35 Weeks!

Today marks 35 weeks. In my (probably wrong) mind, this also means 4 weeks to go, since I went into labor at 39 weeks, 1 day with Mia. This also marks the gestational age at which my niece was born, and my self-imposed deadline for having everything ready.

We're basically there. Things are set up, clothes are clean. Bags are not packed, but we will do that this weekend. Also to do this weekend, buy a few replacement nipples for our newborn bottles (just in case), replace our broken thermometer (blame Roscoe for this one), and get some nursing supplies. And also, on Monday, I can order my breast pump covered by insurance!!

I've settled on some maternity leave and back to work plans. If things go well, without labor or birth complications, or after care complications, I'll take 6 weeks away from the office, with some unavoidable work from home time. I'm OK with this, and I really do wish I could fully take time off, but it's just not the nature of my job. The overall flexibility of my job comes from being the only person with those responsibilities in this office also means that I cannot completely absent myself for a long period of time. There are certain things that I and only I can do, so that's how it goes. Hopefully nothing too crazy happens during this time period, and I can stick with answering emails and only having to check in with the office once in a while.

At the end of the 6 week period, I'll be able to bring baby to work with  me for an undetermined amount of time. In my head, I'm aiming for 6 months (which is also my breastfeeding goal this time around). My mom will be with us for a few weeks still, so I'll be able to leave the baby with her during the day for as long as she's around. If you haven't been following along with me for very long, I actually did this with Mia until she was about 10 months old. I plan on having her fully registered with daycare for drop ins, if I have meetings or court scheduled.

I'm feeling huge (though only up 8 lbs as of last Friday) and pretty much done, but I keep telling myself that the closer to my due date she stays put, the easier things will be post-partum. 39 weeks this time around would be great -- though a huge part of me wants to start stuffing my face with spicy foods as soon as I hit week 37. But I won't. Especially because my Mom's arrival is scheduled for Nov 24 (38 weeks, 4 days) and I would like Mia not to have to sleep at someone else's house during our stay at the hospital.

The last time, I had an induction scheduled for the weekend before my due date. I'm not 100% sure why I went with that option with Mia, but as a first timer, I had very little idea what I was doing. This time, I do not plan to schedule an induction, especially since I know that I can go into labor on my own. I ended up going into labor 3 days before my planned induction, the night following my 39-week membrane sweep. No two pregnancies are the same and yadda yadda, but hopefully, that's what happens again this time.