Life with two kids is going well, and it's not much more chaotic with one than two. But my job is ridiculously busy. Want to know how well it's going to be back at work? I've been back at work for two weeks now, and yesterday I was diagnosed with shingles. Yes, shingles. That disease that old people get.
Yes, yes, I know that anyone who's had chicken pox can develop it at any point. What I didn't know was that being postnatal can trigger it, too. And I am annoyed, because I originally got misdiagnosed (thank you, crappy European socialized medicine. Sure, everyone has coverage, but how does that help if you get diagnosed incorrectly? I've used the crappy medical system here twice, and been misdiagnosed both times. But I digress). By the time I was correctly diagnosed (by my private doctor here--couldn't see him the first time because it was a Sunday, so I had to go to the ER), I was outside the treatment window to take the medication for shingles. And, then we had to deal with whether the girls would get chicken pox as a result of my shingles. We ended up vaccinating Miss M, as it was the only vaccination she has not gotten. It turns out that I had sky high varicella immunity levels during my pregnancy, so SB should be well protected. So they are safe, at least. And I am in pain and run down and generally don't want to get out of bed in the morning.
So yeah, that's my crap news: I have shingles. That's how being at work is going. Sigh.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
The Last Day of Maternity Leave
It's back to work for me tomorrow. I scheduled myself to go back to work at the end of the week so that we had the weekend to work out any problems that might come up for T. and the girls. This way, they just have to get through two days without me, and then I'm back. Next week will be another story, but hopefully there won't be any problems.
I'm not looking forward to going back to work. I'm not dreading it, exactly, but I've been enjoying myself now that I'm feeling mostly back to normal post-pregnancy. I've enjoyed snuggling with my baby and coloring with my toddler and hanging out having lattes with my husband. I really liked that we could wake up every morning and decide together what to do for the day. These last few weeks, in particular, have been really fun. If only there were some way that we could earn money by both hanging out at home with the girls all day! Sigh. Money is such a necessary evil.
With our last day, we cleaned the house and made cupcakes and colored and played outside and went to lunch at a new Mexican joint and visited the zoo. It was a nice sunny day, and the perfect end to my leave. I need to go to bed now, so that I'm rested for tomorrow and ready to get out of bed early, but I'm reluctant to let go of the day. I want to snatch up every minute of time and hold it close. I know all too well how fast these early days go by (how is Miss M 28 months already?!), and I'm sad that I'll be spending less time with SB now. But I guess it's time to put on my jammies and snuggle SB close for her last feed of the night, and then put us both to bed.
I'm not looking forward to going back to work. I'm not dreading it, exactly, but I've been enjoying myself now that I'm feeling mostly back to normal post-pregnancy. I've enjoyed snuggling with my baby and coloring with my toddler and hanging out having lattes with my husband. I really liked that we could wake up every morning and decide together what to do for the day. These last few weeks, in particular, have been really fun. If only there were some way that we could earn money by both hanging out at home with the girls all day! Sigh. Money is such a necessary evil.
With our last day, we cleaned the house and made cupcakes and colored and played outside and went to lunch at a new Mexican joint and visited the zoo. It was a nice sunny day, and the perfect end to my leave. I need to go to bed now, so that I'm rested for tomorrow and ready to get out of bed early, but I'm reluctant to let go of the day. I want to snatch up every minute of time and hold it close. I know all too well how fast these early days go by (how is Miss M 28 months already?!), and I'm sad that I'll be spending less time with SB now. But I guess it's time to put on my jammies and snuggle SB close for her last feed of the night, and then put us both to bed.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Visitors, 8 Weeks, and Little Adventures
SB is 8 weeks old, and just a fantastic baby. She's super mellow (except during fussy time, which reliably happens around 6pm every night, when she screams inconsolably), sleeps well, and loves to smile and laugh at me. She's still waking at around 11pm, 3am, and 6am to eat, but that's a schedule I can live with. She gets right down to business when she wakes: she eats, and then she falls back asleep. She is seriously adorable, if I do say so myself. I love to make her smile and giggle, because it is just the cutest thing.
A few days ago, I noticed that she was restless after her 6am feeding, which is very unlike her. She didn't cry, though, so I didn't pick her back up, and she eventually drifted off to sleep. When I picked her up a bit later, I discovered that she was soaking wet. She was sleeping in jammies and a sleepsack, and everything was wet, including the sheet below her. When I changed her diaper, I discovered that although it was on in the front, in the back, it was completely off her bum. Her bum was literally hanging out of the back of the diaper. Epic fail for diaper application by our babysitter! I couldn't believe that she didn't cry. Poor kid.
My sister babysat so that we could go to dinner with friends. It's been forever since we've had a dinner out without the kids, and it was really nice. We went for Turkish food and hung out for a couple of hours at a restaurant that we hadn't been to before. It was reasonably priced, and the food was excellent. The other couple have a toddler the same age as Miss M (they play together a lot), so we spent a lot of time swapping stories about the kids. I was thinking about it later, and was thinking that it is weird that I don't usually talk so much about my kids when I'm out with other friends. It took me a while to realize that this is because most of my other friends either don't have kids, or have kids who are much older and in developmentally different places. We spent a lot of time talking about the kids that night because we are both in the same place, dealing with the same stuff. It made me think about how much different our relationships with our friends at home would have been if we'd been having kids when they were having kids. It was kind of nice to be hanging out with people who are going through the same stuff. It's something I never realized we miss out on by being "older" parents. Guess we'll just have to get more young friends (or find some other geriatric new parents!).
My mother-in-law was here for a week, and left a few days ago. It was nice to see her, and I'm glad that T and the kids were able to visit with her. It was nice for me to see her, too, although there were some difficult moments for me. She has become a stream-of-consciousness talker, and seems to say anything that pops into her head without thinking about it or editing her thoughts. I think she just thinks that at her age, she's earned the right to say anything she wants. I try to let it go, but it's not always easy for me, especially when she says something that sounds critical. I mostly just tried to stay calm and not complain to T while she was here. I really wanted him to have a good visit, and I am mindful that she is not a young woman. I want to make happy memories for my husband and my girls. It was funny after she left, though, to compare notes with T about the things she had said individually to each of us, and to hear his responses. I tried to be polite and calm and NOT say what I was thinking in those moments when she said something unfortunate. He took a totally different tact, and left her have it (in a humorous way), and really gave her a hard time about some of the stuff. Anyway, I'm glad she came, and I'm glad to be free of company again.
We are in the waning days now of my maternity leave, which is why I'm glad to be free of company. I'm really sad that my maternity leave is ending. I have NO desire to go back to work. My office is really chaotic right now, and I've really been enjoying having this time with T and the girls. Every day we try to do something fun and new.
Today we told Miss M that we were going to go off an an "adventure." She kept talking about our "adventure" all day, and it was adorable to hear her pronounce the word. We had intended to go hiking, but when we got to the train station to catch the train to get to the trailhead, the train had been cancelled due to an accident impacting the tracks. We wandered through a neighborhood near the train station, instead, had Mexican food for lunch, then got cupcakes and had coffee. Miss M refuses to eat the frosting on cupcakes, and makes me take it off and eat it. My mother is convinced that I've brainwashed the child so that I get to eat her frosting. She just won't eat it (and yes, I DO eat it--it works out for everyone). There was a group of violinists busking outside the coffeehouse, and Miss M insisted on standing there for the longest time listening to them, dancing and clapping. She loved every minute of it. A bit later, we visited a nearby farm, where Miss M got to see "chickens with big beaks" (her request for the day), giant pigs, and sheep and goats. She didn't like the sheep and goats, which were being noisy, and she started lecturing them. When we left there, we went to the bookstore, which she also loves. It was a wonderful day.
I am enjoying spending time with her so much. Her little personality is just unfolding at such a rapid speed, and she's such a great kid. I love hanging out with her.
A few days ago, I noticed that she was restless after her 6am feeding, which is very unlike her. She didn't cry, though, so I didn't pick her back up, and she eventually drifted off to sleep. When I picked her up a bit later, I discovered that she was soaking wet. She was sleeping in jammies and a sleepsack, and everything was wet, including the sheet below her. When I changed her diaper, I discovered that although it was on in the front, in the back, it was completely off her bum. Her bum was literally hanging out of the back of the diaper. Epic fail for diaper application by our babysitter! I couldn't believe that she didn't cry. Poor kid.
My sister babysat so that we could go to dinner with friends. It's been forever since we've had a dinner out without the kids, and it was really nice. We went for Turkish food and hung out for a couple of hours at a restaurant that we hadn't been to before. It was reasonably priced, and the food was excellent. The other couple have a toddler the same age as Miss M (they play together a lot), so we spent a lot of time swapping stories about the kids. I was thinking about it later, and was thinking that it is weird that I don't usually talk so much about my kids when I'm out with other friends. It took me a while to realize that this is because most of my other friends either don't have kids, or have kids who are much older and in developmentally different places. We spent a lot of time talking about the kids that night because we are both in the same place, dealing with the same stuff. It made me think about how much different our relationships with our friends at home would have been if we'd been having kids when they were having kids. It was kind of nice to be hanging out with people who are going through the same stuff. It's something I never realized we miss out on by being "older" parents. Guess we'll just have to get more young friends (or find some other geriatric new parents!).
My mother-in-law was here for a week, and left a few days ago. It was nice to see her, and I'm glad that T and the kids were able to visit with her. It was nice for me to see her, too, although there were some difficult moments for me. She has become a stream-of-consciousness talker, and seems to say anything that pops into her head without thinking about it or editing her thoughts. I think she just thinks that at her age, she's earned the right to say anything she wants. I try to let it go, but it's not always easy for me, especially when she says something that sounds critical. I mostly just tried to stay calm and not complain to T while she was here. I really wanted him to have a good visit, and I am mindful that she is not a young woman. I want to make happy memories for my husband and my girls. It was funny after she left, though, to compare notes with T about the things she had said individually to each of us, and to hear his responses. I tried to be polite and calm and NOT say what I was thinking in those moments when she said something unfortunate. He took a totally different tact, and left her have it (in a humorous way), and really gave her a hard time about some of the stuff. Anyway, I'm glad she came, and I'm glad to be free of company again.
We are in the waning days now of my maternity leave, which is why I'm glad to be free of company. I'm really sad that my maternity leave is ending. I have NO desire to go back to work. My office is really chaotic right now, and I've really been enjoying having this time with T and the girls. Every day we try to do something fun and new.
Today we told Miss M that we were going to go off an an "adventure." She kept talking about our "adventure" all day, and it was adorable to hear her pronounce the word. We had intended to go hiking, but when we got to the train station to catch the train to get to the trailhead, the train had been cancelled due to an accident impacting the tracks. We wandered through a neighborhood near the train station, instead, had Mexican food for lunch, then got cupcakes and had coffee. Miss M refuses to eat the frosting on cupcakes, and makes me take it off and eat it. My mother is convinced that I've brainwashed the child so that I get to eat her frosting. She just won't eat it (and yes, I DO eat it--it works out for everyone). There was a group of violinists busking outside the coffeehouse, and Miss M insisted on standing there for the longest time listening to them, dancing and clapping. She loved every minute of it. A bit later, we visited a nearby farm, where Miss M got to see "chickens with big beaks" (her request for the day), giant pigs, and sheep and goats. She didn't like the sheep and goats, which were being noisy, and she started lecturing them. When we left there, we went to the bookstore, which she also loves. It was a wonderful day.
I am enjoying spending time with her so much. Her little personality is just unfolding at such a rapid speed, and she's such a great kid. I love hanging out with her.
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