I mean this very kindly but I think your chance of a smooth labor would be increased if you arrive at the hospital early and the nursing staff get to know you before decisions such as IVs become routine must do in their minds. If you are able to explain things clearly before you are too far along in your labor I would hope that they will work with you as long as your doctor verifys the instructions. There is more time for that if you are there and assigned to your nurse. Also remember that sometimes L and D is full. It was the day ds was born......it did not matter that I was already a hospital patient or knew most of the staff. I labored in the c section recovery area and got a room with a half hour to spare. It was pretty scary because it went quick and dh got stuck in traffic. I was by myself with staff for most of the time. A side note is he did a great job during the delivery. I felt really safe. If you trust the perinatologist talk to him about your delivery plans and get his opinion on when to arrive at the labor and delivery area. You need to develop the best relationship possible with him.

Sounds like you are very fortunate to be in the practice you are in. Enjoy it -- it sounds quite peaceful. I will pray for a safe and easy delivery for you.

With my original OB they functioned differently in terms of their partnership. It was a great practice where my concerns were always listened to and quite honestly unless hospital policy was being violated if I did not want different testing etc. My wishes were honored as long as dh and I clearly understood what we were refusing. My perinatologist had protocol for most things. It was a partnership of four and exceptions had to be approved by three. I had to have many tests that I would have rather skipped in order to be their patient for subsequent pregnancies. They ended with miscarriages. I adored my perinatologist and completely credit him with ds being the bright healthy boy that he is. To be honest I did not personally care for two of the doctors in the practice but they were highly qualified and familiar with my case. I was very lucky to be admitted to the hospital the night I was or a different doctor would have been primary. The fact that my treatment was laid out by that particular doctor was definately in my best interest. They bickered over me for months with what was laid out originally being the master plan and I held them to it. Their practice was quite frankly a political nightmare. That is why I found my OB easier.

Actually I know several. Two of the dads are in charge of day to day activities and education because their wives have careers. In one case he is completely in charge and it the other the mom is still planning everything. I know some people that due to self employment share duties. With dad doing specific things one or two days a week. We never quite know which parent to expect on our outings. In the last case due to the death of the mother the father is stepping into the role of full time home ed dad. It is a recent role because my friend has only been gone a little over a month but he has been doing the bulk for about six months. My friend did much of the planning and ordered all the curriculum before she died. We (her friends) are trying our best to support him in any way needed. Our dh's are also making an effort to show up on more of our outings to give him male companionship! It is going well partly because we were a pretty constant presence in his home for the last few months--sort of a group of bossy sisters. He is very used to us so feels comfortable I think. But this is a pretty extreme situation where everyone involved really cares. I really miss my friend and want to stay a part of her family's lives. For our family the older the dc's get the more dh helps out. He has skills and interests that I don't and is able to make subjects come alive that I can only supervise the curriculum. He also was a university professor for several years so more comfortable teaching now the basics are donen

Sorry I can't seem to quote and post this time so I will just reply As I said I am more of an interested observer but I think my new graduate friend said she needs to work in her local hospital (she was going home to Wales) for either 2 or 3 years in order to be a village GP. So essentially a resident for those years. She was fascinated by what dh and I were telling her about US path. But the differences seemed to be terminology in many cases. Honestly not sure that it ends up shorter if they want to practice not do research. According to the stats we have looked at local village GPs make about £120,000 with no malpractice insurance. They are amazingly professional for the most part. Yes people complain but brits love to complain about the weather and health care. They admit it too! LOL My friend just died of cancer a month ago and I was amazed at the kindness her doctor showed not just to her but her family and friends. She came within a couple of hours for months when things were not going well. I was astounded to say the least. She received excellent care and was able to stay home with her family.

I know a couple of just starting uni students here in the UK and their high school / A level prep is far above what most US people enter with. Most are entering with A* in 5 science and math subject area and at least 11 A or A* core GCSEs. IMO they probably already have an associates degree in US terms before walking through the doors at Uni. I think that explains the program time difference. Also from the one person Post graduate I have talked to she had very little hands on experience with patients while in her Uni program. That comes after. I am far from an expert on this--just an interested observer who has been trying to figure out the differences in the two educational systems since moving to the UK!

:grouphug: Not knowing the situation just remember that you were doing someone a favor and you obviously tried. Really what more should be asked of you? Please don't be too hard on yourself. Apologise and put it behind you if needed.

One thing we have been doing is a google at the end of sciene and history. We spend about 15 minutes watching videos and looking at slides at the end of each class. This has given me a way to check that ds has retained the main points of the lesson and for him to learn a bit more. He looks forward to it because we never know what we are going to end up doing. One day we watched a giant squid steal a video camera. I wanted him to watch how they swim and move. Educationally maybe not great but boy did his enthusiasm increase. Dd and I had fun with it too.

During my high risk pregnancies the perinatologist essentially became my OB. I could no longer be seen or receive advice from my OB who I really respected. It basically depends if they are willing to transfer you in as a patient or not. Not sure how things work now in the US or with an HMO. I was BCBS and they were part of a teaching hospital. Also be prepared because in my opinion the policies in the perinatology practice were much less flexible then my original OBs. They had tons of protocol which I did not agree with but lived through in order to have them for my doctors. The thing you will like the most is they were very prepared to discuss the statistics of my situation.

The Unicorns Secret series by Kathleen Duey -- Moonsilver is the first I just looked and amazon carries them but I bought dd's from Chinaberry years ago. They are chapter books written at a similar level to The Boxcar Children (original) another favorite. I recommend looking at Chinaberry for ideas. They helped me many times find the right book for dd when she was a rather young advanced reader. They also seemed to be the first to really feature some of what became our favorites -- Sea of Trolls and Milly Molly Mandy both came from there.

I liked it too. Easy to read.

Oh Elizabeth I just want to say thanks for the great posts. You have helped me decide that WWS is what I am going to try next with DS. The highlighting idea may work with other subjects as well!

I am going to pass on the advice the advice I was given by my friend who was my only advisor when I started home ed -- I refused to follow it with dd my oldest but with ds I learned that for that child she was right. She kept telling me that even though they tested very well ability wise they were not ready because they were too young for books meant for older children. Her son's all read the simple stuff at 5 and moved up with a typical progression although gifted. I will swy that I know her dd read Black Beauty at 5 so she did not completely follow her views. With my son he loved the act of completing a book. We checked out stacks of early readers -- the ones that said I can read! He was prolific and happy. I read plenty of classics out loud. I want to add that when dd read something that caught his eye he would read it. Happily read Dragon Rider at six. He would finish things if I wasn't quick enough -- Harry Potter. The bigger print suggestion is great and may have been Ds problem but my friend may have been right too.

:grouphug: I would also see if there is a way to call your county directly if you need an ambulance. I know it is not as quick as 911 but a direct number posted by all the phones might be quicker. I would call a non-emergency number and ask for advice. When we lived in the states it seemed like our area worked quicker by calling the police station, that dispatched the ambulance from the fire station two minutes from our house with 911 you could get the county one which took far longer.

I don't think the online/dvd option is the way to go with my son. He will simply snooze through the class and do a mediocre job. He hates the lecture portion of khan and other lecture type online classes. Loves documentary type viewing. I really think he needs to be faced with a book to plough through. Take notes. Get some study/slash organizational skills. I have done years of trying to drill history into his brain SL style. While he is not ignorant he does not even sort of like it. He likes the cuddling and chatting withmom fine it is doing anything more that gets him! I want to try something else. When he was little we used Abeka some. He did well with the format. I am thinking Geography because he appears to be worn out on history and although quite well traveled does not know as much as I would expect. He has been to places and can't remember where they are! The US and Europe technically right but more specific please! I honestly think much of it is the fact that he is a rapidly growing 12 year old boy who just wants to eat and sleep.

My son loved The Fallacy Detective. Both dcs did actually. My dd also enjoyed the Traditional Logic course from MP. But ds hated it and retained very little. Both dcs love chess and logic games also.

:grouphug:

I am trying to find an interesting course for ds with clear expectations. This could be it. The main problem is it is bulky and I will buy it to start while we are in the US and will need to transport it back to the UK in our baggage. Obviously every ounce counts. I was looking at the samples and the Teacher edition appears to be a must have due to the extras on the cds. But it also appears to contain the entire student text. I am trying to decide if he could simply use the Teacher Edition as his textbook. I would get the student workbook and the answer book also. Anything you can tell me about this curriculum would be helpful. I have never used BJU before and am a bit nervous. Also other suggestions for him would be welcome. Notgrass history sounds good but I think the literature element needs to be completely separate. One battle at a time. He needs accountability and the ease of a standard test is very appealing.

Did not even know what TeA was!!! Boggles the brain but true. Not sure what they had read for pleasure. Both had technical type degrees, highly religious backgrounds, from farm country. I couldn't belive that they didn't know, but when she was pregnant shortly after kind of confirmed that there was no fertility problem. Believe me I had wondered if she was having a huge joke on us but never any indication or more discussion. I guess we answered her question

I reread all the books about the time the last movie came out. All 4 in under two weeks so obviously they were great. The Hobbit is a great read aloud. The Fellowship I managed. The Two Towers was so slow that I finally handed them the books to finish. They did.

Thank you! We may just wait for the dvd. I admit to not being a huge fan of LOTR movies due to poor content coverage. I made my neighbor actually read the books when he kept going on about the great movies. He made me watch. I think the small screen might be fine.

The TV's are approved dvd only no reception! Computer is not hooked up to internet but for school cd-rom.

I had to laugh at Dianes post! Back when I was newly married when one of the women who worked in my department had a concern-- she had been married a year and no babies. After a very delicate conversation it was discovered that neither party knew where babies came from or how. Obviously they figured it out because she was expecting within a couple of months! Just wanted to add that both husband and wife had professional degrees and were at least in their mid 20's.

Not trying to steal thread but I haven't looked at the Hobbit threads on purpose. Still need to see the movie. Why the need for bleach.....boring, bloody, what??? Should I go first? My dcs love the book--I don't want to ruin it. They have not seen LOTR yet. I was waiting for the Hobbit.

We love LOF. Generally have another curriculum going on at the same time but depending on the child I don't think you have to. There are going to be many different opinions on this board because LOF threads seem to bring them out! From personal experience, most of dd's Trigonometry knowledge comes from LOF and she has excelled at the exams I have found via the web--so to me it appears to be complete at least for that course. I know that the algebra sequence is not typical so that needs to be considered for ACT/SAT. Geometry follows algebra also.