26 weeks...

The baby is rockin’ and rollin’ in my tummy these days. The hard kicks and punches are coming on more and more every day. Last night when I was sleeping I felt a foot or a hand come right through and hit my hand off of my stomach. It’s really startling and most of the time cool, but sometimes it almost makes me not feel well because she’s just so active. Jeff’s able to feel her more now since the movement is so much stronger and it happens more frequently. This week she’s been kicking a lot near my right rib cage and she hasn’t quite hit bone yet, so I’m thankful for that. I do feel her in different places all day long, so I’m convinced she’s doing summersaults and having an absolute party in there. I have no idea how they move around so much and don’t get the umbilical cord wrapped around their neck!

I’m really showing now. The upper part of my stomach has really popped making my shape a lot more round and making it easier for people to tell that I’m pregnant and not just fat. I bought a few dresses last weekend and the shape of the dress really shows off my belly. I must say the best thing about being pregnant is that you don’t have to suck it in on days when you’re bloated. You can let it pop out for all to see and it doesn’t matter because you’re pregnant! I used to hate those days where I was so bloated I had to suck it in so no one could see my flab. Not any more! At least not for another few months!

So I think I’ve finally figured out my maternity leave. The company will give me 6 weeks of paid time off (combined with CA state disability). After that I’ll deplete my sick and vacation time (which should be around 4 weeks total) giving me the 2.5 months off that I wanted. If I need any more time, I can take it off unpaid. Not only do I NOT want unpaid time, but I do need to be back here for the end of the year/quarter. I took this job and have to pay my dues working on New Year’s Eve to close everything out. The only way I’d take it unpaid is if the doc pulls me out of work before my due date. I want anywhere from 8-10 weeks with the baby before I go back to work, so I guess I’ll have to cross that bridge when I come to it. Let me tell you, America does not make it easy for women to have children and be a career woman at the same time. Everyone says “yeah but we have FMLA” – FMLA is great – if you worry about your job protection – but it does nothing as far as paying you for time off. Yeah we’ll give you 3 months of UNPAID leave, no problem! It kills me how in other modern countries women get anywhere from 6 months to a year off – paid. I won’t whine about that anymore, but let’s just say that being a working mom is not easy from the get-go.

We got our first baby registry gift! Crazy considering I think only close friends and family knew we registered. It’s so cute – a 3 stage bathtub with a rainforest theme. From a co-worker in Ohio who just had twins a year ago. It surprised me when we pulled up to the house and there was this big Target box sitting on our door step and we’re like “what’s that?” Totally forgot we’re registered. So it was a nice surprise. Belle wasn’t too sure what the bathtub was, haha!

Speaking of Belle…with her being so sick for the past 2 weeks and work being so crazy I haven’t really had time to focus on anything else. I did pick up some green and pink paint chips and once the sun comes out (one of these days) I’m going to take them up to the nursery and sit with them in the natural light and pick what I want. I can’t wait to clean out that room and get it ready for the baby! It’s going to be such a great feeling to donate everything and start personalizing it for her! I think having the nursery done will make it more real. I’m hoping we’ll have it done by mid-July, but we’ll see.

Sounds like my shower invites will be going out soon…? That’s exciting. I can’t wait to see everyone! Almost everyone has been so supportive through this whole process and its crazy how when life changes, you really know who your true family and friends are. I feel like I could learn so much from my friends and family about being a great person. I’ve had so many people tell me that they would drop their lives to come stay and help with the baby if I needed them. I’ve never in my life felt so touched and felt so loved. And if it weren’t for my parents sometimes I would completely think everything is hopeless. Without them I don’t think we could have even had a baby because we wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Talk about another issue with America – the cost of good quality child care! You know the kind where your kid doesn’t get beat up and you can actually trust someone with your child.

This weekend I’m collecting my 24 hour urine sample and preparing for my glucose test. Good times! This morning I was thinking about it and wondering how I’ll manage to make it downstairs in the middle of the night to pull my urine jug out of the fridge, to go pee, then to put it back in and go back upstairs and be able to actually fall back asleep. Awesome.

And so begins my 26th week…