One Month Until Baby Arrives

Dear Diary,

One month left before we get to meet our sweet little baby boy! We have finally gotten around to taking the car seat out of the box, and almost everything else is built, set up and ready. I made a ‘to-do before I’m due’ list and hopefully in the

next few weeks I can check everything off.

A few things I’m planning on doing at the end of this week are washing all my bottles and pump parts. I’ve heard so many stories from people who never learned to use their pump until the first 3am feed, which caused so much anxiety.

In order to try to be as prepared as possible, I figured I should at least take them out of the box, wash and sterilize them, and read through the manuals. I also want to start batching up some freezer-friendly post-partum meals, since I know I won’t have much energy to cook or think about what to make. I created a list of a few meals that hold up well in the freezer, as well as some snack ideas (I’ve been obsessed with marshmallow rice krispy cookies lately) that I can start prepping in

the coming weeks.

In terms of work, I have never had such a bad run-in with HR as I have been experiencing this past week. Apparently they have changed the sick leave and maternity policies as of this September, and a doctor’s note is no longer sufficient for requesting time off. In addition, they don’t consider midwives as medical

professionals (absolutely crazy if you ask me) so I’ve had to jump through many hoops just to get an evaluation done of my current health status in order to request a few weeks off before the baby arrives. I’m hoping to hear back by early

this week, so fingers crossed it all works out and this will be my last week of work!

There’s also so much on my mind about the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving is two weeks away and it’s been hard to try to make plans that fit with schedules, but also with my anxiety. Baby boy has dropped early, so I feel like I’m walking around with a bowling ball between my legs. It’s also causing me to worry that he might come early... some of my doctors think he can come as early as two weeks from now! Others are saying he won’t be here until the end of October. I’m worried if I’m making all these plans and being so far away from the hospital that if something were to happen, I wouldn’t make it in time and would have to be re-routed to someplace different.

I have my 36 week appointment in a few days, so hopefully I have some more answers by then. I might even be able to check if I’m dilated at all, to give me some peace of mind about a better timeline. Although, this baby is clearly the one in

the driver’s seat and I really have no control over when I’ll go into labour!

Wish me luck!

B.