[Awaken]

I know Erica is working still...anyone else?? Next week is my last week, finally!! I wanted this week to be my last, but since I'm not coming back, I gave them the extra time- they still haven't found anyone to fill my position.

It's getting really hard- this is crazy, but one of my big issues with working is that there is NO WHERE to sit! If any of you work in healthcare, you know what it's like at a nurses' station. Just crowded and crazy and noisy. As an added pleasure, all of the chairs are broken, so even if I sit down, there is no back support and a whole day of that just kills me, I really dread going in now because of that!

: And I don't have an office, I share a 'chair' and filing cabinet with 4 other people, so I can't really use it much b/c they are often having private meetings.

Add in doctors who act like little helpless spoiled babies and I am really DONE-they actually stand there and tell other people to go get them a piece of paper, etc. Last week I was the only one there with a doctor, and I was just *waiting* for him to tell me to haul my 9 month preggo body out of my seat and go get him a piece of paper- I was all ready to go off on him, tell him he has to be insane, etc but he wisely didn't ask me- darn

AND, yesterday my coworker asked me how soon I was coming back afterwards, and I told her I wasn't, I'd be staying home after I had the baby, and I swear it took her 10 min. to figure out that meant I'd be staying HOME and taking care of my KIDS with no outside JOB- and finally she was like "I would never want to do that, it sounds so boring, I don't know why you'd want to do that!" Real polite, huh. So if I just told her that her job looked boring and I'd never want to do that, I'd be seen as rude but it's fine to say that about being a sahm!

Anyway, I have to finish everything up next week and get everything ready to pass on to whoever will be filling in for me in addition to my regular work. I'm hoping for some time off with no job before the baby comes!!

 

[MamaFern]

im still taking care of my friends son 4 days a week.. from about 8:30 - 4:00.. it feels like a lot right now, but i am going to take a few weeks at least off after baby comes and then just do afternoons rather than full days for a while..

at least im at home and i can do stuff and eat when i want and have a nap when they nap and knit and play on MDC

but its amazing that you are still working outside of your home! i wouldnt be able to cope.. i feel like i can hardly cope now! it sounds like you are having a hard time.. but soon baby will be here, right???

people are so stupid sometimes.. it sounds like your co-worker needs a reality check or a bigger heart. who wouldnt want to stay home and be with their new baby ???? its just crazy..

 

[snugglebutter]

Yesterday was my last office day (I normally go in once a week). I'll still be puting in hours from home until the baby comes. It's nice to have one less thing to do each week since I am up to two appts per week at the hospital - one with the midwife and one with the peri.

Today I took a nap - it was very nice!

 

[crsta33]

I keep two teacher's kids during the week. The little one's last day was today and I'll keep the toddler until I deliver or the week of Thanksgiving, whichever gets here first.

But in reality, my mom is doing most of the work. She came up Saturday night is staying until the baby is a couple of weeks old. It's really nice to have the help. She cooks, she cleans, she changes diapers...she's amazing!

My two childcare kids will come back when their mom's go back to teaching in January. I should manage a good 6 weeks off, if this baby isn't late.

Christa

 

[Chi-Chi Mama]

I'm still working and will be right up until the baby comes

it's only 3 days a week, but the commute is 1hr each way...

I love days like today when I know I will be home with dd and dh for the next few days and dread the upcoming three days the night before I have to start my 'work week'

but we all gotta do what we gotta do, right? I'll be coming back to work after 12 weeks, so don't want to start my leave any earlier than I have to. Looking forward to another year + of pumping when I go back to work! ok, a bit sarcastic, but dh will be home with the kiddos and 3 days a week isn't bad...

ok, self-pity party over

 

[Belleweather]

Still working, but my job is calm and quiet and I sit all day so there isn't much reason to quit. I'm trying to decide if I'll stop coming on my EDD (next friday!) or just keep going until the little boy shows up. I think they might make the decision for me, though, because I just finished my last project and I don't know that they'll assign me anything more for fear I go into labour before I'm done with it... and I feel bad having them pay me an absurd amount of money per hour just to surf the internet and haunt mothering, you know?

 

[samsmamma]

Yep, you are right. I'm still going at it, and will be until the last minute. My boss is very supportive so I can work from home 1-2x a week right now, but i'm getting tired of the pity party at work (oh my god, are you still here? You must be so tired! etc etc). No kidding. Soo I just smile and say well, if our policy was better, I woulnd't be, but I'd rather spend time at home with the babe after it is born than sit around waiting now. I can't really concentrate but they are really not ready for me to not be there - frankly, a bunch of stuff got messed up yesterday with me out with the migraine, and I'm quite concerned about how my direct report is going to get overloaded while I[m out - I told her she could call me at home and that if she needed anything I would call my boss and make her back off!

It;s no fun. When I was pg with Sam, you got 4 wks before the birth at full pay as part of the leave. Now that was a good program.

 

[MrsMoe]

I couldn't imagine having to work now. I feel for those of you who are...

 

[Kavita]

Today was my last day! Yay! I still have a few little odds and ends to finish up--I have a report to submit but last night I went to "the mothership" to drop off a lot of paperwork, also thank-you notes to people I needed to give them to, and submit my time sheet. I occurred to me that I could email the report form to myself at home as an attachment, and just do it and email it in. So that's what I think I'm going to do and then I won't have to go in. I also will have to pop in to school next week sometime to return someone's tupperware, drop off one piece of paperwork and take thank-you notes to people who gave me stuff--they gave me a really nice semi-suprise shower on Wednesday, and lots of people gave me nice baby gifts.

I'm excited but a little nervous to be not working!! The official plan is still to go back because I didn't want to give up my position until I'm more sure of DH's work situation and how we'll be able to manage on his income, but I'm really pretty much thinking at this point that I'll be able to quit and be a sahm. I'm glad to have some more time to myself, but I also wonder how life will be like without the structure of work until I have this baby! And I think I'll miss the daily comaraderie with co-workers.

 

[PicnicBear]

Wow, itsybitsy -- I imagine that it is really tough to be on your feet all day. I was doing a lot on my feet earlier in the PG and found it very hard.

I am in graduate school, so I am not taking classes or doing what most people think of as school work, like homework, exams, etc. because I am past all of that. I do lab work and then I get my data and have to write in up into papers for publication, so that's what I am doing right now. I have a lot of data that I haven't even looked at so I have my office all set up at home and plan to just work from here 'til January or so. I am not even taking any kind of leave. I have a fellowship through the lab where I get a monthly stipend and I have not reported to anyone officially that I am PG or anything (of course my superiors know that I am), I think I am taking a bit of an unofficial leave during which I will be expected to get some work done, though not at the same pace that I had been previoulsy accomplishing things. So, yeah, I am working, too.

 

[memory maker]

Friday was my last day. I watch 2 kids in my home from 7 am to 6 pm. I am being induced on Tuesday, so I decided to not have any extra kids on monday so I can rest up for the big day. I have always worked up until the end with all of my pregnancies and I have always been doing childcare and on my feet most of the day. Some days I think Im crazy

 

[lexi2005]

I wanted to continue right up until the end. I work in the high-tech field, so one would think that because I don't have to stand up all day, I could continue working to the very last day - but I found myself relieved to discover that I could stop working two weeks before my EDD. Even though it means 2-4 fewer weeks with Lexi once she comes, I did.

Even though my job isn't physical, I found that I just couldn't think anymore - and since my job involves constant problem solving and requires a good memory for details, the combination of fatigue, memory-loss/mommy-brain and constant pre-labor aches and pains made it really hard.

I feel for anyone still working. At the same time, I wish I *could* still work. It would give me something to do besides sit around and watch television. I'm so tired at this point it seems like I'm always sleeping or eating...ugh!

Kylie

Expecting first daughter, Lexi, EDD 11/7/05

 

[SoulJourney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluebottle i'm still working, but not very efficiently. about two weeks ago i suddenly got so, so, so tired.

Meeeee tooooo! I'm only working three to four days a week, but I swear it feels like seven. *sigh* I'll be working up until I have this little man...that's the plan anyway. I have plenty of things to keep me busy on the days I'm not working...makes time go by faster. I can't stand to sit still, even now when I'm too tired to really do much.

 

[beachbaby]

Yesterday was my last day, too (EDD is 11/18)....I took 2 weeks vacation before officially starting maternity leave. I've been very uncomfortable the last week or so (lower back and hip pain, etc.) and neither sitting or walking feels good (I'm up and down all day at work). Physically, I was ready to stop working. Mentally and emotionally, not so much!

I cried all the way home yesterday--I'm sad to leave my co-workers, who are like friends to me...I really enjoy my job, too, and think I'll be a little lost without it...but, at the same time, I'm excited to stay home with the babe and know it's what's best for me and my family. It's bittersweet.

 

[GatorNNP]

I am still working, only 2 more days to go thank goodness. The other day at work I was having an interesting discussion with a mom of a 24 week preemie. Her "due" date was next week, a week before mine. She asked how big I thought my baby was and I told her my US this week gave an estimated size of about 7 pounds. She was surprised since her little one is just hitting the 5 pound mark. I asked her if she remembered the talk we had about a baby being inside vs. outside and the amazing placenta (I took care of her baby often when it was first admitted) She then said oh yeah, I do remember. Looking at what a long time it has been for her and her baby, I am trying to be thankful to have these last few weeks of pregnancy to "put up with" so to speak.

 

[Awaken]

Well, the deed has been done, I am still kind of in shock. For the first time ever, I don't have a job! I am thrilled, yet somewhat nervous. I always worry, what if something happens to dh's job?? What if we can't afford this after all? And if I want to go back to work at some point, I definitely want to do something different, but I have no idea what, and only have experience pretty much in one area so who would hire me? Ack! But right now I am just going to savor the notion of finally being a sahm, which I never thought would be possible.

I had a nice last day. I worked my butt off for the past several weeks to finish everything. I wrote out all my final reports, instructions for whoever takes over for me, cleaned out my stuff.

They had a surprise cake and flowers for me, and took up a collection and gave me nearly $200 in cash! And everyone signed a few cards for me, and the kitchen staff gave me a set of dishes

(which we really needed!) My district mangager and another co worker who is on leave called to wish me well on my last day, and I spent the whole afternoon hugging everyone and saying goodbye.

I still got several "oh, that sounds really boring" comments from people re: staying home, but overall I left with a really good feeling- I know I'll be missed, and I will miss several people there and hope to keep up with them outside work.

The doctor there asked me which hospital I was going to, assuming it was the one nearby, and seemed somewhat shocked when I said no, we're staying home- and he was like "you're brave!" and I said, "I'd be brave to go to a hospital!"

So...bittersweet, but at this moment, mostly sweet