Timing revisted

A few months ago, I talked a little about how the timing of this pregnancy wasn't ideal for the job I have right now.  I thought I'd revisit the issue briefly, though because of the nature of my job I cannot provide many details.  I can say this:  because of the natural ebb and flow of the work, vacations, etc., January and February tend to be somewhat slower for certain people at my job.  I happen to be in that group of people.  That means, while others in the group will have to pick up the work that I am not there to do, no one who picks up the work will be completely slammed. 

I appreciate the level of cooperation and collegiality people have shown -- a few co-workers and senior people re-prioritized their projects to make sure stuff I am working on gets to the front burner and finalized before I go.  Consequently, I have finished nearly everything I have on my "have to do before I leave on maternity leave list."  I have not yet tackled the "gee it would be nice to have this done" list, but since those projects are not time-sensitive, I'm not worried.  Every day when I leave, I label everything on my desk with post-it notes.  Leaving for the long weekend, I wrote a short memo regarding where I am in my "have to do" projects ... just in case. 

Generally speaking, I've received feedback that 'people who matter' have recognized my efforts to smooth the transition without compromising the quality of my work product.  I've mentioned before that this job ends in July.  So although it is not ideal that I am leaving for two months a job during which I have such a limited time to make a good impression, I feel as if I have done the best job I can making a good impression while leaving.  That's something, I guess.    

I'm far more at peace with the situation than I thought was possible just a few short months ago.  Things really can and do work out.  I am truly blessed.

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In case you are new and wondering, working from home is not an option.... Hence the job is awesome, but not so easy on folks who might like an alternative work arrangement, if even temporarily.

MILP 183

Atty Work Product had it.  Here next week.

Christmas gone awry

In my mind, there were only two things that would have kept me from going to my sister's house and spending Christmas with her family, our family, my parents, my bro and his wife and a bunch of her in-laws.

Labor was one.  Snowmageddon was the other.

Neither happened on Christmas.

Instead, Clownfish came down with his first (horrible) case of pink eye and general yucky illness.  Of course, bags were packed, we were showered and dressed and ready to go when I noticed the green pus oozing from his eyes.  Called the doc -- couldn't get meds until the next day, and it was up to us if we wanted to travel.  But reminded how highly contagious pink eye is... and a house full of cousins...

So, after several dramatic phone calls to and from my sisters' house, which involved tears on both ends of the line, I finally convinced my family it was best that we stay home.  / short version.

This paragraph contains the longer, rant-y version.  It was soo hard... we've spent pretty much every Christmas together since forever. It didn't help that my mom, dad and sister each made separate calls pleading for us to come, how it was unfair to them and the kids, etc. etc. etc.  I was already so super bummed... it did not make it an easy few hours for me.  I put my mom on the phone with Clownfish ostensibly for her to say Merry Christmas to him, and instead she said "everyone here says its fine for you to come."  (i.e. its all your mommy's fault... you should work on her, maybe cry until she relents.)  (It was at that point I banished Clownfish to his room so I could talk to Grandma and more or less lost it for a few minutes.) / rant

We had no food in the house to speak of -- cookies, lots of cookies -- but not the makings for Christmas dinner at home.  It was too late for the grocery store -- they all closed early.  We played board games, watched tv, and generally relaxed all day.  It was actually pretty awesome.  But eventually, we needed to eat something more than cookies.  We ventured out, assuming our only option would be Chinese food.  Instead, we had a fairly morose meal at TGI Fridays.  I mean, we were in good spirits, but the food itself was just kind of... sad.

Clownfish really held it together all day, and I did my best to keep him shielded from the crying and the drama... (excepting Grandma's helpful comment) but at bedtime, he cried about how it was the worst Christmas ever because he was sick and missed his cousins and he wanted to give them their presents. Sad.

Snowmageddon came on Sunday, so although my parents had hoped to drive a bit out of their way on their way home to see Clownfish and us, it didn't end up happening.  So we had another quiet day at home.

Good thing about snowmageddon -- work got canceled for today.  I am in the middle of my first honest-to-goodness snowday since I can remember.  Spent yesterday and this morning sorting baby clothes (between my sister and my neighbor, I had lots of garbage bags filled with random baby clothes to sort through and clean!) and getting the nursery in shape. 

Clownfish is feeling much better -- though OMG putting those eye drops in is a struggle of epic proportions! -- and we're going to let him play in the snow this afternoon.

So, we didn't get our huge family Christmas, but I honestly can't complain.  Everyone is safe and (relatively) healthy and we're all still on speaking terms and I am rested and feeling pretty good. 

Bullshark is unburying the car and then we're off to a pre-natal appointment.

Overheard in law school

Just found this gem in my draft folder.

"I used to think Learned Hand was a fictional character made up to point out black letter law."

MILP #182

PtLawmom had the roundup.  Here in two weeks

Sprinkles

Still pregnant. I've passed 36 weeks... woo!  We've scheduled the C-section for 1/7 (a week before my due date, 1/14)... so now its a game of chicken to see if I go into labor before then.  I have to get regular blood pressure checks and weekly nonstress tests (which is just 30-60 minutes on a fetal monitor)... but so far, so good.

 I didn't want a baby shower because, although its been six years and I need stuff and although I'm having a girl this time, I just didn't like the idea of having a shower for a second kid.  It may be a regional thing, but around here, many people have no problem doing showers for every kid.  I wasn't particularly comfortable with the first shower, honestly.  BUT a few of my law school girlfriends who didn't know me when I had Clownfish insisted on throwing me a small "sprinkle" yesterday afternoon.  I decided to go with it because these girls will be getting married/having kids in the next few years and I'll be able to reciprocate.  It was fun and super sweet and I got the *cutest* little girl things!  It seems to be a foregone conclusion that my daughter will be better dressed than I am.

The general consensus was I've lost weight, I'm all belly, and I look better pregnant now than I ever looked in law school.  I tend to agree.

The Rules

I blogged about Clownfish's bedtime routine earlier this year. 

Specifically, we always recite "Five Things."

Mine, usually: Good night good night, God bless you, I love you, Sweet dreams, I'll see you in the morning.
His, usually:
[snoring noises],
(Good night goodnight God bless you I love you) Yes this all counts as one ... he says it fast and I am not a monster.
Sweet dreams,
Follow all the rules,
I'll [random verb -- tackle, tickle, see, smell, hear, raspberry] you in the morning.

Lately, he's taken to saying "Five Things" to Coco too.  Except yesterday, he said the following:

Good night goodnight God bless you I love you, sweet dreams, follow all the rules... wait, you don't have any rules! Ok, Listen to Clownfish and KICK MOMMY and I'll tackle you in the morning.

MILP #181: Busy, busy

The Weekly MILP (Moms In the Legal Profession) Roundup is hosted on a rotating basis between PT-LawMom, Butterflyfish, and Attorney Work Product blogs. We originally rounded up just the moms in law school, but then discovered that those women eventually graduate. Who knew? So now all the moms in the legal field (heh) are represented. We aim for Sunday posts.

There's no theme this week, but I noticed that most of the blogroll posted this week, even though everyone is pretty swamped as the holidays approach... as well as the end of the billable year/final exams and/or child birth.  So, here's what's going on.

• Sammie B will (hopefully) get answers. 
• Cee the snowgirl. 
• Atty Work Product has a Cora retrospective. 
• Lag Liv has a Biscuit retrospective.  
• Jenny is moving on. 
• Dinei has an insurance victory. 
• -R- has some holiday confessions. 
• Izzie is recovering... slowly. 
• Cowgirl had some pregnancy drama... and, if her schedule went to plan, is already a new mommy. 
• Suzie is adjusting to holidays without some of the traditions. 
• Magic Cookie has some thoughts on the tradeoffs in Biglaw. 
• LC knows the most important kind of math. 
• Shan has possibly the most evil Torts prof I've heard of. Seriously, this is legal education malpractice. 
• Dakota got a new job! 
• E.H. has a little flirt on her hands.

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If you’d like to have your blog added to the MILP blogroll for weekly review or would like us to consider a specific post, drop the hostess(es) an email or leave a comment at our sites. Expecting Moms in law school are welcome! Hat tip as always to the “original” Roundup — Beyond the Underground and the co-rounder-upper, Nobody!

Conversation with boss-type person

"You ever consider getting an au pair?  I'd like an au pair. My kids are grown, my wife has gone back to work. I think I'd like an au pair anyway.  I ran the idea past my wife. She said fine, as long as she got to choose.  This pretty much ruined it for me. I mean, you know I was thinking Fee Fee and she was thinking Brunhilda."

Coco

Our in-utero name for the baby changed from Lima Bean to Coco at some point in the last ten or fifteen weeks.  Its a reference to the Music Monster episode of Jack's Big Music Show.  The monster had a little baby sister, Coco, who was terrifying.  (read: adorable!) Every time he mentioned his "little baby sister Coco," everyone shuddered.

Anyway, Coco has me worried.  My blood pressure is and has been somewhat elevated -- not "we're going to hospitalize you" elevated, but "we think you should go to the ER if you get a headache" elevated.  Ummm.... ok.  Also, the doc let me know today that I have to have weekly non-stress tests as of week 36 because obese women are at an increased risk of stillbirth. Ummm... ok.  Both of these are new experiences for me -- my blood pressure was totally fine with Clownfish and I only had a non-stress test when I was in labor ... even though I think I weigh less this time around.  Today was the first time I weighed in at my pre-pregnancy weight, which is still 14 pounds lower than my personal high weight... which I probably hit about this time last year. 

So, in short, I've had some increased anxiety today.  

Fortunately, Coco has been cooperating by giving me regular kicks. Its like she's letting me know -- "Mom, screw the doctors.  I'm fine."

MILP #180

Proto Atty had it this week.  Here Sunday.

What you're missing

To change things up, Clownfish read a good night story to ME tonight.  Hop on Pop.  It was awesome.

Today was the dress rehearsal for the holiday pageant at Clownfish's school.  He insisted on wearing his uniform instead of his dress up clothes, and got changed on his own after he had already put on his dress up clothes.  I figured there are bigger things to fight about in life, and wearing dress up clothes was optional.  I remember going to Catholic school and taking every opportunity to wear something other than the uniform.  Clownfish prefers the uniform.  Then again, his khakis and polo is a whole lot better than my itchy blue and green plaid wool jumper (with red and yellow stripes), yellow blouse with a Peter-pan collar and green knee socks.  My uniform was designed by an insane, color-blind nun, obviously.   

Also, Clownfish missed two days of school this week. Stomach bug/fever, but he really seemed fine after the first bout of puking.  My mom was able to pinch hit so I only missed a few hours of work.    

I noticed I tweet consistently about two shows:  Fringe and Glee.  They are really good shows and you should be watching them.

And now, what you're missing... an occasional feature in which I round up of some of my recent Twitter posts.

• I love that I'm friends with my Irish relatives on Facebook. Seeing "shag off" in my newsfeed first thing in the morning makes me smile.
• Clownfish: My little sister is gonna want to do everything like me. She can pee standing up. It will just make a big mess.
• Clownfish: We're allowed to put up our Christmas tree now because its after Thanksgiving. That means we're not crazy people.
• Saw HP7. It was about as good as it could have been. Surprisingly, the only place I teared up was the very beginning (Hermione & parents).
• I have never eaten a fluffernutter.
• I swore last season would be the last time I watched American Idol. Tiny part of me wants to watch the train wreck that will be this season
• Craving mashed potatoes. Solution: make mashed potatoes and roast chicken for dinner. Sweet. 
• Just pissed myself a little while puking up my dinner. Pregnancy is a little like the end of an awesome night in college.

Ok, so that last one took TMI tweeting to a whole new level.