maternity leave – Paige is Parenting

I will be 37 weeks pregnant tomorrow and today was day one of my maternity leave.

It came about a bit earlier than I had planned, thanks to a brief hospital visit for dehydration (thanks, stomach bug), followed by another head cold.

At the advice of my OB, I “pumped the brakes” and took my maternity leave early.

And the timing couldn’t have been better. Jameson developed what we’re pretty sure is a case of pink eye yesterday, so I got to spend my first day on leave at home with him.

Sure it was a slight wrench in the plans I had to finish packing the hospital bag and organize the house. But honestly, it was also a relief to know that I could just decide to keep him home with me today without worrying about the repercussions of calling out of work again with a sick child. Or having to guiltily try and send him to school and hope he does okay because I can’t afford another missed day.

My little pink eye guy, eating just the cream from some candy cane Joe Joes during our Christmas movie marathon

So yes, it was a different kind of day than I had planned but I’m still very grateful for it.

We mostly stayed home and played make believe games and watched one too many Disney Christmas movies. I got to make him every one of his meals today, which was nice to do. And I even took him food shopping with me in the morning (something he really enjoys because he loves to sample stuff as we go along).

Like mother, like son. This kid loves to snuggle in laundry baskets, just like I did when I was little. It cracks me up and warms my heart all at once.

He’ll probably be home with me again tomorrow and thankfully I can once again choose that option without stress, thanks to being on leave. Man, what a pleasant feeling that is.

It’s funny how so much changes from your first to your second pregnancy. When expecting Jameson, I documented every week diligently and took monthly bump photos that have been lovingly scrapbooked.

At 37 weeks, I’m pretty sure this is the first update I’ve written for this baby. Oops!

My beautiful baby shower, thrown by my sister and mom

As for bump photos? I was laughing to my mom about the fact that I might have five or six photos on my phone. Honestly, even that number sounds a bit high.

The only real “bump shot” I took around 4 months pregnant

I had heard from other moms that after your first pregnancy, the future ones fly by. Boy, were they not kidding!

Here I am, almost at the finish line of my second pregnancy and it feels like only last week I was finding out that I was expecting again.

I’m currently entering my second week of maternity leave, thanks to some back to back illnesses that caused my doctor to encourage an earlier rest period.

I’m finally packed and ready for our hospital stay and for Jameson to stay with our relatives while we’re at the hospital with the baby.

I’ve been able to do some fun stuff with Jameson to soak up these last days of him being an only child.

I got to attend Jameson’s school dance during the middle of the day. He was excited to have me there and I was grateful to have the time to spend with him.

An outdoor holiday lights walk made for a perfect family day while trying to social distance while waiting for baby boy #2 to arrive

And my ankles have remained relatively un-swollen since I’ve been off from work, which is a real miracle in itself!

My scheduled C-section date is the 29th but I’m hoping this little guy decides to make his appearance before then. Jameson arrived at 38 weeks, so we will see!

I’m excited, I’m ready, and probably as rested as I’ll ever be, so I can’t wait to welcome baby number two into our family.

Tag: maternity leave

The start of maternity leave

Pregnancy Update: 37 weeks