Comet Loves His Pink Monkey

Comet loves his pink monkey.  You can't really tell from this picture, but the thing really does have a head.  It also used to have stuffing throughout it, but that was before Comet ripped open a hole in its shoulder and started pulling out the stuffing like he was sucking a straw.

This is Comet at his best behaved, which routinely comes after getting a little bit of time at the nearby off-leash dog park like he did early this morning.  If we could just get him to sit or lie on his dog bed when we command him to, then we'd be all set.

15 Seconds of Embarrassment

On Monday, I had my routine monthly exam with my OB.  A few days before, I got a call from her office asking if it was OK if KING-5 news (a local TV station in Seattle) interviewed me about the pertussis shot I was going to get.  (For those of you not in Washington state, there's been a spike in the number of cases of whooping cough this year for some reason.)  Since I routinely nag scientists to speak to reporters as part of my job, I felt obligated to say yes.

You can see my semi-ridiculous TV moment here: http://www.king5.com/health/childrens-healthlink/Pregnant-women-urged-to-get-whooping-cough-vaccine-158700485.html  You probably can tell from my rapid fire response that I didn't fully know that getting the shot would vaccinate the baby until he can get the shot himself at 6 months or whatever -- I was just doing my doctor recommended.  So I just sputtered on camera.

Somewhere, Diane Sawyer is resting easy about me taking her job.

Mother's Guilt ... Already?

OK, not really.  I'm not actually into making myself feel badly about things that other people may or may not think, but I do catch myself questioning whether I'm doing everything a parent-to-be ought to be.

First off, I haven't been keeping a pregnancy journal or diary or anything.  My thought was this blog would serve as some sort of record of the whole experience, but I haven't been very consistent in this arena lately.

Secondly, I do not routinely check any sort of week-by-week pregnancy website or book.  I'm trusting the little guy is coming along as he needs to and my doctor has been assuring me of this, but I'm not really on top of certain details of development, etc.  (I am, however, completely aware of week I am, since there's both an excited and semi-panicked countdown going on in my head until I give birth.)

I realize that I have a lot going on in my life at this point -- the twins, full-time work, writing a book on the side, a very energetic puppy, etc. -- but I don't want to let this whole pregnancy experience pass me by and then not remember the details of what happened.  My memory is bad enough without 'pregnancy brain' or whatever they call the excuse for being completely absent-minded during these 9ish months.

So I will try to be more diligent on posting here on the blog.  I just want to make sure I don't forget everything.  (Plus, it's never too early to stockpile details to hang over your children's heads to make them realize your suffering in creating them.)  But if I don't, I promise myself that I won't make myself feel too guilty ... most of the time.