Dentist
I went to the dentist this morning for my semi-annual (that’s the one that means twice a year, right?) check-up. I did just swell—no cavities and healthy gums, which is good considering I often have gum problems.
The weirdest part was at the end when they scheduled my appointment for 6 months from now. I realized that the next time I go to the dentist, I’ll have a one-month-old. This is extra bizarre, since it seems like I go to the dentist pretty often. I only ever went once a year growing up, and less often than that during the college years without dental insurance. Now I have good insurance, so I go for the recommended number of visits.
Today, for the first time, a hundred new things crossed my mind. Will I get a babysitter? Will Denny take a couple hours off work to take care of the baby while I’m there? If Bisqui comes late, he/she might just be a couple weeks old at that time. In that case, it might even be the first time I’m away from him/her for more than a few minutes. What if I cry at the dentist because I miss the baby? They’ll assume it’s because I have dental anxiety, which I don’t at all. I actually enjoy going to the dentist.
Good lord, I’m all in a tizzy. One good thing about actually having a baby is that one is probably too tired to obsess about the things I have the luxury of obsessing about now.
Aprille, I STILL ask myself – how can I go to the dentist (which I never do) or the doctor or to get my car fixed and so on.
The better question is, how are you and Denny handling the maternity leave? I dunno exactly how it is at the U, but I’m fairly certain you’ll get 12 weeks, right? Where I work, and since Leah and I work at the same place, we had to split that 12 weeks. Or have Leah take it all, and I took vacation time to stay home when Ava came home. I have a vague recollection that some father at the UI was going to sue because he didn’t get the same 12 weeks his wife did when they had a child.
Hm…Collette, I was hoping you’d say “It all falls into place, don’t worry.” I guess that’s not the case.
Yeah, map, we’re wondering about that too. I think we would also have to split the 12 weeks. I am probably going to ask for a more extended leave of absence, though. We need to make an appointment with a benefits counselor to talk about our options. It’s pretty weak that just because we work for the same place, we get less leave.
It does fall into place. It’s called “daycare.”
It was a concern for us when Daphne was born because Jack had just started working at the University full time (not as a student) for only a few months. We saved up his few vacation days and used them as half days to get the most out of it. He would stay home with me in the morning and then go to work in the afternoon for a few hours.
Don’t worry about getting stuff done. We have found that everyone where you all work is really understanding when Jack needs to take time for his family. When I was a stay-at-home mom, I used to plan my doctor and dentist visits around Jack’s lunch hour. It worked really well for us. And, he got to spend an hour during his day bonding with Daphne.
Believe me, there are a lot more things to worry about than time. Start thinking about having to cut your baby out of her/his onsie because of explosive poo up the back. That is a real emergency!
Hahaha. Good point, Holly.
Get one of these if you don’t already have one. I’d lend you ours but I think my sister has it (oh, duh, just remembered we will probably need it around the same time anyway). It’s just like being pregnant again, only the baby is on the outside, no umbilical cord, no placenta… or, at least they sleep a lot in there and your hands are free. Unless you can get Denny to produce breastmilk, you might want to take most of the leave. ;^)
I did say that that is how it is for ME. Nate works too far away from our house and generally can’t really miss work, so my case is different. I know plenty of stay-at-home moms who get things done just fine. For those that work, their kids are already being watched, and lunch hours and leaving work early become times to take care of appointments.
Like Holly said, don’t worry about that stuff…there are bigger things to tackle! 🙂
I think it would be hilarious if Aprille wore a Baby Bjorn in the dentist chair. The hygienist might protest though. And of course I’m happy to watch the baby when needed :-).
Oh, Denny, you’re going to love it. You guys are going to be great parents.
It’s amazing all the little, mundane things you have to rethink when you have a kid.