I know that by this time in a pregnancy, many women are dying to go into labor early. The discomfort is getting to them and they're getting anxious, and going early relieves them of those last weeks of torture. I am not one of those women. I really don't want to go early. I also don't want to go late, so I'm hoping to hit my due date perfectly. Wishful thinking, I know, but a girl can dream.
There's way too much to do before the baby comes to go early. The baby's room is still in piles around the perimeter of the room, and there's still no furniture. We have it ordered and will hopefully have it in the next week or two, at which point I can start doing laundry and putting things away/in place. But until then there's not a lot of other things we can do. Some, but not a lot. I still haven't packed my hospital bag, but there's a couple reasons for that. First of all, I use a lot of the stuff that I would pack...toiletries, clothes, etc. Second, in most cases we'll have some time to kill before heading off to the hospital...we can't go until contractions are five minutes apart for an hour, and sometimes that takes a while to get there. So I suppose I need to get some sort of bag started, and I can add to it when we have that time to kill. It'll keep my mind off the pain, anyway.
I also have the work issue to deal with...that my goal is to work until the end. I'd rather not go early and leave work undone, you know? Even if my backup is in place and I should have a laptop to bring home with me just in case, I'd rather not have to do damage control in the event I go early. I'd like a nice, clean break.
I may start thinking differently in the next couple weeks as the weather warms up and I continue to get more uncomfortable, but still....there's a lot to do. Like I said, I don't want to go late either, because it will be hot by then, it could screw up my maternity leave schedule, and I'm not sure how I feel about the 4th of July...probably no fireworks and picnic for me this year either way!
I'm optimistic that I won't go early just because I don't have any risk factors, I'm not that big (relatively speaking...my belly is huge but I know it could be much bigger), and the baby is still really high. I may find out differently this week when I go to the doctor and start my weekly visits (complete with internal exams for the first time since the beginning of this process), but for now I'm just ignoring all of the friendly folks that keep telling me stories about how all of their friends have gone early. I can't do much about it either way, though now I start getting into the "Oh, crap...what if my water breaks in public or in some other really inconvenient place?" fears. Hard to believe there's less than a month to go!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Stay-at-home parents
I am extremely jealous of stay-at-home parents. I probably alluded to this a bit when we went through the day care thing, but in the last day or so jealousy has had a few chances to rear its ugly head. At our last child birth class we got on a discussion of day care. I was generally jealous of pretty much everyone there, because most of them had this nice setup NOT involving a day care center. Some had parents, some had a highly recommended in-home day care, and one is staying home until at least December. Not only did most of them have piece of mind with whomever they chose, they were also paying a heck of a lot less than the places we looked at. I wish we had that luxury...any of those luxuries. Whether it's having someone we trust that much (due to recommendations or having them in the family for years), or paying less, or being able to stay home, even a day or two a week...any of it is eviable.
Then yesterday morning I read one of the blogs that inspired this one (read it here), and the writer is leaving her job to become a freelance writer. She's got plenty to write about, though I wouldn't trade places with her in million years since cancer is what has shaped her life and career, making this move possible. But I couldn't help but be a little jealous that she can afford to give up her steady salary (despite just having bought a house on Long Island) and that it has the added bonus of allowing her to spend time with her 9 month old son. Even the flexibility of freelancing would be nice...to be able to work around things reasonably well.
The tough thing for me is that I like my job...I really do. I enjoy what I do, I like who I work for, and I get paid respectably. While my job may not be impossible to do remotely, it's not ideal. I'm the only one that does much of what I do, and it's quite handy to have me in the office when my bosses need to talk through something or need something done NOW. I don't know if it would be physically possible to get in a full work week at home with a baby, nor would it probably be possible to have this job go part time...there's just too much to do. That's not to say there couldn't be some flexibility, but again, the convenience of me being here and available whenever something is needed is huge. There's good news and bad news to being needed, you know? (Call me crazy, but I'll most likely be taking a laptop home with me over maternity leave. I offered, but it's mostly because I'm afraid they won't be able to find something in my filing system and it will be easier for everyone if I can just log onto the server, look through my files, and tell them where it is. Doing it from memory would be impossible, I think. I'd rather be prepared and have that extra safety net than leave everyone hanging. Having the computer up-to-date will also be handy in case the baby's sick and I have to be home for a day here or there.)
Anyway, going part time isn't really even an option financially. I suppose it depends on how the pay cut would compare to day care's cost. Obviously the benefits to the baby are priceless...but if you can't pay your mortgage, that doesn't work either. Hopefully someday one of us will end up with a job that pays a ton and the other can afford to not work...or work less. Or add another kid or two into the mix and it's that much easier for a salary and day care to cancel each other out.
Not that I want to stay home full time, either. I take pride in my career as well, and I think adult interaction is a good thing. I'm not sure how I'd do home alone all day every day...I know it's hard work, and the mental toll is tough. You have to find ways to make it engaging for both of you, which can be a job all its own. Still, it's something I'd like to try someday (beyond the dizzying six weeks of my maternity leave). I know leaving my six-week old baby at day care is going to kill me, but I also hope it won't make me a heartless person if I also take some joy in getting back to work after all that time. Mommies need variety, too. Still, it'd be nice to have the option, you know?
Then yesterday morning I read one of the blogs that inspired this one (read it here), and the writer is leaving her job to become a freelance writer. She's got plenty to write about, though I wouldn't trade places with her in million years since cancer is what has shaped her life and career, making this move possible. But I couldn't help but be a little jealous that she can afford to give up her steady salary (despite just having bought a house on Long Island) and that it has the added bonus of allowing her to spend time with her 9 month old son. Even the flexibility of freelancing would be nice...to be able to work around things reasonably well.
The tough thing for me is that I like my job...I really do. I enjoy what I do, I like who I work for, and I get paid respectably. While my job may not be impossible to do remotely, it's not ideal. I'm the only one that does much of what I do, and it's quite handy to have me in the office when my bosses need to talk through something or need something done NOW. I don't know if it would be physically possible to get in a full work week at home with a baby, nor would it probably be possible to have this job go part time...there's just too much to do. That's not to say there couldn't be some flexibility, but again, the convenience of me being here and available whenever something is needed is huge. There's good news and bad news to being needed, you know? (Call me crazy, but I'll most likely be taking a laptop home with me over maternity leave. I offered, but it's mostly because I'm afraid they won't be able to find something in my filing system and it will be easier for everyone if I can just log onto the server, look through my files, and tell them where it is. Doing it from memory would be impossible, I think. I'd rather be prepared and have that extra safety net than leave everyone hanging. Having the computer up-to-date will also be handy in case the baby's sick and I have to be home for a day here or there.)
Anyway, going part time isn't really even an option financially. I suppose it depends on how the pay cut would compare to day care's cost. Obviously the benefits to the baby are priceless...but if you can't pay your mortgage, that doesn't work either. Hopefully someday one of us will end up with a job that pays a ton and the other can afford to not work...or work less. Or add another kid or two into the mix and it's that much easier for a salary and day care to cancel each other out.
Not that I want to stay home full time, either. I take pride in my career as well, and I think adult interaction is a good thing. I'm not sure how I'd do home alone all day every day...I know it's hard work, and the mental toll is tough. You have to find ways to make it engaging for both of you, which can be a job all its own. Still, it's something I'd like to try someday (beyond the dizzying six weeks of my maternity leave). I know leaving my six-week old baby at day care is going to kill me, but I also hope it won't make me a heartless person if I also take some joy in getting back to work after all that time. Mommies need variety, too. Still, it'd be nice to have the option, you know?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Our last class
Well, the month has flown by and child birth classes are over. Do I feel more prepared to have a baby? Yes and no. I feel a bit more educated, of course, but taking the class brought up a ton of stuff I never really thought of before...so ultimately I'm still just as intimidated as I was a month ago. There's no going back now, though...not that we would anyway.
Last night's class was basically a review. We started out the evening with our tour of the maternity ward. Four couples went last week, four couples this week. It was good to see everything, though a little freaky to think that the next time we're there it will be for the real thing. The rooms are private, which is nice, and everything looked acceptable...pretty homey for a hospital, I guess. Of course, with the rooming-in policy nowadays (where babies pretty much live in their mom's room the whole time) means that the stereotypical nursery window was empty. It was a pretty uneventful tour, though three things brought some reality to the situation: 1) We saw a new mother and her baby getting wheeled somewhere in a wheelchair; 2) We heard some faint medical chatter about someone's labor (and I think a heart monitor) from the triage room; and 3) When we came back down the elevator to start our actual class, we ran into a couple coming in with their pillows, a blanket and their suitcase. Wow.
As I mentioned, class itself was a review of the things we had learned so far, along with a bit about post-birth and the weeks following. We started out with an interactive game where we were given an activity or characteristic of a stage of labor and had to go to a part of the room that represented that stage. It was funny to see people switch midway through the game as things became clearer, but it was a good review. Oh, and it was funny to look around the room at the women this week, for two reasons. First, it's been a month and we're all considerably bigger than we were when class started. Everyone's really popped quite a bit, and it was amazing to see how big some people have gotten. I'm probably the smallest, even though my due date is about right in the middle. Second, by the end of the class, all the women were slumped down in their chairs, bellies protruding, and some had their feet elevated. You can tell we're all getting to the point where comfort is hard to come by.
Anyway, we watched the same video we had seen in child care class about delivery basics (how the baby will look, cutting the cord, nursing right away), then got into life after delivery. There were some really unfortunate topics that came up (mostly having to do with the things our bodies will go through to recover) that gave both the women and men reason to cringe. I think it's safe to say that we saw the world's largest maxi pad. It was part of a three-part cringe-fest as the instructor showed the hospital-issued underwear, maxi pad and ice pack that will be given to us after delivery. Really sexy, as you can probably imagine. Oh, and I never thought of the fact that, as the instructor said, "Charmin doesn't make toilet paper soft enough, girls..." and that we'd basically have to use a squirt bottle and a towel to, ummm, clean up after using the rest room for a week or so. There were a couple other iffy subjects, but we did manage to laugh about most of them. The whole post-baby sex thing was quite funny, actually. Oh, and one girl announced she was 1-1/2 cm dilated already (due June 8th...second baby), while another couple was conspicuously absent. No idea if they were actually tucked away upstairs or not!
We talked about pediatricians, day care, and a couple other topics, as well, before class finished up. We "graduated" and were given a silver spoon as a token of our achievement. I'll probably miss going each week because even though there was always something to freak me out, there was usually something to get me a little more excited, too. I'm glad we went...but I can't believe we'll be back there in another five weeks or so for the real thing....
Last night's class was basically a review. We started out the evening with our tour of the maternity ward. Four couples went last week, four couples this week. It was good to see everything, though a little freaky to think that the next time we're there it will be for the real thing. The rooms are private, which is nice, and everything looked acceptable...pretty homey for a hospital, I guess. Of course, with the rooming-in policy nowadays (where babies pretty much live in their mom's room the whole time) means that the stereotypical nursery window was empty. It was a pretty uneventful tour, though three things brought some reality to the situation: 1) We saw a new mother and her baby getting wheeled somewhere in a wheelchair; 2) We heard some faint medical chatter about someone's labor (and I think a heart monitor) from the triage room; and 3) When we came back down the elevator to start our actual class, we ran into a couple coming in with their pillows, a blanket and their suitcase. Wow.
As I mentioned, class itself was a review of the things we had learned so far, along with a bit about post-birth and the weeks following. We started out with an interactive game where we were given an activity or characteristic of a stage of labor and had to go to a part of the room that represented that stage. It was funny to see people switch midway through the game as things became clearer, but it was a good review. Oh, and it was funny to look around the room at the women this week, for two reasons. First, it's been a month and we're all considerably bigger than we were when class started. Everyone's really popped quite a bit, and it was amazing to see how big some people have gotten. I'm probably the smallest, even though my due date is about right in the middle. Second, by the end of the class, all the women were slumped down in their chairs, bellies protruding, and some had their feet elevated. You can tell we're all getting to the point where comfort is hard to come by.
Anyway, we watched the same video we had seen in child care class about delivery basics (how the baby will look, cutting the cord, nursing right away), then got into life after delivery. There were some really unfortunate topics that came up (mostly having to do with the things our bodies will go through to recover) that gave both the women and men reason to cringe. I think it's safe to say that we saw the world's largest maxi pad. It was part of a three-part cringe-fest as the instructor showed the hospital-issued underwear, maxi pad and ice pack that will be given to us after delivery. Really sexy, as you can probably imagine. Oh, and I never thought of the fact that, as the instructor said, "Charmin doesn't make toilet paper soft enough, girls..." and that we'd basically have to use a squirt bottle and a towel to, ummm, clean up after using the rest room for a week or so. There were a couple other iffy subjects, but we did manage to laugh about most of them. The whole post-baby sex thing was quite funny, actually. Oh, and one girl announced she was 1-1/2 cm dilated already (due June 8th...second baby), while another couple was conspicuously absent. No idea if they were actually tucked away upstairs or not!
We talked about pediatricians, day care, and a couple other topics, as well, before class finished up. We "graduated" and were given a silver spoon as a token of our achievement. I'll probably miss going each week because even though there was always something to freak me out, there was usually something to get me a little more excited, too. I'm glad we went...but I can't believe we'll be back there in another five weeks or so for the real thing....
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Pics from shower #3
I got the disc this morning with pictures from shower #3, my work shower, so I figured I'd share a few. There's not much to show, because honestly, this shower was pretty low key...I mean, it was a really nice shower, but how exciting is it showing people sitting in a conference room full of food and a few decorations? And some of the artsy shots my boss attempted probably wouldn't communicate the big picture, you know?
This is the haul from this shower. Lots of good stuff as usual, and in a manageable amount to get down to the car in one trip. Thank goodness. It's nice working with mostly women, because they're so good about wrapping things pretty :) 
Ah, yes, me prior to unwrapping. Gotta love the hot seat. Showers in a big room like that are weird because half the people care what you're opening and half the people are engrossed in their own conversations. So, you don't want to be too sheepish and not project your voice (so as to offend those who do care, particularly when you're opening their gift), but you also don't want to be loud and center-of-attention-ish (so as to annoy those who are just there for the food and socializing). I will point out, though, the coolest baby shower decoration ever hanging up in the background across the front of the flat screen...it's a Hawaiian-ish garland, complete with flowers and paper lanterns. I saved it to hang in the baby's room, once I figure out where it'll work. It's that cute. Oh, and you should have seen me trying to get those balloons home...
And finally, me with the cake. Black is a wonderful color, I'd say, since you can't even tell I'm pregnant in this picture! The cake was awesome, by the way. It was covered in fondant stars (fondant's the stuff that makes those picture perfect wedding cakes you see in magazines all the time, for those of you who don't know), and it said "Best Wishes Amy". It was a pretty periwinkle color (a purplish blue, in case you don't remember your Crayola colors), and inside it was marble...and really, really delicious.
So anyway...
This is the haul from this shower. Lots of good stuff as usual, and in a manageable amount to get down to the car in one trip. Thank goodness. It's nice working with mostly women, because they're so good about wrapping things pretty :) Ah, yes, me prior to unwrapping. Gotta love the hot seat. Showers in a big room like that are weird because half the people care what you're opening and half the people are engrossed in their own conversations. So, you don't want to be too sheepish and not project your voice (so as to offend those who do care, particularly when you're opening their gift), but you also don't want to be loud and center-of-attention-ish (so as to annoy those who are just there for the food and socializing). I will point out, though, the coolest baby shower decoration ever hanging up in the background across the front of the flat screen...it's a Hawaiian-ish garland, complete with flowers and paper lanterns. I saved it to hang in the baby's room, once I figure out where it'll work. It's that cute. Oh, and you should have seen me trying to get those balloons home...And finally, me with the cake. Black is a wonderful color, I'd say, since you can't even tell I'm pregnant in this picture! The cake was awesome, by the way. It was covered in fondant stars (fondant's the stuff that makes those picture perfect wedding cakes you see in magazines all the time, for those of you who don't know), and it said "Best Wishes Amy". It was a pretty periwinkle color (a purplish blue, in case you don't remember your Crayola colors), and inside it was marble...and really, really delicious.I had some really great showers. It's so nice when people are so caring and generous, especially when you're facing something so momentous. As I've mentioned before, bridal showers are odd because they're very "me" oriented, but baby showers are all about the baby (or at worst, making the parents' life a little easier as they take care of the baby), so getting the things you registered for (or other thoughtful gifts) really means so much more, because it's equipping you for the next phase of your life without you having to break the bank (too much, anyway). It's a load off your mind with every gift you get. And these days, that's a good thing!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Every weekend should be a three-day weekend...
Why? Because I'd like every weekend to be this pleasant and productive. It's nice to have time for a little of everything...from relaxation to family time to productivity. Craig was on the road Friday and got home at the crack of dawn on Saturday. I managed to do a couple things Friday night--nothing big--but enough to make me feel like I didn't just sit around here and do nothing. I put the wheels on the stroller, for example. Saturday morning I went to pick up my new new car. Yeah, the car saga never really ended when I posted the picture of it on here. Turns out they could never get the trunk hooked up to the keyless entry so they had to get me a new car. I lost the CD changer but gained my beloved keyless entry (if it wasn't for the baby I probably would have lived without it, but knowing my hands will be full for the next, oh, two decades, keyless entry won out). The frustration for the last month was really annoying, but I did go another month without a car payment and I got a car with about 600 less miles on it. My payment is also going down about $9 a month. Not a bad deal overall, I suppose, but I'm just happy the frustration appears to be over (knock on wood).
After that, I stopped at Target (first of four times this weekend--for various reasons) and Babies 'R' Us and discovered that the crib we wanted to buy is on stop-sale...which means it's not discontinued, but they're not selling it right now either. So...back to the drawing board on that. I came home, broke the news to Craig, and spent some time online finding a replacement. I think we've got something psyched out, but let's just hope I don't go early because we'll need all the time we can get to make sure that we have a crib and dresser ordered, delivered, assembled and full by the time the baby gets here!
After a productive trip to Wal-Mart (finally found my favorite flowers to plant, got a birthday gift, some cards and a photo album), we headed off to Buffalo for some family time, first with Craig's parents, then on to my family's yesterday for a Memorial Day picnic at my parents'. My Aunt Sue (a faithful blog reader!) and my cousin Kristi were in town to be there for my grandma, who had hip replacement surgery (#3) this week. My cousin Kevin, who lives in Reno, was also in town. It was good to see them and to hang out with the rest of the family. It was a beautiful day, finally (and I have the sunburn to prove it). We finished things off by going to Target, getting our crib mattress, and heading back to Rochester. Lots of researching for that purchase, so I'm glad that's over. On a funny note, we paid 10 cents for it. We had gift cards that covered the rest, and rather than break into another gift card, we just shelled out the dime :)
This morning I woke up early and decided to go outside and plant some flowers before the weather got bad, as was forecasted. I got that done and got back into bed for an hour or so, then Craig and I got up and did more yard work. He mowed, and I trimmed and cleaned up the disaster of shoots under our lilac bush. It was pretty hot out by then, but I didn't push myself...don't worry! We did some running around (we have a LOT of birthdays to buy for in the coming weeks, especially since I'll be out of commission once July hits) and did our returns at Babies 'R' Us. We now officially know what kind of gift card money we have left, so we can get organized and go buy the rest of what we need between the two stores...and whatever's left will go to diapers and whatever else! Then we made Craig's weekend by going to see a matinee of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. He's been waiting patiently since Thursday (and is still eagerly anticipating the Lego Indiana Jones video game release next week), so it was my wifely duty to go. Don't ask me to review it, because I don't remember the originals well enough to judge, but it was entertaining...a little weird, but entertaining. We came home, grilled some chicken for dinner, and are settling in for the night. It never did rain, by the way. Those weather forecasters are crazy.
So yeah, it was a productive weekend but with just enough relaxation to make it enjoyable. We got some baby stuff done, which we need to do pretty much every weekend now to get ready in time. But really, every weekend should be like this! Unfortunately, it's back to work tomorrow...but at least it's a four day week. The bad news is that I keep wishing away my weeks to get to the weekends, but the more I do that the closer we're going to get...and I really don't want to be wishing away our last few weeks of normalcy. It's a tough balance!
And get this...tomorrow is our last childbirth class. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess! But wow...once upon a time it was so far off, then it was here, and now it's almost over. Unbelievable...and I hear it only goes faster once the baby's born. Hold on to your hats...
After that, I stopped at Target (first of four times this weekend--for various reasons) and Babies 'R' Us and discovered that the crib we wanted to buy is on stop-sale...which means it's not discontinued, but they're not selling it right now either. So...back to the drawing board on that. I came home, broke the news to Craig, and spent some time online finding a replacement. I think we've got something psyched out, but let's just hope I don't go early because we'll need all the time we can get to make sure that we have a crib and dresser ordered, delivered, assembled and full by the time the baby gets here!
After a productive trip to Wal-Mart (finally found my favorite flowers to plant, got a birthday gift, some cards and a photo album), we headed off to Buffalo for some family time, first with Craig's parents, then on to my family's yesterday for a Memorial Day picnic at my parents'. My Aunt Sue (a faithful blog reader!) and my cousin Kristi were in town to be there for my grandma, who had hip replacement surgery (#3) this week. My cousin Kevin, who lives in Reno, was also in town. It was good to see them and to hang out with the rest of the family. It was a beautiful day, finally (and I have the sunburn to prove it). We finished things off by going to Target, getting our crib mattress, and heading back to Rochester. Lots of researching for that purchase, so I'm glad that's over. On a funny note, we paid 10 cents for it. We had gift cards that covered the rest, and rather than break into another gift card, we just shelled out the dime :)
This morning I woke up early and decided to go outside and plant some flowers before the weather got bad, as was forecasted. I got that done and got back into bed for an hour or so, then Craig and I got up and did more yard work. He mowed, and I trimmed and cleaned up the disaster of shoots under our lilac bush. It was pretty hot out by then, but I didn't push myself...don't worry! We did some running around (we have a LOT of birthdays to buy for in the coming weeks, especially since I'll be out of commission once July hits) and did our returns at Babies 'R' Us. We now officially know what kind of gift card money we have left, so we can get organized and go buy the rest of what we need between the two stores...and whatever's left will go to diapers and whatever else! Then we made Craig's weekend by going to see a matinee of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. He's been waiting patiently since Thursday (and is still eagerly anticipating the Lego Indiana Jones video game release next week), so it was my wifely duty to go. Don't ask me to review it, because I don't remember the originals well enough to judge, but it was entertaining...a little weird, but entertaining. We came home, grilled some chicken for dinner, and are settling in for the night. It never did rain, by the way. Those weather forecasters are crazy.
So yeah, it was a productive weekend but with just enough relaxation to make it enjoyable. We got some baby stuff done, which we need to do pretty much every weekend now to get ready in time. But really, every weekend should be like this! Unfortunately, it's back to work tomorrow...but at least it's a four day week. The bad news is that I keep wishing away my weeks to get to the weekends, but the more I do that the closer we're going to get...and I really don't want to be wishing away our last few weeks of normalcy. It's a tough balance!
And get this...tomorrow is our last childbirth class. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess! But wow...once upon a time it was so far off, then it was here, and now it's almost over. Unbelievable...and I hear it only goes faster once the baby's born. Hold on to your hats...
Friday, May 23, 2008
Babies of the non-human variety
Those of you who know me or frequented my old webpage know that I have a thing for webcams. Not the creepy personal kind, but the cool ones that look at cities and other neat places...like European town squares, midnight sunsets in Scandinavia, and even the canal in my hometown of NT. This time of year my webcam watching takes a different turn, because it's baby bird season. There's a ton of cameras out there that look at nests around the world, and it's neat to watch them. Here are the best of the best lately:
http://rfalconcam.com/rfc-main/mainView.php - This is the famous Kodak Falconcam, right here in Rochester at the top of the Kodak tower downtown. The peregrine falcons have been there for years now, and the five babies are about two weeks old.
http://www.birdcam.it/cam.php?camid=8&subpage=cam06.php - This site has lots of cameras in Italy, but this one is the best right now. I'm not sure, but this is most likely a peregrine falcon nest, too. There's live streaming video, and it's really zoomed in on the nest. I think there are five babies here as well, about a week old.
http://www.pfalzstorch.de/bilder/webcambild_sportplatz_bornheim1.htm - This is a white stork camera. There are two other cameras at this site, but this one has the most activity right now...four rapidly growing storks that are probably about a month or two old.
http://www.storchennest.de/en/index_427.html - This is another stork cam, and this one has live video. There's four babies in this nest right now, about a few weeks old.
http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/Embryology/eggcamera.shtml - This camera changes views periodically, from hatching eggs to maturing chicks. There might be turkeys, chickens, ducks, or other types of birds, depending on the day.
Anyway...the point to all of this is not only that baby birds are really neat to watch, but it takes on a totally different feel this year when I'm getting ready to have a baby of my own. You wouldn't think there would be much to compare, but in some weird way, there is. For one, there's the anticipation...first of the eggs being laid, then of them hatching. The good news is, the whole process is a lot more predictable and a lot shorter with birds than it is with humans. Second, watching the birds grow up is really amazing. Again, birds mature a lot faster than humans, but it's neat to watch them grow and change. Even watching the parents is interesting. When eggs are laid, the parents do everything they can to protect their nest and incubate the eggs. Once the eggs hatch, it's neat to watch them alternate between keeping the new babies warm and tearing apart prey to feed their new brood numerous times a day. The live video cams really make you appreciate it, since you can see how the baby birds are simultaneously awkward and yet increasingly in control of themselves. It's so cute to watch them get fed and do that neck-craning thing that baby birds do. They flap their wings to practice flying, climb over each other in the nest, pop their heads up and look around...it's fun to watch. It seems a lot like what it's like to watch your own baby. They grow so quick, and even in their helpless state early on, they're already learning and observing and getting used to their body and the world around them. I know human babies are a heck of a lot more impressive, but the birds provide a cool little example in the meantime, until we have our baby here to keep us amazed. Anyway, I just thought it was cool...and for best results, check out the links above in the afternoon, because a couple of them are in Europe and it'll be dark there long before it is here. Enjoy...
http://rfalconcam.com/rfc-main/mainView.php - This is the famous Kodak Falconcam, right here in Rochester at the top of the Kodak tower downtown. The peregrine falcons have been there for years now, and the five babies are about two weeks old.
http://www.birdcam.it/cam.php?camid=8&subpage=cam06.php - This site has lots of cameras in Italy, but this one is the best right now. I'm not sure, but this is most likely a peregrine falcon nest, too. There's live streaming video, and it's really zoomed in on the nest. I think there are five babies here as well, about a week old.
http://www.pfalzstorch.de/bilder/webcambild_sportplatz_bornheim1.htm - This is a white stork camera. There are two other cameras at this site, but this one has the most activity right now...four rapidly growing storks that are probably about a month or two old.
http://www.storchennest.de/en/index_427.html - This is another stork cam, and this one has live video. There's four babies in this nest right now, about a few weeks old.
http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/Embryology/eggcamera.shtml - This camera changes views periodically, from hatching eggs to maturing chicks. There might be turkeys, chickens, ducks, or other types of birds, depending on the day.
Anyway...the point to all of this is not only that baby birds are really neat to watch, but it takes on a totally different feel this year when I'm getting ready to have a baby of my own. You wouldn't think there would be much to compare, but in some weird way, there is. For one, there's the anticipation...first of the eggs being laid, then of them hatching. The good news is, the whole process is a lot more predictable and a lot shorter with birds than it is with humans. Second, watching the birds grow up is really amazing. Again, birds mature a lot faster than humans, but it's neat to watch them grow and change. Even watching the parents is interesting. When eggs are laid, the parents do everything they can to protect their nest and incubate the eggs. Once the eggs hatch, it's neat to watch them alternate between keeping the new babies warm and tearing apart prey to feed their new brood numerous times a day. The live video cams really make you appreciate it, since you can see how the baby birds are simultaneously awkward and yet increasingly in control of themselves. It's so cute to watch them get fed and do that neck-craning thing that baby birds do. They flap their wings to practice flying, climb over each other in the nest, pop their heads up and look around...it's fun to watch. It seems a lot like what it's like to watch your own baby. They grow so quick, and even in their helpless state early on, they're already learning and observing and getting used to their body and the world around them. I know human babies are a heck of a lot more impressive, but the birds provide a cool little example in the meantime, until we have our baby here to keep us amazed. Anyway, I just thought it was cool...and for best results, check out the links above in the afternoon, because a couple of them are in Europe and it'll be dark there long before it is here. Enjoy...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Work Preparations
You never really realize how crazy and twisted your brain is until you have to explain it in depth to someone else. Welcome to the last three days of my life.
My maternity leave replacement at work was in town this week to get equipped to take over when I go out. Stephanie actually did part of my job for 2-1/2 years before leaving a couple years ago to move back home to Texas. She was a whiz with the mapping and with Excel, and I learned a ton from her. I was panicked when she left because I wasn't sure I'd ever figure things out without her. Our jobs basically merged after she left, and the position involves a lot of trial and error to find ways to give people what they need. Turns out I've done pretty well these last couple years. The problem is communicating all that I've learned back to her. It's not easy to teach your teacher.
Not surprisingly, she's forgotten a lot of stuff. Totally not her fault, though. Two years is a lot of time, and if you don't do this stuff on a daily or weekly basis, it's technical enough that it's easy to get out of practice. As it is I'm scared enough about what I'll forget in just six weeks away. In addition, the job has definitely evolved since she left, and there's a lot of stuff she never did before at all, because either I or the person before me handled it. Trying to figure out what to teach in our limited time and how to communicate it in an understandable way was so hard. Our styles and strengths are definitely different, so refining my methods to fit her strengths and capabilities was tough. Like I said, the job takes a lot of trial and error, and sometimes you just have to find ways to get the job done, even if they seem to be a little labor-intensive or backwards. If it works for you, great...but it's tough when you have to convince someone else that this might be the best way to do it.
It's still better than having someone starting totally from scratch, and she's such a fun girl to hang out with that it was nice having her around for three days. Regardless, I'm happy to get back to normal. My hope is that now that she's been here, I can look at my job with a new eye toward things I have to remember to pass along. I have a running list of notes and reminders for her already, but hopefully in the next five weeks I can really focus and organize all that she needs to know...because honestly, trying to think about all the stuff I do during these three days was tough. Hopefully over these next weeks I can focus on putting together a more organized list and prepare her even better for my time away. It's only fair to her, and it will put my mind at ease, too. It's not easy letting go of something you've put so much effort into for so long. Regardless of how valid my reason is, it's still tough to step away and risk disappointing the people I work with and for, or to make their lives more difficult in any way. They've been good to me, and it's tough not being able to return the favor this time around. I know things will be fine, but it was a crazy few days and right now I'm just a little nervous. Just one more thing, I guess :)
My maternity leave replacement at work was in town this week to get equipped to take over when I go out. Stephanie actually did part of my job for 2-1/2 years before leaving a couple years ago to move back home to Texas. She was a whiz with the mapping and with Excel, and I learned a ton from her. I was panicked when she left because I wasn't sure I'd ever figure things out without her. Our jobs basically merged after she left, and the position involves a lot of trial and error to find ways to give people what they need. Turns out I've done pretty well these last couple years. The problem is communicating all that I've learned back to her. It's not easy to teach your teacher.
Not surprisingly, she's forgotten a lot of stuff. Totally not her fault, though. Two years is a lot of time, and if you don't do this stuff on a daily or weekly basis, it's technical enough that it's easy to get out of practice. As it is I'm scared enough about what I'll forget in just six weeks away. In addition, the job has definitely evolved since she left, and there's a lot of stuff she never did before at all, because either I or the person before me handled it. Trying to figure out what to teach in our limited time and how to communicate it in an understandable way was so hard. Our styles and strengths are definitely different, so refining my methods to fit her strengths and capabilities was tough. Like I said, the job takes a lot of trial and error, and sometimes you just have to find ways to get the job done, even if they seem to be a little labor-intensive or backwards. If it works for you, great...but it's tough when you have to convince someone else that this might be the best way to do it.
It's still better than having someone starting totally from scratch, and she's such a fun girl to hang out with that it was nice having her around for three days. Regardless, I'm happy to get back to normal. My hope is that now that she's been here, I can look at my job with a new eye toward things I have to remember to pass along. I have a running list of notes and reminders for her already, but hopefully in the next five weeks I can really focus and organize all that she needs to know...because honestly, trying to think about all the stuff I do during these three days was tough. Hopefully over these next weeks I can focus on putting together a more organized list and prepare her even better for my time away. It's only fair to her, and it will put my mind at ease, too. It's not easy letting go of something you've put so much effort into for so long. Regardless of how valid my reason is, it's still tough to step away and risk disappointing the people I work with and for, or to make their lives more difficult in any way. They've been good to me, and it's tough not being able to return the favor this time around. I know things will be fine, but it was a crazy few days and right now I'm just a little nervous. Just one more thing, I guess :)
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