Mega update

I've lost all sense of time. Seriously, minutes pass in seconds, days pass in minutes, and weeks pass in the blink of an eye. I remember as a kid when life passed at the slowest snail's pace, but now it is more like a rocketship. Somebody put on the brakes, will ya?

Life in our household has been continuing full-steam ahead. Nothing major has happened in the last week, except for the most minor case of the sniffles in both kids. My computer at school (where I have the most uninterrupted time to blog) doesn't like Blogger, so I've been unable to post from there and frankly, posting time at home is almost non-existent lately.

So the VBAC birth that was going on last week obviously ended. I was not called to stay the primary doula. Baby was born later that night via emergency cesarean, after a transfer from the birthing center for what the doula described as "scary" decelerations. While at the hospital, the mom was able to continue laboring all the way to 8 cm (that is 7 cm further than she got last time), but then FHT took such a serious dive a cesarean was performed immediately. Turns out there was a serious cord entanglement going on, and baby wasn't coming out without bringing the placenta with it. Healthy boy, 9.5 lbs. Mom is really happy she got to experience so much labor.

In other news, daycare woes continue. Ava is now registered for 3 afternoons a week starting after Thanksgiving, but that is not a convenient schedule for us at all. With some luck, all the right changes will take place in the next 6 weeks, and we'll get both kids in there for 2 full days/week by January 1. Cross your fingers for us. We're still on the waiting list for the campus daycare center, but it looks like that will be July before space is available.

We've been getting our wills and advanced directives together around here. We already had a will, but seeing my aunt's death and the aftermath associated with her will and assets, I've realized how important it is to have everything meticulously prepared. I've been learning about trusts. There are just so many ways to take care of your loved ones after you die. Confusing stuff. Not like we have much to leave em (and not like we plan on dieing for 50 years), but I wanna make sure they get every penny!

Potty training! I think we are officially potty-trained here. Accidents are extremely rare now and almost predictable because of the circumstances. We still haven't tackled nap or night training because Ava has no access to the potty during those times, but it is coming soon.

Night weaning! Alder has night-weaned himself. This has been going on for about 2 weeks. I can't believe it. Last night he slept for 10.5 hours STRAIGHT. And he's not even 6 months. I'm so thankful we've gotten here with absolutely no urging on our part. Franny, I hope your next one takes a cue from Alder. Granted, things were still very rough 2 months ago, but to completely sleep through the night ON HIS OWN at less than 6 months...that is just worth almost anything.

Not much else going on. Keith and I are dreaming of our new minivan that we hope to get next summer.

Oh, and 2 days ago I finished writing the final manuscript of my dissertation. It needs major editing, and I still have to write a brief introduction and brief conclusion to the whole dissertation, but that should only take a couple of days. I can't believe I'm almost there. Hopeful defense date in late January.

And one more thing! I'm on the verge of signing up for my first class towards the long path to midwifery. I'm thinking this will be a one or two classes at a time, maybe a couple of times a year thing...so the entire curriculum will take probably 5+ years (I'm thinking of going for the AS degree which includes the CPM first, then possibly the MSM if I'm still into school and all). But that sounds about right to me. I have no apprenticeship lined up anyway. It takes time to figure those things out, and until I'm done with the PhD and have earned a little money, I can't even fathom an apprenticeship with no income.

Okay, that is all now.

Daycare woes

We're back on the hunt for daycare. Keith needs to go back to work full-time, and I need a little more time in my weeks to finish up school successfully, and to give myself just a few hours a week to exercise and stay healthy. Our favorite daycare is a 5 minute walk from our offices, and I get a discount as a student. But they don't have space now, and the waiting list is open-ended. Their best guess is there will be space by July, possibly sooner. The other daycare that gives me a student discount says they DEFINITELY won't have space until July. Greeeeeat. I didn't like them anyway. Luckily, the favorite daycare has two other sites in town, and one of them has space for Ava right now. Granted, it is only 3 afternoons a week, but it is a foot in the door. Once in the center, we get first priority to change schedules to something we like, and we get first priority to get Alder in as well. Too bad they are on the complete opposite end of town. But we like them, and our town is small, so we're gonna do it. So right after Thanksgiving, Ava will start 3 afternoons a week at daycare. It won't give me any additional time at school because I'll still have Alder at home, but it will be nice for her to interact with the kids and it will be a break for me and entertaining the increasingly-non-napping toddler. They said we should be able to switch to more convenient days within a month. And Alder should have a spot by mid-January. And thankfully, starting in January, I actually get paid again (a very, very small amount) to help pay for this daycare time.

Update on the Daycare Decision

No daycare! Actually, we'd decided we WERE going to put Alder in daycare, on the schedule I mentioned earlier (the same days Ava is at G&G's house). Then we actually checked with the daycare, and of course they didn't have the days and times we wanted. They had some other, suckier times. So we talked with G&G about changing up Ava's schedule so it would match the times Alder could go to daycare. Well, they were a bit jealous I think of Alder going to daycare, so instead they offered to watch them both. For free!!! I'm getting free daycare 3 days a week for 2 kids!!! Granted, it is only for 5 hours on those days, but damn can I be productive in 5 short hours! I'm probably getting the same amount of work done that I would in a leisurely 8 hours. Keith splits the other 2 days a week with me, working a compressed schedule to make up some of the hours, and taking some hours as vacation every week. This week is our first attempt at the 2-kid days at G&G's house. Actually, today was day 1. All went well. This arrangement isn't permanent, but hopefully they'll hold out for as long as I think it will take me to finish school. I'm shooting for a December defense. I have no idea if that is realistic, but I'm going for it.

Daycare or No?

After repeated little breakdowns about stress over finishing school in a more timely manner, we are now considering daycare again. I just don't feel like I'm getting enough done, and at this pace think the pain of stretching things out over the next 6-12 months far outweighs the pain of being away from my kids for a few hours more each week. We've got some decisions to make about this daycare plan though.

Right now, Ava goes to Grandma & Grandpa's house 2.5 days a week. Prior to last week, Alder was home with me all week. This meant I squeezed my work in while he was napping, or while he was nursing with my boppy pulled up to the computer desk. It works, but only marginally. It is not a very effective or efficient way to make progress. As of last week, Keith and I have started splitting care 2 days a week. I go to school for 4 hours in the morning, and then we switch and he goes for the afternoons. He's able to do this with his job by working 10 hours the other 3 days of the week, and taking 5 hours of vacation. But that still only give me a total of 8 hours per week of dedicated work time (and that assumes I woke up on time and got to school by 9). We've also discussed me going in for 4 hours on Sundays, but so far it hasn' t happened due to yard projects that have Keith out breaking a sweat. So we are faced with requiring extra help to get me done with school.

Ava used to go to a daycare we are quite fond of. It happens to be a 5 minute walk from my building, so if we put Alder in there, I could walk down and nurse him during lunch. We're thinking about putting him there on the same days that Ava is at Grandma & Grandpa's. We'd start with shortish days of maybe 5 hours and work up as we all got comfortable with the situation. Another option, that would save us $450 a month, is Grandma & Grandpa taking both kids for 5 hours 3 days a week. So between those 15 hours (really 13 after the driving time is sucked out) and the additional 8 I could get from Keith, plus the Sundays, that gets me up to 25 hours/week. That isn't too bad. If I was SUPER DUPER efficient, it just might work. I'm on a bit of a time clock here and am REALLY hoping to finish in December. But that will require a large dose of luck and lots of cooperation from people who don't necessarily need to cooperate.

Anyway, we've got some thinking to do.