Twenty-five weeks!

Only 15 weeks left! I can’t believe we’re so close to meeting our little Sophie. My belly is definitely a ball-like shape now. (Pictures to come soon). It’s getting more difficult to find a comfortable sleep position and I have sciatic nerve pain pretty frequently. But I’m happy that we’re closer to the due date and we’re getting our house baby-ready.

The most fun part about being pregnant at this point is feeling Sophie wiggle around. I wait for those moments, and when they happen I can’t help but smile. Some of her movements are strange though – I can’t figure out what she’s doing. It feels like her whole body moves across my abdomen sometimes. Other times it’s a steady, rhythmic kick, like she’s practicing ballet or something. I’m sure we’ll have an interesting little person on our hands in October.

Speaking of having a little person in October, we’ve almost completed our registries. We have one at Target and one at Babies-R-Us. The Target registry should be complete. On the Babies-R-Us registry we’re just missing the crib mattress, I think. Both registries are available to be viewed online and most items can be ordered online as well. For you mothers out there, if there’s something that I seem to be missing, please let me know so I can add it to the registry.

While we’ve been getting ready for baby at home, Sheldon and I have also been talking and thinking a lot about what my job will look like after the baby is born. Will I be home full-time and quit work? Will I work from home? Will I work part-time?

It’s funny what emotions impending motherhood stirs up. I’ve had a strong desire or feeling that I should be at home with Sophie for longer than just maternity leave from work, but I wasn’t sure what that was going to look like until recently. I’ve worked at least part-time since I was fifteen – from babysitting and bagging groceries to my current job at the local council of governments. I made it a goal to finish college before getting pregnant because a career has always been important to me. Now this nurturing, mother-like feeling has snuck up on me and I don’t know what to do with it. I feel like I may morph into a Martha Stewart, Mary Poppins blend, and I’m okay with it.

On the other hand, I feel like if I quit work, I’ll be giving up something I’ve worked so hard for. Like I’ll lose momentum in my career-life and I won’t be able to get it back. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not working my dream job or anything, but it’s a good job that gives me a lot of valuable experience. I also have the fear that I may not enjoy being home 24/7 without any adult interaction, especially since Sheldon is out of town about four days a week for work.

So I think we’ve come up with a solution and I’ve already received approval from my boss. I will be working part-time after I have Sophie. My hours will also be flexible. I’ll be required to be in the office a few hours a week, but I can also work from home. I think it’ll be a nice fit. I’m really excited that I have a great boss and I work for an organization that is willing to work with me. Everything sounds good on paper right now - I hope it actually works out that way!

All of that to say and I didn’t hardly mention the reason for all these changes. Sophie should be about 13.5 inches long and weigh about a pound and a half now. BabyCenter just says she’s gaining more fat and hair this week. She’ll be here soon!