5 Months: Movin and a Shakin

Little man is now five months old and he is just a movin and a shakin! There is a reason I called him "worm" while in my belly - he moved as much inside and he does outside.

It really is remarkable just how much ground he can cover with his belly movements. Once a worm, always a worm!


xo

The Most Glorious Sound of All

After choosing to hang out in his luxurious and rent free studio apartment for an extra 10 days, our little guy roared into the world yesterday.

On Wednesday a stress test showed some signs of difficulty for him, so I was checked into the hospital for an induction. Thursday was a long and boring day full of almost hourly check-ups for both of us but without any signs of moving towards birth. On Friday morning we started the same routine at 8am, then the Mr. and I ate some breakfast and then took a nice long walk about a beautiful Heidelberg neighborhood. I had a few mildly uncomfortable contractions during the walk but nothing to write home about. I was gearing up for another long, boring day.

I showed up for another standard check-up at 12:30 and this is where it all sort of blurs. Between 12:30 and when PJ arrived around 15:30, I went from expecting a long, boring day to being a mommy of a healthy, long little boy.  Somewhere in between there I was convinced I peed on a midwife (just my water breaking); yelled at that same midwife to, quote, “make it stop” (and that was the nice stuff); fell in love with the anesthesiologist (I believe I may have told her that I love her an embarrassing number of times); gave the Mr. a hell of an upper body work-out while he helped hold me still enough to push; screamed “what are you doing to me?” at two doctors that were inserting some sort of vacuum device and the midwife was literally leaning on the top of my uterus to rush PJ out because his heart wasn’t beating (thank goodness they ignored me and got the job done); and lots more that I didn‘t quite catch.

The blur stopped when PJ was safely out, heart going, lungs working and he let out the Most Glorious Sound of All: his first, loud, seriously pissed off and, most importantly, healthy cry. That moment when he took a deep breath and then let it rip was the moment. The moment my nightmares disappeared and I heard, “I am here, I am alive, I am healthy. Here me roar.”

Welcome to the party little man. Thanks for joining us.

xo

Big Belly Date Night

Experts from all over the place recommend married couples have date nights. The idea is that the couple regularly set aside one evening to spend time together doing something that both enjoy. While, the Mr. and I haven’t needed to commit ourselves to something like that (yet?), we have been making a conscious effort to clean-up and enjoy quality time, particularly now in the last few weeks before the worm makes his grand effort. Well, at least on those evenings when I’m not nauseous or glued to the couch by 5pm.

Thankfully yesterday was one of those evenings and we enjoyed a relaxed, yummy Indian dinner. I even threw on a dressy shirt. I had one of my favorites, Bindi Gosht, and it was so worth the heartburn. The little worm seemed to enjoy it too, at least he danced all evening.

xo
Happy Birthday Little One!

One Handed Count Down

Today is an exciting milestone as we await our little guy: we've both reached a healthy 35 weeks! According to the American Pregnancy Association "The vast majority of your baby's growth is complete by 35 weeks." So we are officially in the home stretch of one handed count downs!

xo

Executing the Transition Plan

Tomorrow is the start of my second full week of official maternity leave. In Germany expecting mothers are required to stop working six weeks before the due date and are not permitted to return to work less than eight weeks after the birth date. After the birth, both parents – so the Mr. and I – have 14 months to share at something like 70% pay so that we can spend dedicated time with our little one. In our case, I will have nine of those months; the Mr. will have five. In addition, one or both of us can register for parental leave for up to three years, protecting us from losing our job and giving us the right to work part-time.


I am grateful for these benefits and protections. It is quite difficult to image being this pregnant, uncomfortable and slightly bitchy and still being expected to perform at work. I do pay slightly higher taxes for these benefits but it seems more than worth it to me.*

Yet, as grateful and as thankful as I am, I’ve been working more or less full-time since 1998. I identify with my work and I have taken great pride in doing my various jobs – waitress, secretary, teacher, consultant, writer, communicator, and change manager – extremely well. I approach my work with intensity, with a need to succeed, and with a piece of myself. Over the past four years I’ve had to learn to say “no” more often and better clarify the working me and the ME me, but I have not and most likely will never lose the joy of working and working hard. Sure the role, the company, the pay, the speed, and the location will change many times over the course of my career, but I am positive that I will be a results kinda person until I die. Most of those results will come from my career – whatever form it may have – and my hobbies.**

Which brings me to the first sentence of this blog: tomorrow is the start of my second full week of official maternity leave. And I’m doing okay. Yes, I’ve cheated a little bit: I used my professional experience to create a personal transition plan months ago; I check my work emails every other day or so; and I went into the office once. Yes, I have gotten lost in the expanse of free time a few times; I do miss seeing the hundreds of people every day that roam my office building; and I really miss feeling pressure to succeed as well as the joy of having succeeded. But 90% of the time I’ve been reading, quilting, writing, blogging, skyping, sleeping, walking, eating cake, printing pictures, sitting in the sun, and just generally doing all those things that I haven’t had time to really enjoy (or when I had the time, not the money) since 1998.

Want to know a secret? I’m enjoying it.

Here is to a possible four more weeks until our little guy makes his grand entrance.

XO
*The difference in taxes really is slight, something between 5 and 10%. Check out some starting information here for the average US tax rate from 2007 and some information about the average German tax rate.
**All jokes of “non-revenue generating projects” aside, may I please somehow be wise enough not to turn my children into results-driven projects.

Little People Bring Big Changes (Part 1 of Many)

We’re only a few months away from our little worm’s arrival and he’s already causing big changes in our home: furniture changes. First we moved one of the desks from our office and into our living room. Surprising to both of us, the desk fits well into the room and is a comfortable working place for me.

Then we – okay, really the Mr. – put together a set of drawers together for the over 60 pounds of clothing we already have for the little one.

Isn’t it fascinating how little people bring such big changes even before they’re breathing fresh air?



xo