my six month plan

If everything goes as it should, we will have Baby #2 in about 6 months. So what is my vision for the next 26-odd weeks, other than gestating a perfect sibling for Waffle Girl? Well, I have a little confession to make..

I'm actually a part-time PhD student.. (Gasp!).. in addition to my many important responsibilities as a fancy government scientist lady. Before you get too impressed, just be aware that I've been able to pursue my degree during work hours. The subject matter is directly related to my job and my dissertation research is actually written into my list of duties. I've been working at it off-and-on since 2003: done with coursework, done with preliminary exams, done with ~75% of my research. So I just need to hunker down and finish it, which could certainly be accomplished in the next few months, before there is a new baby in the mix.

And I'd be a total dope if I didn't put in the effort to finally finish my degree, right? Someday I would have to tell my kids, "Yeah, I could have gotten a PhD, I was almost done, but I got pregnant again and just figured I'd blow it off." Oh, they'd be so embarrassed. I can feel the 12-week old fetus inside of me right now, glaring at me, "Don't be a putz, Mama!"

Last week I had a meeting with my dissertation committee and I let them know of my impending biological deadline. They would have figured it out eventually, but I told them now so they know that I'm really serious about finishing. And so I know that I'm really serious about it.

So what am I doing, writing in my dopey blog instead of working on my dissertation? Ya, good question. Well, I still need my cyber-networking to help deal with infertile lady issues. And I still plan to do the other things that I need to keep me sane and happy - working in the garden (while Waffle Girl keeps busy in the sand box), going to the gym (once in a while), reading, watching some junk on TV while I let my brain rest.

In baby news: we went in last week for combined 1st trimester screening. The NT scan looked great and the baby has a visible nasal bone, but we're still waiting for the u/s results to be combined with blood markers. More on this in a few days, I guess.

The weather has been great, so I squeezed in some gardening over the past week. I cut down all my perennials and am on the lookout for fresh growth - so exciting! There are no confirmed winter casualties. However I am concerned about the two clematis vines that have not sprouted yet. Please keep them in your thoughts.