Tuesday, October 23, 2007
A random list of things to think about while contracting
Well, I went off the medication yesterday. By 5:45, I was contracting every 5-10 minutes. It picked up in the middle of the night, but slowed down by morning. They're really not very painful. I was worried about being able to handle the chronic-ness of them, but so far it's not so bad. I guess that there are 3 options now: (a) my water breaks, (b) they get worse and it turns into actual labor, or (c) we go for an induction. None of these seem so bad from where I'm laying today.
List of random things:
Things to get done before the baby comes
A. New cell phone - check. Sunday my big activity out of the house was getting a new cell phone. I loved the old one even though it wouldn't hold a charge and got lousy reception. A 20 minute trip netted me a phone that I can reliably call and hear on. Both seem like a good thing when I might need to get in touch with people. My first call on the phone was today while roaming through Target. It was amazing.
B. New tires on my car - almost check. D has an appointment to get new tires today. The current ones were seriously not great all last year in the wet. Now that wet season is coming up again, it would be nice to have a car that could actually climb the hills around town. (Right now I drive around the tough ones. That is, after sliding sideways trying to get moving from a stop sign.)
C. Groceries - check. Well, this is a never ending thing. My mom is actually coming out for 2 weeks starting Saturday - hooray! We've stocked the kitchen with things she, Bacon and I like.
D. Baby things - check. The basinet now has clean bedding and is sitting in the corner of our room. I spoke to Bacon about it this morning. We have clothes, newborn diapers, wipes, and breast pads. The room is absolute chaos. But he's not going to be in there anyway, so no (or at least minimal) worries (today).
G-dog
How will he be with the new baby? I think totally fine, other than the constant desire to lick. He and Bacon get along famously. She gets a bit too excited with petting sometimes but she loves him. She currently loves standing by his wagging tail. He loves the food she provides and the good surface areas to lick. D is allergic to G. Early on, Bacon turned red and splotchy after a good licking. That hasn't happened in many months. Sunday, my friend I was over with her 6 month old, baby M. G-dog was seriously curious and definitely wanted to get some licks in, but seemed to react to her the same way he does Bacon. I guess this is the value of having a somewhat neurotic non-alpha.
Sleep and money
Reading through my entries during the first year with Bacon, these were my 2 big topics. They still take up a lot of my thoughts. If I get good sleep, I'm generally good. If I don't, it hugely affects me. This is one of the many reasons I am seriously psyched that my mom is coming for 2 weeks and D's family is visiting over Christmas for a total of 2 weeks. That's at least 4 weeks of extra sleep.
I think the money thing comes down to safety. If I can bring money in, then we must be safer. I didn't grow up with any money problems, but definitely felt a lack of safety. I think somehow the 2 are connected in my head. I feel more at ease when I'm earning money and less when I'm not.
Work
I have no official maternity leave plan. I had hoped to talk to my bosses about it on Friday, but no one was available. I am generally hoping to just continue working from home like I have during the last several months. This sounds like a workable plan, but I'm finally realizing that there is going to be a period - at least short term -- where work is not going to be a priority and there's a possibility that things may slip. Just today, I asked for help/assigned out a portion of a current project. Its a part that is most likely to clash with the upcoming birth. All other deadlines/issues are a few weeks off. I've provided people with a heads up, but haven't done anything else yet.
When will I have this baby?
I know it will be relatively soon. I would like it really soon, but it would be more convenient if my mom was actually in town. That way, we will have Bacon and G-dog coverage. I plan to ask for an induction date, if necessary, at my next appointment on Friday.
List of random things:
Things to get done before the baby comes
A. New cell phone - check. Sunday my big activity out of the house was getting a new cell phone. I loved the old one even though it wouldn't hold a charge and got lousy reception. A 20 minute trip netted me a phone that I can reliably call and hear on. Both seem like a good thing when I might need to get in touch with people. My first call on the phone was today while roaming through Target. It was amazing.
B. New tires on my car - almost check. D has an appointment to get new tires today. The current ones were seriously not great all last year in the wet. Now that wet season is coming up again, it would be nice to have a car that could actually climb the hills around town. (Right now I drive around the tough ones. That is, after sliding sideways trying to get moving from a stop sign.)
C. Groceries - check. Well, this is a never ending thing. My mom is actually coming out for 2 weeks starting Saturday - hooray! We've stocked the kitchen with things she, Bacon and I like.
D. Baby things - check. The basinet now has clean bedding and is sitting in the corner of our room. I spoke to Bacon about it this morning. We have clothes, newborn diapers, wipes, and breast pads. The room is absolute chaos. But he's not going to be in there anyway, so no (or at least minimal) worries (today).
G-dog
How will he be with the new baby? I think totally fine, other than the constant desire to lick. He and Bacon get along famously. She gets a bit too excited with petting sometimes but she loves him. She currently loves standing by his wagging tail. He loves the food she provides and the good surface areas to lick. D is allergic to G. Early on, Bacon turned red and splotchy after a good licking. That hasn't happened in many months. Sunday, my friend I was over with her 6 month old, baby M. G-dog was seriously curious and definitely wanted to get some licks in, but seemed to react to her the same way he does Bacon. I guess this is the value of having a somewhat neurotic non-alpha.
Sleep and money
Reading through my entries during the first year with Bacon, these were my 2 big topics. They still take up a lot of my thoughts. If I get good sleep, I'm generally good. If I don't, it hugely affects me. This is one of the many reasons I am seriously psyched that my mom is coming for 2 weeks and D's family is visiting over Christmas for a total of 2 weeks. That's at least 4 weeks of extra sleep.
I think the money thing comes down to safety. If I can bring money in, then we must be safer. I didn't grow up with any money problems, but definitely felt a lack of safety. I think somehow the 2 are connected in my head. I feel more at ease when I'm earning money and less when I'm not.
Work
I have no official maternity leave plan. I had hoped to talk to my bosses about it on Friday, but no one was available. I am generally hoping to just continue working from home like I have during the last several months. This sounds like a workable plan, but I'm finally realizing that there is going to be a period - at least short term -- where work is not going to be a priority and there's a possibility that things may slip. Just today, I asked for help/assigned out a portion of a current project. Its a part that is most likely to clash with the upcoming birth. All other deadlines/issues are a few weeks off. I've provided people with a heads up, but haven't done anything else yet.
When will I have this baby?
I know it will be relatively soon. I would like it really soon, but it would be more convenient if my mom was actually in town. That way, we will have Bacon and G-dog coverage. I plan to ask for an induction date, if necessary, at my next appointment on Friday.
