Today we reach full-term.
Soon, we will welcome our little one into the world. I have to admit that Emily is a hot pregnant knockout – slim with one big bump. The additional curves add a nice touch.
I will miss the baby bump.
I will miss listening to the twack-thwack of the baby’s heartbeat.
People often ask if she is ready to “get the baby out”. We always say that once our little one comes out, there is no putting it back in. We are happy waiting.
Lessons learned after 38 weeks:
1- Maternity Leave. Yes, Emily is working. Emily has a great job and will probably return part-time following matenity leave, maybe. One day I was looking at information on maternity leave and come to find out that maternity leave sucks, especially in the US. Emily will receive one month of maternity leave at 60% pay. The other 2 months…nothing. How does this compare to other countries who are not as advanced as we like to think we are? I rate the United States as sub-par. But we will take what we can get.
2 – Stay-at-home Dads. I would love to be a stay-at-home Dad. I would love to not have to worry about asthmatic mice and rather focus on my own kids. CareerBuilder.com did a survey and found that 37% of dads with jobs say they’d gladly stay home if the spouse could support the family on her own. I wouldn’t do that to Emily, I know she would like to be home more than work and that that feeling will only deepen when the baby comes.
More than likely, out of those 37% of dads, 70% would probably prefer to return to work after a week of being home. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
Other findings from the survey:
• 37% of working dads said they are willing to take a pay cut to spend more time with their children.
• 42% would take a pay cut of 10% or more.Office time cuts into family time:
• 22% of working dads said their jobs have had a negative impact on their relationships with their children, with time management playing a role in the disruption of precious family time;
• 46% of working dads said they have missed a significant event in their child’s life in the last year due to work;
• 26% said they have missed more than three.It’s harder than ever to leave the office at the office:
• 25% of working dads stated that they work more than 50 hours a week;
• 24% said they bring work home at least once, if not more, a week.How much time are dads spending with the tots?
• 47% of working dads said they spend fewer than three hours a day with their children during the work week;
• 22% said they spend less than two hours;
• 6% are only able to spend an hour.
3- Emily will be a great Mother. 38 long weeks, chubby feet, 3-4 trips to the bathroom at night, hot muggy nights without A/C, still working 9 hour days and sometimes longer, organizing a kayak demo just this past weekend and still she is going.
Top Ten reasons Emily will be a great mom (no particular order):
- Low stress, low maintanence
- Rarely murmurs or complains
- Great childhood stories
- Love of Life
- Love of Bikes
- Love of naps
- Takes ownership
- Makes do with what is at hand
- Forward and progressive thinking
- Loves and is loved by many
Emily Azure Stahr
April 15th, 1981
9lbs. 8.5ozs. 22″
