Adjusting

When my previous company was acquired a few months ago, I was forced to give up this perfect lifestyle and get a new job where I am commuting, at least initially, over an hour each way five days a week. (See this interview post on OneHotMama for more about juggling my current lifestyle and my mommy style.)

This is an awesome job in so many ways, and I love working in the city again for so many reasons:

• Lunch at the Ferry Building
• Walking along the Embarcadero
• Happy Hours
• Finding time to read again (some book reviews to come!)
• Feeling like I have my own personal identity again
• Knowing Grandma is taking great care of Ava (and cooking and cleaning--I know I'm spoiled)

But, as with most things, there are also things I don't love about working in the city:

• Time wasted on the commute
• Less than sanitary public transportation
• All the extra time it takes to get ready in the morning
• Loss of control in running my household (I don't want to sound ungrateful because trust me, I know how lucky I am and I'm sincerely appreciative, but there is something comforting about knowing exactly where everything is in your house because you put it there... and I'm a bit of a control freak)

The biggest challenge, of course, is spending so much time away from my precious little angel baby:

Flying

That is a placemat she is wearing. Don't ask.

Moving on to my sweater. At least it's clothing.

She can walk in these better than I can. And her pretty pearl bracelet from Kristen that she wouldn't take off for days.

(Why does she never have clothes on when I get home?)

Spending just an hour or so with this sweet little morsel in the evenings is not going to cut it for long.

But even beyond that, this new lifestyle has required some serious adjustment. This is what I've been feeling:

• Exhausted
• Bloated
• Nauseous from the urine and homeless funk on BART
• Swollen feet
• Rapid weight gain
• Anxious sleepless nights
• Getting up to pee several times a night

Which is what led me to finally bight the bullet, accept the odds (while slim at best), and do this (I was in denial about it for way too long even though I'm sure it was glaringly obvious to you after reading my list of symptoms above):

And just like that, the first trimester is almost literally over before I even know it.

Pregnancy Reflections

I just can't believe how incredibly fast (and easy!) this pregnancy has flown by. For nearly nine months, the developing baby inside of me has consumed all my thoughts and the majority of my actions (no wine?! no sushi?!). But even though I can hardly remember not being pregnant, it still feels like it was only yesterday when Alex and I heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time on my 28th birthday last year.

Unlike many of my pregnant friends, I had no morning sickness and very little nausea (which can be attributed to prenatal vitamins on an empty stomach, the foul stench of the Bart train, or the thought of raw chicken). Other than that, I had virtually no cravings (outside of my usual penchant for anything sweet, but especially fresh fruit during the third trimester).

I did my best to eat as healthy as possible to ensure that the little bun would be fully baked with the best ingredients for life. I gained the majority of my pregnancy weight quickly in the beginning, which prompted me to cut out sweets altogether and exercise for an hour nearly every day during the second trimester when my energy level started to pick up. This was the best thing I could have done because I honestly never felt better.

Practicing yoga at 7 months was the first time I found it to be a challenging workout.
[Please ignore the construction dust on the floor as we've been remodeling.]

And it's been no surprise that sleep has been my very best friend throughout the first and third trimesters. Now that I'm on maternity leave, I've been loving my 10 hours of sleep routine. But of course, this will all change in the next few days... and I have a hunch that every minute lost will be more than worth it, even more so than during the college days when we lived by the motto, "Sleep is a luxury."

A Time to Nest

Though Ava is not due for another month, I am officially on maternity leave until June! (Not bad California!) Assuming Ava is on schedule of course. My job has been insanely hectic these last couple months since my boss left the company and I took on his role in addition to my previous one. Now that I will finally have some time to myself, there are so many things I want to accomplish. First of all, we are in the middle of major remodeling (we have to finish the nursery!) so of course that will take up the majority of my time for the next few weeks. But one project that has been hanging over my head is our wedding album that I am determined to finish before I have to start working on a baby book. I also want to start cooking more. I haven't really cooked much since Alex is home all day while I'm at work with an hour commute each way. But now it will be my turn to be the domestic housewife, if only for a few months. Oh, and in the next month or so I will also be caring for a newborn, and from what I hear that can be a pretty demanding job by itself, so we'll see how long I'll be cooking and cleaning during this limited "nesting" phase.