A book and baby novice

Perhaps by the end of the pregnancy I will begin to feel that I am not quite such a novice, but at the moment that’s very much what I am. I went to a midwife’s appointment earlier in the week, my second after a bewildering ‘booking’ appointment eight weeks ago at the stage when we still couldn’t quite believe I was pregnant. I look and feel a lot more pregnant than I did then; I’ve purchased books, signed up to websites and almost been cast as Mary in a nativity play. So I went to this appointment feeling much more prepared.  

However, it is still very evident that this is my first pregnancy. I have been battling a stinking cold this week and when I mentioned it to the midwife she patiently reassured me, in her best ‘first time pregnancy’ voice, that it wouldn’t affect the baby in any way. Next, she asked if I had a urine sample with me and, turning her back to me, would I take my top off. She was a little surprised when she turned back with the testing kit to see that I’d taken my jumper off. ‘The top of the sample pot,’ she explained.

To a professional, having a baby is not new or unknown, as it is for me. The midwife had already listened to several other babies’ heartbeats that day (incidentally, she said mine was the best – it’s not too early for parental smugness.) I am learning the rules and practices of an entirely new world, which she inhabits every working day.

Writing a book has been a similar experience. When I first started writing in 2008, I knew very little about what it took to get a book published and I have had to ask some very obvious questions of patient professionals along the way. These days I am beginning to do things I know a little about: re-writes for A Good Death are a little easier having done them for Wild Rose, planning for A New World will be more effective having written two books already. However, while I have learnt a lot, I am still very much a novice. Going through the process of submission for Wild Rose is another experience I’m having for the first time and I’m very grateful for the guidance of my agent, who has done it all before.

As a book and baby novice, it’s great to know the professionals know what they’re doing.