So the combination of a short fuse, a quickness to tears, and a new level of clumsiness is really making work extra challenging lately. I find myself immensely jealous of rich women who get to lay around crying in peace. I, on the other hand, am knee deep in plant-based colorants, lotion base, and email. My hands are sixty different colors. My floor is coated in oil, and my wits are at their end.
I had a plan, you see. My plan was to blog on overdrive for the next couple of months, stocking my work blog with posts and recipes to span whatever measly leave I can afford to take off. I also planned to take advantage of the weather and light this time of year to push out another three or four tutorial videos for The Natural Beauty Workshop.
In a perfect world, I would even have Mary Makes Pretty and Mary Makes Dinner stocked up by now. Instead, I'll have to either go on hiatus or recruit some guest bloggers to cover the gap. (Want to guest blog for me?? I'd be WAY into that. Vegetarian food posts, natural beauty posts, and crafty/DIY posts would be great.)
Plans are nice, aren't they? I usually think so, at least until said plans are derailed by unexpected piles of extra work and an ever-growing belly. Hell, usually unexpected piles of work don't phase me at all. Normally I'd be game. Normally I'd be flexible, taking it all in stride, doing what I could when I could, without freaking out over it all. But normally I'm not eight months pregnant and staring into the terrifying eye of impending motherhood.
As is, I'm kind of losing it. My hormone tormented feels (not to mention my aching legs) are screaming out for a break, one that I just can't supply them with. The last thing I can afford to do right now is take even more time off of work, especially considering that I'm on my own when it comes to stocking the blog and social media outlets for the time I'll be gone.
I know plenty of folks have made the most out of much worse situations, but I've got to tell you, I am tired, and really regretting not signing up for a private short term disability package before getting preggers. I was so busy worrying about whether or not we could get pregnant that I didn't stop to think about little details like paying the mortgage while I recovered from birth. And here in Texas, women can't even apply for unemployment during that period.
Let that be a lesson to you TTC ladies out there. Square this shit up before you get that bun in the oven. Post-miracle it will be too late.
Did I mention yet that I can barely keep my eyes open after 3:00 pm? Ughhhh…
So, other mamas, how did you cope with life in the third trimester? Tips and advice are most welcome. After googling, the best advice I could find was totally inpractical (ie: quit your job, stupid.) VERY helpful, internets.