Q&A

I've been sharing the news with people at work.  I work in multiple buildings so that's a lot of people.  There have been plenty of questions to answer.  Let's review, shall we?

When are you due?
Feb 23rd.

How are you feeling?
If you've read the rest of the blog, you know the first trimester was no picnic. I think I'm turning the corner though so my standard answer to this questions is "Better." I have to stay on top of things with sleeping, eating frequently, drinking (cold) water, and not getting too hot.  If I manage those things well I can function pretty well.  Things seem to improve by the day.
 
Are you going to find out if it's a boy or girl?
So many people have asked this.  Probably 90% of people I've told. The answer is yes, we will find out.  A couple people have asked the follow-up question of if we'll tell others.  Yes, we will share that information.  If I was planning to find out but not tell people, I don't think I'd tell people that.  I think I'd just lie and say we were going to be surprised and save myself the hassle of explanation.

Was this planned or a happy surprise?
Only one person has been bold enough to ask so far (even though I know people must be curious because I wonder this too.)  To answer the spirit of the question, it was planned.  But things didn't go exactly according to the original plan, so the fact that it finally happened was definitely a happy surprise!

Have you discussed names?
Not much, just a little bit for boy names.  We're holding off until we know the sex, just to make things a little easier for ourselves.

Are your parents excited?
Yep.  Both sets of grandparents are very excited.  My parents have been asking about grandkids for oh, about a decade.   

Are you excited/thrilled/etc?
Yes.  Although if you ask Jeff apparently his answer is "not yet."  Which just made me laugh since that's such a Jeff way of thinking.  I guess his life isn't any different yet so there's nothing to get excited about.  But he's been ready longer than I have, so I know he's happy to have a kid on the way.

You haven't gotten fat yet!
To answer the implied question: No, I'm not showing yet.  My pants are just starting to get tighter.  Haven't even had to use the rubber band in the button hole trick yet.  But I lost weight in the first trimester so that has balanced out any potential belly growth to this point.

How long will you take off?  Will you be back before the end of the year?
The plan is to take the full 12 weeks allowed under FMLA.  I have to talk with personnel for official details.  But based on what I can gather from our contract I can have 6 of those 12 weeks paid for with accumulated sick leave.  I will have to return to work sometime in mid-May for the last 3 or 4 weeks of school. We'll need some temporary childcare for those few weeks.  So if you're interested in the job, let me know.  :)