Wednesday, April 30, 2008

"Hilary Homemaker"

So last night, D and I were hanging out on the couch watching TV. Maya was kicking up a storm (or maybe she was punching? I can’t really tell yet…). At one point I lifted up my shirt and pointed out an area on my belly and said, “Honey – watch this spot right here”. D and I both stared at the spot intently. After about 10 seconds passed, we were starting to give up when all of the sudden – POP! – my belly jumped! D got this huge grin on his face and said, “I saw that!!” He was so excited. I’ve been watching my belly twitch and jump for a couple of weeks now, but this was the first time that D was able to see it. To see D so excited and happy made my day, week, month…

Baby girl had a couple of quiet days earlier in the week (which were total agony for me), but thank goodness she has been active again lately, which I just love. Keep it up, Maya!!

I am in total countdown mode to maternity leave. I have 4 weeks to go (after this week) but next week is my last “full” week. I am using some banked vacation time to take a couple of days off during each of the remaining 3 weeks. Maternity leave in Canada is a full year, and I feel so lucky to live here. But I feel even luckier to be having this baby girl - seriously, somebody pinch me!

I plan to be Little Miss Happy Homemaker once I'm on maternity leave. My job will be to take care of the house, the cooking, the cleaning and of course – the baby.

I think it’s time to buy an apron.

9 comments:

AwkwardMoments said...

grats to you!

christina(apronstrings) said...

that's so exciting.

Yetty said...

I love that! You'll be living my dream girl. I think after trying and waiting so long for a child I would love to pause the mundane things of life and just soak up every minute of watching my child grow. You're on the fun path.

Anonymous said...

A year?! Is it paid? That's incredible!

Anonymous said...

Is that PAID maternity leave for 12 months? Wow! In Australia most employees receive 12 months mat leave (8-10 weeks of this is usually paid).

Hilary (Maya Papaya) said...

Yes, it's paid. But I think you only get something like 65% of your salary for the year you are off.

Barb said...

Cute. :)

Barb said...

P.S. DH keeps saying we need to move back to Canada for that very reason. ;-)

Anonymous said...

In the States, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) mandates that you get up to 12 weeks of UNPAID leave if you work for a company with more than 50 employees. Some companies offer paid leave, but it's usually for 4 or 8 weeks, and those companies are very rare.

Does the company pay your salary during leave in Canada, or is it the government?