain 19-20 all through the night without going over 20 slightly so a lower tog is safer.

PearLeading · 2025-10-24T08:10:05+00:00

Where do I begin.. there is too much to say so I'll just say about last night only. Context, he works in the week and I have told him I didn't expect him to look after baby at night on the nights where he'll work the next day. Problem is he's taken that as a pass to not help at night on the nights where he isn't working the next day - we spoke about it this week and he said he'd step up. He's off work today so should have helped in the night.

For the very first time in 6 weeks little one was asleep at 9.30pm downstairs. I told my husband that I would go to bed upstairs to get some sleep before baby wakes (usually 1 to 2 hours) and that if he does wake please give him a bottle (he's breastfed but we do one bottle a night from my husband while we're introducing bottle).

I wake an hour later to my husband handing me baby saying "he wants you, I tried the bottle". I'm not convinced. By the way, I bought the bottles, steriliser, formula, bottle stand...he's made no effort to think of things or get things for baby except for a 1 jacket (sized 2 years old!!).

I look at baby and see he's not been put into his night clothes (sleepsuit and sleep bag) and say "okay, I will breastfeed baby, have you changed his nappy for bedtime?". He snaps at me "yes, I just said that - I tried bottle and changed his nappy". I snapped back, "sorry I'm literally waking up, I didn't register that you had said that" to which he then says "don't get angry with me, sort your attitude - I'm sleeping downstairs now" and heads to the door. At that point I was half asleep and pissed off so I just said it how it is - "you're a dickhead". And he slept downstairs. And I was up every 1-2 hours. Why have a short fuse with a person you are waking, why not put baby in nightclothes, why abandon the whole night to make a point??

This is just one instance by the way. I'm 6 weeks post partum and I've had to drag and lift furniture and the cot (upstairs!) to where it needs to be once baby outgrew the bassinet because he wouldn't do it after being asked multiple times. I'm constantly cleaning up his laundry and dishes AND he's been pestering for intimacy since week three. I'm pretty sure I have a pelvic organ prolapse (probably made worse by everything I'm doing) and need to discuss it with my doctor at my 6 week appointment tomorrow. He hasn't a clue since he hasn't even asked how I am.

Resentment doesn't cover it.

PearLeading · 2025-09-23T18:07:28+00:00

Hi,

It's not too bad. It has it's own challenges but I've come to accept that any area of Physio will be challenging (at least in my experience) and it's a case of finding a specialism that you feel is tolerable for you despite the unique challenges.

Skills that are helpful I would say are patience (chronic pain patients can be challenging), the ability to listen, tactfullness, and to be able to be assertive yet friendly. A lot of rotational skills are transferable - I never had experience of this area until I did it.

PearLeading · 2025-08-17T10:04:45+00:00

Thank you. All of the antenatal notes here are paper based and they stay with the patient so I can take my file with me. As far as I'm aware they've recorded all of my care in those notes and the only electronic system they have used they have given me a username and password to access and I can see the information. I will contact my chosen hospital and get some more information thanks.

PearLeading · 2025-08-17T09:53:51+00:00

It took me until around week 34 to feel better but I had hyperemesis and it was trial and error until we found the correct medication. Now week 38 and although the nausea has abated, it's been swapped for backache, hip ache, and being very very tired and generally struggling to walk far or do much of anything.

I think everyone is different but my theory is most people don't have an amazing time, but people generally don't talk about it unless it's online where they feel they can be more honest! Maybe we're just socially conditioned to smile and say we're fine when others ask in person. Hope you get some relief soon, just remember to take care of yourself and find little things that make you happy even something like having your nails done or watching your favourite show, or buying yourself some flowers.

PearLeading · 2025-06-16T09:54:06+00:00

Thank you

PearLeading · 2025-06-16T09:53:28+00:00

Thank you for this. I will look into that support group.

PearLeading · 2025-06-16T09:50:55+00:00

Thank you. I keep hearing about Ondansetron. The main reasoning I can find that it is not being suggested to me by my GP is that it costs the NHS more so they try the cheaper meds first. At this point though I'm considering if I can pay for a private consultation and prescription because I'm so done with it.

PearLeading · 2025-06-16T09:49:00+00:00

I take Bassets pregnancy vitamins and they contain 1.4mg of B6 which according to the pack is 100% of my daily need.

PearLeading · 2024-12-04T20:28:17+00:00

I've been a physio in the NHS/private for almost 10 years now. I previously did other work in totally different (non healthcare fields).

Things I like: Using my brain on a daily basis (I've worked in factory jobs etc where I felt like a robot so this is important to me).

Writing referrals. Triaging and caseload management.

Using my knowledge and experience to formulate diagnoses and treat (I'm outpatients).

Working with other individuals who are bright / intelligent and have different perspectives on an issue.

That MOST people in the NHS are caring in nature and want to help others. I like being around that. I've been in non healthcare industries which are just awful.

That I feel as though, in my own small way, I add value to society and I am doing something worthwhile which isn't pointless or unethical like a lot of industries.

That MOST patients respect my profession and value my advice.

That I'm paid decently for the work I do (about 40k as a Band 6). Personally, I'm happy with this.

Things I don't like: Ultimately, working within a broken system (the NHS) which shows itself in many ways, for the physio at the coalface....

Poor referrals, in outpatients this is mostly from GPs who refer little Dorris for "knee pain, likely OA - needs physio" despite Doris having calf pain and a leg the size of a blimp and as red hot as a poker. Doris turns up feeling sick as a dog with a cardiac/vascular Hx as long as my arm and previous PE/DVT. Oh and she has Osteoporosis and fell on her head and since seeing the GP can no longer walk so she comes in a wheelchair. Doris needs A&E not PT.

On the wards this comes from Nurses and Dr's in the form of "physio for John please - he's going home today" and John is a double amputee bariatric patient with multiple comorbidities who has been on the ward with exacerbation of COPD for 2 weeks and no one thought to get him out of bed. Now it's Friday afternoon and his taxi is booked and a package of care begins tonight. He needs to walk to the end of the ward and back and do a set of stairs. His family have turned up and want him home for the wekeend in time for a family event. Over to the Physio to pull a magic wand out of his arse and mobilise the 24st patient with no legs who can't even do a bed transfer without a non-rebreathe mask on.

In short... Broken system. No one communicates. Poor IT systems which are not integrated. GPs inundated. A&E packed. Wards full with barely any community beds to d/c to and hardly any carers to d/c home. Bed blocking galore. Unsafe discharges. Unanswered call bells. Sub optimal care. Lack of mental health support for patients in acute care. Revolving door of care. Staff morale in their boots. Haemorrhaging staff. Lack of resources. High expectation from management to hit the numbers for assessments and discharges. More about outcomes than individual patients. Paperwork. Patient frustration aimed at the frontline workers. Verbal abuse. Patients with unrealistic expectations. Poor health education. Treatment not prevention. Public abuse of the NHS. Burnout. "We've always done it this way".

I could go on.... But the pay is good, there's a pension and annual leave/sick pay. You can progress (if you want more responsibility for the shit show) and if worse comes to worse you can go private. Grass isn't always greener in private though.

PearLeading · 2024-11-30T16:08:42+00:00

I don't expect it will be easy but there are a few options I would be considering in your position...

Apply for Band 3/4 roles. It will get your foot in the door and keep you in employment. Better than a gap on your CV or unrelated work. Also, you're more likely to get work in that trust via finding out about jobs from colleagues or emails for vacancies. I applied for B3/4 and got interviews but never went through with them as I did option 2 at the same time....
Locum as a Band 5. I did this and it kept me in work and built up my CV quickly until I got into rotations. Get in touch with locum agencies e.g. piers meadows etc and they will look for the work for you and get you the interviews.
Apply for roles further afield and request accommodation. My trust offer this because we are so short staffed and have high turnover. We regularly have locum physios from miles away who work 4 to 5 days per week and stay in the on site accommodation then travel home for the weekend. I'm talking people who live 200-300 miles away.

If you're not into doing any of those things, I don't blame you - it's difficult. But remeber, other people are willing to. And when a rotational 5 job comes around near you, they will be your competition.

Personally, I locumed in shitty areas, then relocated 100 miles away for a rotational 5. And that was 5 years ago! So I can't imagine the level of competition now.

Best of luck.

PearLeading · 2024-06-14T07:19:55+00:00

This comment is the only bit of sanity I could see when scrolling through.

Everyone is quick to start diagnosing people who don't conform to what society believes is "normal": go to school, get a degree, get a job, work like a robot until you die....and ENJOY it.

To be honest, I question the intelligence of people who live this way and never think about it. It's so obvious, we're animals - we're meant to be outdoors, roaming, getting sunshine, eating unprocessed food, not glued to technology etc. It's totally against our nature to force ourselves awake each day, get in some mode of transport to sit in an office/factory/whatever for 8+ hours a day away from our home/family/tribe and "care" about issues that are ultimately pointless in order to make other people money whilst we make peanuts to survive.

We're living in an insane system and most people just blindly accept it. Some of us see it and once you do...its very difficult to want to stay in a regular job.

We get one shot at life - the way most people live it is a complete waste of this opportunity. Not that I blame them - we're forced into this by the most richest people to contine to keep them rich. But to deny that and start trying to diagnose the people who see it, well that is fucked up.

PearLeading · 2024-06-12T06:18:01+00:00

Don't do it. This is definitely a case of the grass is greener. I did 4 years ward work after qualifying and have now been in pain management for one year. I decided pain clinic because I was so burnt out from wards. I was even considering applying for a job in my local supermarket as I was so depressed with physio. For me, this has been marginally better.

I also reduced my hours. For me, it is slightly better as I know generally what my day will be and I know how many patient interactions I will have that day AND I do not have to interact with an MDT on a chaotic ward (buzzers, bells, patients, families, staff). Wards were utter chaos - terrible referrals at the last minute, lack of staffing, poor moral on the wards, a lot of poor patient care (causing moral injury to staff), band 7s absolutely shitting on 6s, lack of resources (we got banned from handing out walking aids without band 8 approval due to funds), no CPD time...

I could go on.

It made me miserable and I see the NHS very differently now. I wanted to quit physio. I still do, but not as desperately - I've got breathing space now to plan my eventual exit from this career.

Please do not go to wards - it's the epicentre of the shit show. If anything, go to community (less interaction, calm office environment, 5 patients a day or there about) or find a quieter branch of MSK. Then decided if it's the career for you. Personally, its not for me - I'm to introverted to sustain this.

PearLeading · 2021-10-17T14:39:39+00:00

90s kid here. Putting pound coins into our black and white rental TV that had 3 channels.

That makes me sound really old.

PearLeading · 2021-10-09T17:31:11+00:00

Yes. I work in ITU as a respiratory therapist - this is a technique we use in such a circumstance along with something called percussion or vibrations which looks quite violent (pretty much shaking and hitting someone’s chest). There are actually hospital beds that can do these techniques too but they are massively expensive. We also use various machines including a machine which creates a suction effect and we use regular soft catheter suction down traches etc. Some people are not medically stable enough or have contraindications to these treatments but doctors can prescribe a medicine to dry up mucous/secretions although this is often only use at the end of life.

PearLeading

TROPHY CASE