Motherhood = Crazy, continued

I am still amazed at how having a baby changes your entire body. My knees are shot. My teeth are stained -- I am pretty sure that's because I threw up throughout my pregnancy, including every single time I brushed my teeth. My midsection is completely different -- and it wasn't that great to start with.

Luckily, Emiko is really cute, and it's all worth it. But it still fascinates me.


I have been in total denial about childcare for quite some time now. I know that lots of people put themselves on daycare waiting lists while they are still pregnant. This just seems crazy, and I didn't want to think about it, so I haven't. And for so long, August seemed really far away. I kept thinking maybe Todd would get a huge bonus at work or we'd win the lottery or something, and perhaps I could stay home for a year. But now August is next month, and I have to get on it.

We had a friend who we thought might be interested in nanny-ing for us, but that didn't work out, and it's probably for the best, since it would probably be hard to have a friend working for you. So I figured a nanny was out of the question, since they are so expensive. But I found an ad on craigslist for a nanny share, which I hope will work out. The person who wants to share is also a CPS teacher, who also teaches on the south side, so I think that's a good sign. At least we'll have the exact same schedule, and she'll understand the joy that we teachers get to experience on a daily basis.

She wants to host the nanny at her place, which is not too far from here, so that's OK with me. I hope she's not a crazy person and that we'll get along OK. Her daughter is a few months older than Emiko, so that is great. And a nanny share is really the best chance I have at getting a nanny. So I really hope it goes well and we get along and can find someone we trust to care for our children. It is scary to think about.

I've been doing all this research on nannies, whether you should pay taxes or under the table. If you should have a nanny cam, etc. I wasn't sure about a nanny cam, but then I'm reading this discussion about it on the Northside Parents Network website, and this woman told about coming home early from work to find the nanny sitting on the couch and her child just sitting in his swing. And she'd notice that a cushion was out of a chair. This seemed odd, and it happened several times. So she finally decided to look at her nanny cam footage. And to her horror, she discovered that the nanny would put her baby in the play yard as soon as the mother left for work, and would put the chair cushion ON TOP OF THE BABY! Perhaps to keep him from moving or crying or something? Then she'd nap or whatever. A few hours later she'd move the baby to his swing. Good Lord! Needless to say, that nanny was fired. But these are things that worry me.

So cross your fingers that everything goes well. And if you know any non-crazy nannies looking for work, please let me know!