I'm between an appointment with my field placement adviser and my evening class... Don't have time to go back home, don't have anything I need to do here... Two whole hours of peace and quiet...

So, I haven't been here in awhile. Haven't had time to socialize, not even online.

I'm just going to take this opportunity to blab randomly about what's going on.

The Kid is due January 8th. He hasn't turned yet, so we may be looking at a C-section. If that's the case, The Wife is thinking about setting it up for 12/31. Might as well get a tax benefit! I'm not sure if she's 100% serious, but he is developmentally a week ahead of schedule, so I guess a delivery a week ahead of time would be fine. Admittedly, I am no doctor.

My job is going through an upheaval. The schedule that would have easily allowed me to continue with grad school next year is now over and done with.

The Wife is on disability and will be loosing her health insurance soon. Of course, we can pay to keep it going, but since she's not working, the money to do that is going to come from... ?

Oh, and daycare! My wonderful schedule that no longer exists was going to allow us to not need daycare. Now we will need to find an extra $700+ per month after she goes back to work for daycare. That would be fine if we weren't already living paycheck-to-paycheck.

Could we just defer these extra payments until after I graduate in a few years and get a better job? No? Oh, well, thanks anyways!

Oh man, Don, I'm sorry about the job/income/expense changes. It seems like a lot of us on OS are going through that lately. There was a thread a day or two ago about paying for it all and I swear somehow we just figure it out. You'll figure it out. You will. Do you have a local network of family/friends you can call on for...anything? Childcare, babysitting, hand-me-downs?

Just don't let your wife's insurance lapse. I covered my strong feelings about that in the other thread but I implore you and everyone again here. Should you, god forbid, end up needing any extra hospital care for wife or baby (or, hell, even yourself), my lord, it can cost a lot.

Hiya kathy. I feel pretty confident that it will work out the way it will work out. How's that for saying nothing but sounding confident about it!

Anyways, I have too much to worry about to really worry about anything. We are totally fine for the month of December, so that's all I'm really focused on. Everything else will be what it will be.

My wife and I live in North Carolina. My family is all in Michigan. Hers is all in Texas. So, I prefer to think of our support network as "trans-local." I feel pretty confident that even though we're all spread out, we're all there for each other.

We really don't want to let her health insurance lapse, and I feel that something will happen to prevent that from happening. I could always get a third job, but with grad school, a full time job, a part time job, and The Kid on the way, I think I'm just about to run out of hours in the day.

It's interesting living in a culture with a "security net" that forces you to totally bottom out before providing any assistance. That's not a complaint. Just a comment on the interesting nature of living in a "you are on your own" culture during difficult times.

Ah... That has been 2 hours and 15 minutes here doing nothing productive and marking nothing off the to-do list. Heavenly!

Pleasantly and idly surfing the net
Drat!
Only 39 minutes left 'til class

okay
that's it
time to go to class

Don, your posts are starting to look like upside down haikus. Welcome back! Sorry life has gone all pear shaped. I admire your commitment to hoping for the best though. I hope the kiddo turns on his/her own as well. Have they tried that external rotation thing? I hear it royally sucks, but a c-section is really, really sucky.

i'll second the not-losing-insurance thing. heavens to betsy it costs a lot, but medical care costs a lot more without it.
welcome back!
and re: the daycare thing: you might poke around on local listserves or craigslist and try to find someone locally who's willing to do a childcare swap, if you can work out alternating schedules. i know a few folks in my city who have done that with success. best of luck, and we're always here for venting and support!

My son was born on 12/31. That under the wire tax break was pretty sweet.

Thirding the welcome backs and the commiseration on the work/money thing. I REALLY understand that these days, my money sitch is in the toilet.

kommish has lots of good ideas on childcare. Good luck with that and with the delivery!

And yeah, if she's going to schedule a C, I say go for the 12/31 date! The tax deduction might help you make a COBRA payment to keep your insurance.

We're paying out the wazoo to continue insurance through COBRA, and I'll tell you, I pay that bill before I pay the credit cards or any other bill. Can't lose the coverage. Can deal with a missed payment on the cards.