I'll post a couple of photos of the crib for now, just because I'm so excited.
Monday I went back to my regular OB. He said everything looks normal. And by everything I mean the baby's heartbeat and the size of my stomach. Next week I start my twice-per-week visits with both my OB and the perinatologist. On Monday I will have my first non-stress test. On Tuesday I will have another detailed ultrasound with the perinatologist. This past Sunday my tongue and lips started tingling after breakfast and dinner so I stopped the Glyburide thinking it was some sort of delayed allergic reaction. My perinatologist called me on Monday afternoon and said it wasn't a reaction at all and not to worry about it since it only happened one day. We did agree to cut my bedtime dose in half since I've been waking up in the middle of the night with such low blood glucose readings. She told me it looks like I've been doing a good job of managing it so far.
Since I've had to change my eating habits I look at food a little differently now. I see things as "carbs" and "not carbs", whereas I used to see things as "healthy" and "not healthy". . . or at least my perception of "healthy" and "not healthy." I was on the phone with my mom yesterday and she was telling me all about her dinner, which actually sounded pretty healthy. It included rice, potatoes, meat, and I forget what else. Most people would agree that rice or a baked potato (or sweet potato) is a fairly healthy option. Not for gestational diabetics. Potatoes and rice are carbs and those particular carbs raise your blood glucose. Drastically. I've watched it happen. It's interesting, really. When I look at a menu in a restaurant I automatically look at the salad options and then the side items to see what I'm allowed to have. Large entrees are just too carb-heavy. Do I cheat and eat things I'm technically not supposed to? Yes. (And sometimes I HAVE to when my glucose drops below 60.) But I don't cheat every day. I have found ways to work certain items into my diet so I can still enjoy my favorite foods on occasion. The trick is to not over-indulge and to really exercise portion control. . . something I'm not used to but am slowly adjusting to now.
Now, onto the "can of worms" my post title hinted at. Wednesday I sat down with my manager to discuss the length of my (unpaid) maternity leave. And by sat down I mean I was more or less simply told that they only allow employees to take off six weeks postpartum. Six weeks is a normal amount of time for a vaginal delivery. I know this, after having worked in short term disability claims for almost three years. Currently, our company doesn't offer an STD or LTD policy, which is fine. No big deal - commercial STD/LTD is an awesome extra benefit but employers don't have a legal obligation to offer it or even pay for it if they do offer it. I knew any length of time out of work would be unpaid, so that part wasn't news or a concern to me. In fact, the company I work for is so small they legally don't have to provide FMLA to us. (Even if FMLA were an option I'm pretty sure I still would not qualify since I won't have worked for the company for a year by the time I go out, so I guess bringing up FMLA is kind of moot.) So, knowing all of this, we had saved enough money for my portion of the bills to be taken care of for at least three months postpartum. So you see, I was really hoping for more than six weeks to spend time with my newborn at home. Like, at least eight weeks. Twelve weeks was pushing it and I figured it would be out of the question, especially without FMLA to fall back on. I won't lie. Hearing that all they'll allow is six was very disappointing. I'm lucky because my employer has been very accommodating and flexible so far, considering I have had (and will continue to have) so many doctor's appointments each month and week. I understand they need me back ASAP as I work in insurance collections and I help bring in money owed to the practice. I understand business doesn't stop just because I'm having a baby. But, it really does upset me (more than I expected) that I have to return to work so soon and put my band new baby in (expensive) daycare with strangers. Yeah, I said it. Strangers. I'm not so sure I like the idea of daycare after all. I used to think women who were weary of day cares were weird and over-protective and needed to take a Xanax and relax. Now I kind of understand them. Regardless of my feelings it's something that has to be done and I will just have to get over it.
FYI, child care is extremely expensive. I had always heard that but thought it was an exaggeration. But no. It's ridiculously expensive. Have any of you ever actually looked into full time day care rates? I haven't, til now. And wow. Thankfully, my mom has offered to stay with the baby the first few weeks I return to work, so that will be really helpful. And I suppose (if you want to look at the bright side of things) that money we had saved for my bills while out of work can be funneled into childcare costs when that time comes. But it still breaks my heart that I won't get to spend as much time as I wanted to with my new baby.
Anyway, I got to thinking about the lack of paid family leave laws in the U.S. Not just for women, but for men, and not just for new babies/adoptions, but care of other family members as well. We do have FMLA here in the U.S., so yay for job protection. . . unless you work for a company that employs less than 50 people or you haven't worked at your company for more than a year or 1250 hours. California and New Jersey have PFL - Paid Family Leave. It's a step in the right direction, but other states (ahem, Georgia) need to get on board and seriously consider something like PFL. I really don't want to turn this into a political rant because that's about where the paid leave debate goes from here. But I do want to list a few links which compare the U.S. to other developed countries in regards to family leave. They're thought provoking, if nothing else.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2012/10/02/parental-leave-children-women/1606671/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/23/paid-parental-leave_n_826996.html
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2012/08/16/11980/fact-sheet-paid-family-and-medical-leave/
Last, but not least, our newest niece was born on Monday! She arrived at 4:50 P.M. weighed 7 lbs 9 oz., and her name is Hope Roberts. She is SO cute! My brother-in-law and sister-in-law also chose to not find out the baby's sex until she was born. So fun! And I did guess that the baby was a girl early on. Wonder if I'm right about me having a boy?
My photo this week is a tribute to new, sweet baby Hope. Congrats, Josef and Kim!
How far along: 33 weeks
Trimester: Third
Pre-pregnancy weight: 141 pounds
Current weight: 139 pounds
Maternity clothes: Yes.
Stretch marks: I do believe I may be getting one right where my belly button used to be. Only time will tell.
Best moment of the week: Getting the nursery in better order, baby Hope making her debut, and only having a 1/2 day of work today.
Movement: Very, very active. Actually has hiccups as I type this.
Food Cravings: French fries, Captain Crunch cereal, coffee, criossants, juice. . . I think it's safe to say I want carbs and sugar. Probably because I've had to restrict them so much!
Anything making you queasy or sick? I feel really nauseous if my heartburn isn't controlled.
Miss anything? No.
Other symptoms: Heartburn, starting to get swollen ankles at the end of the day, fatigue, not sleeping the whole night through, anxiety when thinking about delivery.
Have you started to show yet? Yes.
Sex: It will be a surprise.
Labor Signs: None.
Belly button in or out? Outie. Sometimes you can see it through my shirts.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Moody or not moody? I think "emotional" would be a much more accurate way to describe myself lately.
Looking forward to: Maternity photos, seeing the ultrasound next week, and getting a Christmas tree!
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