DEFENCE Partners

[Macca79]

Hey there rustygirl,
I know wat you mean. When I read your post I thought wow she sounds like me. I also know of two other girls who work in 1CER HQ who are due witnin a week or two of me. Must be something in the water on base, lol. Let me know how you get on with the hospital.

Jen Im sad to say the houses are still really tatty. Ive been waiting for two weeks for someone to come and fix my outside light that doesn't work. Ive been waiting two months for them to clean the gutters out. They are so clogged that there are two trees growing out of them. Im not that impressed with DHA up here. In Perth they were great.

[rustygirl]

Hahahaha....sounds like there really IS something in the water!!
I'll agree....DHA is terrible!! I haven't got any other state to compare it to but OMG.....how rude are they? Really really unhelpful!

[SamanthaP]

Trust me, DHA are a nightmare in every state, not just NT

[joralyd]

I'll second that Samantha

[Freya]

Ditto ditto on DHA lol

Whens everyone up for postings again? We're up in May, off to Sydney (yay I get to go home for awhile!)

[rustygirl]

Hey Samantha - eekk your freaking me out man....so it doesn't get any better?
We have a posting in the next 2mths...BRISVEGAS HERE WE COME!!! WOOT WOOT! Very stressful, we were on, then off then on then off.......gees I dunno!

[julesy]

Hey Rustygirl,

Sorry, went to Bris for some quality time and to get some more hands on support from the fam...DH has been home all of about 12 weeks this year, I needed a break!!!

We are going to find out the sexes, but that ultrasound isn't for another 3 weeks. Very excited, as I have a strong feeling there is a boy in there...I don't know if you all have the same experience, but of about 20 pregnancies here in Holsworthy, only 2 of them have been boys in the last 5 years...too wierd.

It would be nice to have a boy. Our little girl Nina is the spitting image of me, so a mini 'DH' would be nice too...

Hope you are all going well and coping in light of recent circumstances in "The Big A"...keeping it together, but situation so close to home it is scary.

Here's cheers,
julesy

[SamanthaP]

We're not up for a posting for a long time. My OH's job is only here in Adelaide or in Canberra, and the Canberra position is for a WO. So we have a few years yet. We have moved 6 times in the past 8 years though so I reckon we're due for some downtime! :lol He's away somewhere at the moment, so I'm currently in survival mode, with the kids and study.

[rustygirl]

Macca- didn't end up doing the hospital thing yet. I want Joel to be able to come and at the moment he is very full on with work and by the end of the day he is just too tired. ATM he is prepping for the Solomans. Only going for 4 days though which is good.

julesy- Thats good that you went and saw family....you sometimes just need that close family support so that you don't feel like your going mental huh?
My experience is quite the opposite actually, all of the girls that I know that have had babys recently have all had boys and all of their partners are in defence except one! As for the "BIG A" situation...Joel is raring to go! He can't wait to get another trip and get over there. When we found out on the news we both just sat there, stunned. Although, like I said to him, it was bound to happen. It's not like us being over there was going to be incident free. I just really feel for that poor man's family.

[rustygirl]

Samantha- Adelaide isn't too bad...better than Canberra right?

[julesy]

I hear you there girls, DHA has one big pickle in their you know where...we are having all sorts of problems getting a larger place that can handle twins, plus a toddler. Oh well, sooner or later it will work out I suppose. My DH hasn't been posted for over 5 years, so we lucky!!!

julesy

[SamanthaP]

Hey RG, I loved Canberra!!!!

[rustygirl]

Samantha- Really? I found it too cold and miserable....that;s just me though.


Good luck Julesy in getting that bigger place!

[Macca79]

Hi again

We arn't up for posting just yet. DH found out his transfer for Intel went through on paper so if he gets throught the selection board it means going off on course in June (when the baby's 8 weeks old...not impressed). Any posting we land will be decided after that so for now Darwin is home for at least another 8 months.

Was just talking to DH, he thinks he's met your partner once before. Is he with 9 Field? Glen is with 1 Field HQ.

[Freya]

Hmm a few of us moving in the next year or two.

Julesy - Congrats on twins!!! As for everyone having girls, that happened at 3RAR when Dh and I were first trying to have a baby - they had 12 girls born in a row! Then my DH and I had a boy and so did one other guy, and now we're adding another boy to the tally. We had a bigger chance of having boys because we take forever to get pregnant and have to use fertility treatments and apparently that increases the chance of boys. I hope you get a boy - they are super fun! I was a tiny bit disappointed we were having another one as this is our final baby so pink bits would have been nice but now I just love the idea.

What Units are all our boys at?
Mine is at ALTC in Albury Wodonga doing a Fitter Armament course. He used to be at 3RAR until we got married and he decided he wanted to be a bit more 'there' for us as a family. By doing the FA course he gets to play with guns still but a little less going away. Funnily enough theyre sending him back to 3RAR as a fitter Im glad though, he misses it a bit and I miss Sydney.

Speaking of, I am having a huge dilemma over whether to move to Sydney now instead of in May next year. I dont really like AW, even though I have met some awesome army wives that have become my very best friends, I just keep feeling like having bubs in Sydney would be more beneficial to me (I have numerous health issues during pregnancy that are worrying me) and I would have more support there than here. My DH tries but he is just so flat out with studying and all my family are in Sydney with lives of their own and cant drop everything to run down here everytime something goes wrong.

What would you guys as military wives do? It would mean being seperated from DH until May, we'd get to see him over chrissy holidays and at easter, I can always drive down and stay with friends here and see him, I know the Army will fly him up to see us on his breaks. Ive been struggling to make a decision for weeks and weeks, DH doesnt want me to go because he'll miss us but it just keeps playing on my mind.

Plus AW has broken us financially with HUGE utility and petrol bills being stuck out of town. If I moved to Sydney now I could get us back on track financially.

Sorry to heap this on you guys but I didnt know where else to ask - you guys have an idea of what my life is like so you can give appropriate advice.

[rustygirl]

Hey Anna, My partner Joel is in 1CER here in Darwin, he is an engineer and is about to got over to the Solomons on Friday for a week. I hate it when he is away but it won't be for long. I'm just glad that he won't miss my scan on Thurs. He is also going on a underwater dems cse in April next yr.

In regards to your predicament I would go with what my head was telling me. If it is going to help you out financially, that can't be a bad thing with another bubba on the way. Sure, you will miss your husband but like you said the Army will fly him to see you, and you family is there in Syd so it's not like you won't have their support if something was to go on with your pregnancy. When ever I go against my gut feeling I ALWAYS wish I hadn't.
Well I hope that helped you a little bit.

[Tashie]

Hi girls,
I am an Army wife in Sydney. After trying to get pregnant for months and months, we finally did the last month before my man went away. We were living in Brisbane at the time and he was at the Gold Coast for three months and then Darwin for over a month and then Iraq for 7 months.
He was away most of the pregnancy and missed all of the scans. When I went to find out what I was having I got them to write in down and I gave this to my hubby to open, to help him feel connected.
We timed his 10 day mid-deployment leave for when our baby was due and I booked in to get induced a week early (ended up having a c-section) so that we knew he'd be there. Then he left again when bub was 5 days old for another 3.5 months.
When I found out that he was going to be away I quit work and just concentrated on myself and bub. I couldn't the handle the stress of being pregnant, hubby being away and work. To keep myself busy and distracted I went to visit family, threw myself into organising my baby shower, baby's room etc., did all those jobs you mean to do (like photo albums) and kept a pregnancy diary for my hubby to read when he got home. I also sent him a parcel every week with home made cookies, pictures of bub, footprints of bub, magazines etc. I was always on the look out for things to send and by concentrating on what to put in the next box helped me focus on keeping him happy and this is turn helped me.
After bub was born, I just concentrated on my new little man. I didn't have to cook or clean up after anyone else and bub and I just worked out our own routine that suited us. When we got lonely we went to stay with family. I also made lots of phone calls. Grandparents are good as they never get sick of hearing about the grandchild.
I can't say it wasn't hard, but I think the lead up to them going is the worst. You keep thinking about how hard it is going to be etc.
When DH got home, he took 2.5 months leave (used all his parental leave etc). So even though he wasn't there for the beginning, it was worth it as he was home when bub started to get fun and could be more involved in the daily activities.
Use the defence as much as you can, get them to mow the lawn, move furniture etc. I even got them to organise my hubby a cake for his birthday.
As far as having your baby in Brisbane. The Wesley hospital is great. That's where I had my bub and hubby got to stay with me in hospital.
What I find the worst about them going away is you never know when they are going to go next. How are you supposed to plan holidays and more babies if they could pack up and leave to go away again soon.
Anyway...girls you aren't alone. I am a stay at home mum and always looking for more people to chat to. We just moved to Inner West Sydney, so if anyone wants to catch up, my email is nathan.tash@yahoo.com.au
Take Care
Tash

[Tashie]

Anna,
I would stay with your DH. I am a family girl. Family time is more important than money,especially with them going away so much as it is. But...if the health concerns for your new bub are the main thing worrying you, then I'd move.