Work Life Balance
Divorce in the AI age
In today's fast-paced world, juggling work, family and personal matters can be...read more
Second trimester blues
Why is the second trimester so very, very long?
Why is the second trimester so very, very long? I feel ready to give birth NOW. Saturday night’s night out involved, among other things, a romantic conversation about C-sections and the merits thereof. I have been told that an elective one is not as bad as the very vivid memory I have of the emergency one I had with rebel daughter which seemed to take me an eternity to recover from. I guess I would prefer the natural route, which I had with the other two, but the fact that the doctor suggested the C-section as the first option has made me think. I am not one of those people who is really into the whole birth is beautiful thing. I never felt that I didn’t bond as much with my first daughter because I had a C-section. In fact, the thought that we had both narrowly escaped death made me feel slightly more bonded if anything. I just want to get the baby out alive and with as few after-effects as possible since I have to return to work shortly afterwards when the Statutory Maternity Pay plummets after six weeks.
I have been reading Miriam Stoppard’s book of birth or whatever it’s called with rising eyebrows. In addition to counselling that you stop work at 32 weeks [I have never even considered this as a possibility or ever seen anyone else do it], it also informs me not to drive more than 30 miles from home after the second trimester. One of my jobs is a good 40 miles from home. Oh dear. Am I supposed to use the whole six-week 90% rate SMP up before the baby is even born?
She also advises that the second trimester is when you feel most sensual. I am still waiting for this to happen. Last night I woke up at 4am as big girl daughter had wet the bed and then lay awake for two hours feeling horribly emotional. Not entirely conducive to feelings of intense sensuality.
I would love to have a couple of months off to sleep – obviously this would not involve a lie-in as there is still the school run to do [was late as usual yesterday, later than usual as some truck decided to dig up the road at 8.50am and then again at 4pm when I do the football/ballet run], but I could sleep my way through the late morning hours. I could "prepare the nursery" [ie move a few boxes in our room to make way for a cot]. I could take a crash course in angles and deliver a maths master class for rebel daughter. I could burn disc after disc of Alvin and the Chipmunk songs for big girl daughter and make a whole array of baby equipment from tinfoil and cardboard boxes with the bonkers one. I could take part in the adult learning make games with your kids course at school, which my mum is currently booked onto in loco parentis [she came home with dice and a number game yesterday]. I could write a book or even read a couple. I could spend some quality time with the cat. I could offer mediation services to the endlessly warring guinea pigs. I could clean the house [note: this is very low down on my priority list]. The possibilities are endless.
Follow Mum on the run on Twitter at WorkMumOnTheRun
Follow Workingmums on Twitter at WorkingMums
Related
Flexible Working
Report shows impact of back-to-office policies on women
Nearly half of working women (47%) in the UK say that their stress levels are higher than...read more
