Beautiful hand-made baby blanket from a colleague :)
I've not written a personal update post since Easter, which feels like a long time. Part of the reason is that my life just isn't very exciting at the moment - I've reached the stage of pregnancy (36.5 weeks) where all I can do is go to work, eat and sleep. Managing that is difficult enough, so a social life has certainly gone out of the window!
The good news is that next week is my last week at work, and then I have seven months maternity leave. It feels strange because on one hand, the pregnancy has really dragged, but on the other I can't believe that I am at this point already. I won't be sad to go on leave, as I'm really in need of it, but it does make the whole having a baby thing seem much more real and close.
I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable all the time at the moment. It's nothing near as bad as the horrible sickness of the first trimester (which I'm very grateful for), but I am exhausted, achy, unable to put on my shoes in the morning, and getting out of bed has become rather difficult! Some days I feel relatively fine but on other days (like today) I just feel blah and physically uncomfortable all day long. The mini heatwave we're having here in the UK isn't really helping either, and I'm definitely finding it hard to muster up the energy to work with thirty children all day long.
The other part of being so near the end is that the actual giving birth part is very close now and it's scary! I'm trying not to think about it too much but sometimes I can't help it. I know that it will come and go and everything will end up fine, but I'm not looking forward to actually doing it at all. I'm due on June 11th, hopefully I won't go too far overdue.
But for this week I'm determined to just be happy that it's my last week at work for a very long time. No more planning, no more marking, no more endless meetings and no more giving up all of my evenings and weekends to school work! Hopefully I'll get in a good two weeks worth of resting and relaxing before the baby arrives, and I'm going to try my hardest to enjoy them.
I've heard of only ONE person talk about the birth process after the delivery is over, and even she spoke about it after I asked. So, you'll be fine and you'll even forget about it as soon as it's over. :) Just relax and enjoy the last few weeks as much as you can!
ReplyDeleteForgetting sounds good!
DeleteGood luck with your last week at work... hope you get plenty of rest before your due date. The blanket is adorable!
ReplyDeleteI just love the blanket - I wish I was that talented!
DeleteSeven months maternity leave sounds AMAZING! I remember this terminally uncomfortable stage of pregnancy all too well. Wishing you an easy time the rest of the way! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteI am allowed up to year but not all of it is paid and seven months is about our financial limit. But I am grateful, I know it's more than in some other countries.
DeleteI know it sounds stupid to say don't worry about the birth, but really try not to. Once you're doing it, all you can do is do it so it's actually in lots of ways not as bad as you expect. Don't get me wrong, I didn't find it to be a lovely experience at all, but like everyone says it does soon fade :-) And then you have a little one to cuddle so that's amazing :-) Hope it all goes really well for you!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the anticipation is worse in a way, and the not knowing when it's going to happen!
DeleteGiving birth is a hard and uncomfortable thing, but you'll do fine. And it is amazing how quickly you forget about it, especially since the result is so very worth it! I hope you'll be able to get plenty of rest once you're at home.
ReplyDeleteI am so looking forward to the rest :) Hopefully the baby doesn't decide to come 2 weeks early...
DeleteI can only imagine how hard these last weeks of work have been with a classroom full of energetic kids and so close to the end of your pregnancy! It's good you do get a couple of weeks maternity leave before your due date & I hope you do get to rest and relax (and read, I'm sure!) as much as you can :) And that hand-made blanket is so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, and children don't understand about pregnancy so of course don't give any leeway! This week should be better as I'm having a handover week with the teacher taking over my class, so I have an extra pair of hands around :)
DeleteI'm really glad you are going to get some rest, finally :)
ReplyDeleteMe too, 4 days to go and I can't wait :)
DeleteSeven months of maternity leave? I'm incredibly jealous! I only get eight weeks, which I know will fly by. Good luck with these last few weeks. I'm so glad the semester is over and my baby will be here before the fall one begins. I still have 12 weeks to go (assuming he's on time), and I'm not looking forward to being uncomfortable. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteUgh, eight weeks is not enough. I'm legally entitled to anything up to a year but only a proportion of it is full pay, then 90% pay, then half pay, then nothing. Seven months is what works for us financially and I'm so used to thinking of it being a short time compared to a year that I forget that it's longer than lots of people get.
DeleteWoohoo! Enjoy your relaxing time. I would say to try not to worry, but I'm not sure it is one of those things you can control too much!!
ReplyDeleteYay!! You're almost there, Sam!
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute baby blanket!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, I feel you on the birth date approaching. It is 3 months off for me but I'm currently doing a birth class and it scares me. I know that what needs to happen will happen, but still.. it is a weird thought, isn't it? I hadn't actually stopped to think about it much before we discussed it in class last week..
ALso re: the mini heat wave. I struggled with my 25+ weeks pregnancy so can only imagine what it must've been like at the end of your pregnany, plus with so many kids to look after! I am keeping my fingers crossed for a cool summer. Then again, I'd like you to have a sunny one to enjoy with the child once you've given birth. Perhaps the UK can have very different weather to the Netherlands ;)