I've finally gotten around to filling out the various matleave forms for work. It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be, though it was annoying to calculate the dates. Matleave seems to be split off into 2 - pregnancy leave, which is 17 weeks, and parental leave, which is 35 weeks. They add up to a grand total of 1 year.
I'm taking the full 17 weeks of pregnancy leave, and part of the 35 weeks of parental leave, which is why the calculations were so annoying. On top of that, I had to give estimates for:
- Last day to be worked (i.e. beginning of pregnancy leave)
- Last day to be paid
- First day of unpaid leave
- Start date of parental leave
- First day back at work (after parental leave)
I hate calendar calculations. Thanks goodness for MS Excel. :D
Although I technically have my mat-leave starting on August 1st, it's nothing more than an estimated date. In reality, I'll be working until the bitter end. I spoke with my manager and I *may* work a couple of days from home in the 2 weeks or so leading up to my due date, but I don't even know if I'll exercise that option. I think I'd be bored out of my mind working from home in an empty house. I'd rather be at work. Still, the option is there just in case.
I've also had to hash out the details of my part-time work arrangements. At first, I was thinking of working 1 day per week upon returning from maternity leave. After giving it some further thought, however, I decided to revise that plan, and have proposed working 2.5 days per week, or alternating working 2 days one week, and 3 days another week.
Why the change of plans, you ask? Well, let's be realistic. Working 1 day a week is not enough time to really get anything done at the office. On top of that, I don't think that my workplace would even be able to justify getting me a cubicle and computer, let alone approve such an arrangement. Besides, this way, I still get best of both worlds. Time spent with PK, and time to re-integrate into the workforce.
Of course, I have no idea what it'll REALLY be like once PK arrives, so for all I know, this plan may go to the dogs. Fortunately, work is pretty flexible about my changing my mind even while on mat-leave. I just hope that I can stick to the plan.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Week 33
I had yet another doctor's appointment this week. Even though they're every 2 weeks now, I swear it feels like I'm there all the time. I don't mind so much, except for the fact that it takes me a friggin' hour to get there. Plus this one was earlier in the day (13:00h), so my entire afternoon of work was a write-off. He wanted to see me earlier in the day this time because he wanted to see me right after lunch, which apparently is a time when babies get squirmy in the womb. PK is squirmy ALL THE TIME, so it probably wouldn't have mattered so much. Anyway, the reason why he wanted PK to be extra-squirmy is because he wanted to check out my placenta. Apparently squirminess and placenta-measuring go hand-in-hand? At any rate, all was well on the placenta front, and PK is still favorably-positioned!
We even made it out of there at a good time! The only sucky thing is that when we left the doctor's office, we were greeted with a nasty thunderstorm (thunder, lightning, and pouring rain), so we had to wait out the storm for an hour or so before we could walk down to the subway station. By the time we got home, it was 4:30pm, and while I was tempted to call it a day, I VPNed into work and got about 3 hours of work done to make up for the lost time in the afternoon. Not that I'm complaining. I enjoy my work enough to WANT to work those 3 hours from home, so no biggie.
In other pregnancy news, my non-sciatica butt pains seem to be at bay now (maybe all that squatting practice and Yoga stuff I'm doing is finally sticking!), but it has been replaced by foot swelling. Most of the time it doesn't bug me, because my shoes aren't all that tight, but sometimes I do feel it. My legs are a bit swollen as well, mostly on my calves. I notice it most when I get up from my desk to walk, as they feel pretty stiff. Fortunately, I've got a box under my desk that I prop my feet on, so I think that it could be worse. One other thing that helps is time spent in the pool - both at aqua-fitness and mooching off of my parents' pool on weekends. :D
I've noticed a bit of hand swelling as well, especially when the weather is warm or when I walk a lot. It's not so bad during the day because my hands are elevated. It has been significantly better now that the weather has cooled off somewhat (i.e. 25C vs. 35C + humidity), though I notice that my left pinky (where my iron ring resides) still seems to suffer a bit.
The breathlessness that I was complaining about last time is still prevalent, though at this point, I've just accepted it. I'm still winded is hell whenever I go up a flight of stairs, though walking isn't so bad. The fatigue is definitely hitting me most during meetings, where, if I'm not actively participating, I just find myself feeling lethargic and wanting to doze off. Unfortunately, I think it'll only get worse before it gets better. Fortunately, since I DO actively participate in most meetings, I never quite fall asleep when the topic shifts away from my area of expertise/interest.
On the kitchen front, we are at a bit of a lull right now. Although our carpenter told us that the counters would be arriving 2 weeks after templating, our project manager said that it would be more like 4 weeks from the time of templating. While the 4 weeks is in line with the estimate that we were originally given, I really really was hoping that the counters would come sooner. That puts our counter ETA at around July 16th, and if all goes well (*knock on wood*), then they have another weeks' worth of work (hopefully less) to do odds and ends like install sinks, the toilet, and appliances. And after that, the hubby and I have the lovely task of cleaning cabinets, moving things back from our basement to the kitchen, and getting the house in order from its current state of chaos. For now, however, we are sitting ducks. Waiting sucks. I just hope that PK doesn't arrive before the kitchen is done.
And now, for the topic that I've been dreading for the last few weeks - the perineal massage. I think I'm at the point where I have to just take the plunge and do it, but I really really don't want to. First off, I hear that it hurts. Secondly, I really really don't want my fingers to be anywhere down there, thank-you very much. At the same time, the prospect of tearing during labor or being given an episiotomy (though the latter doesn't happen as much) do not tickle my fancy, so I guess I need to suck it up and just do it. Bleh.
We even made it out of there at a good time! The only sucky thing is that when we left the doctor's office, we were greeted with a nasty thunderstorm (thunder, lightning, and pouring rain), so we had to wait out the storm for an hour or so before we could walk down to the subway station. By the time we got home, it was 4:30pm, and while I was tempted to call it a day, I VPNed into work and got about 3 hours of work done to make up for the lost time in the afternoon. Not that I'm complaining. I enjoy my work enough to WANT to work those 3 hours from home, so no biggie.
In other pregnancy news, my non-sciatica butt pains seem to be at bay now (maybe all that squatting practice and Yoga stuff I'm doing is finally sticking!), but it has been replaced by foot swelling. Most of the time it doesn't bug me, because my shoes aren't all that tight, but sometimes I do feel it. My legs are a bit swollen as well, mostly on my calves. I notice it most when I get up from my desk to walk, as they feel pretty stiff. Fortunately, I've got a box under my desk that I prop my feet on, so I think that it could be worse. One other thing that helps is time spent in the pool - both at aqua-fitness and mooching off of my parents' pool on weekends. :D
I've noticed a bit of hand swelling as well, especially when the weather is warm or when I walk a lot. It's not so bad during the day because my hands are elevated. It has been significantly better now that the weather has cooled off somewhat (i.e. 25C vs. 35C + humidity), though I notice that my left pinky (where my iron ring resides) still seems to suffer a bit.
The breathlessness that I was complaining about last time is still prevalent, though at this point, I've just accepted it. I'm still winded is hell whenever I go up a flight of stairs, though walking isn't so bad. The fatigue is definitely hitting me most during meetings, where, if I'm not actively participating, I just find myself feeling lethargic and wanting to doze off. Unfortunately, I think it'll only get worse before it gets better. Fortunately, since I DO actively participate in most meetings, I never quite fall asleep when the topic shifts away from my area of expertise/interest.
On the kitchen front, we are at a bit of a lull right now. Although our carpenter told us that the counters would be arriving 2 weeks after templating, our project manager said that it would be more like 4 weeks from the time of templating. While the 4 weeks is in line with the estimate that we were originally given, I really really was hoping that the counters would come sooner. That puts our counter ETA at around July 16th, and if all goes well (*knock on wood*), then they have another weeks' worth of work (hopefully less) to do odds and ends like install sinks, the toilet, and appliances. And after that, the hubby and I have the lovely task of cleaning cabinets, moving things back from our basement to the kitchen, and getting the house in order from its current state of chaos. For now, however, we are sitting ducks. Waiting sucks. I just hope that PK doesn't arrive before the kitchen is done.
And now, for the topic that I've been dreading for the last few weeks - the perineal massage. I think I'm at the point where I have to just take the plunge and do it, but I really really don't want to. First off, I hear that it hurts. Secondly, I really really don't want my fingers to be anywhere down there, thank-you very much. At the same time, the prospect of tearing during labor or being given an episiotomy (though the latter doesn't happen as much) do not tickle my fancy, so I guess I need to suck it up and just do it. Bleh.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Home Stretch Weight Gain
I had a doctor's appointment this week, and as usual, I was weighed. I can't remember if I'd mentioned this before, but this doctor has one of those scales where you muck around with the little weights in order to figure out how much you weigh. By contrast, my old doctor just had a scale with the big needle. For the last few visits, I couldn't figure out how to read the scale at my current doctor's office, because the numbers just seemed really weird. This week, the nurse moved a big weight to the 40 mark, and a small weight to the 19 mark. And then it dawned on me: THIS IS A METRIC SCALE! Major DUH moment. :P
I won't go into too much of a rant over metric vs. imperial except that for an overall metric country, I HATE the fact that most people still refer to their height in feet and their weight in pounds. Pretty back-assed, if you ask me. Anyway, I guess I must've been somewhat brainwashed over the last few years, because now I always refer to my weight in pounds and my height in feet, so I always have to do the conversion to quote it the "right" (metric) way.
Anyway, I digress. So as of Monday, I finally "figured" out my current pregnancy weight (40kg + 19kg = 59kg). I guess I could've weighed myself at home, but I've refused to do so ever since I got pregnant. Don't ask why - it makes no sense. In the spirit of the metric system, I calculated my pre-pregnancy weight in kilos, and determined that so far, I've gained 11kg in the last 33 weeks. I decided to search around the Web to see if that weight gain was normal, and this is what I found on BabyCenter.ca. The first part of the article says that you're looking at gaining an average of 11kg by the end of your pregnancy when you add up things like baby, placenta, uterine growth, extra blood volume, and so on. At 33.5 weeks, I had already gained 11kg. Alarm bells went off in my mind. Now, before you feel the urge to smack me because of my weight gain complaints, read on. Then you may give me a virtual smack. :) As I was saying, I read further down the page, and realized that 11kg is merely an AVERAGE (makes sense), and that the amount of weight you should gain during pregnancy is based on your BMI. Being the keener that I am, I calculated my pre-pregnancy BMI to be approximately 18.75. According to the BabyCenter.ca article, it means that I should be gaining between 12.5kg and 18kg. The 18kg (~40lbs for you non-metric folks out there) upper-limit seems a bit excessive, and I'm guessing that that's reserved for women who were under-weight before getting pregnant. The moral of the story is that my 11kg (~24lb) gain over 33.5 weeks is normal enough, so I really should shut the hell up.
I really have no reason to worry. Most people have told me that I look pretty good for a pregnant gal, and that alone should have been reassuring. I guess I need the backing of numbers to re-assure me. I have to admit that freaked out a bit when I read a few weeks back that rapid weight gain occurs in the 3rd trimester and that, while that's normal, I don't want to go crazy and gain more than I need to by having sweets and all that. I live off of fruits and fruit juices. I tend to drink the no-sugar-added juices, but even "natural" fruit juices still HAVE naturally-occurring sugar. I would hate to be doing well throughout my pregnancy weight-wise, only to blow up in the home stretch.
I probably sound like a broken record today, since I've harped on the weight thing here and there throughout the life of this blog. The purpose of this blog, however, is to allow me to vent, so venting is what I've done. On that note, I promise to not mention the weight gain thing ever again on my blog for the duration of my pregnancy.
I won't go into too much of a rant over metric vs. imperial except that for an overall metric country, I HATE the fact that most people still refer to their height in feet and their weight in pounds. Pretty back-assed, if you ask me. Anyway, I guess I must've been somewhat brainwashed over the last few years, because now I always refer to my weight in pounds and my height in feet, so I always have to do the conversion to quote it the "right" (metric) way.
Anyway, I digress. So as of Monday, I finally "figured" out my current pregnancy weight (40kg + 19kg = 59kg). I guess I could've weighed myself at home, but I've refused to do so ever since I got pregnant. Don't ask why - it makes no sense. In the spirit of the metric system, I calculated my pre-pregnancy weight in kilos, and determined that so far, I've gained 11kg in the last 33 weeks. I decided to search around the Web to see if that weight gain was normal, and this is what I found on BabyCenter.ca. The first part of the article says that you're looking at gaining an average of 11kg by the end of your pregnancy when you add up things like baby, placenta, uterine growth, extra blood volume, and so on. At 33.5 weeks, I had already gained 11kg. Alarm bells went off in my mind. Now, before you feel the urge to smack me because of my weight gain complaints, read on. Then you may give me a virtual smack. :) As I was saying, I read further down the page, and realized that 11kg is merely an AVERAGE (makes sense), and that the amount of weight you should gain during pregnancy is based on your BMI. Being the keener that I am, I calculated my pre-pregnancy BMI to be approximately 18.75. According to the BabyCenter.ca article, it means that I should be gaining between 12.5kg and 18kg. The 18kg (~40lbs for you non-metric folks out there) upper-limit seems a bit excessive, and I'm guessing that that's reserved for women who were under-weight before getting pregnant. The moral of the story is that my 11kg (~24lb) gain over 33.5 weeks is normal enough, so I really should shut the hell up.
I really have no reason to worry. Most people have told me that I look pretty good for a pregnant gal, and that alone should have been reassuring. I guess I need the backing of numbers to re-assure me. I have to admit that freaked out a bit when I read a few weeks back that rapid weight gain occurs in the 3rd trimester and that, while that's normal, I don't want to go crazy and gain more than I need to by having sweets and all that. I live off of fruits and fruit juices. I tend to drink the no-sugar-added juices, but even "natural" fruit juices still HAVE naturally-occurring sugar. I would hate to be doing well throughout my pregnancy weight-wise, only to blow up in the home stretch.
I probably sound like a broken record today, since I've harped on the weight thing here and there throughout the life of this blog. The purpose of this blog, however, is to allow me to vent, so venting is what I've done. On that note, I promise to not mention the weight gain thing ever again on my blog for the duration of my pregnancy.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Putting Things into Perspective
My family is probably not what you'd consider normal, but we're still close. My parents and sister live in Canada, while my ENTIRE extended family lives in Brazil. We've been in Canada for almost 20 years now, and while we visit the extended family as often as we can, I don't feel particularly close to anyone there, except my maternal grandmother. That's why my relationship with my family here is all that more important.
As L-Day looms (7 more weeks go go, give or take 2 weeks), the importance of family becomes all the more apparent. PK won't be just another addition to my little household. PK will be a daughter, a granddaughter, a great-granddaughter, and a cousin to the little extended family that we've built in Canada. Support from the extended family here will be all the more important.
Moments of crisis really make us realize that we can sometimes take the love and support of our family for granted. That's when you realize that the people you love really do love you - because they put up with your crap, and don't even think twice about it.
I truly hope, as every parent does, to have a good relationship with my child. I'm sure that my initial relationship with her will be more authoritative, as I need to give her the tools to live a successful life. As PK grows older, however, I will need to wean out of that authoritative role, in the hopes of moving into the role of friend, so that we can be equals, sharing ideas and opinions, even if our opinions sometimes clash. Easier said than done, I'm sure, but I can at least strive for it.
As L-Day looms (7 more weeks go go, give or take 2 weeks), the importance of family becomes all the more apparent. PK won't be just another addition to my little household. PK will be a daughter, a granddaughter, a great-granddaughter, and a cousin to the little extended family that we've built in Canada. Support from the extended family here will be all the more important.
Moments of crisis really make us realize that we can sometimes take the love and support of our family for granted. That's when you realize that the people you love really do love you - because they put up with your crap, and don't even think twice about it.
I truly hope, as every parent does, to have a good relationship with my child. I'm sure that my initial relationship with her will be more authoritative, as I need to give her the tools to live a successful life. As PK grows older, however, I will need to wean out of that authoritative role, in the hopes of moving into the role of friend, so that we can be equals, sharing ideas and opinions, even if our opinions sometimes clash. Easier said than done, I'm sure, but I can at least strive for it.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Ambushed!
I was called into a meeting at 2pm today to discuss a work-relevant topic. About 5 minutes in, the meeting room door opened, and a bunch of other co-workers from my team streamed in with a cake and gift basket - a little surprise baby shower! I'm not used to so much attention, so my face went BRIGHT RED.
I can't even begin to say how touched I was by what my co-workers did. It certainly brightened my Friday. That they would actually put all this time into planning things - organizing a fake meeting, buying a cake, and buying a gift basket - certainly makes me feel like a valued member of the team. I don't think I've ever felt this way at any of my previous workplaces. WOW!
I can't even begin to say how touched I was by what my co-workers did. It certainly brightened my Friday. That they would actually put all this time into planning things - organizing a fake meeting, buying a cake, and buying a gift basket - certainly makes me feel like a valued member of the team. I don't think I've ever felt this way at any of my previous workplaces. WOW!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Errr...???
A few weeks ago, we were at Shopper's to pick up some odds and ends. When we went to pay for our items, the lady at the check-out (who was Chinese) asked about my pregnancy:
Check-out Lady: So how far along are you?
Me: About 6 months.
Check-out Lady: That's so nice! Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?
Me: We're having a girl.
Check-out Lady: Oh, I guess you'll have to try again later then!
Me: [smile and nod]
I wasn't insulted because I know that it's a cultural thing, but it was still pretty surprising. You'd think that in this day and age, having a girl would be just as exciting for parents as having a boy. I guess every culture is different, isn't it?
Check-out Lady: So how far along are you?
Me: About 6 months.
Check-out Lady: That's so nice! Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?
Me: We're having a girl.
Check-out Lady: Oh, I guess you'll have to try again later then!
Me: [smile and nod]
I wasn't insulted because I know that it's a cultural thing, but it was still pretty surprising. You'd think that in this day and age, having a girl would be just as exciting for parents as having a boy. I guess every culture is different, isn't it?
Week 32
I continue to be plagued by the usual 3rd-trimester fatigue, and the breathlessness is getting a bit worse. It's no cause for concern though; I see it as just another thing that I have to adjust to. It's interesting to realize that pregnancy (at least for me) is all about adaptation. The minute you come to grips/adapt to one of its little quirks, another one is thrown at you. Maybe it's done to keep me on my toes once PK comes along. A 2nd-time mom in one of my pre-natal fitness classes says that the adaptation goes well beyond pregnancy and into childcare too. I guess it's no surprise!
Now that HypnoBirthing is done, I've once again resumed going to my Tuesday aqua-fitness class. I don't know if it's the 3rd-trimester fatigue, but my Tuesday class was KILLER. I was totally pooped after it was done. It was just non-stop movement for the entire class. The same went for Yoga last night. Today I came to work completely sore. It's a good type of soreness - the type you get after an awesome workout - so no complaints! I can only wonder what's in store for today's aqua-fitness class!
And before I forget, a quick update on my kitchen! The cabinets were put up last week, so the room is finally starting to look like a kitchen again. The floors were put in this past Monday, and yesterday the appliances were delivered and the templating was done for the counter. If we're lucky (*knock on wood!*), then the counters will be delivered in 2 weeks, and in the meantime, they can finish up the minor carpentry that's still left. This should put us at a completion time of mid-July for the kitchen, which should hopefully give us time to actually get the house back in order before PK is born, and to have a kitchen-warming party. I'm a being too ambitious here? :P
Now that HypnoBirthing is done, I've once again resumed going to my Tuesday aqua-fitness class. I don't know if it's the 3rd-trimester fatigue, but my Tuesday class was KILLER. I was totally pooped after it was done. It was just non-stop movement for the entire class. The same went for Yoga last night. Today I came to work completely sore. It's a good type of soreness - the type you get after an awesome workout - so no complaints! I can only wonder what's in store for today's aqua-fitness class!
And before I forget, a quick update on my kitchen! The cabinets were put up last week, so the room is finally starting to look like a kitchen again. The floors were put in this past Monday, and yesterday the appliances were delivered and the templating was done for the counter. If we're lucky (*knock on wood!*), then the counters will be delivered in 2 weeks, and in the meantime, they can finish up the minor carpentry that's still left. This should put us at a completion time of mid-July for the kitchen, which should hopefully give us time to actually get the house back in order before PK is born, and to have a kitchen-warming party. I'm a being too ambitious here? :P
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