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A Looong Night’s Journey into the Day

Last night was “A NIGHT”. A NIGHT–meaning that there was little sleeping and much comforting. A NIGHT where the Babe was suddenly feverish at bedtime, and just needed Mom or Dad to hold her while she tried to sleep. A NIGHT where Children’s Tylenol didn’t really do much. A NIGHT where all the teeting med. in the world wasn’t enough. A NIGHT where all you can do is hold her close and drift to sleep as she does, only to be startled awake when she starts. A NIGHT where you’re glad she’s on a floor bed so that Dad can sleep (he hung in there til midnight) and you can tend to her in semi-comfort, while conteplating how early to call your boss in the morning. A NIGHT where I wondered what I would do if I was a surgeon with a 6:30am procedure scheduled, or a police person or nurse or EMT headed into a 12 hour shift. A NIGHT where I’m glad I’m replaceable at work. A NIGHT where we both finally slept in peace from 3 am – 6:30am.

Now she’s down for her second nap of the day, I think the fever is gone, and she’s MUCH better. I know that school would have been a disaester for a us both this morning, so I made the right call (at 6:45 or so). Is it teeth (I dreamt during my morning nap that she was getting 3 sets of molars)? Is a delayed reaction to the Hep B dose she got Thursday? Is a little spring virus? Does it really matter??

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Taking the Plunge

I’ve done it..it being, signed the Babe up for daycare! I went with the place I mentioned in my last post after I ran over there in the middle of the morning. Adults interacting with the children, everyone happily eating snack, everything fairly tidy and very clean. There was cheery music playing, and in general, the place seemed pleasant. The director was happy to see me, the assitant director was sweet, and so I plopped down a deposit.

I feel, in a way, like a weight has been lifted off my chest–we made a decision! Of course, I’m still talking myself into the fact that she is, in fact, going to daycare at all, but that’s beside the point. L stopped by on Friday as well, and said that it seemed fine to him, and he met the staff as well.

So starting May 30th, I’ll drop her off and then head to work! L starts summer school this Wednesday night. He’s working on finishing his B.A., and for the next 18 months, most nights of the week he’ll be down at the local college til sometime after 8pm. Thankfully his job has tuition reimbursement!

I’m hoping to be able to have some “quality time” with the Babe each afternoon after we get home and she naps for a bit. Usually there are about 3-4 hours between her afternoon nap and bedtime. Up until he starts school, this time was L’s, because I was always heading off to the tutoring center. Now it’s my turn to take her to the park, do bath time, etc. I’m hoping that a few times a week we’ll be able to meet daddy on campus for a picnic dinner of some sort.

Other things on my mind……I’ve read 2 stories in the paper lately that really make me question whether common sense is still common in America. They were both stories of illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants who were brought here as children for a better life. Children raised in this country, but now living in the margins as adults because they don’t have the proper paperwork. They live in fear of being found out, being deported–even though in both cases they are hardworking young men who are contributing in society. One is a landscaper, the other a studen studying robotics. Neither is a threat to national security. Both were brought here by well-intentioned parents. Both consider the US to be home–neither has seen their own “motherland” for a long, long time. One has a child, who is an American citizen. These profiles make me feel that illegal immigrants need to be treated with more respect, and need to be given a road to becoming citizens. I know the borders need patroling, I know border states bear the brunt of huge expenses. But for people who were brought here through the actions of others, it just seems to make sense.

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9 months old and assorted ramblings

So it’s really early in the am and I’ve been up for awhile…..insomina SUCKS. THe Babe turned 9 months old on Wednesday, which I find hard to believe. It’s been a weird week–I could try to summarize, but where do I begin??

I have just one evening left at the tutoring center–the split work day is so not cool, and with L in summer school, it was really rather impossible.

I’ve been further exploring childcare options, and think I may have found an acceptable place for the Babe-it’s a center, but SOOO much better than the other two I looked at. I don’t know if it’s because the day that I need to make a decision is looming closer, or it it’s really better, but I’m feeling better about it. I also have her on waiting lists at two in-home places that have come highly recommended. So we shall see. It was deemed that that Babe and anothe staff baby could not be at the school past Memorial Day, due to the fact that they are a distraction and a liability, etc. WHATEVER. It was the school board’s decision, and I’ve decided to suck it up. The “free ride” was nice while it lasted!

The Babe had her 9 month check up yesterday and the doctor actually said to me, “you really won the baby lottery with her!”, which I took as an extreme compliment!! She was just a doll (as always), and the staff is simply in love with her. He’s a GP, so there aren’t that many babies who come through–so the ones that do get a lot of attention! She’s 29 1/2 inches long and exactly 20lbs….which puts her in the 95 and 70 percentiles respectively. Once he heard how much she eats, the doctor didn’t feel the need to dwell on her size anymore–she’s just of a slightly slimmer build, I suppose.

I just finished reading I Don’t Know How She Does It, a great story of a working mom on the edge. Well, actually she goes way, way over the edge. It covers just about every issue that I think women with children in the workplace deal with, and reading it I laughed out loud. I highly recommend it!

I’ve also been lured onto MySpace.com I continue to work on my page to make it a bit jazzier. It’s a sort of virtual lunch table, circa 1990. I don’t know what else you do with the site, yet, but all the kids at the tutoring center have pages!! And, apparently, all the cool thirty-somethings are doing it too.

Which brings up a point–didn’t the poeple on that show, thirty-something, seem a whole lot older than those people born in the early 70’s now?? If you are my friend, you will agree with me!!! Can you still hear the theme song? I can!