Weekly Wrap Up 12-28

I'm not sure when the last time I did one of these was.  Since basically the only thing I do is take care of Eleanor (which I know is work) she's my life and I update on her weekly anyway so I don't have much else to add here.

1) I'm trying to get back into the whole contest entering thing.  I won a dress shirt onesie thing that my nephew got for Christmas, and I got a few prizes that I won around the time Eleanor was born.  They included a money game for preschoolers and a baby care package.

2) I'm ready to get serious about finding a job.  It's the last thing I want to do, but I hate hate hate that I'm not financially contributing.  I hated it the whole time, but now that she's 12 weeks, it just isn't working out for me not to work.   I'd love to be able to find something part time that I can still have her with me (such as child care or a work at home job).

3) The weather here has me dealing with major cabin fever.  It's been constantly snowy and icy and I wouldn't go out if it was just myself, so I'm even less likely to take my little baby girl out.  My short little mini trips to the grocery store, a mile away when Rob get's home is what's keeping me sane.
So basically I don't want to leave, but if I didn't make at list a short trip out, I'd get super stir crazy.

4) I love Christmas and love the decorations, but I'm actually thinking about taking them down this weekend.  The tree is taking up room that I want back, and with nothing under it anymore it looks kind of sad.

So Christmas didn't go at all like I thought it would. On Christmas Eve we gave her her first gift, a pair of jammies, because I want to start that tradition. Eleanor did good at Rob's cousin until she needed a diaper change and was tired.  She was passed around and was doing good.  We ended up skipping my mom's extended family, for the second year in a row.  I was bummed but it just wound up overlapping our get together with his mom and sister. Again she was pretty happy unless her diaper was wet.  She slept six hours that night.  Her longest stretch ever!

How adorable is my niece?!?

Christmas morning she was happy! We opened gifts.  We kept it small because we just don't  have the budget this year.  Then we headed over to my sisters where she turned into a hot mess.  She cried and screamed and wouldn't sleep and the only thing that calmed her was nursing so I spent quite a bit of time doing that and just snuggling with her.  I didn't dare set her down or pass her off.  It was a little stressful and I never got a family picture like I had wanted.  

We finally left and got home and she was okay.  Then she napped for a few hours and nursed for a while and was happy when Rob's dad and sister showed up

I'm pretty sure she was just so overly tired and over stimulated, but it wasn't the first Christmas I had planned for her.

5) At the beginning of the week our power went out.  I was actually up at 3:00 am when it went out using the bathroom and then Eleanor wanted to nurse so I nursed her by flashlight.  I usually play on my phone to stay awake, but didn't want to drain the battery so it was boring.  Then the power came back on around 6:30 and went back off for a few hours in the afternoon, but we were pretty lucky that was all.  Some people were without for days and with super cold temps plus Christmas it would have been stressful.   The internet was down for a few days and I was going crazy.  I need the internet!

I was bored and was having a selfie session with Rob.

Weekly Wrap Up

1) It hasn't been exactly warm here, but I thought (or really hoped) that we were done with snow.  It is mid-March after all.   Nope. Woke up this morning to snow, and a winter weather advisory.  

2) Naturally there would be a winter weather advisory the day my sister has a baby shower.  This is her last one and the one for her in-laws.  I don't really want to go.  In part because I've already been to two.  But also because her in-laws know I'm pregnant, but my family doesn't.  I'm not worried they will say something to me in front of my mom.  It's more the whole elephant in the room sort of thing.  I know they know, They know I know, but nobody says anything. 

3) I still haven't told my parents about the job thing.  I don't want to worry them or have them think I expect help.  My brother still expects help from them, but my sister and I don't.  My parents gave us money for our wedding (about 1/3 of what we needed), and my dad helped me with books my first semester or two in college.  Those were the last times I asked for help.   

4) I did tell my mother, brother and sister in law though.  We got together yesterday at Rob's mom's for Chris's (brother in law) birthday and she asked how work was.  I went uh, um actually I'm not working.  She said she would keep an ear/eye out for me.  

5) I actually did have someone from care.com contact me, but based on what they would pay me, it would be another pay cut (this time about $25).  It would be Wed, Th, Fri.  The family lives about 10 minutes away  (I guess based on the nearest intersection they gave).   I'll probably meet with them though.  If offered the job, I don't know if I should take it, or hope for something better. I'm running out of time to figure it out. 

6) After that rough last week I decided I wanted to do the nt scan.  A few weeks ago when I called the insurance company they said it needed to be pre-authorized and given the fact that I didn't have a history or risk factors it was unlikely they would so I was going to let it go.   My sister has the same insurance (different ob practice) though and it was covered for her last fall.  

So I called my ob's office Monday and told them I wanted to do it, but needed the pre-authorization.  They said they would call the MFM (maternal fetal medicine) since they don't do it on site and schedule it and then they would call me and give me the code for billing which I was supposed to then call my primary care doctor with and have him authorize it).  Whew!  So I got the notification via the online health care network that it was scheduled (which I later changed).  I called got the code and called my doctor's office and explained it to them.  

They didn't call me back that day so I called them the next day and left a message.  They called back and the woman I spoke to at the doctors office said that she spoke to the insurance company.  The insurance company said that it only needs to be pre-authorized on the east side of the state and not the west side where we live.  Seems kind of silly, but whatever.  I'm happy to see the baby again, and hoping Rob can make this appointment, but again not expecting him to.  I think it's the unknown that worries me.  If baby is healthy, awesome, but if something is wrong I don't want to wait another 8 weeks to find out.

Whew!  I think that's it for now :)