penelope wants to know

• Why a “simple” trip to the doctor for pinkeye drops resulted in a tetanus shot, blood work, and a random diagnosis of ringworm. Also: 2 hours of time lost and 2 very cranky children.
• Why a “simple” call-in prescription from the pediatrician to the pharmacy for pinkeye drops resulted in a near $80 charge for a very tiny bottle to treat a fairly mild infection. My drops cost $10. And though we avoided the trip to the pediatrician, phone calls and a second trip to the pharmacy tomorrow will be added to the to-do list. Complicated!
• Why wearing glasses instead of contacts is not simple. It results in everything feeling slightly off: vision, outfit, self. And also, a very giant headache.

a little bit more about the waiting

The thing of it is, when you get into your last month, you move forward in time monkey-bar style from your week to week appointments, which at this point are horribly uncomfortable pelvic exams, possibly with a smarmy and/or non-committal doctor that you hate. But, you get All-Important Information, such as: how many cm's dilated, what percentile effaced, and how low that baby is. This data is all concerning the state of your cervix, which you would never normally talk about in such casual and graphic terms--and hopefully you never will feel compelled to again, outside of pregnancy, because it's TMI. Honestly. But in the meantime, you can't help yourself, hanging onto it all like a prize and sharing it with everyone who asks and some who don't.

As objective as these facts are, however, it's all a ruse, a completely subjective ruse. Yes, if you've made any progress at all, that's a little less labor you will have to deal with when the time comes, which of course is a good thing. But, as far as when that time is coming? Do the data tell you anything remotely crystal ballish? No. In fact, you could have made zero progress since your last appointment and go into labor 5 minutes later. Or, you could have made a good bit of progress and be hanging out in pregotory for another 3 weeks.

You never know! It's all so fun! Weeeeeee.

With all that being said, I had an appointment today with my most favorite doctor, who totally looks like Virgina Madsen, and is at least as lovely, and she talked me down a little bit. Told me to hang in there and things, and maybe this general feeling of icky malaise that has hung on since Sunday will even out and I'll feel better for a bit.

Or, it could mean I'm getting ready to go into labor soon.

But, though there's been no cm or percentile change since Sunday, Baby N.Lo has dropped, way down, and in the end that is a concrete something.

I guess we could at least make a game of it by now, though. It is October and all, sooo...
Ladies and gentlemen, place your wagers in the comments.
Date?
Time?
Weight?
Length?

P.S. As I type this, K.Lo is snorting in time to the "Elmo's World" song on Sesame Street. Oh wait, now she's mad at me for laughing.