It’s Monday morning and I am 38 weeks into my second pregnancy,due date is Dec 16.  I am now at that point where I cannot wait to see his face.  Yes, boy number 2.  Believe it or not, I have 5 siblings and between us, my soon to be born son, Tyler will be grandchild number 8 for my parents….. ALL BOYS.  We can soon choose which sports team we can start, baseball, hockey or soccer.

I officially start my maternity leave today, THANK YOU.  At the end, I was having problems just breathing and walking at the same time.  I am an Assistant Store Manager for a large Department Store and believe me; it requires a lot of walking.  At first I thought that I was some kind of superwoman and was determined to work as if I wasn’t pregnant.  For those in the retail environment, you can relate to how many unknowns can happen in a day.

I would work, 6 days in a row, eat 20 minute lunches, all because I had some kind of guilt that I would be leaving the job for one year.  I live in Canada, and fortunately we have one year maternity leave.  I learned my lesson on pregnancy week 32, I started feeling contractions (every 5-10 minutes) ended up in the hospital where they had to stop my contractions and was given 2 weeks of bed rest.  It was then that I realized that I was putting my guilt ahead of my son. I took the two weeks and vowed that when I went back to work, I would change my habits.  I took my full lunch hour and whenever I felt tired, which was often, I would find the time to sit down.

What was I thinking!  I had a little one inside me that depended on me to be healthy and strong.  I wasn’t listening to my body but luckily my lesson was learned before it was too late.  Tyler now had the chance to continue developing inside me until he was ready.

I hope those who are reading this learn from my lesson.  Yes, I understand the responsibility that comes with having a career, but the biggest responsibility of all is the one you have growing inside you.

So now I commence my next journey, waiting until my son is born.  I feel anxious and scared at the same time.  Scared, because I know what it was like to go through labour, which I am not looking forward to again.  Anxious, because I cannot wait to see my second son.  I cannot wait till Jeffrey (4 years old) meets his brother.

I start my weekly doctor’s visits as of today at 11:30.  I am excited to hear Tyler’s heartbeat, even though my heart stops every time the fetal Doppler doesn’t pick up his heart beat right away.

I hope you join me in this journey, a mother of two, sibling of 6 kids with a full time career and a marketing company on the side which I plan to grow during my maternity leave.  My ultimate goal is to grow my business to the point where I don’t have to return to the retail world, where the life of 9-5 (Mon-Fri) is not an option.

I am sure to make many mistakes along the way but hopefully I will learn from them so that they are not repeated.  At the same time, maybe I can guide you along to avoid these mistakes and make your journey smoother.