Health Insurance

I spoke with someone in HR last night, and even if I take time off (don't teach at all) we are still covered for our health insurance, and the percentage of the premium we owe (10% which is currently about $1,400 a year) doesn't change. Whew. I knew that PT profs pay 55%, but thankfully that doesn't apply to FT profs on parental leave. She said she'd have to look into the policy for health insurance while on childrearing leave (what you can take past the child's first bday), but until Nadia turns one year old it would be parental leave so I don't need to know quite yet the benefits available while on childrearing leave. Yesterday afternoon when Nadia was smiling at me (purposefully) my feeling was reaffirmed that I don't want to miss out on this time with her. It would be one thing if I needed to find somewhere for her to be for just 9 hours a week, but if she can't even be on campus with me it's going to be a LOT more than that (I was on campus 9 hours on Friday alone for example). Part of me is hoping to work it out to finish the semester "as is" in light of the fact the dept chair gave me permission in February and the Dean knew of my plans this summer yet didn't voice her objections until after the semester had already begun, and part of me feels a sense of relief to think I might be only teaching one class a week in the VERY near future. It will be nice to not have to have Nadia and I out the door by 7am on MWF for example. Time spent with her is worth far more to me than the $$ I'd make by continuing to work FT. I think the ideal scenario would be if I could teach 2 evening classes a semester. That should be possible next fall, but I doubt it's possible this spring. Living off Paul's stipend plus 50% of my salary would definitely be easier than living off his salary plus 25% of my salary, but I am a penny pincher and am confident I can make it work even on 25% of my salary.

Last night the first stretch was 4 1/2 hours and then she was up from 1:45-3:00am. Then she slept for almost 3 hours. So I got about 7 hours of sleep last night. This morning she took a nice nap so I got a little packing and housework done. I have to admit I am feeling a little overwhelmed at how few days are left before we move (10)! Also my allergies are really acting up. I think it's the usual seasonal allergies compounded by sleep loss and the stress of this big decision regarding work. I called my doctor today to find out what would be safest to take while nursing, and I was told Claritin would be safest. I plan to ask Paul to pick some up on his way home from school today. I don't see any improvement with Nadia's congestion so I am not sure if I should give up on the dairy product experiment or not. Maybe I haven't gone without for enough days? Today is the 5th day. I haven't had any cereal (milk), yogurt, or ice cream in that time. I still have had some cheese though. Maybe I'd have to also go w/o cheese to truly see if that's the problem? I just wish my little girl wasn't stuffed up. It's been FIVE weeks now of aspirating her little nose every day. :-( I will say I am amazed at how healthy I have been as usually when I miss sleep for just a couple of nights I get a fever etc. I am very thankful that up until recently I have been very healthy while getting far less sleep than usual.