24w4d Update

I’m currently 24w4d. I go on Christmas leave on the 18th December (just under two weeks to go!!!) and return to work on the 6th January, at which point I will have around 7-8 weeks until I go off on maternity leave for a year. I apparently have around 15w to go until Beansprout makes their arrival.

I recently discussed time flying, and how much I would like time to slow down just for a sec, but it really hasn’t.

Since our last post, and even before then, we celebrated our nephew’s second birthday! Without getting mushy, I remember when he was born. I remember when he started walking. And now he’s 2! Two years have slipped under my nose – I can’t imagine how my sister feels. His words are coming along quickly and he definitely is his own little character with his own personality. He is one amazing little dude. He laughs at his own jokes, and loves entertaining people – even if it sometimes means injuring himself! He loves to create things with LEGO and Stickle Bricks, not to mention create a mess. I love him so much and often miss him when I haven’t seen him.

I’ve also had my works Christmas do, which was enjoyable as I got to eat lots of meat (we went to a local BBQ/meat smoking place) and despite not being able to drink I had a remarkably pleasant time watching others get drunk and be merry. I managed to score a nice maternity shirt for the event as well, which was a bonus. I really didn’t want to wear my office clothes, although they are smart, but I couldn’t really afford to get anything too fancy/pricey but thankfully I found something smart and not too girly and fit well within a decent budget. It doesn’t show my bump too much, which is a tad annoying as I love my big bump, and so I then just look fat, but at the same time it does give me room to pig out and bloat out!

A colleague of mine brought their wife who is 15 weeks pregnant with their second, so it was nice to have someone in the same boat as me (ie. sober and proud). We even chatted about family and other pretty grown-up stuff not around pregnancy, which was a refreshing change – I pretty much saw into our future and it looked idyllic.

I really enjoyed hearing their stories about what their daughter does now at 2 and a half (she swore the other day, which was a hilarious story), it really made me remember why we got into this whole parenting business, we want to raise a little person!

Anyway!

Looking forward we have S’s works do, which always out does mine as she works in the private sector and everything is paid for by the company. This is nicely on the day of my last day at work before my Christmas leave. I’m so excited as those who work from Brighton always get to stay up in a London hotel as part of the event. The company’s summer parties are always in Brighton, by the beach (of course), and the Christmas parties are in London – perfect. On top of a night in a hotel, we get to enjoy an open bar! This year will be the first year I won’t be able to take advantage of this feature, but I sure as hell will be emptying them of their soft drink and juice!

Finally, after all that will then be the home stretch to Christmas. I’ve already done S’s Christmas shopping as well as our family shopping. We’ve decided to set a small budget this year as we really don’t want to be overspending what with a baby on the way. I say this like it’s a new thing but this year I’ve been really strict with S and our budget for each other. Most years, we set a rough guide so that one person (I mean S) doesn’t over do it but it never works out and I generally feel cheap after not being able to do as much due to a clear difference in earnings in comparison to S. Although my gifts are still just as awesome, it’s always hard not being able to be the naughty one when it comes to gifts. Anyway, this year, we’ve both stuck to the strict budget and it feels really good!

I can’t wait for the holidays to finally begin (they always officially begin once we’ve finished work, although I get into the spirit once the decorations go up). Although S thinks this won’t be as good of a Christmas as others as I can’t drink or eat some of my favourite foods, I think it’ll be special as it’ll be our last one as a couple before we become a family, and this year I’m going to cherish every moment.

K