I am 24 weeks along and was also having a hard time at work for a while. What I found was that going in later really helped. Granted, that means staying later but those hours just seemed to agree with my body better. I also worked a few hours over the weekend instead of going in earlier or staying super late. I don't know how much flexibility you have in when you work those 60 hours, but if you have any I would suggest trying different start/end times and maybe doing some weekend work. Good luck.

I was lucky enough to not get sick at all in the beginning, but in talking to a friend whose dad is a ob I learned that there are medicines out there that are perfectly safe for pregnant women and can treat your nausea. I can't recall the name but she swore by it. I'd ask your doc, why suffer if you don't have to?

I have kept my regular facial routine throughout my pregnancy. My facialist uses all botanical/herbal products, no harsh chemicals or peels.

The pressure points concern is about going into early labor. Hardly something you need to be worrying about at 8 weeks. And those points are not on your face/neck/back anyway.

Considering using cloth diapers, specifically all-in-ones. My reasons for considering cloth diapers is to save money (sorry but the environment is secondary for me) but I am not willing to deal with all the steps and pieces involved in the non-AIOs. We have a W/D and I'd be able to do laundry every day or every other day. Anyone had good or bad experiences with AIOs? Any recommendations on brands?

I'm at week 23 and have continued exercising through my pregnancy except for when I was just too tired. My doctor said maintaining my pre-pregnancy routine was not only fine, but better than giving up exercise. The only thing I've given up has been sit-ups, and that was around month 4.

I think a good rule of thumb is to do no more than you did before and stop working out before you are totally exhausted.

Besides the safety issues, I was reading today about temporary skin discoloration during pregnancy and I read that exposure to the sun can make it worse. I saw this on babycenter.com in the week-by-week descriptions of pregnancy. Have you considered spray-tan if you just want to look tan for a special occasion?

It is my understanding that the time under FMLA is separate from whatever sick or annual leave you have accrued. FMLA provides that you can have up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year to deal with family medical issues, from childbirth to taking care of a sick relative. At my agency, people are routinely allowed to clobber together their sick leave and annual leave and then add the FMLA unpaid 12 weeks on top of that. Maybe it is just agency policy, but the sick leave and annual leave you have doesn't count against the FMLA time and doesn't have to be taken immediately after the birth. For instance, I know one dad who took some FMLA leave about 3 months after his DC's birth once his wife had returned to work.

Also, it is not true that all federal employees don't qualify for STD for maternity leave. Through my agency I have STD that covers 6-8 weeks after childbirth.

OP here. Thanks for the input. I'd love to hear from more people working part time and how you are making it work (or what you wish you could change).

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about your work situation -- would you mind sharing some details of what you negotiated? Are you considered a part time employee? Are you getting any benefits with your job? Are they paying you less -- say 80% or 75% of your former full time salary? I have always thought about arranging something like what you are doing -- maybe 3 long days instead of 5 days to spend more time with kids. Right now I work from home so I have some flexibility... but would sure be nice to have more time to be with kids. Thanks

To respond, I didn't really negotiate anything. My supervisor is actually the one who brought up the possibility of going part time when I told him I was pregnant. It is the policy to allow people to work part time so long as it generally works for the agency. There are others in my division who are part-time. Part-time is anything from 20 to 32 hours per week. I will get paid a percentage of my salary based on a 40 hour work week. In other words, if I work 30 hours I get 75% of my pay. Same percentage breakdown for most benefits, leave accrual, etc.

To the 22:17 poster in a similar situation, I ruled out working 5 days a week. My office is the kind of place where once you are there, it is hard to leave, even if doing the work the next day or the day after would be fine. Right now I, and most people in my division, work flextime schedules where they work longer days in exchange for 1 or 2 days off every two weeks and that works out fine.

This doesn't really answer you question about having the same doc for prenatal care and delivery, but just wanted to let you know that I am happy with Dr. Monthy. She takes time to answer my questions and I never have to wait long for her. Good luck.

I have to come up with a plan for returning to work. For financial reasons, I need to work 28-32 hours per week. Working less than that is not really an option. I am lucky enough to have a boss that is open to any schedule I choose. I can modify the schedule later, but any changes I make should be relatively minor. I have no idea what would be the best way to do this. I have thought of a couple of possibilities and am wondering what other people's experiences have been. Some of the possibilities are working three 10 hour days, four 8 hour days, two 9 hour days and two 6 hour days, etc. I could go on and on, that's part of my problem. I work a few blocks from home, so time lost commuting isn't a factor. Also, if I work longer days I can come home for lunch with DS and the nanny.

I'd really like to hear from some other parents who've worked part time. Thanks in advance for your input.

I went to Dr. Picco for my first appointment and was completely underwhelmed with her and the support staff. Then I had issues getting someone on the phone and with scheduling an ultrasound (which you have to schedule separately b/c they are not done in the office). I switched to GW and Dr. Monthy. I'm only 19 weeks, but have been happy so far. Dr. Monthy made clear that is is up to me whether I want to see her the whole time or see others in the practice and I can make my decision when I am further along. Of course, if I don't have a scheduled birth, it is possible that any of the doctors could deliver my son. I picked GW because of the location and the private rooms and when I called the practice I just requested a younger female doctor. Try and think about what factors are important to you (office location, hospital, sex/age of OB, # of docs in practice, etc.) and you should be able to narrow down your options.

I would just say go with your gut. And remember you can always switch until you are happy. Good luck!

I switched to GW in October for my 2nd appointment as well. I have been very happy so far. I've been seeing Dr. Monthy. I have had no problems with scheduling or responsiveness, which was the main reason for my switching from another practice. The check-in line is sometimes long, but it moves fast. For my OB appointments have not had to wait for more than a couple of minutes max to be called back by one of the nurses. Once all the prelims are taken care of, I've waited up to 10 minutes for Dr. Monthy. Also, when I had an emergency and had to call the office I got a call back almost immediately from the triage nurse. Dr. Monthy also replied to a non-emergency e-mail within a day. I did have a loooong wait for my Level II sono but that was because an emergency sono had to be done.

As far as transferring test results, I'd read so many things about the practice I left giving a hard time about this that I just had the tests redone at GW.

Good luck.

Rereading my post, I want to apologize for the last sentence, it was unnecessary. However, I stand by the rest of my post. My goal was not to be unhelpful but to point out to you that nothing in your post made it clear why you were calling the breeder a "puppy mill." Also, maybe you need to take a step back before trying to put someone out of business because you are unhappy with your purchase. One sick dog does not make a puppy mill. "A puppy mill is a breeder who produces puppies with no breeding program, little attention to puppy placement, and poor health and socialization practices. Conditions in puppy mills are generally substandard and may be deplorable, and puppies and adult dogs may be malnourished, sickly, and of poor temperament." I would hope that you took the time to see where the dogs were bred and that if the conditions were bad, you wouldn't have purchased your dog from this breeder. If the conditions were not bad, you don't have a puppy mill.

That said, if the breeder is actually a puppy mill there are a host of animal rights groups online that could provide you with assistance, just google "puppy mill."

I'm sorry for your situation, but remember that purebred does not equal perfect. Purebreds can often have medical problems, remember that maintaining a breed requires inbreeding. Nothing in your post goes to show that you dealt with a 'puppy mill', only that the dog you were sold has medical issues. Again, I am sorry but maybe your energy is better spent caring for your dog.

Just do what the majority of NYers do, take the subway. There are car services that will pick you up with a car seat, but finding the car if you aren't familiar with Penn Station and its many exits is going to be a pain.