Week 16: A new doctor, day care visits and The Gap … oh my!

Where the heck do I begin? This week … man, this week has been crazy.

It all started with a mini check-up at the doctor.

I gained five pounds during the last two weeks (don’t ask) and braced myself to be chastised at this appointment. But, no! I was thrown for a loop when a Nurse Practitioner greeted me instead of Dr. GL, who had been called to the operating room.

She was SUPER nice and very informative. She even found Wee One’s heart beat immediately (which even surprised her). I actually wouldn’t mind seeing her again if it was necessary.

She did ask if I wanted to have a maternal serum screening – which checks for abnormal levels of certain substances linked to birth defects like Down Syndrome and neural tube defects – and, at this point, I’m electing not to have the test.

Here’s why: The test has a high false positive rate. If the test is positive, the next step is to have a detailed ultrasound to check for openings near the spine, etc.

Our detailed ultrasound is only three weeks away. With my tendency to worry (even with knowledge of false positives), I simply decided to wait for the ultrasound. If the tech finds something abnormal (or even questionable) during the scan, there is still time for the blood test.

Other than that, all is still well! 🙂

—-

I visited the first of two day cares Tuesday afternoon.

As with everything in life, there were positives and negatives.

Positives

• I loved the director! Loved her! She’s young and ambitious. She has a degree in child development and a master’s in early childhood education.
• She really seemed to care about what was going on in each room. A camera was installed in every room and she could see each one on a TV in her office. During our meeting she kept glancing up to see what was happening. In a professional setting, that kind of behavior would annoy me. But, here it put my mind at ease.
• I liked that the infant room has its own bathroom.
• I liked that the front door (which is along a busy street) is locked at all times.
• All toys are sanitized nightly
• All staff are certified in CPR and First Aid. They all go through extensive background checks

Negatives

• Carpet, carpet and more carpet.
• Along the same line, there wasn’t a “shoes off” policy for the infant room. I’m not a germ-a-phob by any means, but ugh!
• There were no pieces of artwork, crafts, etc. anywhere. I felt like it was a “play all day” kind of place.
• The outside play area was a narrow piece of a parking lot that had been fenced in.

The list of negatives, while not substantial in number, is a big deal to me. When all was said and done, I did add our name to the wait list; however, I’m going to continue to pursue alternatives.

We have another tour tomorrow and I have a call into a place that will be opening in September. 🙂

—

The Gap is offering an additional 35% off its sale items today.

Under normal circumstances I don’t do “name brand” clothing. Not for myself and definitely not for Wee One.

But I couldn’t pass this up!

Gender neutral and COMPLETELY adorable.

I also purchased three solid bodysuits (3-6 mos) in blue, grey and white. Also gender neutral and can be paired with any bottoms. Since they don’t unsnap at the shoulder, it’ll be easier to get Baby’s head and arms into it later on. At least I hope so. 😛

Regular price of those items … $57.80.

What I paid … $20.13

Yeah!