I haven't updated my blog in a long time, and a lot has happened since my last post, so I'll try to remember all the items of interest over the last two weeks:
Mark's Audition
First, non-pregnancy related, Mark made it to the finals of the Chicago Symphony audition! He actually had to play three rounds to get there. First, he played the pre-lims (per previous post), then he played the semi-finals, and was asked to come back after he played and play a couple of more excerpts. From there he was passed on to the finals. Now, he didn't win the job, but he did amazingly well. There were a handful of people who were passed immediately to the final round without auditioning (principles from other major orchestras and such). Of the folks who had to start out in the prelims (about 100-120 people), only two made it to the actual final round to compete against those automatically pushed to the finals - one of whom was Mark! As you can tell, I'm rather proud. :)
Work
So in my last entry I mentioned that I was going to tell my boss - and I did end up telling him that Monday. I wanted to go to lunch, and tell him in a less sterile environment - so I asked if he was free for lunch that week, because there was something that I wanted to talk with him about. He wasn't, and then like two hours later his admin called me to his office to have the conversation! It made it feel like I was going to talk to him about an assignment, or get him to review some work or something. He was sitting at his desk, and I sat in the chair across from him. Not the way I wanted to tell him, but it went fine. He was really surprised, but I think he knew he needed to act happy - although later he sort of warned me not to "throw him another curve ball." He was kidding - but I think it reveals how unused to accommodating pregnant women ExxonMobil management is.
So the part I was most worried about looked like it would come true for the next few days. I had told him because I didn't want to travel to dangerous parts of the world while pregnant, or while having a newborn - and it was good I told him, because the job he was lining up for me was in Angola and would require travel there. But then he sort of made references like I could just stay in my current job. I am SO bored with my current job, so that was the last thing I wanted to hear. He said he would go ahead and talk to the group I would have been moving to, but didn't think they would want someone who can't travel. But lo-and-behold, it worked out after all! I had an interview with my new manager that Friday - and later that day he gave the thumbs up to hire me. It was sort of funny, because I was trying to dress to look as un-pregnant as possible, so that he would still want me for the job. It was weird - I almost felt like I should apologize for being pregnant. The project I'll be working on doesn't require travel yet, because the actual construction is a ways off. And if it does, Randy promised to find someone to travel in my place. So starting January 1, I'll have a new job!! Yeah! I'll be the safety advisor for the Africa Deepwater Gas Gathering Project - Angola Block 15. :)
I am a little nervous how the whole maternity leave will work out. I get 11 weeks leave (not actually maternity leave, it's disability leave, and the amount of time you get is based on your tenure with the company), but by company policy, I can take a 6 month unpaid leave of absence, and work part-time for up to 2 years. Being able to use these policies is up to manager discretion, though, so whether I can actually use them is still TBD.
Ziggy's Gender
We actually know with 90% accuracy whether we're having a boy or girl! But because it's only 90% accurate, we've only told our parents. We'll let the rest of you know when we actually see what kind of plumbing Ziggy has. The reason we found out is that we went ahead and did the genetic screening test that checks for chromosomal abnormalities - and since they test the baby's DNA through the mom's blood for that, they throw in a gender test for free. All the tests came out good - although I don't know if I'd actually go through those tests again the next time - because of the follow-up tests you have to have if something comes out looking abnormal. The first round of tests just included a blood test and an ultrasound.
So, yes that was ultrasound number 3 for Ziggy, and the ripe young age of 11 weeks! They looked at the thickness of the back of his/her skull, and then spent a while making Ziggy dance for us. It was really quite amazing. I had read that the baby is busy swimming around in there, but still I always imagined he/she just sat there. So during the ultrasound Ziggy was moving a little, but what I thought was neat, was when the technician would tap on my belly with the ultrasound want (yes, this was an on-the-belly ultrasound - SO much nicer!), Ziggy would sort of kick/jump. It made him/her seem so much more human since he/she reacted to "someone jumping in her pool" (that was how the technician put it).
Big Fat Mamma
Just kidding. I don't actually feel that fat. But I'm having great fun watching my belly grow! The frustrating part is definitely the clothes, though! I tried to get maternity clothes, but my belly's just not big enough. A few weeks ago, I got a pair of pants that are a size larger, but most pants that are big enough to fit my belly, look frumpy on the rest of me. I went shopping on Saturday with a friend who is due 6 days before me, and at least got a couple of bras (Thanks Christina for recommending A Woman's Work!), and then I went later to JC Penneys and found a couple of 0-9 month pants that actually fit! I got a pair of work pants and a pair of jeans. The jeans have a band of stretchy cotton at the top - and are SOOOO comfortable. It's nice not having to close them with a rubberband. In fact, I think they should make the banded pants for non-pregnant people too!! So, I'm feeling much less stressed out about clothes now. It's seriously tough to find anything to fit in this in-between stage!
So here's a picture of me at 3-months. I love having a little belly to show now - even if it means I only have two outfits that fit!
Mark's Audition
First, non-pregnancy related, Mark made it to the finals of the Chicago Symphony audition! He actually had to play three rounds to get there. First, he played the pre-lims (per previous post), then he played the semi-finals, and was asked to come back after he played and play a couple of more excerpts. From there he was passed on to the finals. Now, he didn't win the job, but he did amazingly well. There were a handful of people who were passed immediately to the final round without auditioning (principles from other major orchestras and such). Of the folks who had to start out in the prelims (about 100-120 people), only two made it to the actual final round to compete against those automatically pushed to the finals - one of whom was Mark! As you can tell, I'm rather proud. :)
Work
So in my last entry I mentioned that I was going to tell my boss - and I did end up telling him that Monday. I wanted to go to lunch, and tell him in a less sterile environment - so I asked if he was free for lunch that week, because there was something that I wanted to talk with him about. He wasn't, and then like two hours later his admin called me to his office to have the conversation! It made it feel like I was going to talk to him about an assignment, or get him to review some work or something. He was sitting at his desk, and I sat in the chair across from him. Not the way I wanted to tell him, but it went fine. He was really surprised, but I think he knew he needed to act happy - although later he sort of warned me not to "throw him another curve ball." He was kidding - but I think it reveals how unused to accommodating pregnant women ExxonMobil management is.
So the part I was most worried about looked like it would come true for the next few days. I had told him because I didn't want to travel to dangerous parts of the world while pregnant, or while having a newborn - and it was good I told him, because the job he was lining up for me was in Angola and would require travel there. But then he sort of made references like I could just stay in my current job. I am SO bored with my current job, so that was the last thing I wanted to hear. He said he would go ahead and talk to the group I would have been moving to, but didn't think they would want someone who can't travel. But lo-and-behold, it worked out after all! I had an interview with my new manager that Friday - and later that day he gave the thumbs up to hire me. It was sort of funny, because I was trying to dress to look as un-pregnant as possible, so that he would still want me for the job. It was weird - I almost felt like I should apologize for being pregnant. The project I'll be working on doesn't require travel yet, because the actual construction is a ways off. And if it does, Randy promised to find someone to travel in my place. So starting January 1, I'll have a new job!! Yeah! I'll be the safety advisor for the Africa Deepwater Gas Gathering Project - Angola Block 15. :)
I am a little nervous how the whole maternity leave will work out. I get 11 weeks leave (not actually maternity leave, it's disability leave, and the amount of time you get is based on your tenure with the company), but by company policy, I can take a 6 month unpaid leave of absence, and work part-time for up to 2 years. Being able to use these policies is up to manager discretion, though, so whether I can actually use them is still TBD.
Ziggy's Gender
We actually know with 90% accuracy whether we're having a boy or girl! But because it's only 90% accurate, we've only told our parents. We'll let the rest of you know when we actually see what kind of plumbing Ziggy has. The reason we found out is that we went ahead and did the genetic screening test that checks for chromosomal abnormalities - and since they test the baby's DNA through the mom's blood for that, they throw in a gender test for free. All the tests came out good - although I don't know if I'd actually go through those tests again the next time - because of the follow-up tests you have to have if something comes out looking abnormal. The first round of tests just included a blood test and an ultrasound.
So, yes that was ultrasound number 3 for Ziggy, and the ripe young age of 11 weeks! They looked at the thickness of the back of his/her skull, and then spent a while making Ziggy dance for us. It was really quite amazing. I had read that the baby is busy swimming around in there, but still I always imagined he/she just sat there. So during the ultrasound Ziggy was moving a little, but what I thought was neat, was when the technician would tap on my belly with the ultrasound want (yes, this was an on-the-belly ultrasound - SO much nicer!), Ziggy would sort of kick/jump. It made him/her seem so much more human since he/she reacted to "someone jumping in her pool" (that was how the technician put it).
Big Fat Mamma
Just kidding. I don't actually feel that fat. But I'm having great fun watching my belly grow! The frustrating part is definitely the clothes, though! I tried to get maternity clothes, but my belly's just not big enough. A few weeks ago, I got a pair of pants that are a size larger, but most pants that are big enough to fit my belly, look frumpy on the rest of me. I went shopping on Saturday with a friend who is due 6 days before me, and at least got a couple of bras (Thanks Christina for recommending A Woman's Work!), and then I went later to JC Penneys and found a couple of 0-9 month pants that actually fit! I got a pair of work pants and a pair of jeans. The jeans have a band of stretchy cotton at the top - and are SOOOO comfortable. It's nice not having to close them with a rubberband. In fact, I think they should make the banded pants for non-pregnant people too!! So, I'm feeling much less stressed out about clothes now. It's seriously tough to find anything to fit in this in-between stage!
So here's a picture of me at 3-months. I love having a little belly to show now - even if it means I only have two outfits that fit!
1 comment:
Okay, just a short comment for now because I need to be in bed. But I just wanted to say YEAH!!! I've been waiting for an update (seriously, I have live bookmarks setup and I probably check ten times a day on everyone's blog). I did want to say one thing...you need to fix your second picture. I'm assuming it is supposed to be a profile, but it is cut off and I want to see your belly! :-) Okay, more later...off to bed.
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