Time to Hang Up the Superhero Cape

I've been working full time plus a bit extra at a physical job since early January and I think my body is telling me it has finally reached it's limit. I think it's time to hang up my superhero cape for a little while. I know it's going to have to come out and be extra shiny once this baby arrives, but for now it's looking a bit tired and ragged.

I've had uterine cramping on and off throughout this pregnancy and this week it seems to be on the increase in frequency. I also get the painless Braxton Hicks tightening, but this is different. It's quite mild, and I can usually carry in with what I'm doing without having to breathe through them. It's about the intensity of menstrual cramps when I'd think about reaching for an Advil. I've mentioned it to my OB before and he's never been worried about my "irritable uterus", and feels I'm not at risk for preterm labour because I went to term with my first. Of course he is on a 3 week holiday right now. It was bad enough to keep me awake in the night a few days ago that I ended up calling the L&D unit and speaking with the nurse. She suggested trying to take it easy and see if it helps, but to call back if it gets worse.  I got some help with my 1 year old and didn't lift or carry her for one full day to see if it would help. The rest does help somewhat but the cramps are still there in the background. There are also the expected pregnancy symptoms during the end of the 3rd trimester. The pelvic separation, fatigue, swollen feet, and need to pee every 10 minutes.

This is coupled with things becoming increasingly stressful at work in the past couple of weeks. There is still no applicant for my mat leave position and the administration has now decided to completely axe 2 days a week from our department's staffing after a co-worker resigned leaving the rest of us to pick up the shortfall. They justified it by saying we had a huge deficit to offset. Then the very next day they called a general staff meeting and announced they had a surplus and were giving all staff a $1000 or so bonus based on the hours worked in 2012. Huh? Something doesn't compute. I was steaming and I'm sure if my blood pressure had been taken at that moment it would have been through the roof. Of course because I didn't work any hours in 2012, my bonus is $0 but it's not that that I find upsetting, it's really the bigger picture and cuts to service to the kids and families that bothers me. It certainly doesn't make me motivated to return to the same job in a year's time.


So, I've scaled back my hours at work a bit this week and am drinking tons of water to see if that helps until I see my OB again at the end of next week. I have enough paid sick time that if I need to go off now, I could. I really don't want to leave a bunch of things unfinished at work, so I'm trying to tie up as many loose ends as possible. Most importantly I really need this baby to stay in until at least 38 weeks for the health of the baby and also to qualify for EI maternity benefits. One more month little guy, one more month!