Jack's Activities (and his momma's thoughts): September 2008

It's been an eventful week. Normally I focus on Jack's latest accomplishments, but tonight I want to let you in on a few of my first experiences, which were plentiful in the past week. So skip the detour into my life if you prefer just to read about Jack, and you might want to skip another upcoming entry that should be out early next week (I'll forewarn you). But be assured, I will post plenty of pictures of Jack in between!

1. I hired our first outside (as in non-relative) babysitter. Ben's firm subsidizes several backup daycare visits per year that stay-at-home spouses can use when they have appointments. They even have the option of sending a babysitter to your house if the nearest affiliated daycare center isn't convenient (it isn't for us). So since I had a doctor's appointment last Thursday, I scheduled someone to come over. Knowing that Jack had never stayed with anyone else, I had the babysitter come an hour early so that Jack would have time to adjust to her.

2. I fired our first babysitter. So when she showed up, I almost immediately knew there was no way I would ever feel comfortable leaving Jack with her. Tattoos and bad grammar aren't massive strikes against her, but she reeked of smoke and had teeth that looked like they had seen a little too much meth for my taste. Pops can vouch for me on this one--we video called him on Skype and he got a glimpse of our scary putative babysitter in the background. After about half an hour of letting her attempt to play with Jack (she never really engaged him) I told her I was too nervous about leaving Jack for the first time, paid her our co-pay (which was really amazingly low, $16 total for four hours), she left, and I breathed again.

3. So Jack ended up coming along with me to my first appointment with my new obstetrician (no, I'm not pregnant again yet, and, yes, everything's fine; it was just a normal checkup). Turns out it was fine to take Jack--all the nurses loved him and even took him running up and down the hall for a few minutes. A good sign for future visits when I actually do get pregnant with baby number two and beyond.

Also a good sign is that I love my new doctor. I was worried about finding someone good here, because my experience having Jack in London really spoiled me. Jack was born in the Portland Hospital for Women and Children, the premier birthing facility in London, and basically a 5-Star hotel with medical facilities, and the most impressively trained staff I've ever heard of. Gwyneth Paltrow, Claudia Schiffer, Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham), and Giselle all had their babies at the Portland. When we were supposed to be in London through this December, we had considered having our second baby very quickly just so I could deliver there with my old doctor.

With her longish blonde hair, large frame, and joyful, bubbly personality, my new doctor is the polar opposite of my London OB, who was pixie-like, with spiky dark hair, and very straightforward. I think Ben would have called my former OB just plain mean. She repeatedly made fun of Ben while I was in labor, to the point that I had to tell her to give him a break and that he was a wonderful husband. I think she was trying to get me worked up enough to push harder.

At any rate, Ben's resting easier now that I've told him the drill sergeant has been replaced with a cheerleader. Equally effective to motivate me, but much more gentle on my poor husband.

4. I hosted book club for the first time. Three months ahead of time, the host suggests three books for the month, all the members vote on which to read. Then at the meeting host serves dinner and leads the discussion. We ended up reading The Painted Veil. I would have preferred to talk about The Book Thief, but 550 pages is a bit steep for a month's reading. The upside was that a movie version of The Painted Veil just came out last summer, so I was able to show movie clips and talk about how the two differ based on the strengths of their different mediums (film and written word). It was the biggest crowd I've seen, too, with 9 people here!

5. But the book club I hosted wasn't the only one I attended in the past week. The night after that, I had another book club (this time comprised of stay at home mommies rather than women lawyers). We read some junky, unnotable chick lit book, though it was written by a UVa Law Grad who lived in London for a while, so I expected to feel at least some sort of kinship with her heroine (no dice). It was after the mommy book club that I experience my first going out night with moms. Seriously. I was standing in the parking lot talking with one of my friends, when one of the moms suddenly said, "So where are we going? I fixed my hair. I'm not going home until 10 o'clock." She directed a group of us to a nearby shady bar, where she told the bartender it was her 28th birthday and he poured us a all free shot. It was a bizarre insight into the high school lives of my mommy friends. Especially our leader. Everclear's Volvo Driving Soccer Mom was clearly written about her specifically. I'm certain of it.

6. Today I found out I have my first cavity ever. Twenty-eight years I went completely cavity free, but now I've got two, and apparently they're pretty bad. Drilling begins at 7 a.m. Thursday morning.

7. For the first time since high school band my freshman year, knowing the lyrics to "Eye of the Tiger" has come in handy. Rock Band II came out Saturday, and Ben and I are officially addicted.