Chapter 8
"Right, there's nothing sooner then? Okay, Friday at 9:30am it is then." Kate hung up the phone with her General Practitioner's office. She couldn't get a prenatal appointment with someone in Obstetrics for over two full weeks and she thought that having to wait so long to have the baby's health checked might just kill her. She managed to wait about an hour after she hung up before she went into full "Kate" mode and started the exhaustive preparation and research for the biggest project she had ever taken on, motherhood.
First, she called the real estate agent representing the old Kinsella's property, confirmed it was on the market, and arranged a visit to inspect it. The real estate agency was from out of state, and the current owner was living in Asia, so they wouldn't arrange a visit for nearly four weeks. She notified Higgins Agricultural University that she had found a property she expected would be acceptable for the program and arranged to have representatives of the university meet her in Gungellan for the tour with the real estate agent four weeks from now.
Next, she researched the Gungellan clinic to find out who was on their OB/GYN staff because they would be the ones most likely to deliver her baby. She found their biographies online and did further research from there on each of the doctors. She checked where they had attended Medical school, done their residencies, had practiced prior to coming to Gungellan, and what their specialties were. She prioritised the list and planned to interview each of them when she arrived in Gungellan. From there, she researched the pediatrics departments of Gungellan, Spencer and Fisher Surgeries. Again, she prioritized the different doctors in the department based on previous qualifications and planned in person interviews for when she arrived in Gungellan.
Her next stop was thinking about everything a baby needs. She started with researching cribs. She looked at consumer reports, user reviews, safety standards, and if there were currently any recalls out. She did the same for prams, high chairs, pack n' plays, bottles, nappy brands and anything else a baby could ever possibly need.
The next thing she made was a plan for Kinsella's and what would need to be done there before she and Russell could move in. She would need to check the big house and likely renovate it considerably to make it liveable since it hadn't been occupied for a few years. She would need to baby proof everything and design the nursery. From there, she would need to inspect all of the out buildings to see what condition they were in and renovate as needed. Then, she would need to plan and oversee the building of dormitories and other services for the students who would be living and studying there.
At this point, she hasn't even started on the land yet. She had only worked there for a few days over fifteen years ago, so she would need to go over every part of the land. She would need to know it as well as she had known Drovers when she worked there. It would take some serious time to get the place ready for students and ready for Russell and their baby, and she didn't want to waste a moment.
Our Baby! A baby! Mine and Russell's Baby! It's finally happening, Kate thought, excitedly.
By five o'clock that evening, Kate had detailed plans on seventeen different aspects of adding to their family, moving to Gungellan and preparing Kinsella's for its new role as a university teaching station.
She also vomited four more times and cried from happiness two more times. It was one of her best days ever, she thought.