The nausea is so horrible I had to call Chris from work this morning and beg him to do me a favour. "Just find a health food store, tell them your wife is pregnant and nauseous like she wants to die, and she needs ginger candies or ginger ale or something. I'm desperate - I won't make it through the day without help." Because he is awesome, he was at my office 20 minutes later with ginger root capsules.
Many websites say that ginger can be of great help in reducing nausea and vomiting caused by pregnancy, but then they also say this: "Although a trial of Ginger in 27 pregnant women with persistent vomiting revealed no harmful effects, it is still not recommended during pregnancy." Ugh. I'm taking it anyway, for the time being, and when I see my midwife on Wednesday we'll see what she thinks.
I got to see Greg and Sue and their daughter Teagan on the weekend. She's now 7 weeks old and they took her to a camping event - an impressive precedent, and one I'm not sure I can live up to! Sue and I got to talking about pregnancy and motherhood and babies in general, and the need for genuine help in the form of a nanny. I never thought I'd be pro-nanny, but then my image of a nanny has changed drastically from the post-War concept of someone who lives in your house and raises your kids while you're off travelling the world with your husband. I now look at Greg and Sue and their utter sleep deprivation and see how a live-in nanny could help bridge the gap so that they could be more present and capable in their waking, with-child hours. Furthermore, the question of what happens next year - when Sue goes back to work - is another one that could be handily answered with a nanny. It's nearly impossible to find child care for kids under 3, so where does that leave the working moms?
As for money, I've never done the math on this, but I suspect that for most people, daycare is a losing proposition. I know my sister recently went back to work for one day a week, and barely breaks even on her paychecks after paying for daycare for her two sons. For me personally - in a job that barely keeps me busy for 10 hours a week - I couldn't stomach paying someone else to look after my child while I sit at work and surf the web, itching to get back home. I've already spoken to my managers about working part time in the future (i.e., after my maternity leave) and they are very agreeable. That's a huge stroke of luck for me, and one that not many mothers get. Again, the cut in pay will be difficult, but I'm sure we'd weather that better than me working full time and paying out full-time daycare - assuming I could even find such a thing.
By the time Sue needs to go back to work - next July - I'll be off on my maternity leave. It would be neat and tidy for me to offer my assistance in bridging the gap for her, but at the same time I will be at home with a newborn and adjusting to life as a mom. Do I really need to make my life twice as hard?
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