June 14, 2012
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last day at work
Today was my last day at work. It was bittersweet, it was downright awesome. I'm not going back for a year. At the end of my shift my manager had secret collected a bunch of my coworkers in the office to surprise me with a goodbye and a card. It was such a sweet gesture that I didn't expect. It makes me feel special to know that they will miss me. We'll still see each other, though, because I live a 15 minute walk away and prefer shopping there for my necessities. Plus, I have all my prescriptions for my diabetic supplies there so I will definitely be in there before babe is born to pick those up. I have a 98% chance of my diabetes going away right after birth, so I won't need any of that stuff after the fact.
I am so relieved to be taking an extended break from all the regular customers. I like my store and the staff, but the customers of New West can be a bit dodgy and the regulars downright annoying. It will just be nice to not have to engage in benign chit chat all the time and hear them complain about things nobody has any control over, like the weather or sales tax. I'm so excited to be spending a whole year focusing on my new little girl and facing the challenges of motherhood head on.
Going through this pregnancy and being part of an online due date club has been a real learning experience and lesson in appreciation. I feel so damn lucky to live and be having a baby in Canada. While I do live in the only province that charges its citizens a premium for medical, I don't pay a dime because I'm considered low income. So my entire prenatal care is covered by our wonderful (yet flawed, but that's a whole other can of worms) universal health care system. I didn't have to worry about choosing an OB or a hospital that would be covered by an insurance policy. If anything happens my baby after delivery I don't have to worry about receiving a bill for tens of thousands of dollars for her stay in a NICU. Even if I had a home birth it would be covered because midwives are recognized health professionals in BC. So all of my prenatal appointments, my gestational diabetes appointments and care, and my extra appointments with an OB are a not even a financial thought for me. I feel really bad for all the American moms in my due date club when I see them struggling with their insurance. No offense, Americans, but you guys have a terrible, terrible health care system that puts profit before people. It seems criminal to charge a family tens of thousands of dollars just to have a baby. And what do the families without insurance do, I wonder? Have their babies on their kitchen floors or bite the bullet and take on a $30,000 debt?
Another reason I am so grateful to be pregnant in Canada is my maternity leave. How on earth does a mother raise a baby with only 12 WEEKS of mat leave? In Canada we get a full year. We still have to work a certain amount of hours over the last year to qualify and then receive 55% of those earnings if we do, but we still get a whole year. Some companies will top off their mat leave pay as well. I don't expect this to be a year long vacation. I'm about to begin a whole new job that is full time and then some. I don't expect it to be easy, but from what I hear the unconditional love that I'll feel for my little girl will make it so worth it it's not even funny.
Yet another thing I am grateful for is my extended health benefits that I get through my employer. Sure I pay for them out of my paycheque, some $25 or so per month, but my diabetic supplies are freaking expensive. It's probably safe to say I've saved about $300 because my diabetic supplies are fully covered. I learned that my insulin costs $50, and I'll probably only use 1 or 2 out of the 5 cartridges that come in the box. What a waste of money that would have been if I payed out of my own pocket.
Anyway I now have 4 weeks until my due date to take it easy, enjoy myself, prepare, and go to appointments. Starting next Thursday I see my midwives every week. I have one more GD appointment, and I'll be seeing my new OB here and there as well. I have my ultrasound tomorrow morning to find out just what this little girl of mine is up to. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that the solid bulge of movement at the top of belly has been her bum this whole time, but when I poke my belly I doubt it because I don't feel any feet or knees or back to go with that bum. We will just have to wait and find out. I'm not going to let myself worry about it, though. She has time to turn, if need be, and there are things I can keep doing to help her out, like continue with the Webster technique through my chiropractor, doing inversions, and I'm going to try swimming.