January 1, 2008 9:00
An announcement for the new year
Ahem. I shall now attempt a TIME magazine first by making a work-life announcement on my blog, and only on my blog.
I quit.
Kidding! I'm so kidding. I need this job like I need my teeth. Who else would give me family dental coverage?! Okay, the real thing:
I'm pregnant.
Truly. I'm 16 weeks along, which is probably around the time I should be telling my bosses. I sure as heck can't hide it much longer; as my husband likes to say, I'm huge. (He's so romantic.) But I've been working from home more frequently to accommodate my annoyingly numerous doctor appointments as well as my annoyingly persistent morning (and noon and night) sickness. When I do hit the office, I'm swaddled in sweaters and lumpy coats. So maybe keen-eyed colleagues figure I've just been hitting the Cheese Doodles extra hard.
Number Two was a major decision for us. As you read in my last post, I had recently written a story for the magazine about couples who have four and more kids. My sister is one of them; she popped out her fourth a year ago. And as one of four myself, I suppose I always imagined I'd wind up with a litter.
But when we got married 11 years ago, my husband and I had fledgling careers in nastily competitive industries that we felt needed every bit of the care and nurturing we'd otherwise lavish on a child. So we put off the whole thing for eight years.
We thought we were ready. But nothing can prepare you for kids, right? Our little one turned our lives and careers upside down. For a long time I believed there was absolutely no way I could manage the whole thing over again and still hold on to, much less grow, a fulfilling career. Like two-thirds of moms, opting out of work isn't an option for me. So did I have any business bringing more kids into the world if I wouldn't be the one to care for them?
The thing is, it's just not all black and white like that. Our little one has had some form of childcare provided by people other than her parents since she was three months old. She is now three and a half, and she is a curious, bright-eyed, incessantly chatty child. I credit all of her caregivers. Still, I credit her father and I most because we know and love her best.
I look ahead and I realize: it doesn't get easier, does it, friends? I'll never be the Class Parent; I can't supervise the Disney on Ice field trips; I won't host most play dates. She'll learn someday to find this bothersome. But she is loved and watched and tended to, and she is becoming a wonderful little person. And we can do this again.
Happy 2008, folks. May it be full of good fortune, good health and happiness.
About Work In Progress
Nina Subin
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen is a staff writer for TIME. She blogs about work. Why? Because TV was taken. Think of her as the grumpy colleague ranting by the water cooler.
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lisa_cullen at timemagazine.com
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Reader Comments (20)
Congratulations! I am touched that you chose to tell ME before your employers. Telecommuting can hide all sorts of stuff.
Posted by Rhea | January 1, 2008 10:11 AM
Lisa,
Great news! Best wishes and I feel your pain. I had 'all-day sickness' with both of my children for 4 months. I wouldn't wish it on my enemies...
JT
Posted by J.T. | January 1, 2008 10:58 AM
Congratulations, Lisa! I'm expecting too and due in March. My all-day sickness went away at around 17 weeks, so hopefully you'll turn the corner too.
Best wishes,
Alexandra Levit
Author, They Don't Teach Corporate in College
Blogger, Water Cooler Wisdom
http://alexandralevit.typepad.com
Posted by Alexandra Levit | January 1, 2008 11:13 AM
Congratulations!
As someone who is entering her first fertility treatmeants after a miscarriage, I look forward to any insights you're willing to divulge when it comes to the pregnancy, work and all those appointments!
Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy.
Posted by Erin | January 1, 2008 3:04 PM
Congrats Lisa. Fantastic news. Get ready for a whole new world---crazy---but fun. Kid 2 adds all sorts of new dynamics.
Happy New Year!
Posted by Mitch McDad | January 1, 2008 3:45 PM
Congrats! I just found out my stepdaughter us expecting, as well!
Posted by PunditMom | January 1, 2008 4:11 PM
I'm totally gonna tell on you.
Congratulations!
Posted by Justin Fox | January 1, 2008 8:51 PM
Congrats Lisa.
Best wishes.
Posted by Anjan | January 2, 2008 5:45 AM
Congratulations!!!
Posted by SB | January 2, 2008 8:03 AM
Congratulations. I hear babies can blog in the third trimester. We'll add a picture and get another log-in. Keep working!
Posted by Josh Tyrangiel | January 2, 2008 9:08 AM
aw. i feel all warm and fuzzy. thanks, friends. erin, i hear you; i'm 36, and we know so many people who are struggling with their pregnanies. more on that in a later post.
Posted by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen | January 2, 2008 9:40 AM
No one teach us directly to be good or bad parents. I think the parenting outcome is decided through example; the way we were raised by our own parents.
We wish we could have a complete, reliable manual about this subject before planning to raise our children.
Please take good care of yourself, so this little creature could live a healthy and productive life in the near future.
Congratulations!
Posted by workathome | January 2, 2008 9:52 AM
Nice going! You realize, though, that I'm obligated to tell the deputy managing editor
Posted by Adi Ignatius | January 2, 2008 10:36 AM
Lisa -
Congratulations! As an (always) full time working mother of 17 and 19 year olds, I'm here to tell you it can be done.
I did want comment on your statement "I'll never be the Class Parent; I can't supervise the Disney on Ice field trips; I won't host most play dates". In fact, you can do these things from time to time. You may not be able to do them all, but it will mean a lot to your kids if you take your turn from time to time. I didn't always have the flexibility to do this, and wish I had done more of it.
Good luck!
Posted by Joyce Maroney | January 2, 2008 10:39 AM
Holy crap! Congrats!
(Now I'm just waiting for you to fully cross over and become a full-fledge parentblogger. Heh.)
Posted by daddy in a strange land | January 2, 2008 5:35 PM
Congrats Lisa!
All the best to you and your family.
Posted by Batsheva | January 2, 2008 6:38 PM
Congratulations! What a great way to start the New Year!
Posted by allison | January 3, 2008 11:20 AM
Having babies is fun and exciting. The birth will be a snap.
Posted by Yadgyu | January 3, 2008 11:16 PM
OMG!
Congratulations and, uh, good luck....this ain't your first and you know what's in store for you so you're going to need more than luck!
Deep Breaths now and forever!
Posted by LaDawn | January 8, 2008 5:06 PM
Posted by hcseo365 | May 11, 2008 11:46 PM