Maternity Leave
This week is my last week of work and as of January 7th, I am officially on maternity leave! I plan on getting plenty of sleep and relaxation, since I hear mother’s don’t sleep much after a baby arrive and it can be pretty stressful to adjust to a newborn.
This weekend we watched Michael Moore’s documentary on the US health care system called “Sicko”. Part of the documentary pointed out differences in maternity leaves according to the country. For example, in France employers are required to give mothers 6 months paid maternity leave, plus and optional 6 months unpaid maternity leave. In Norway, mothers get one year leave. The most maternity leave is given to women in Sweden with a total of 96 weeks. Isn’t that crazy!?
Here in the States employers are required to give at least 6 weeks paid leave and some give up to 12 weeks depending on the state and the generosity of the employer. Since I essentially work for myself, I’m giving myself at least 8 weeks of maternity leave, maybe more depending on how things go. For me it pays better to go back to work sooner rather than later since if I don’t work, our company makes less meaning we make less. However, if I was in Sweden working for an employer I would definitely take advantage of the full 96 weeks of maternity leave.
Wikipedia has a page that lists countries around the world and how much parental leave is given. I found it quite interesting. Click here to see the list. By the way, the worldwide average for maternity leave is 16 weeks, which typically includes 6 weeks before the birth.
* As a side note…I posted this information simply because I found this information interesting. Not because I agree with everything Michael Moore has to say in his documentary and to point out that every country has different standards for maternity leave.
Christmas and Waiting
Merry Christmas! We celebrated Christmas yesterday with Jim and Michelle by getting up late, opening stockings and all the presents under the tree, then eating brunch (Rob’s famous salmon quiche of course!). Later that evening I cooked a roast beef Christmas dinner with the new pots and pans Luke got for me, which are fabulous! The picture on the top left is of me opening our package from Mom and Dad Knowles (thank you guys!) and the picture on the middle left is of Luke trying on his new Adidas jacket. 
The picture at the bottom left is of an exhausted Samson after opening all his gifts. He’s sleeping with his new toy. Thanks to Bev, Chad and Grandma Glady for the gifts for Luke, the baby and me!
Today was another doctor’s appointment. From here on out, I’m going to the doctor every week to see if things are progressing. News from today….NOTHING… We are officially in the waiting game. Although it seems like she’s perfectly happy in my belly because 
she’s not moving downwards to prepare for her grand entrance. It was disappointing to hear that nothing is really happening because I am getting more uncomfortable by the day. I may have to have a talk with my little girl if she decides to stay in my belly after her due date.
Carpenters of a Gingerbread House
Since Christmas is next week, Michelle and I purchased a gingerbread house kit. Yes, we could have baked all the pieces, but a kit was much easier and we were able to get to the decorating much faster. I have also been baking holiday goodies like a mad lady! However, with Luke in the house all my goodies seem to be disappearing rather quickly. Michelle’s husband is coming into town tomorrow, so hopefully Luke will be able to control himself and leave some goodies for Jim.
Today’s holiday task is to go to the grocery store to gather all the goods for Christmas dinner. Beef tenderloin, garlic/onion soup, green beans, and roasted potatoes, and chocolate fondue for dessert. Yum…I’m getting hungry already!
Hospital Trip
Today was another doctor’s visit. However, it was a little more eventful than usual. My blood pressure seemed to be quite high, which is one sign of preeclampsia. The nurse took my blood pressure again about 30 minutes later and it still registered high so my doctor did the safe thing and sent me to the hospital to get tested. Off I went with Luke and Michelle to the hospital where I was hooked up to a blood pressure cuff and fetal monitor. They took samples of my blood and urine for testing. And most everything was fine. My blood pressure was normal and the blood test came back okay. I just seem to have a bladder infection which is easily cleared up by some antibiotics. The doctor said that the high blood pressure reading at his office was probably due to a blood pressure cuff problem and there was nothing wrong with me or the baby to be concerned about.
This was my first time actually being admitted into a hospital. The last time I was admitted in a hospital was when I was born. But now I know what to expect when I do go to the hospital to deliver. I now know that I should bring bottled water to the hospital or else I’ll get stuck drinking horrible Florida water, and also that Luke will need a big blanket to keep him warm while we’re on the labor floor.
This trip to the hospital also made me realize that I should pack my hospital bag. If I had been diagnosed with preeclampsia, I might have been delivering a baby and not have anything together for our hospital stay. So now my bag is packed and sitting in my bedroom, with my sister in charge of the final items that will need to go into the bag at the last minute.
Sp-aahhh Day
A couple weeks ago, Luke suggested that I go to a day spa for a prenatal massage and pedicure to help me get through this last month of pregnancy. So yesterday my sister Michelle and I took him up on that suggestion and spent the day at a day spa. It was FABULOUS. Just what I needed to help with my aches and pains and give my feet some much needed attention.
While we were gone, Luke put together a toy for the baby that we had picked up at Ikea. We love it because this rocking moose reminds us of Canada! Of course she probably won’t get any use of it until she’s a little older, but it’s adorable and well…it goes with our Christmas decorations.
Since this is the week before Christmas I’ll be busy with my holiday baking. On the baking menu…snickerdoodle cookies, spicy ginger bars, white chocolate peppermint chip cookies, and mint brownies. I’m counting on other people to eat all this stuff I’m baking cause I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.
Belly Week 35
It’s 11 days till Christmas and 5 more weeks until my due date. I wonder how much bigger I’m going to get because I feel big enough already. I’m even outgrowing some of my maternity clothes now. The shirts I bought last trimester are now too short to cover my entire belly, and pants have trouble staying up since my belly tends to push everything downwards. I think I need to invest in a few more clothing items to get me through this last month comfortably.
I’ve now traded in my office chair for an fitness ball which is helping my lower back and hips. Samson’s terrified of this ball though so he no longer comes into the office during the day to hang out with Luke and I. I can’t squat down to pick things up any more. I end up stuck in that position or just sitting on the floor calling for Luke to help me up.
This weekend we are going to the hospital to pre-register. I have the baby’s bag packed for the hospital, I have my birth plan drafted, now I just have to work on my hospital bag and wait for her to decide to come into the world!
Welcome to Our New Blog!
What do you think of our new blog? I’ve made the switch from Blogger.com to a WordPress driven site. I’m also quite proud that I implemented and tweaked this design without much of Luke’s help! With the due date of our baby girl drawing near (now about a month away) I wanted a blog that would encompass not only news about the baby, but the rest of our family as well. So bookmark this new website and check back often to see what’s happening with the Knowles family here in Florida or wherever we may be.
To learn more about the name of our blog visit the about page on the site.
From the Doctor
I went for my doctor’s appointment this week and all news was good! Our baby is now roughly 4.5 lbs. Her big milestone this week is that she will have the ability to breath outside the womb if necessary. Another big milestone that the doctor told me about is that usually around this week, if babies are born prematurely they have the same survival rate as a baby that is carried to full term. Of course I’d like to keep her nice and warm in my belly for a while longer though so that she can grow a little more fat and develop safe from the outside world. In my doctor’s words…”She just needs to get a little crispier around the edges”
In completely un-baby-related news, I’ve just finished all my Canadian Christmas shopping, and now it’s just a matter of packing everything up and sending it. It’s like Christmas is coming earlier than usual so it’s a mad rush to get everything done and shipped. I’ve done most of my Christmas shopping online this year since it’s a little hard to get out and walk the malls. Only draw back to shopping online is the shipping cost, however here’s a resource for all you other online shoppers! Check out this site for free shipping coupons. Why not shop online if you don’t have to pay more than what you would at the store. Sure saves the hassle of holiday crowds, salespeople and traffic!
Christmas is Coming
We put up the Christmas tree this weekend. Although, somehow it still doesn’t quite feel like Christmas if there’s no snow on the ground. We’re staying in Florida for Christmas this year because I can’t travel until after the baby comes. This will be the first time we’ve stayed in the States for Christmas since Luke and I first met. We’ll miss spending the holidays with Luke’s family. It’s always so great to see everyone in Canada. However my sister and her husband from Arizona will be joining for Christmas.
In other news, Samson received his annual check up yesterday. He got three shots and some blood drawn…all while he shook with terror as the vet held him on the table. He also saw a cat in the waiting room which terrified him so much he tried to climb up onto my lap while eyeing the cat to make sure she didn’t pounce on him. He’s such a chicken.
Our little baby girl is getting bigger by the day and is running out of room in my belly! She tries to stretch her legs, but instead she hits my ribs. And when she tries to turn I feel short of breath because she squishes my lungs. It must be really uncomfortable in there! I now officially have the pregnancy waddle, can’t reach my toes and can’t make it off the couch without some help. Only 6 more weeks (give or take two).