One more day of work.
One week of vacation.
And then maternity leave officially begins!
And what am I looking forward to most on my week off? Quiet time! Seriously, I just really need to hibernate for a bit. I am beyond exhausted and barely stay awake past 9pm these days, a little bit achy, and just really not up to socializing right now. I don’t even want to drive anymore because the steering wheel annoyingly rubs against my belly every time I turn a corner!
Unfortunately I won’t be able to hide out as much as I would have liked, but I am going to do my best whenever possible!
Originally I had all kinds of things scattered over the next couple of weeks with days of rest in between. I need to get my flu shot taken care of, my car needs to go in for an overdue repair, I need to get some more freezer meals ready, finish off my Christmas shopping, sterilize a bunch of bottles and soothers, and so on. But, after last week’s appointment with Neverland I decided I needed to get things done as quickly as possible and re-arranged everything to fall before my next appointment which is now only a week away… just in case!
Overall everything is fine and baby weighed approximately 6lbs 8oz already, but my amniotic fluid levels had increased when they should have decreased (thank you diabetes) so this is something we need to watch out for now. The levels weren’t dangerous or anything, yet, but depending on where they are next week I could be induced sooner rather than later… including on the spot! The plan was always to do it between weeks 38-40 and I will be 2 days shy of 38 at my next appointment so I am hoping she will at least let me go home and mentally prepare for a couple of days first.
Mind you, knowing me it would probably be better NOT to give me time to think...
To add to all of this I started having what felt like more realistic contractions yesterday afternoon; enough so that I actually timed them in case. Thankfully I was home since I am not working full-time right now, but that was not fun at all! They grew further apart and lighter over time, but that first one… wow! I am now starting to rethink my plan to hold off on that epidural as long as possible!
So, silver lining?
I may have a busy start to my so-called vacation/maternity leave, but if they keep me on Thursday it will all be worth it and if they choose to send me home everything will already be taken care of and from then until they actually call me back in I am completely free! And, I intend to keep it that way even if it means shutting down Facebook, my cellphone and any other form of communication because I really need some down time, alone, before the big day!
