Full term

For Christmas we were blessed with a number of gift cards to use as we pleased. Every last penny was spent on items for the baby's room. We even bought coming-home-from-the-hospital outfits - one for a boy, and one for a girl. The girl's outfit is a pink and brown polka dotted long-sleeved onesie with a matching hat and socks and pink pants. The onesie says "I love you" and is adorable! The boy's outfit is blue and grey and is giraffe themed - also bought a matching blue hat that wasn't included in the set. See below for images of both!

Adorable, right?

Super cute for a girl, too!

We also bought a giraffe patterned rug which matches the colors of the bedding perfectly: 

We bought the changing pad and giraffe patterned cover: 

We also bought a few more bibs and gender neutral outfits, a box of diapers, crib pad and sheets, play yard sheets, bottle brush, dishwasher caddy, and Taylor's favorite: a bottle drying rack that looks like grass. It's cute.

The last things I have left to buy are a floor lamp, the canvas image of giraffes that we want to hang on the wall, and a few baskets for organization (which I found at Buy Buy Baby and they match the changing pad cover!) Oh, and the items from Hobby Lobby for our crafty project! It's not super fancy, just a fun little thing we wanted to do. 

I really want to post images of the baby's room, but I also want it to be completely done before I do so. For now I'll leave you with this:

Today we went in for my 37 week check-up. I had an NST first and was mildly annoyed because they had an old, faulty machine that literally PRINTED the results on a long piece of paper, like a lie detector test. I went to a different location to see my doc because of scheduling conflicts so there was no nice, high-tech computer monitor to track everything. Turns out I was on the machine for 40-ish minutes and it wasn't tracking the baby's heart rate. The nurse made it seem as though I should have known better and should have called her in to adjust it. Oh, I'm sorry that I'm not trained to read your ancient seismograph and that you didn't bother to come in to make sure everything was okay. Anyway, we had to sit there for another thirty minutes once she had it hooked up correctly. At least today's a day off from work, but still.

After that I saw Dr. Otto for a pelvic exam. It seems that based on the NST I am having contractions again. No real concern unless they become painful or I notice 5-6 in an hour. I am not dilated, however, my cervix has thinned and she said the baby's head is low. 
Next Monday I have my next appointment with pelvic exam. We will also be able to schedule the induction then! She wants to see if I've dilated any more and to see how ripe/soft my cervix is first. If it's not soft enough I will go into the hospital on the evening of 13th for cervadil and then be induced Monday they 14th. If it is soft enough I will just check in for the induction only on Monday the 14th. SO, it looks like we've got the date set - not 100% for sure yet, but it's pretty much going to happen then. . . unless I somehow go into labor before then. 

Speaking of labor, next Sunday evening we are going to give Scalini's eggplant parm a shot. It's a legend here in metro-Atlanta. Read more about it here: http://www.scalinis.com/Bambino.htm

Lastly, my husband Santa Claus bought me a gift certificate to my favorite nail salon for Christmas. I used it yesterday and got a manicure, pedicure, and eyebrow wax. Every woman has that one beauty quirk that makes her feel pretty. The one thing that makes me feel like an attractive lady is a good eyebrow waxing. I feel so much better about my appearance now! Also, I decided on a pink and blue design for my toes in honor of baby bear.

Weekly photo: 

How far along: 37 weeks

Trimester: Third

Pre-pregnancy weight: 141 pounds

Current weight: 146 pounds  - Thanks, Christmas. 

Maternity clothes: Yes. 

Stretch marks: Nothing new.

Best moment of the week: All of our time spent shopping for Baby Bear.

Movement: Constantly on the go.

Food Cravings: Ocean Water from Sonic, pancakes, funfetti cake, pizza, french fries.  

Anything making you queasy or sick? No. 

Miss anything? Going to repeat last week's response: being able to sleep comfortably.

Other symptoms: Frequent bathroom breaks, swollen ankles on occasion, lack of sleep due to hip and back pain, fatigue, nesting.  

Have you started to show yet? Yes.

Sex: It will be a surprise.

Labor Signs: NST showed contractions today, starting to efface a little. 

Belly button in or out? Outie.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Moody or not moody? I'm happy.

Looking forward to: Since tonight is New Year's Eve, I am looking forward to 2013 and meeting our baby.

Week 36

Okay, so, after my frantic post last week I have had two (regularly scheduled) doctor's visits and I can report that everything is normal. Hooray!
Taylor was with me on Wednesday the 26th for my weekly NST and check-up. It was his first time seeing what a NST is. I think he enjoyed watching the lines jump around on the monitor when the baby would move. I also had the strep B test done and it's REALLY not as big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be. Did I particularly enjoy having my butt swabbed? No. But the way I've heard people talk you'd think it was some hugely invasive and uncomfortable experience. (Results were negative, FYI.) Anyway, next appointment there is on Monday the 31st. I'm guessing I'll have another pelvic exam to check for dilation and effacement in addition to the NST. 

Today we had the perinatologist's appointment for the baby's weight check and amniotic fluid check. Baby weighs 6 lbs 6 ounces and my amniotic level is back up to normal, so no crazy early inductions after all. Dr. Fogle did say the baby should be around 7.5 lbs at delivery. My next appointment there is next Friday.
And surprise! The ultrasound tech gave us a 3-D ultrasound today. You can just make out the baby's nose, eyes, and mouth. It had it's arm over most of it's face.

Christmas was on Tuesday, and it was wonderful. My mom, dad, and sister came over for brunch and to spend the day with us. We had so much food and my mom bought us our first waffle iron! Also, had a bit of an anxiety attack when we thought the cat had escaped. We tore the house apart looking for him and he was nowhere to be found. We walked around a good part of the neighborhood calling for him and shaking his treat bag only to find out he had gone into the baby's room and was hiding somewhere in the stroller. Crazy cat! My parents' big gift to us was the Fisher Price Zen baby swing/bouncer combo. That is a high-class piece of baby furniture! Mom even assembled it for us in the house so we wouldn't have to. 

The only things I really asked for were baby-related items. I'd rather know the baby stuff is taken care of than get a bunch of gifts for myself. (Mom guilt already?) But, my family (immediate, in-laws, ALL of them!) always surprises me, and I ended up with a ton of great loot also. I'm so thankful for their love and generosity. I won't rehash it all here, but I will mention that I did get a fancy digital camera, so now I'm just looking for a volunteer to take some photos of me and Taylor as opposed to paying a ton of money for professional photos. Not kidding. Any takers? I'll even buy you dinner.
WARNING: I'm about to rant, here. If you'd rather not see, skip ahead to the next page break. 
I'm a bit appalled at how much money photographers charge for maternity and newborn shoots around here. I realize these photos are "priceless," and I've noticed photographers love to use the word "investment" when discussing prices, but let's be real. Having and prepping for a baby is expensive already. If you're lucky, you have a family and friends who help you out and try to get you everything you need. Even with help (and baby showers) it's still very expensive. New furniture, new clothes, new gadgets, car seats, stroller(s), bottles, breast pumps, new maternity clothes every month or two, etc. Oh, and let's not forget about health insurance, if you have it. So, in addition to buying all of the baby gear you still have to make health insurance payments and co-payments to the doctor's office and hospital. God forbid you have to pay off a deductible first, too. And if you have medical complications (like I do) you have to pay for medication and supplies, miss time from work for multiple appointments each week, and pay for parking and extra gas on top of it all. Oh, and if you go on bed rest early your employer may not pay you for that time out. You may not be lucky enough to have an STD/LTD policy. So that's even more money gone. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE photography. I wanted to be a photographer for a while (it was a short-lived dream and my skills are now limited to Instagram.) I love looking at other people's professional photos and seeing how great they are. I know some pretty awesome photographers, in fact. But the idea of spending so much money on pictures I could take myself is silly. My sister and I had photos taken for our parents a few years ago on her own digital camera. I edited them and printed them myself and spent maybe around $50 all together. They were actually pretty good, in my humble opinion. So, the idea of paying between $200 and $600 for a disk of 25-35 edited images is pretty ridiculous. (No offense to my photographer friends, and I'm not singling anyone out. Just expressing my thoughts on the expense side.) Same thing for newborn photos. I really love the idea of having a newborn photo shoot, but it's just too expensive. And now that I have my own camera, I can go to town on snapping as many photos as I want of my new baby. So seriously, if anyone has some free time and doesn't mind taking a bunch of photos of us, hit me up! No experience necessary. 

Oh, hey. This next topic is TMI for the guys, so if you're a guy who gets grossed out by bodily functions, skip ahead. (Sorry, dad. I know you read this blog so you don't have to read below either.)
It seems that my milk supply is in. Or, well, I guess it's just colostrum for now. I discovered this on Christmas day. There's no leaking or anything happening, but if I squeeze in just the right place a few drops come out. I'll be honest - I mean why lie? It definitely weirded me out. I really didn't expect anything to happen, so when it did I yelled "Oh my God!" in surprise and jumped in the shower. It wasn't painful and it didn't feel like much of anything either. Not that I expected it to, I just didn't know what to expect. I wondered if this meant labor would happen soon, but according to my research it doesn't mean anything. Oh well! Just another change my body has gone through.

By the way, I never realized how well I was sleeping before. Now that I'm not getting any sleep I'm kicking myself for not appreciating it more. As of this week I am finding it very difficult to lay down in a comfortable enough position to sleep in. Even with my Boppy pillow. I am exhausted to the point of tears some nights. The problem is my hip and back pain. If I lay on my sides I feel pretty significant pain in my hips. If I lay propped up I feel pretty significant pain in my low back. It's also hard to toss and turn in an effort to even find a comfortable position. When I do fall asleep I'm awake again within an hour or two due to pain...at which point I realize I have to get up to use the bathroom...which sucks because it hurts so badly to try and walk....and then I start the tossing and turning again once I return to bed. Last night the baby moved SO MUCH starting about 7 PM and it didn't stop until around 6 or 7 AM - no joke. It was extremely uncomfortable. Only a couple of more weeks, though.

Yesterday I got to see my best friend in the entire world. I haven't seen her since January of 2009 when she and I took a road trip from GA to CO where she was moving to. We have been best friends since 7th grade and this was the longest we've ever gone without seeing each other. It was only for a few hours, but I'd have to say getting to hang out with her was my favorite gift this year.

Weekly photo:

How far along: 36 weeks

Trimester: Third

Pre-pregnancy weight: 141 pounds

Current weight: 143.6 pounds  

Maternity clothes: Yes. 

Stretch marks: Nothing new this week.

Best moment of the week: Spending time with family and friends. Opening presents!

Movement: Pretty much all the time now.

Food Cravings: Coke, McD's french fries and chicken nuggets, cheese and crackers, coffee.  

Anything making you queasy or sick? No. 

Miss anything? Being able to sleep comfortably.

Other symptoms: Frequent bathroom breaks, swollen ankles on occasion, hip and back pain, heartburn, and my boobs are heavier due to the milk/colostrum supply.  

Have you started to show yet? Yes.

Sex: It will be a surprise.

Labor Signs: Nothing obvious, I don't think. 

Belly button in or out? Outie.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Moody or not moody? I cry a lot more. But it's not just crying. It's sobbing uncontrollably.

Looking forward to: Continued time off of work, spa day with the hubs, spending our gift cards in various baby stores, and meeting the baby in a few weeks!

Important news

We had our weekly perinatal appointment at the hospital yesterday. This was the first time Taylor got to meet Dr. Fogle. 
They didn't take many body or head measurements of baby bear, so I'm not sure what his/her weight is this week. Also, some of the glucose readings are a little high, so I need to start walking after meals if I can. The doctor focused a lot on the amniotic fluid level measurements this week. It seems that this week they are measuring low. She asked about my blood pressure. I told her up until last week it was 100/60 at every visit since May. As of last week it's been 120/80 - which is not high (it's normal) but she was a little concerned that it starting to climb. Plus I have fluid retention in my cankles ankles. I was advised to increase my fluid intake (no idea how to do that since I drink water like crazy already!) and I need to start counting fetal movement two hours after dinner. I should feel ten in an hour. I also need to start looking out for signs of labor, bleeding, and leaking amniotic fluid. 

Out of curiosity I asked what would happen if I continue to have low amniotic levels and she told me they would try to wait until 37 weeks and then induce me then. 

I'm not sure if any of you realize this, but I will reach  37 weeks exactly on December 30th. That date is only nine days from now. Nine. NINE.  NINE!!  LESS THAN TEN!

So, naturally, I feel completely ill-prepared. I have GOT to make sure we:

-CLEAN THE HOUSE!!!
-Install the car seat base
-Move the furniture to its permanent place in the baby's room
-Buy diapers and wipes
-Buy an Arm & Hammer diaper pail
-Buy more onesies and footed outfits for 0 - 3 months
-Buy a bottle drying rack and more bottles
-Buy a Rock N' Play (hello, consignment stores!)
-Buy Dreft to wash all of the baby's items
-Buy crib and play yard sheets, as well as waterproof mattress pads for both
-Buy a changing pad and cover
-Unload the books from their boxes and organize the bookcase

And if there's enough time I need to:
-Buy a rug
-Buy a floor lamp
-Buy a small table lamp for the changing table
-Buy the decorative organization baskets for the bookcase and changing table
-Buy/order the photographs to hang
-Buy the supplies from Hobby Lobby for our small crafty project

I'm sure I'm leaving a ton of stuff off of that list. Like picking a name. We have narrowed it down (again) but will share for sure once we're certain.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers! Luckily, we both have 10 days of vacation starting tomorrow. And hopefully we'll know more next week - I have my NST and regular OB appointment on Wednesday and my perinatal appointment on Friday.

Cankles

I don't have a ton of information to report this week. Not because anything bad happened - just because everything's remaining steady and smooth, so far.

I had my second NST and visit with my regular OB on Monday. No contractions this time, and the baby was moving around just fine. The heartbeat stayed in the 140's, mostly...unless it flipped around a lot - it would jump up between the 160's and 190's! If you look closely at the photo you can see the lines going crazy - that was during one of the times when the baby was flipping around.

The car seat adapter for the stroller arrived on Monday. Thank goodness I have a patient husband. I had convinced myself that Babies-R-Us had sent us the wrong adapter and was getting really upset. Why did I think that? Because I'm a woman and when something doesn't fit the way I think it should (or if I can't figure something out) I automatically assume  it's wrong no matter what. Long story short, Taylor got the adapter to fit no problem. 

We went to Wal-Mart on Friday and found a really cute giraffe print head/body support to go in the car seat. I love it!

We organized the baby's room for now. The closet is cleared out! The furniture is not where it needs to be yet and I'm hoping we can get that moved around on Sunday. I'm also planning on buying my first bottle of Dreft and washing all the clothes and blankets and towels we've gotten so far. My mom brought over a lot of my childhood books, so it will be nice to put those away, too. We loaded the bookcase with all of our stuffed giraffes and giraffe figurines for now, just so they're all in one place before we start really decorating.

And finally, we will be using this little guy in a craft for the baby's room! Stay tuned to find out what it is.

Weekly photo: 

How far along: 35 weeks

Trimester: Third

Pre-pregnancy weight: 141 pounds

Current weight: 142 pounds - I have officially gained a pound! 

Maternity clothes: Yes. 

Stretch marks: Nothing new this week.

Best moment of the week: A few so far! Getting the stroller adapter, going Christmas shopping with Taylor, and buying egg nog and Christmas Captain Crunch.

Movement: Yes, and s/he is running out of room!

Food Cravings: Captain Crunch, regular coke, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, and Sister Schubert's yeast rolls with ham and horseradish sauce.  

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not this week, though I did make some homemade bang bang shrimp last Wednesday and it made me sick. Not eating that again any time soon. 

Miss anything? Hmmm. . . I do miss raw sushi and coffee.

Other symptoms: Uhh did I mention that I officially have cankles?! Well, I do. They made their debut last Thursday evening. I was shaving my legs in the shower when I noticed them and they stayed through Saturday. Disappeared until yesterday and now they are back. I suppose I should get used to them - they are here to stay, I'm sure. Also having shortness of breath (still) and heartburn. Oh, and really frequent urination. And the back/hip pain is persistent again since I stopped seeing the chiropractor.  

Have you started to show yet? Yes.

Sex: It will be a surprise.

Labor Signs: Still trying to figure out what a contraction is supposed to feel like. I'm pretty sure I nailed one last night. 

Belly button in or out? Outie. It's interesting looking.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Moody or not moody? Not moody. Just don't try to argue with me. 

Looking forward to: Taylor gets to go to the perinatologist appointment with me tomorrow. And tomorrow night we are going to his brother's house for a white elephant gift exchange party. It should be lots of fun! AND CHRISTMAS! It's coming up in less than a week! Saturday we are having early celebrations with Taylor's mom and siblings. Monday/Tuesday my family is coming to our house for Christmas celebrations. Next Thursday I get to see my BFF for the first time in four years! THAT is a huge deal!

Surprise!

Every December my MIL's aunt puts together a Christmas party or brunch at her house and everyone in the family always goes. It's a nice time to see family members we don't get to visit regularly, plus we get to load up on good food. So, the brunch was planned for this past Saturday and we'd had it on our calendar for a few weeks. Except, as it turns out, it wasn't just a brunch this year. It was also a surprise baby shower for me and Taylor and baby bear! We had no idea! Even my mom knew all about it, well in advance! (I should have been tipped off when everyone applauded us when we walked through the door - I just figured we were the last to show up and everyone was happy they could finally eat. Lol.) We'd been there about 30 minutes or so when Jody pulled me and Taylor into the living room and made us sit on specific chairs and wait. All of the sudden everyone whipped out gifts and cards and a banner and a cake and we realized what was happening. I was completely shocked and all I could do was turn bright red and laugh. We ended up with so much stuff and we are SO grateful to everyone who came and helped pull off the surprise. Baby bear is well taken care of and loved by so many people already. Check out some photos below! (Thanks, Gwen!)

This weekend will be spent organizing all of the items we received. I will be so glad to get everything out of the closet and put away!

Monday I had to go in for the non-stress test (NST.) I got there and they led me straight back to a small room containing a La-Z-Boy chair, a machine, a computer, and some interesting artwork on the walls (sketches of pregnant and breastfeeding mermaids, in case you were curious.) The nurse wrapped two belts around my stomach and gave me a buzzer to push any time I felt the baby move. One of the belts was to monitor the baby's heart rate (which I got to listen to the whole time) and I honestly don't know what the second belt was measuring. I'm not sure how long I was there - maybe 45 minutes? The doctor reviewed the test and sent his nurse in to chat with me. She asked me how long I'd been having contractions. I told her I hadn't had any yet. She told me they saw a few mild contractions on the monitor. I had no idea! They're just practice contractions, but still. You'd think I'd notice. Everything else seemed to be normal. I need to start figuring out the difference between a contraction and when the baby moves. If I feel 4-5 contractions in an hour I'm supposed to call them. 

Yesterday I had my ultrasound with the perinatologist. The baby weighs about five pounds one ounce right now. S/He was moving around a lot so it was difficult to get a good image of the head. The nurse advised everything looks good and the baby is in the 51st percentile. So, while everything looks "average," she was sure baby bear will be "extraordinary." They did stress that getting accurate measurements is difficult right now, and that it could be off by as much as a pound in either direction. I mean, talk about a big difference! The nurse also showed me where my bladder is in relation to the baby's head. Baby is putting all its weight on my bladder, so excuse my frequent bathroom breaks. The doc is keeping me on 2.5 mg of Glyburide in the morning and 1.25 mg at bed time. She really wants me to keep my fasting level at or below 95 and my other levels at or below 120. And I have, for the most part. It's really hard to manage some days. I feel hungry a mere one or two hours after I eat and I feel like I'm eating the same things over and over. The readings go so high if I eat too much at once or if I indulge in too many servings of carbs. (Have I mentioned that counting carbs is tough sometimes?) I honestly would LOVE to eat a whole bucket of fries from Chick-Fil-A or McDonald's. Or chug an entire two-liter of Coke. Or eat my weight in Ihop pancakes with butter pecan syrup. Or tear into a bag of Reese's Cups. Or buy Doritos like they're going out of style. It's really hard to say no to those things. But I also know that not eating any of that is for the better, and my guilt usually outweighs my cravings. Usually. The times when my readings are elevated I feel pretty bad and worry about the baby. It's a tough balance sometimes. Anyway, I get to come back next week and have another ultrasound. Maybe we'll get a better image then!

I ordered the car seat last Friday and it was delivered on Monday. Babies-R-Us doesn't mess around with delivery times! The adapter bar for the stroller will be delivered on Friday, so we will have an easy snap-and-go system. I think we will go ahead and install the car seat this weekend since I'm apparently already having contractions and I'm about 5-6 weeks away from delivery anyway.

In other news, after this week Taylor won't have to travel again until February or March!! And as of next Friday I will be on vacation until January 3. We set up our tree and decorated the house over the weekend. It's so festive! And we even bought new ornaments and stockings this year. We also have lots of fun Christmas parties to attend. This Saturday is a tacky Christmas sweater party and I found a GREAT turtleneck and sweater at Salvation Army for $5. Taylor didn't have as much luck in the sweater department, but we did find him a pretty tacky winter outfit to wear.

Weekly photo:

How far along: 34 weeks

Trimester: Third

Pre-pregnancy weight: 141 pounds

Current weight: 141 pounds

Maternity clothes: Yes. 

Stretch marks: Nothing new.

Best moment of the week: I got to see the baby on an ultrasound!

Movement: Lots of kicks and rolls.

Food Cravings: See above. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not this week.

Miss anything? I miss going to the chiropractor. :( I have too many other appointments to keep per week so I had to stop going.

Other symptoms: Shortness of breath, not able to bend over and put on shoes or shave my legs, hip and back pain has returned, hungry a lot, very frequent trips to the bathroom.  

Have you started to show yet? Yes.

Sex: It will be a surprise.

Labor Signs: None.

Belly button in or out? Outie. No doubt about it.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Moody or not moody? Moody. Lots of things annoy me that shouldn't. 

Looking forward to: Taylor getting home from his trip tomorrow and a Christmas party this weekend!

Can of worms

We did it. We finally finished assembling the last piece of furniture for the baby's room - the bookshelf. And it was the easiest one to complete! I won't post a photo of it until we actually put some items on it and it looks more finished. But I am so proud (and relieved!) that it's done! The mattress, mobile, and bedding all arrived on Monday! I can't wait to go buy crib sheets so I can tie the bumpers on the bed and fill it with all of the stuffed giraffes we've been collecting. I would really like to thank my cousins Peggy and Taylor for sending me the giraffe collection my great aunt Phil had. They will all be proudly displayed in baby bear's room, and I did get a little choked up while unpacking them from the box. I'd say that was a hormonal reaction, but I'm pretty sure it would have happened regardless. :)

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!