good, bad, ugly, good

Good: I went on a job interview yesterday. Brought the boy with me. The interviewer had a 3-y-o boy herself and didn’t hesitate on the phone when I asked if I could bring him.

I arrived and she said “I washed my hands, in case I get to hold him.”

Righty-o!

Well, I wasn’t sure at first, had him in the Bjorn. But pretty quickly he was up, out, and in her arms. She had a little one-sided conversation with him that went something like this:

Oh, hello. How are you? It’s nice to meet you. I bet you had a big morning this morning. I bet you were fussy, and you spit up all over mama, and she had to change her clothes.

I just nodded. Yes, yes! Ooof. File morning under: The Bad, But Not So Bad, since getting out in time for the interview was sort of hellish, what with his crying — File under: Ugly — the entire time I was trying to get ready, plus there was dealing with the guy out front, working on my car window which opened the day before and then wouldn’t close, and Jonah needing to nurse again as soon as I got us all packed up and down to the (other) car.

The interview went okay. She held the boy for most of it, calmed him better than I can, said she enjoyed having a baby fix, didn’t blink when I whipped out the boobs to nurse him. Of course it was a little tough to string sentences together. And it would have been nice if he could have smiled at least once. This was not one of Jonah’s better days. (Scroll down to The Ugly)

I desperately liked the woman, and the books her company publishes. But I don’t have book writing/editing experience, so she’ll have to want to take a chance on me (mmmmm… ABBA). And she might. Sooner or later, depending on what comes across her desk and such. Cross fingers.

For those of you who wonder: It would be freelance work, probably mostly from home. And if you’re wondering how I’m going to do that…

More Good: I’ve recently started having a “mother’s helper” come over and watch Jonah so I can get some work done, take a nap, etc. And when the boy naps, she folds laundry, puts dishes away. She usually comes a few days a week, for 2-3 hours at a stretch. Just enough.

Momentarily Bad: Yesterday, after the interview, I was trekking back and forth from couch/feeding station to bathroom/diaper station all afternoon (per Ugly, below — this is a lot of build up for the “Ugly” category, and frankly, it wasn’t/isn’t that bad; I’m just trying to adhere to the format I’ve set up for myself). At midpoint, I glanced down and happened to notice that the diamond from my engagement ring was gone.

Big. Blank. Space.

Oh. God.

With baby in one arm, tearing couch apart with other. Flinging pillows. Muttering to self like crazy person. My diamond fell out of my ring, my diamond fell out of my ring.

At least I’d been aware of it since I got home. (It had looked a little crooked but I thought I was imagining; even though it seemed to “pop” back into place.) So I knew it wasn’t out on the street somewhere. Still, it’s a relatively small, nearly clear object.

What if he swallowed it??? 

And then, at the boy’s next diaper change, I found it tucked in the seam of the diaper changing station pad.

WOW. Phew!

So, now, the much ballyhooed Ugly:

This has been a rough week-and-a-half for the boy. Since his vaccines last Monday, his sleep schedule was completely thrown off. Much to all of our chagrins. And he’s been extra fussy. Two nights ago, he started getting back on track with his sleep, but the fussiness persists. And then, for the last few days, no poop. And he’s NOT happy about it. He kicks his legs, scrunches his face in pain. His crying has an extra sharp shrieking quality to it.

Not fun.

Today, on the advice of friends in my moms group — which matches the pediatrician’s advice but I guess I have to be knocked over the head, I’m going back to gripe water again, and I gave him some infant Tylenol. And I have a call in to the pediatrician, to talk to her again.
The Good, because it’s nice to end here:

But as much as it sucks to have one’s guts in a twist, amazingly, the boy also still smiles and today, he really laughed. A chuckle, a squeak, a chortle. It is completely adorable.