So we made it… Half way at least!
The last couple of weeks have been difficult because I have not been feeling the best. I still have a cold which doesn’t seem to budge. I have had a bit of constipation and tummy pains which are starting to ease in the last couple days. My energy levels have not been so high and I am finding myself struggling at work but I know the end is near so I’m happy to plod along until then.
I have about 6 more shifts of work over the next couple of weeks and then I am taking 5 weeks of annual leave over the month of December and beginning of January. After that I have one more shift and then I am taking maternity leave (6 weeks) and unpaid leave until the baby comes in March. After the baby is born I will be getting 18 weeks paid parental leave from the government which is pretty awesome. It makes sticking it out at work worth it.
In Australia if you work 10 out of the 13 months before the baby is born as well as a minimum of 330 hours in that period you are eligible for paid parental leave. This is a new scheme which I am super lucky to be benefiting from. My parents didn’t receive any government assistance payments when I was born so I am just lucky that the current government has this in place, otherwise it might have been a bit hard for hubby and I starting out as new parents.
Honestly I feel blessed that it has turned out this way. I was super worried that I would have to work right up until the baby was born but it has turned out that all my hard work leading up to getting pregnant has been enough for me to achieve the best outcome, which for me is maximum paid time off. I had saved up just over 100 hours of annual leave which I am able to take over Christmas. Can you believe it!? This will be the first time since I was around 14 that I will have the Christmas period off. Because I have worked in retail and hospitality I would always work Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, as well as New Years Eve and pretty much every other holiday… I will be able to spend time with my family free from the stress of missing out on special moments.
Financially, hubby and I hope that we have set ourselves up well enough to be able to afford everything we need on one wage. We know that we will be sacrificing a lot by living this way but honestly we are happy to sacrifice eating out and going to see movies so we can spend precious time with our little jelly bean. I really to believe it is important to be at home during those first years of life. My mum worked and says she regrets it all the time. She wishes she had of been around to build a stronger bond with us when we were toddlers.
I just feel really lucky that we were able to get married, get a house and settle just in time for baby to come. I thank God for the path he has laid for me. I just love the little family we are creating for ourselves.
I sound like I am repeating myself in every post but…the bathroom still isn’t finished.
We ran into a few hiccups including a leaking toilet, leaking shower, and delayed shower screen…I know it’s so close but I am kind of over it. I just want to have a bath. Haha.
Back to pregnancy symptoms…
I was finding sleeping super uncomfortable so I decided to go out and get myself a pregnancy pillow. I did a bit of research but honestly I just went with my gut instinct. I feel like going with your gut is the only way to make decisions and feel ok about it. Anyway, I got a long body pillow which cost about 90 bucks. It seems expensive to me but I can feel already that it was totally worth it. I am sleeping much better and I am less restless.
Heart burn at night time…to be expected…
Not really feeling a lot of movements, but i’m sure we will find out why at our scan… my thought is the placenta is cushioning movements. I can definitely feel where baby is in my tummy, and it does move from one side to the other throughout the day, so I am confident that he/she is fine in there.
This is getting to be a long post…sorry…
One last thing, my scan is on Thursday…so 3 more sleeps!!
i'm a mum?! 