Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! The daycare at work had a Halloween parade, where all the kids got dressed up in costumes and walked around the courtyard. I didn't go outside to watch, but a bunch of people brought their kids back to the office, so I hear them running around and yelling every so often. Hard to believe in a year's time, my child could potentially be one of these kiddies participating in this overly commercialized holiday.

Today is my last day of work! WOOHOO!! I finally got in touch with the doctor's office yesterday, after playing phone tag with them for the past three days, and they faxed me a letter indicating I will be unable to work as of November 3, 2008. I was so happy they didn't give me any problems about it b/c I was talking to my other coworker (who's due a week after me), and she said that her doctor wouldn't sign her out unless there was a medical reason why she could no longer go to work (my justification: of course there's a medical reason... you're about to give birth!!).

Yesterday, my coworkers threw a surprise birthday shower for me and two other pregnant ladies due within three weeks of me. I was happy they combined it so that I wasn't the only one in the spotlight. They kept it pretty small though (I think just whoever was on our team) b/c a lot of people didn't know about it. In any case, it was nice of them to organize it... making this my fourth baby shower! I got a lot more clothes for the little one, some bottles, socks, crib sheets, and a wearable sleep blanket. And now that today is my last day of work, I don't have an excuse anymore not to finish preparing for the baby's arrival, like packing my hospital bag, getting the car seat inspected (not for my lack of trying... I left at least three messages for the Police Dept, and not once have they called me back to schedule an appointment), washing all her clothes, and disinfecting her room.

Last night, M and I attended a four-hour long CPR course and got certified - good for two years. We were originally interested in taking a course specifically teaching child and infant CPR, but we called up a bunch of places and none of them were offering it before my due date. We ended up registering for a class geared towards health care providers, covering adult, child, and infant CPR, as well as use of an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) and how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver. I found it useful, but don't know how comfortable I'd be to actually perform CPR or the Heimlich on an actual person if the need arose. The thought of breaking someone's rib cage while giving them chest compressions is a little disconcerting... but then again, with my strength (or lack of), I probably wouldn't be pressing down hard enough for the compressions to be effective. And who knows? All this knowledge will probably go out the door in a panic situation. Well, if anyone is interested, they mailed us two extra booklets and CDs covering the course materials... I can pass that on to whoever wants it.