5

35weeks

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

birth_day_rose

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.

8

32weeks

image from mister baker’s instagram

At least once a day, I find myself saying out loud, “this is such a good time in my life.” And it’s true. I can’t remember ever being as happy as I am at this moment, and that’s with a broken foot. I’m really lucky and I know it, is what I’m saying. And it feels pretty damn good.

I’ll see my midwives on Thursday for an official report, but as far as I can tell, baby and I are doing just fine. I’ve been taking spirulina tablets, little green pellets that smell like fish tank, and my energy has benefitted significantly as a result. Which is good, because wow, I am busy.

And hungry! The kind of hungry that had me get out of bed at midnight and make waffles. Also, pickles. So many pickles.

The nesting has begun, and not a moment too soon. We’re less than two calendar months away from our due date, and 4 weeks from the day that our midwives would like us to be prepared for both the birth and the baby. So, yeah. Busy!

With everything that is happening, it’s easy for time to just disappear. I am trying to slow down and savor these last few moments of carrying this baby, because this pregnancy has been one of the most beautiful experiences and there is a part of me that isn’t quite ready for it to end.