Maternity Leave

This is quite a momentous day in our lives. For much of the last few years, L and I have travelled in to work together, at least as far as we could before going off in different directions. Today is the last time that will happen for at least a year and probably a lot longer than that (on a regular basis, anyway).

This is L's last day at work before she has a few days of holiday and starts maternity leave next week. It's all getting very close, now. There are just over 4 weeks until the baby is due and L is hoping that she does get at least most of that time to relax a little before the mania of parenthood begins. I'm hoping that she has enough time to rest and relax, but not so much that she's climbing the walls in frustration.

So, we're about to enter a period of financial leanness that will see our monthly income gradually decrease from the end of April until some point in September when it will bottom out at some ridiculously low level. We think we have enough reserves to last out the year without too many difficulties but there are definitely some hard times ahead.

I haven't written much about the pregnancy or anything recently so here's a brief update. L is now about 8 months pregnant and looks every bit of it. The baby continues to demonstrate that its most likely future career will be kickboxing or football. It is certainly one of the strangest sights seeing someone's belly distend outwards as it is pushed from the inside. We've now got most of the things we need, should the baby arrive earlier than expected, including a few bits and pieces of clothing (which would be far too big if it were to be born in the next few days but should be just about right if the baby is as big as we think it could be).

L started ante natal classes last week. She has four overall, only one of which I get to go to (the tour of the delivery suite and stuff). I reckon the thinking behind that is that it is the mothers who really need to know everything and they can pass it all on to their partners, so it is possible to run a single class for 16-18 mothers rather than two for 8-9 couples. Still, it means that I get to have a couple of hours at home on my own for the next few weeks - that is going to become a rare luxury soon enough.

For quite a while I've been meaning to write a series of posts that try to predict how my child's first 25 years of life will differ from mine. That's what will be coming up here over the next week or so. If you want to have your say on how our lives will be affected by technology, politics and the environment between now and 2030, then drop by and leave a comment.