A tight squeeze and maternity leavzz

So, just a little update, baby is approximately 3.75lbs and about 17" long! Apparently I'll be gaining about a pound a week now and 1/2 of that is going right to baby to make him plump and ready for survival outside the womb. This pic shows what a tight squeeze it is in his studio apartment. His lungs are still developing but the rest of his body is pretty well formed by now, this morning I felt a breathing-like light rhythmic movement and hiccups are a daily event. Maturity of the lungs is actually what creates the chemical signal to begin the labor process, sort of brings new meaning to all those 'breath is life' yogis.

As far as mama, I'm doing ok, heartburn is a recent addition to my discomforts but otherwise it is the heat and humidity that is the most annoying, well that and having to work. Sleeping can be so uncomfortable between peeing, aches, random hunger, heat, etc., that having to get up and be alert and perform all day long can really get exhausting. That's why when the weekend rolls around all I really want to do is stay home and relax. So quit inviting me to do things you able-bodied summer people!

I also recently met with my HR department about maternity leave and I'm pretty bummed that all I get is 12 weeks - which already includes any unused vacation or personal time - and only 6 weeks are paid!! This is really sucky because not only is that not enough time for bonding but it means if I'm really feeling overwhelmed towards the end and want to take my leave a week before I'm due, that's one week less that I'll have with the baby after he's born. The U.S. maternity leave policy is really among the worst and that's because it is treated as 'disability' and not a unique and necessary time in an individual's life. The person and the body are viewed so robotically and it's all about 'loss of productivity' in the corporate model... anyway, I won't get into it, it just sucks. But I'll have to go back to work for financial reasons and I'll have to keep working right up until I go into labor. Oh well, gotta work with what you've got, I'm still happy to have a job and I'm sure we'll find a way to work it out.