159 posts tagged pregnancy
There are many signs that labor is on its way. They can start as early as a month before going into labor.
One of those signs is having flu-like symptoms.
Guess who has them?
Imagine me raising my hand with a look of self-pity on my face.
Luckily, they are somewhat mild and shouldn’t stop me from continuing to progress through my long before-I-have-a-baby-to-do list.
Today I have been washing load after load of baby clothes.
It’s been really easy to follow the rule of washing similar colors together. We have the ‘white wash’ and the ‘pink wash’. That’s it. No other colors!
So let’s get this straight.
I’m on maternity leave. I have an ENORMOUS baby bump. I have spent my day washing, drying and folding baby clothes. And yet, the whole having-a-baby thing still seems a bit surreal.
OK, now I have to go eat some fererro rochers and see what’s on Oprah. Maternity leave, for the win.
……maternity leave without a baby to look after is AWESOME!!!!
Jen emailed me earlier today and asked if I had told Charlotte it was time to come out and play.
On the contrary.
I’ve told Charlotte she must stay in for at least another week because Mommy is having a great time doing absolutely nothing!
My maternity leave starts today. When I tell Americans that I am taking 6 months off from work, they all ooh and aah and tell me how lucky I am.
It’s true.
I’m very lucky….by American standards.
The maternity leave policy at my company includes 26 weeks of job protection (which can be rolled into a leave of absence if I want to take longer). I get paid disability insurance from today until about 6 weeks post-birth and then a further 2 weeks of paid leave by my company. The remainder is unpaid. John and I are in a financial position that allows me to do this, which I am so very grateful for. As someone who comes from a country where most women take a full year off from work, it was hard for me to be grateful for a measly six months at first. But I quickly realized that, compared to a lot of women here, I am extremely fortunate.
I read an an interesting article this morning about maternity leave.
There are only two industrialized countries in the world who have no formal paid parental leave scheme. Guess who? America and Australia.
However, that may soon change in Australia. There is a proposal in place to provide 6 months paid parental leave at your full salary up to $150K. It will be funded by a levy on big business. How fantastic is that?!
I can’t imagine that ever happening in America. Not when they have bigger issues to deal with…..like providing free healthcare.
I didn’t get morning sick.
I didn’t get fat.
I didn’t get overly tired (after my first trimester).
I didn’t get crazy cravings.
I didn’t get heartburn.
I didn’t get swollen feet, hands, or face.
I didn’t get anything bad.
I was like my normal self, albeit with a baby bump.
But I would be willing to swap all of that for a baby that was currently facing head down.
Going to the OB this afternoon for a scan to see what she’s up to in there. Hopefully she has wiggled her way into landing position.
Fingers crossed.
We went to watch some basketball at Madison Square Garden last night. It was the Big East thingy (in case that means something to you).
When John went to use the restroom I waited outside with his beer. I greatly enjoyed all the double takes and stares I received from the people walking past - their eyes flicking from the beer to my bump and back again.
My friend Sarah alerted me to the fact that Sarah Michelle Gellar won the vote on Babycenter for Most Popular Celebrity Baby Name.
Her name?
Charlotte Grace.
Good work, Sarah Michelle, good work.
In other news, I’m actually wavering a teensy-tiny bit on the name.
36 weeks 2 days pregnant.
Many of my friends have asked me what if feels like to have a baby moving inside you. It feels exactly as you would expect it to feel - like something is moving around inside you!
Is it uncomfortable? Most of the time, no. Other times, very much so.
I have nothing to compare to but Charlotte is way more active than I was expecting. To the point that it can be VERY uncomfortable. Yesterday was an unusually active day. I actually gave up trying to read and went to bed because the discomfort of being kicked and pushed from the inside was getting to be too much. I’m sure she was moving her entire body around last night based on the crazy shapes my bump was being pushed into. I kept saying HEAD DOWN HEAD DOWN.
She continued to move around a lot last night. I had a bout of insomnia worrying that perhaps she was in distress. (This is what happens when you go from being considered a normal pregnancy to higher-risk pregnancy at 36 weeks - you worry). She seems to be sleeping now but I’m sure the pre-natal massage I’m about to have will have her bouncing off the walls again!
