Eviction Notice

I was getting very frustrated with all the contractions that were not leading to labor. I spoke to my friend Tami last night, and told her I was planning to hire her husband (an attorney) to evict this baby, because I was fed up with the ongoing war between Frank and baby, and I think he is ready to come out and join us and put me out of my misery. Here is what I received about 7 hours before my water broke:

CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

COUNTY OF QUEENS: HOUSING PART

--------------------------------------------------------------X

JESSICA BRODEY


Petitioner-Landlord, Index No.: _____________

-against-

JOHN DOE,


NOTICE OF PETITION

(holdover)

Respondent-Tenant,

John Doe, refers to that infant child who is

currently using and occupying the uterus of

Petitioner named herein and who is in possession

of such uterus for which the license of

Respondent-Tenant has been revoked by

Petitioner despite his use and occupy of the subject

Premises and subsequent use, in whole or in part, of

all appurtenant organs, tissues, and

other anatomical and physiological appurtenances

thereto and herein described.


Premises: Jessica Brodey

Uterus of Petitioner

---------------------------------------------------------------X

To the Respondent above-named and described, in possession of the Premises hereinafter described or claiming possession thereof:

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing at which you must appear will be held at the Civil Court of the City of New York, County of Queens located at 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York 11435 on ___________________ at 9:30 am in the forenoon of that day, on the annexed Petition of Jessica Brodey dated December ___, 2008 which prays for a final judgment of eviction and revocation of any license to occupy the premises, awarding Petitioner possession of Premises described as follows: all organs of Petitioner including, but not limited the uterus as demanded in the Petition, which you must answer. Your answer may set forth any defense or counterclaim against Petitioner, unless such defense or counterclaim is precluded by law or by prior agreement of the parties. Demand also is made for a judgment against you for the sum of at least One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars And No Cents ($1,500.00) for the attorneys’ fees of Petitioner.

TAKE NOTICE also that if you fail to immediately vacate the uterus of Petitioner, even if you interpose and establish any defense that you may have to the allegations of the Petition, you may be precluded from asserting such defense or the claim on which it is based in any other action or proceeding, your failure to answer and appear may result in a final judgment by default for the Petitioner against you for the relief demanded in the Petition.

TAKE NOTICE that this Court has personal jurisdiction over the parties mentioned herein because counsel for Petitioner lives in the City of New York, Borough of Queens, State of New York, and is happy for the Petitioner.


TAKE NOTICE also that under Section 745 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, you may be required by this Court to make a deposit of use and occupancy, or a payment of use and occupancy to the Petitioner, upon your second request for an adjournment or if the proceeding is not settled or a final determination has not been made by this Court within thirty (30) days of the first Court appearance. Failure to comply with an initial deposit or payment order may result in the entry of a final judgment against you without a trial. Failure to make subsequent required deposits or payments may result in an immediate trial on this issues raised in your Answer.

Dated: December 13, 2008

Queens, New York

__________________________

Clerk of the Civil Court

__________________________

Adam Brown, Esq.

Attorney for Petitioner

IMPORTANT TO TENANT: If you are dependent on a person in the military service of the United States or the State of New York, advise the Clerk of the Court immediately in order to protect your rights.



CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

COUNTY OF QUEENS: HOUSING PART

--------------------------------------------------------------X

JESSICA BRODEY ,

Petitioner-Landlord, Index No.: _____________

-against-

JOHN DOE,


NOTICE OF PETITION

(holdover)


Respondent-Tenant,

John Doe, refers to that infant child who is

currently using and occupying the uterus of

Petitioner named herein and who is in possession

of such uterus for which the license of

Respondent-Tenant has been revoked by

Petitioner despite his use and occupy of the subject

Premises and subsequent use, in whole or in part, of

all appurtenant organs, tissues, and

other anatomical and physiological appurtenances

thereto and herein described.

Premises: Jessica Brodey

Uterus of Petitioner

---------------------------------------------------------------X

THE PETITION OF JESSICA BRODEY , owner and landlord of the Premises shows that:

1. The undersigned is the sole owner of the Premises.

2. Petitioner is married to Elliott Harkavy.

3. On or about March 2008, Petitioner and Elliott Harkavy conceived the Respondent in this matter.

4. Since this time, the Respondent has used and occupied the uterus of Petitioner by, among other acts, attaching himself to the wall of Petitioner’s uterus, developing bodily organs, bone, skin, and other tissue necessary and proper to the development of a human body.

5. Upon information and belief, Respondent understood and agreed that he may use and occupy the premises for a period of nine (9) contiguous months and that at or about the end of such nine month period, depending on the comfort level of Petitioner, Respondent should vacate the premises.

6. Upon information and belief, the vacatur of Respondent was to occur by either natural or artificial means.

7. Regardless of the method of vacatur, Respondent and Petitioner agreed that Respondent’s license to use and occupy the premises was to be revoked at our about the ninth month of use and occupancy or at or about the time that Petitioner could no longer tolerate Respondent’s use and occupancy.

8. To date, Respondent has engaged in conduct that has included, but has not been limited to:

a. Causing Petitioner to vomit incessantly;

b. Causing constant nausea;

c. Sleeplessness and irritability;

d. Irregular eating;

e. Loss of work and consortium; and

f. Such other and further conduct that amounts to nuisance.

9. Respondent holds over and continues in possession of Premises without Petitioner-Landlord’s permission.

10. The Premises occupied by Respondent-Tenant and/or Undertenant is not subject to rent control as defined and described by the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). The Premises is a two-family home.

8. The Premises is not a “multiple dwelling.”

9. Petitioner requests final judgment: awarding possession of the Premises to the Petitioner-landlord; and issuance of a warrant to remove Respondent from possession.

10. Petitioner lacks information or notice of any address where Respondent/s reside or are employed or have a place of business or principal office in the State of New York, other than the address of the Premises sought to be recovered.

11. At least thirty (30) days before the expiration of said term the Respondent tenant/s were served in the manner provided for by law with a verbal warning, that the landlord elected to terminate said tenancy and that unless the tenant removed from said Premises on the day on which said term expired, the landlord would commence summary proceedings under the statute to remove said tenant therefrom.

WHEREFORE, Petitioner requests final judgment awarding possession of the Premises to the Petitioner landlord; issuance of a warrant to remove Respondents from possession of the Premises; a judgment for the fair value of use and occupancy of the Premises after October 20, 2005; a judgment of at least One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars And No Cents ($1,500.00) for the attorneys’ fees of Petitioner; and the costs and disbursements of this proceeding.

Dated: December 11, 2008

New York, New York


_____________________________

Adam Brown, Esq.

Counsel for Petitioner

100 Lafayette Street

Suite 401

New York, New York

(212) 226-0350


*******

A big Thank-You to Adam for helping evict my little guy!

My water broke!

Yup, after all of my moaning and cranking, it is finally time! My water broke around 6:00 am this morning while I was trying to sleep. I'd been having some back contractions again that were keeping me awake, and I couldn't sleep last night. I woke Elliot up around 3:00 am to keep me company (poor guy). I let him go back to sleep about 1 hour later, and then at 6:00 am I felt this huge gush. At first I thought I wet the bed, then I realized my water broke. I yelped and hollered my water broke and Elliot bolted awake. He grabbed me a towel (thank goodness I put that pee pad under my side of the bed!) and I went and got in the shower. He called the midwife, then stripped the bed and put the sheets in the washing machine. The midwife said we could take our time getting to the hospital. Apparently, things can slow down a bit the few hours after your water breaks. She said we can hang out here as long as we want, or head straight to the hospital. My contractions are picking up a bit now, so we will probably head to the hospital shortly. She is there finishing up a delivery. I'm so excited this is happening today - this is my "favorite" of the 3 midwives, so I'm very happy she will be the one attending the delivery.

Phobias

I've been getting a lot of comments/feedback from many people about my needle phobia, and most people seem to think I'll just "get over it" when the pain hits. While I appreciate all of the insight, I am definitely frustrated by all the comments because I think most people do not understand the nature of a phobia. For me, I do not just have a fear of needles; I have an honest-to-goodness extreme phobia. I know everyone is trying to be sympathetic and supportive, but many of the comments about my phobia have been upsetting me because I know that no one really understands.

While some of you are lauding my efforts about hanging tough for this baby through the contractions, I also should confess that my phobia is also playing a significant role in the decision-making process. While I do have a genuine desire to put my baby's interests first, I also have a genuine desire to avoid needles and a c-section at all costs.

Instead of getting offended by some of the "you'll forget about the needle when you are in labor" comments, or the "you can't see the needle so it won't bother you," statements, I decided to take this opportunity to blog a little bit about phobias. I'm sure that my phobia won't make sense to most of you, and I can honestly say it defies my own logic as well. My phobia is actually overwhelming to me right now, and I wish it was not part of my reality. I understand that it is totally irrational and yet . . . it still controls me. That is particularly difficult for me because I like to believe I am a fully rational being with control over myself and my decisions.

A phobia is defined as an irrational, intense fear of an object or situation that poses little or no actual danger. Like a needle. At first glance, a phobia may seem similar to a normal fear, however "fear" is the normal response to a genuine danger. With phobias, the fear is either irrational or excessive - it is an abnormally fearful response to a danger that is either imagined or irrationally exaggerated. This is my problem - and no amount of "logic" seems to help the brain comprehend that the perceived danger is either nonexistent or irrationally exaggerated in the moment.

It is the degree to which a person is affected that determines whether that fear has become a phobia. Phobias are emotional and physical reactions to feared objects or situations. Each person’s symptoms are a little bit different, but may include the following:

• Dizziness, rapid heartbeat, trembling, or other uncontrollable physical response
• Sensation of terror, dread, horror or panic
• Reactions that are automatic and uncontrollable, practically taking over the person’s thoughts
• Preoccupation of thoughts; inability to change focus from the feared situation
• Fight or flight response - need to defend against the perceived danger and/or an intense desire to flee the situation
• Recognition that the fear goes beyond normal boundaries and the actual threat of danger
• Extreme measures taken to avoid the feared object or situation

I pretty much have all of those symptoms. My phobia manifests in an actual uncontrollable physical response in addition to the terror/panic. I shake, I have difficulty breathing and can give myself an asthma attack from the panic, and my heart rate skyrockets. I am currently preoccupied with the possible needle encounters that an induction could bring, and I can't really seem to let it go. I go to extreme measures (and will even let myself suffer to a great extent) in order to avoid needles. My desire when exposed to a needle is either to run, or if I feel trapped, my instinct is to fight. And fight I do - it is like I leave my head and I am fighting as if my life depends on it. I hit, scream, kick, and generally wreak physical panic on anyone who is unlucky enough to be in my path. It is embarassing because I do not really know that I am doing it and I seem to be powerless to stop myself from behaving that way.

It is generally accepted that phobias arise from a combination of external events and internal predispositions. Many specific phobias can be traced back to a specific triggering event, usually a traumatic experience at an early age. That is actually my problem - I had two traumatic needle encounters as a very young child, and as a result, I have created this ridiculous, overexaggerated belief in the danger of needles that, despite all logic, I cannot seem to release.

Phobias are more often than not linked to the amygdala, an area of the brain located behind the pituitary gland. The amygdala secretes hormones that control fear and aggression. When the fear or aggression response is initiated, the amygdala releases hormones into the body to put the human body into an "alert" state, in which they are ready to move, run, fight, etc. This defensive "alert" state and response is generally referred to in psychology as the Fight-or-Flight response. Phobias vary in severity among individuals. Some individuals can simply avoid the subject of their fear and suffer only relatively mild anxiety over that fear. Others suffer fully-fledged panic attacks with all the associated disabling symptoms. I fall into this latter category. To the extent I can avoid needle encounters, my phobia presents no problems in my daily life. I do not have issues with seeing needles, or medical procedures performed on others, or even seeing a needle injected into someone else - my fear is solely focused on an actual needle touching ME.

Most individuals understand that they are suffering from an irrational fear, but are powerless to override their initial panic reaction. This is how I feel - I know my fear is irrational, and I start each encounter with the best of intentions to have my logic govern my responses, but somehow, the panic reaction always sets in, and there is nothing I can seem to do to stop the panic once it starts.

Over the years, I have come a long way. I can usually have blood drawn, but I've created a lot of "rules" for the phlebotomists that help me avoid my initial panic response. For example, I can only have blood drawn with a butterfly needle. Why? Somehow, I believe that the smaller needles cause less danger. They also have to be able to draw blood with one stick, and not move the needle around once it is inserted. Somehow, I believe that they are more competent or I am in less danger if the stick is done once and the needle isn't moved around. Speed is also important to me - the stick needs to be done quickly, the blood needs to be drawn immediately, and they need to get the needle out fast before wasting time labeling the vials or separating the vials from the tube. If the phlebotomist fails somehow to draw blood this way, the panic still sets in, and I turn into a holy terror.

Shots are another issue for me. I still haven't figured out how to get a shot in my arm. I have not had any vaccinations since I was 15 years old. I won't get a tetanus shot and I won't get the flu shot. I have refused allergy testing and allergy shots, choosing instead to suffer. I've been able to justify my fear with issues of scheduling and time commitments, but the bottom line is I'm too afraid of the shots to even seriously entertain the idea. I have recently discovered that I can handle some subcutaneous shots if I have to . . . as long as I can use numbing cream first. Ridiculous, right? It isn't like the shots actually hurt, but somehow I need to not feel anything in order to distance myself from the panic response.

IVs are a whole other level of panic for me - for some reason, much worse than a blood draw or a subcutaneous shot. Yes, I have a hierarchy of danger for needles. My second traumatic experience with needles related to the placement of an IV, so I have a particular fear of IVs. I have yet to figure out how to get beyond that one. I had surgery earlier this year, and they were unable to get an IV in me while I was awake - ultimately, laughing gas was required. So, while I'd like to say that for the good of myself and my baby, I can "get through" the uncomfortable placement of an IV, I think the greater likelihood is I am going to panic out of some ridiculous and exaggerated belief that the IV is a threat to my safety.

For those of you that are still here, you probably now think I should be checked into the closest psych ward somewhere. I can understand that - I don't understand phobias that other people have, but I do know that phobias are real, and right now, my phobia is making my life quite challenging. So, I guess I would ask that before you tell me about how I won't even see or feel the needle, or I'll get over it in the moment, or it is no big deal, try and remember that I am dealing with an irrational, overriding fear. Just know that in my head, it IS a big deal. Your support is welcome and much appreciated, but the reassurances actually create more anxiety for me. I do not find ANYTHING reassuring about not being able to see the needle - inability to see somehow makes me believe that the needle poses an increased danger to me - probably a control thing. Even hearing it didn't really hurt, or it was over quickly, or it only hurts for a minute also does not reassure me - it isn't really the pain I fear - it is the process itself.

Thanks for listening!

More Disappointment

Once again, I thought I was in full-blown labor last night. I had been having more contractions and cramping all day since my appointment yesterday, and around midnight the cramping/pain in my back worsened. I decided to head upstairs and try and get comfortable in bed. Elliot & I watched some tv together, and around 2:00 I drifted off to sleep. At 3:00 am, the contractions woke me up. By 3:30, I was so uncomfortable that I woke Elliot up and begged him to rub my back. He also ran downstairs and got me my ipod so I could listen to my relaxation tapes. I was tossing and turning, and just miserable. At 4:00, I decided to try the bathtub. By the way, the Jacuzzi is my friend - for the first time, it actually worked while I was having contractions! I climbed in the tub, and I spent about 45 minutes or so pruning up. The contractions stayed regular and intense the entire time, but I was able to relax into the process. I decided to shower after the bath, and I dried my hair. At this point, it was after 5:00 am. I went back to bed, and tried to relax and stay comfortable. By 6:00, it was pretty clear that the contractions were not letting up, and sleep didn't seem like an option. Elliot & I debated whether we should go to the hospital or call the midwives. I decided to wait because I'd been through this before, and it turned out to be nothing.

Unfortunately, I was right. After 7:15, I was able to doze off a bit. The contractions have still been going, but they did lessen in intensity a bit. Our biggest concern is that I won't actually know when I'm in labor, and that we won't be able to get to the hospital in time.

We woke this morning to deal with Verizon and Vonage - because AGAIN, they screwed up my phone service. It is amazing how easily these companies get it wrong, blame each other, and then claim to be unable to resolve the problem. Thanks to Elliot, we were dealing with the executive offices for both companies. After spending the past five hours fighting with them, we finally have the phone service issues resolved. I've been SOOO frustrated that I've been missing all my doctors' calls today.

So, here I sit . . . contracting, uncomfortable, and unsure what to do. I'm SOOO ready to have this baby, but just don't know if I should rush him out or hang in there. This part is miserable, and I just don't know how much longer I can do this.

Ultrasound - 37 weeks 3 days

Today we had our weekly "biophysical profile" ultrasound - once again, our brilliant son scored a perfect 8/8! Basically, it means he is quite content where he is. While I'm happy to hear that he is thriving in there, can someone please help me serve him an eviction notice? I promise not to serve him another one until after he completes college.

We actually got some fantastic pictures today - I'll go downstairs and scan them when Elliot gets home (he took them with him). The doctor came in to see us, and after I whined he decided to do an internal check on me. The good news is I'm over 3 cm dilated (yes, progress!) and still at 80% effaced. He stripped my membranes to see if that would stir anything up. I'm actually not hopeful, but if it is going to work, we should see something in 24-48 hours.

****Update****

Here are the ultrasound pics from today: