Moving along

Up until last week, I was worried that I was gaining too much weight in this pregnancy. These days, the doctors say you should gain 25-35 pounds, and I gained 17 in my first 19 weeks! Now I worry all the time that my baby isn't growing and I'm not gaining enough. It's hard to notice the changes, since they're so gradual. But last night, as I was lying on my side trying to fall asleep, I realized that I wasn't comfortable...that something felt squished. And then I realized that it was the weight of my belly making me uncomfortable. So, I took a pillow and wedged it underneath my belly and it fixed the problem. Not much of a story, I know, but this was the first time I'd had to do that, and it was tangible and reassuring evidence that I am getting bigger.

In other news, I had a conversation yesterday with our department's human resources rep that was pretty disappointing. It looks like in addition to my vacation time and sick leave, I am only eligible for 5 weeks of disability benefits (or 7 if I have a cesarean!) Luckily, my boss has been extremely supportive about all of this, and I'm hoping I can work something out with him where maybe I work part-time for a while for no pay, just to keep my benefits. Hopefully, there is some mechanism for him to do this. I hate the idea of leaving Iggy home alone all week with a sick baby. Not because I think he's not up to it, but because I feel like this is a responsibility we should be sharing, not to mention the obvious fact of how hard it will be to go off to work leaving our little guy at home while he's still recovering from surgery, or perhaps even while he's still in the hospital.