Two unrelated annoyances
1. Wordperfect, my word processor of choice, crashes anytime I complete a spell check. For short documents that I've already gone over a dozen times with a fine tooth comb (ie query letters) this is annoying but not the end of the world. But I also wrote a scene or two long hand on the plane rides to and from dsilber's wedding, and I'm loath to enter them into the computer if I effectively can't spell check them. My spelling has improved, but it is still my weakest writing skill, and I refuse to have my vocabulary limited by my spelling skills in my creative writing. I'm not sure what has brought about this change in wordperfect, and so I don't know what to do about it. We've discussed turning an older computer into my word processing station, which might help. Our main computer does a lot of different things, and it seems likely some other program doesn't play well with wordperfect. I know that word causes wordperfect to crash (at least anytime I open a word document, my existing wordperfect sessions freeze) so I wouldn't be surprised if this new problem is not solely a glitch in wordperfect.
2. I tested positive for GBS at my last midwife appointment. In my non-medical understanding GBS is a bacteria that often happily lives in a person's gut, but can cause problems for the baby if it is colonizing a woman's vagina during birth. In standard American medical practice, women are tested for GBS around 36 weeks or so, and if they come back positive, they are then given periodic intravenous antibiotics during labor, which seems to work for reducing the chances of the baby having trouble, but is also in many ways silly. Since there are typically at least three weeks between the test and labor, there is a chance for the GBS to clear up on its own, and a woman who came back negative could also develop GBS. There have also been some indications that the antibiotic treatment isn't very good for the baby--something about antibiotics not working as well on them later because they develop their immune system from the antibiotics instead of the anti-bodies that they get from breast milk or something. In any case, periodic antibiotic treatment is not an option at the birthing center, so instead I am doing a vaginal rinse to try to clear up the GBS before labor. Trying to actually treat the GBS now makes a lot of sense to me, but the rinse itself is a bit of a pain. At this stage of pregnancy I can't see a damn thing below my navel, so it's a little hard to tell what exactly I'm doing. Hopefully the rinse will be effective despite my fumbling.
2. I tested positive for GBS at my last midwife appointment. In my non-medical understanding GBS is a bacteria that often happily lives in a person's gut, but can cause problems for the baby if it is colonizing a woman's vagina during birth. In standard American medical practice, women are tested for GBS around 36 weeks or so, and if they come back positive, they are then given periodic intravenous antibiotics during labor, which seems to work for reducing the chances of the baby having trouble, but is also in many ways silly. Since there are typically at least three weeks between the test and labor, there is a chance for the GBS to clear up on its own, and a woman who came back negative could also develop GBS. There have also been some indications that the antibiotic treatment isn't very good for the baby--something about antibiotics not working as well on them later because they develop their immune system from the antibiotics instead of the anti-bodies that they get from breast milk or something. In any case, periodic antibiotic treatment is not an option at the birthing center, so instead I am doing a vaginal rinse to try to clear up the GBS before labor. Trying to actually treat the GBS now makes a lot of sense to me, but the rinse itself is a bit of a pain. At this stage of pregnancy I can't see a damn thing below my navel, so it's a little hard to tell what exactly I'm doing. Hopefully the rinse will be effective despite my fumbling.