06/52

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“a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, for 2014”

Emet: Laughing at his something his sister said.
Jade: Watching her brother’s baseball practice.

I have a confession to make: I have been pretty lazy these last couple of weeks where this portrait series is concerned. Sure, I take photos (not really), but do I bother to transfer them to the computer in a timely fashion? After a just a few days of Maternity Leave, however, I’m all caught up and, dare I say it, a bit ahead. I might even share next week’s portraits on time!

5

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Maternity Leave, how I love you so!

After getting the kids off to school this morning, I climbed back into bed and stayed there until almost 11 AM. That is what I’m talking about! Also, I haven’t stopped eating since I last saw my midwives, and I’m fairly certain the baby and I have both made fighting weight. I’ve not quite reached maximum discomfort yet, though, so I know there’s still room to grow. Which of course is crazy, because look at that enormous belly!

The rest of this week will be spent completing a long list of home projects, things like hanging curtains and rearranging our cabinet space, as well as the first few loads of tiny clothes and diapers. I will be cloth diapering this baby, a first for me, and am pretty excited about these soft little newborn nappies that I’ve started to collect.

These are the days. Being relieved of my responsibilities at school allows me to fully immerse myself in my family during this precious time, and I’m so grateful to be able to have these last few weeks together as we continue to prepare our home and our hearts for the highly anticipated arrival of our new little person.

I still can’t believe that we’re having a baby next month!

6

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Monday morning, I saw Dr. Fan, a wise and wonderful healer who has been graciously tending to my broken foot. A former surgeon, and a master of Chinese medicine, he finally said to me that in order for my foot to heal more quickly, I need to stay off of it completely. I took the rest of the day and spent it in bed and you know what? By that night, the swelling near my injury decreased for the first time in nearly four weeks.

And then I went to school the next day.

By the time I got home that evening, my foot was back to its swollen state, and I was in pain. I was still determined to finish my last week and a half, though.

That is, until I saw my midwives yesterday. Turns out, my belly measures four weeks smaller than it should, which is not terribly concerning, because I’ve measured small during my whole pregnancy. However, I haven’t grown hardly at all since my last visit two weeks ago, and my weight gain is not significant, having put on a mere three pounds since November. They want me off of my feet until they see me again, meaning that my leave is starting a full week earlier than expected.

In other words, today is my last day of work. We’ve reached the home stretch. I keep saying how quickly this pregnancy has gone because it’s true! I can’t believe we’re already here: Maternity Leave.

We’ve managed to collect almost all of the essentials needed for birth and baby, including two very important bottles of Birth Day Champagne. One of my best friends in the whole world is staying with us for the weekend, and I’ve got nine hours left to spend with my sweet students and colleagues before I turn my focus entirely upon my family.

The next six weeks are gonna be so good.

05/52

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“a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014”

Emet: He loves to laugh.
Jade: Waiting for mama to help with the tangles.

I’m finding it hard to do anything after getting home from school other than put my feet up. These two are trying their best to help me stay relaxed, and are patient with me as I begin to slow down. I’m well aware that our entire rhythm is about to shift, so I’m trying to take it all in stride, but I’m also trying to spend as much quality time with them as possible.

RABBIT RABBIT

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Hello, February!

This month is special, because we can officially start saying that we’re having a baby next month. Also, chocolate.

I have one major goal for these 28 days, and that is to seriously reorganize my house. With a little help from these nesting hormones, and no help whatsoever from my foot, I plan on tackling as many projects as possible. Our housemate has moved on, leaving behind some valuable closet and floor space, of which I intend to make very good use.

I’m two weeks away from my Maternity Leave, so between now and then, I need to make very good use of my weekends. Meaning, it’s Saturday and I’d better get to it.