Today I finally looked into going part time next year. I had been under the assumption that if I went down to working 50%, I'd have to pay 50% of our health benefits and I had no idea how expensive that would be. I checked with the district and found out that as long as I work at least 50%, I get full benefits and don't have to pay anything. What?!?! Really?!?! That can't be right. I literally emailed the lady at the district office a second time to make sure that I understand what she said. So what it boils down to is that my salary will be cut in half. I've already figured out that we can afford that with the price of rental homes that we are looking at. In fact, it won't affect the way we live at all.
The only reason I am worried about my hopes being too high is that the union has mentioned that we may not be able to keep our amazing health benefits next year because of the potential continued cuts to education. I have emailed somebody on our negotiating team to find out what the chances are that they will change the 50% = full benefits policy and am anxiously awaiting a response.
If I can cut down to 50%, I'll be able to work from 8-11 am or 9 am to noon. I don't know which will be better but right now I'm leaning toward 9 am to noon because Nate is happiest first thing in the morning and also because I will have to offer some kind of additional help for my students; if I work until noon I can stay for lunch a couple days a week and offer help then.
Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Sleep, Food, and Poop... That's All I Talk About These Days
Probably in that order; sleep and food might be tied when it comes to the frequency that they come up in my daily conversations.
So let's start with sleep. This week, we have been having trouble. For some reason Nate has taken two hours to get to sleep four of the last six nights. Three of those nights I gave up and brought him downstairs at 8 pm and he fell asleep laying on my chest and then I transferred him to our bed. He then slept all night without waking up. For the last two nights (not including tonight) he fell asleep easily but woke up in his crib after 20 minutes three times. He'd wake up, we'd either pop a paci or rock him back to sleep then put him back down, and then he'd wake up again. Usually by the second wake up but sometimes the third, he wouldn't let us put him back down in his crib. Two nights ago I just brought him downstairs and again, he slept all night. Last night I decided to try to put him in the bed upstairs with towers of pillows on either side of him. He slept up there until 2:45 am. I don't know what was going on but he was awake until 4:45 am despite me bringing him to our bed. I wonder if he would have slept in the bed upstairs all night had he not been having whatever issue it was that kept him up for two hours. And tonight we were back to a kiddo who couldn't fall asleep. I really think that the reason is that it's too stinking hot in his room. It's so aggravating! The sun is beating on the windows up there right around the time that I'm trying to get him to sleep. Tonight it was 78 degrees up there according to our monitor. His cheeks were pink and I could just tell that he was hot. He finally just fell asleep so we'll see how it goes with him in the bed upstairs.
I just can't bring myself to cry it out or Ferberize him. Sometimes he can't sleep because he's in teething pain. Sometimes he can't sleep because he has a sensitive stomach. And sometimes he can't sleep because he wants us nearby. All of these things are short term and he will outgrow them. Also, being able to explain to him that he has to sleep in his own bed is so much more appealing than letting him cry all by himself when he's too young to understand what's going on. Maybe I will live and learn and do things differently when we have a second baby. Or maybe I'll have to do things differently just because of the craziness of having two babies. But right now, I just can't do it. It would break my heart!
Alright, on to food. I am seriously having so much fun watching Nate learn to eat. There's something so funny about the way he picks up his puffs with his forefinger and thumb, puts it partway in his mouth, and bites on it. Watching him nibble on kiwi and broccoli for the first time was so much fun. And seeing him devour yogurt makes me hope that he has the same love of food that I do.
A little more than a week ago we started supplementing his bottles with formula because my freezer supply of milk was diminishing so quickly. Nate DOES NOT like formula. I tried 2 oz of each in the first two bottles and he wouldn't have any of it. After some more experimenting, we discovered that 2.5 oz of milk with 0.5 oz of formula was the most he would take. After doing that for a week I think I will try to increase the formula to milk ratio tomorrow. The funny thing is that in the last wee, I've pumped far more than he's been drinking. My supply didn't increase but he's been drinking less. I think that he is just switching to eating more food and needing less milk. If I have more milk than he needs next week, I'm going to stop using formula for the time being.
He is so close to crawling and is getting around pretty well. He scoots on his butt and also works his way around on his tummy, moving backward and turning around when he runs into something and gets stuck. Right now, he can get onto his knees but they always slip out from under him. He is also pulling himself up to a seated position from laying down and is able to pull himself up to his knees. He is working on pulling himself up to his feet.
I know I am biased but I really think he is smart for his age. There are so many examples I could give but I'll just list a couple. We play this game where he stands up in my lap and then quickly falls to his butt and I say "Bonk!" and he laughs. Now I can ask him if he wants to play "Bonk" and he immediately falls to his butt. Also, my Mom has been playing Patty Cake with him sitting in her lap facing forward. Now, whenever she sits him like that, he grabs her hands and starts doing Patty Cake. He even knows how to "roll it".
He is also very aware of his body, I think. There have been several times when he's been up at night with tummy trouble that he pulls my hand to his tummy and makes me rub it. Tonight he was playing with my hand as he was trying to fall asleep and pulled my hand over his face as if he wanted it to be darker in the room or something (he goes to bed long before the sun is down after the time change and with daylight getting longer).
On a different note, we went into escrow Thursday morning. We got more than we thought we would get for the house before we met with our agent but had to drop the price quite a bit from where he suggested that we start. We had to sell for less than we bought for but will easily be able to cover the mortgage and come out with a little bit of money. I'm really hoping that everything goes well because I am pretty desperate to get out of here. But at the same time, it makes me really sad to leave. I love this area so much and this house has so much sentimental value to me. But we need more space and we need Nate in a room that doesn't hear every single noise in the house.
If all goes well, we close on April 20 and will have three days to move out afterward. The timing is actually good because we will close on a Friday and have until Monday to be out. We are both on the same page that we don't want to buy again until the market goes down more. We feel a little burned by the market; everybody told us four years ago that we would be able to sell for what we purchased the house for after five years and now we are being told it will be at least another five years before the market hits its bottom. Also, since I want to work less we want to keep the bills down. In five years or so when I'm ready to go back to working full time hopefully we will be ready to buy the house that we will stay in forever. Neither of us wants to buy again until we are able to do that.
I'll spare you on the poop talk.
So let's start with sleep. This week, we have been having trouble. For some reason Nate has taken two hours to get to sleep four of the last six nights. Three of those nights I gave up and brought him downstairs at 8 pm and he fell asleep laying on my chest and then I transferred him to our bed. He then slept all night without waking up. For the last two nights (not including tonight) he fell asleep easily but woke up in his crib after 20 minutes three times. He'd wake up, we'd either pop a paci or rock him back to sleep then put him back down, and then he'd wake up again. Usually by the second wake up but sometimes the third, he wouldn't let us put him back down in his crib. Two nights ago I just brought him downstairs and again, he slept all night. Last night I decided to try to put him in the bed upstairs with towers of pillows on either side of him. He slept up there until 2:45 am. I don't know what was going on but he was awake until 4:45 am despite me bringing him to our bed. I wonder if he would have slept in the bed upstairs all night had he not been having whatever issue it was that kept him up for two hours. And tonight we were back to a kiddo who couldn't fall asleep. I really think that the reason is that it's too stinking hot in his room. It's so aggravating! The sun is beating on the windows up there right around the time that I'm trying to get him to sleep. Tonight it was 78 degrees up there according to our monitor. His cheeks were pink and I could just tell that he was hot. He finally just fell asleep so we'll see how it goes with him in the bed upstairs.
I just can't bring myself to cry it out or Ferberize him. Sometimes he can't sleep because he's in teething pain. Sometimes he can't sleep because he has a sensitive stomach. And sometimes he can't sleep because he wants us nearby. All of these things are short term and he will outgrow them. Also, being able to explain to him that he has to sleep in his own bed is so much more appealing than letting him cry all by himself when he's too young to understand what's going on. Maybe I will live and learn and do things differently when we have a second baby. Or maybe I'll have to do things differently just because of the craziness of having two babies. But right now, I just can't do it. It would break my heart!
Alright, on to food. I am seriously having so much fun watching Nate learn to eat. There's something so funny about the way he picks up his puffs with his forefinger and thumb, puts it partway in his mouth, and bites on it. Watching him nibble on kiwi and broccoli for the first time was so much fun. And seeing him devour yogurt makes me hope that he has the same love of food that I do.
A little more than a week ago we started supplementing his bottles with formula because my freezer supply of milk was diminishing so quickly. Nate DOES NOT like formula. I tried 2 oz of each in the first two bottles and he wouldn't have any of it. After some more experimenting, we discovered that 2.5 oz of milk with 0.5 oz of formula was the most he would take. After doing that for a week I think I will try to increase the formula to milk ratio tomorrow. The funny thing is that in the last wee, I've pumped far more than he's been drinking. My supply didn't increase but he's been drinking less. I think that he is just switching to eating more food and needing less milk. If I have more milk than he needs next week, I'm going to stop using formula for the time being.
He is so close to crawling and is getting around pretty well. He scoots on his butt and also works his way around on his tummy, moving backward and turning around when he runs into something and gets stuck. Right now, he can get onto his knees but they always slip out from under him. He is also pulling himself up to a seated position from laying down and is able to pull himself up to his knees. He is working on pulling himself up to his feet.
I know I am biased but I really think he is smart for his age. There are so many examples I could give but I'll just list a couple. We play this game where he stands up in my lap and then quickly falls to his butt and I say "Bonk!" and he laughs. Now I can ask him if he wants to play "Bonk" and he immediately falls to his butt. Also, my Mom has been playing Patty Cake with him sitting in her lap facing forward. Now, whenever she sits him like that, he grabs her hands and starts doing Patty Cake. He even knows how to "roll it".
He is also very aware of his body, I think. There have been several times when he's been up at night with tummy trouble that he pulls my hand to his tummy and makes me rub it. Tonight he was playing with my hand as he was trying to fall asleep and pulled my hand over his face as if he wanted it to be darker in the room or something (he goes to bed long before the sun is down after the time change and with daylight getting longer).
On a different note, we went into escrow Thursday morning. We got more than we thought we would get for the house before we met with our agent but had to drop the price quite a bit from where he suggested that we start. We had to sell for less than we bought for but will easily be able to cover the mortgage and come out with a little bit of money. I'm really hoping that everything goes well because I am pretty desperate to get out of here. But at the same time, it makes me really sad to leave. I love this area so much and this house has so much sentimental value to me. But we need more space and we need Nate in a room that doesn't hear every single noise in the house.
If all goes well, we close on April 20 and will have three days to move out afterward. The timing is actually good because we will close on a Friday and have until Monday to be out. We are both on the same page that we don't want to buy again until the market goes down more. We feel a little burned by the market; everybody told us four years ago that we would be able to sell for what we purchased the house for after five years and now we are being told it will be at least another five years before the market hits its bottom. Also, since I want to work less we want to keep the bills down. In five years or so when I'm ready to go back to working full time hopefully we will be ready to buy the house that we will stay in forever. Neither of us wants to buy again until we are able to do that.
I'll spare you on the poop talk.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Quick Morning Post
I figured I'd hop on and write a quick post to let Nate sleep a little longer. Sunday he went to bed an hour later after the time change, as expected, so I slept a little later Monday morning. He then woke up early and my morning became hectic. Monday night he went to bed as if the time change never happened so I woke up extra early Tuesday morning... and then he slept late. Last night he was back to remembering the time change for bed time and it seems he's sleeping a usual length of time.
Nate's pterodactyl scream has gotten more intense. It is clear that he thinks it's his primary way of communicating. Danielle came over on Saturday to take me out to lunch for my birthday. Afterward we were hanging out at the house and feeding Nate some peas. I was talking to her while feeding him and he kept screaming his little high pitched scream, asking for attention, so I looked at him while talking to her and he stopped.
Speaking of peas, he is really learning to feed himself faster than I expected. He's pretty adept at finger foods. He still sometimes misses and the food ends up hitting his cheek instead of going into his mouth but for the most part, he'll just pick something up and eat it. He's not great with texture still though. He's not eating purees anymore; I'm either mashing things or making sure that there are still little bits in them. But I gave him the tiniest little bite of cottage cheese and he immediately gagged... and gagged... and gagged... until he threw up his apples. I don't think it was about flavor because there are things that he hasn't liked the flavor of but he's still able to get a bite of it down and then he just turns his head to refuse future bites.
Well, I've been on here three minutes longer than I had planned so I've got to get going!
Nate's pterodactyl scream has gotten more intense. It is clear that he thinks it's his primary way of communicating. Danielle came over on Saturday to take me out to lunch for my birthday. Afterward we were hanging out at the house and feeding Nate some peas. I was talking to her while feeding him and he kept screaming his little high pitched scream, asking for attention, so I looked at him while talking to her and he stopped.
Speaking of peas, he is really learning to feed himself faster than I expected. He's pretty adept at finger foods. He still sometimes misses and the food ends up hitting his cheek instead of going into his mouth but for the most part, he'll just pick something up and eat it. He's not great with texture still though. He's not eating purees anymore; I'm either mashing things or making sure that there are still little bits in them. But I gave him the tiniest little bite of cottage cheese and he immediately gagged... and gagged... and gagged... until he threw up his apples. I don't think it was about flavor because there are things that he hasn't liked the flavor of but he's still able to get a bite of it down and then he just turns his head to refuse future bites.
Well, I've been on here three minutes longer than I had planned so I've got to get going!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Finger Foods
Nate got the go ahead from the doctor to start eating table foods and finger foods at his 9 month appointment. I've given him Joe's O's (Trader Joe's version of Cheerios) a few times and today he actually put one in his mouth and ate it! I'm looking forward to giving him peas tomorrow. He's tried some very overcooked spaghetti, too. I'm looking forward to giving him some ground meat (turkey or beef) and diced up veggies and fruit. I purchased some pouches of premade meals to get an idea of what they should look like, size-wise, and then I will start making him some meals myself or doing variations on whatever we're eating. Today I tried giving him a small spoonful of cottage cheese and he immediately started gagging then ended up throwing up the apples that he had eaten prior to it. I'm certain that it was the texture that threw him off because he never swallowed any of it. Maybe we'll try Ricotta instead!
He is continually becoming more independent. Yesterday we were playing on the couch and there was a bottle with a little milk left in it nearby. He rolled off of me, over onto his stomach, grabbed the bottle, rolled onto his back, and then drank it. I was pretty impressed! I'm also still really in awe of his development. He is always trying to find a new way to make Sophie the Giraffe squeak and it's so cute. Sometimes he'll bend her neck, sometimes he'll pound her on the ground.
Nate's 9 month appointment was pretty uneventful. Monday morning he woke up sounding very wheasy so I started breathing treatments right away that morning and night and Tuesday morning. We saw the doctor Tuesday afternoon and she said his lungs sounded clear but if I thought he needed the treatments, we could continue with them. He's had one a day since then except for today and he sounded wheasy again when I put him to bed tonight so I think we need to keep it up a bit longer. Nate is over the 95th percentile for height and around the 85th percentile for weight. He is developing as expected. He got the last of his Hepatitis vaccinations and once again, barely even flinched when it was injected.
I guess that's it for now! Happy Saturday
He is continually becoming more independent. Yesterday we were playing on the couch and there was a bottle with a little milk left in it nearby. He rolled off of me, over onto his stomach, grabbed the bottle, rolled onto his back, and then drank it. I was pretty impressed! I'm also still really in awe of his development. He is always trying to find a new way to make Sophie the Giraffe squeak and it's so cute. Sometimes he'll bend her neck, sometimes he'll pound her on the ground.
Nate's 9 month appointment was pretty uneventful. Monday morning he woke up sounding very wheasy so I started breathing treatments right away that morning and night and Tuesday morning. We saw the doctor Tuesday afternoon and she said his lungs sounded clear but if I thought he needed the treatments, we could continue with them. He's had one a day since then except for today and he sounded wheasy again when I put him to bed tonight so I think we need to keep it up a bit longer. Nate is over the 95th percentile for height and around the 85th percentile for weight. He is developing as expected. He got the last of his Hepatitis vaccinations and once again, barely even flinched when it was injected.
I guess that's it for now! Happy Saturday
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)