Baby C goes to the unemployment office

Ready to head to the unemployment office!

Life with a newborn and toddler is like the guy at a high school track meet who does the "on your mark, get set, go" and shoots the crappy pistol into the air -- it's like that guy is standing next to our bed every morning. Sometimes that shot comes in the form of my little toddler man howling "mommy! mommy!" from the next room, sometimes it's Baby C and her newborn squeaks and mews. Then, as all parents know, you bolt out of bed for a day of run, run, run until you drop in exhaustion that night. Recycle, repeat.

Sometimes that warning shot is a thought, like, oh crap, today I have to go to the unemployment office, like today. Baby C woke to nurse at 3 and again at 4:45, and I couldn't fall asleep after the last feeding. I've been able to avoid going there and instead do everything online, until I hit a snag. In Illinois, you have to "certify" every two weeks that you are still eligible for benefits by answering a routine set of questions, such as "Did you work?" and "Did you look for work?" Under "Did your dependency status change?" I checked yes, because Baby C was born two weeks ago. Well, that froze my benefits so I didn't get them this week like I was supposed to. Awesome.

I called customer service and was told I needed to go into the local office and prove that I had a kid. OK, except boy, I really didn't want to take my two-week-old out too much, much less the unemployment office, picturing long lines of people hacking all over the place. I don't currently have a sitter, nor can I afford one -- especially now that the state is holding our benefits hostage -- so my awesome friend Vanessa said she'd watch the baby today. Except her toddler woke up with a fever, poor kiddo, so V offered to watch the baby a different day. But I have bills due starting tomorrow, ugh, so I told myself to suck it up, cupcake, you're not the only person who has ever had to go to an unemployment office with a baby. Gulp.

Baby C and I dropped off her brother at daycare and headed on over. I told C she was absolutely allowed to throw a loud, newborn hissy fit if things took too long or got frustrating. And normally I am not super comfortable nursing in public -- I don't mind if other mommies do, I'm just a prude when it comes to myself -- but I was ready to whip out a boob and feed her if I needed to and make folks uncomfortable if push came to shove. I was prepared for this experience to suck.

Turns out, it was lightly crowded and we only had to wait about 15 minutes to see someone. The woman at the front desk oohed and ahhed over my little one, who was of course as cute as a button in her little hat and jammies. I mean, really, look at her. She's so stinking cute. A few minutes with a really nice guy at the unemployment office and we were on our way! Baby C was awake the whole time but held her fire. So did mama. Good baby. Good mama.

Two weeks old today!