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josamarie's Pregnancy
My Due Date: February 2, 2016I have given birth!
Age: 37 years old
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Up to my eyeballs in stress
By josamarie » Posted Dec. 29, 2015 2:26pm - 338 views - 6 comments
My sister has been here with her menagerie for a week and a half, and it's a zoo in our house! We now have 3 adults, a toddler, an infant, a black lab, and 3 cats living in our modest 3 bedroom house. My brother-in-law deployed to the Middle East almost 2 months ago, so L and Cal cake up to visit for 2 months to keep her occupied and so that she can be here for the birth of Prune. In theory, having her here should be helpful, but it's not at all. The first week she kept making comments about how she came so she could get a break from having to do everything for Cal all the time, which basically means she expected my heavily pregnant self to watch my own toddler, her 4 month old, and drive my dad around to his various appointments. She has left me alone with both boys twice (which is fine, I honestly need the practice with two), but has yet to offer to watch Max while I go to the store on my own. And things are just going to get more crazy once Prune gets here, I'm already going to have two of my own to watch, I can't throw her baby into the mix too!
Honestly though, I could deal with the human aspect of this brigade if we weren't also dealing with the animals. Her older cat is surprisingly pretty chill this visit, compared to prior visits when she was super butch and mean (female Siamese, sort of comes with the territory), and is very calm with Max, so that's been pleasant. Her younger cat, however, is a demon. He's going through some sort of defiant puberty stage and is just generally a terror. He beats up my aging kitty, gets up on the counters to knock glassware off intentionally, and keeps peeing on the basement carpet even when he has a perfectly clean litter pan 15 feet away. No one but me seems to realize that the litter boxes need to be cleaned multiple times a day with 3 cats, so guess who's back on litter duty 35 weeks pregnant? Worst of all is their dog. She's a 2 year old black lab and the most anxiety ridden dog I've ever met. She can't be left alone for 5 minutes without peeing or pooping on the rug (she was in the house alone for less than 10 minutes today, hopped the extra tall top of the stairs gate and peed all over Max's room). She has had 3 poop accidents on my bedroom floor, including one when my sister and I were standing right there, 15 minutes after she'd been outside. She's destructive (chewed up our baby gate and a toy rabbit that was mine as a baby and is now Max's... Seriously, this thing has lasted 30 years, 4 kids and 10 dogs in its lifetime and Rikki will be he death of it!), and can't be kenneled because she's torn up two steel cages. My sister keeps going down to Milwaukee to visit her in-laws (which of course she should be doing, they have a right to see that baby) for the day, but doesn't take the dog so basically traps us at the house all day.
Thank goodness Charlie and mom are on holiday break, not that either of them are a lot of help, but at least there's a chance I can get a nap without a dog peeing in my bed. I'm so tired and huge, I'm at my wits end. I love my sister dearly and it's fun having my nephew around, but this was not what I needed for the last month of my pregnancy!
In more cheerful news, my induction is scheduled for 1/26 at 3 pm! Just 28 days until we meet our little girl if she doesn't decide to come sooner!!
My Journal
Up to my eyeballs in stress
By josamarie » Posted Dec. 29, 2015 2:26pm - 338 views - 6 comments
My sister has been here with her menagerie for a week and a half, and it's a zoo in our house! We now have 3 adults, a toddler, an infant, a black lab, and 3 cats living in our modest 3 bedroom house. My brother-in-law deployed to the Middle East almost 2 months ago, so L and Cal cake up to visit for 2 months to keep her occupied and so that she can be here for the birth of Prune. In theory, having her here should be helpful, but it's not at all. The first week she kept making comments about how she came so she could get a break from having to do everything for Cal all the time, which basically means she expected my heavily pregnant self to watch my own toddler, her 4 month old, and drive my dad around to his various appointments. She has left me alone with both boys twice (which is fine, I honestly need the practice with two), but has yet to offer to watch Max while I go to the store on my own. And things are just going to get more crazy once Prune gets here, I'm already going to have two of my own to watch, I can't throw her baby into the mix too!
Honestly though, I could deal with the human aspect of this brigade if we weren't also dealing with the animals. Her older cat is surprisingly pretty chill this visit, compared to prior visits when she was super butch and mean (female Siamese, sort of comes with the territory), and is very calm with Max, so that's been pleasant. Her younger cat, however, is a demon. He's going through some sort of defiant puberty stage and is just generally a terror. He beats up my aging kitty, gets up on the counters to knock glassware off intentionally, and keeps peeing on the basement carpet even when he has a perfectly clean litter pan 15 feet away. No one but me seems to realize that the litter boxes need to be cleaned multiple times a day with 3 cats, so guess who's back on litter duty 35 weeks pregnant? Worst of all is their dog. She's a 2 year old black lab and the most anxiety ridden dog I've ever met. She can't be left alone for 5 minutes without peeing or pooping on the rug (she was in the house alone for less than 10 minutes today, hopped the extra tall top of the stairs gate and peed all over Max's room). She has had 3 poop accidents on my bedroom floor, including one when my sister and I were standing right there, 15 minutes after she'd been outside. She's destructive (chewed up our baby gate and a toy rabbit that was mine as a baby and is now Max's... Seriously, this thing has lasted 30 years, 4 kids and 10 dogs in its lifetime and Rikki will be he death of it!), and can't be kenneled because she's torn up two steel cages. My sister keeps going down to Milwaukee to visit her in-laws (which of course she should be doing, they have a right to see that baby) for the day, but doesn't take the dog so basically traps us at the house all day.
Thank goodness Charlie and mom are on holiday break, not that either of them are a lot of help, but at least there's a chance I can get a nap without a dog peeing in my bed. I'm so tired and huge, I'm at my wits end. I love my sister dearly and it's fun having my nephew around, but this was not what I needed for the last month of my pregnancy!
In more cheerful news, my induction is scheduled for 1/26 at 3 pm! Just 28 days until we meet our little girl if she doesn't decide to come sooner!!
Comments for this Journal Entry
 | Comment from CrystalB88 » Posted Jan. 4, 2016 7:15am Wow, it is indeed the last thing you need for this last month. The last month is the longest and most uncomfortable without so much else going on!! I would not survive such chaos right now, I could barely handle a house full for family Christmas and again new years eve!! Mom's would leave their kids in the house with just me and let them run wild while I next to never leave my toddler alone with them! My anxiety was so high, I had to pick my son up and walk outside so someone lose would have to take over supervising the other 2 toddlers and 5 kids! And hubby and I baby sit a lot for his sisters, and trying to get them to baby sit for us once in a blue moon is a joke. We've only asked his sister 3 times in Tim's life to watch him and this last time she left him with my mother in law the last hour or so, just so she and her husband could go to the movies!!!!! She can get a sitter any time, she could have gone any other time, but couldn't even finish out a few hours watching tim... |
 | Comment from josamarie » Posted Dec. 31, 2015 12:04am Thanks again, I honestly feel better just having vented about it a little, I can only hitch about it to Charlie so much since he's already irritated himself, I don't want to exacerbate that when he's being so cool about being inundated with my bananas family! I'd love to get together, Erica! Dad got his spinal coller off yesterday, so while he can't lift Max or drive yet, he could watch M for an hour or so! |
| Comment from ericalee » Posted Dec. 30, 2015 12:10pm Oh Josie!!! I started feeling anxious just READING this journal, let alone having to live it each day. :( :( Could the dog go to a doggy daycare for a day or two each week? Maybe burn off some energy playing with other dogs and won't be so destructive at home? Would you like to go on a pedicure date? Or lunch or something to get out of the house?? I would gladly pick you up! |
| Comment from josamarie » Posted Dec. 29, 2015 7:49pm It has definitely crossed my mind to ask her to leave early, but I know I won't. I can't ask her to drive back 13 hours away from any family to be alone with her baby when her husband is deployed directly in harms way for another 4 months. As long as I can keep my bedroom and my son's room tidy and poo-free, I will cope until she leaves and we can have the carpets thoroughly cleaned!. My parents have her dog tonight while she is out of town (they also have a large dog and no carpet in their house), so we'll get respite tonight at least! |
 | Comment from Amanda_McDaniel » Posted Dec. 29, 2015 5:44pm Ergh, I'm getting anxiety just reading that... |
 | Comment from Summer0120 » Posted Dec. 29, 2015 2:38pm Oh wow! That sounds like my house daily. My boyfriend's dog is just like that. I love animals, but he's the first one I've ever hated. WAY too much work. I would ask them to go back home. I know that sounds terrible, but you just don't need the extra work or stress right now. That is too much to handle. It's one thing to have your own household causing you extra work and stress, but to have someone else doing it as well with animals that don't need to be there... I'd be telling someone to head on out... Good luck with all of that. Sounds very frustrating! |
