Big belly, Work Wanted

Shawn and I share responsibilities fairly well in our marriage and household. Although he can barely boil water, he will toss a load of laundry in, fold a load of towels, sweep the floor, etc. as necessary. And likewise, I will weed whack and do the majority of the mowing (which is a total blast now that we have a 0-turn…game changer!) and help out with our little farmette.

He is primarily responsible for earning money for our family while I am the primary care giver to our children. This is the deal we made. He absolutely helps out with the kids and whatever money I make gets tossed into a savings account.

Before we learned that we would be having a fourth (!!) baby (only 9ish weeks to go…I round down) the plan was for me to look for and take on more work when the kids went back to school in the fall. And because I am still really fond of that plan, and our list of needs/wants/desires has grown exponentially, it would be outstanding to have a little bit more cash in the kitty. I have continually looked for work throughout the summer, despite my growing belly. Because you see, that is the one thing, we cannot share.

As much as I would have liked to have said, “Hey babe, I carried three kids. Almost died delivering that last one, would you mind carrying/delivering this one? KThanksBye” It’s not that easy.

And yes, I left a wonderfully-paying fulltime job with an impressive company working with literal geniuses to lead a life of leisure. Because let’s be real, laundry, crying/fighting/screaming kids, meal prep, and cleaning is nothing if not luxurious. It was a “selfish” move. Focusing solely on myself and the careful attention to ensuring that our spawn were given love and attention and raised at home with one another, blah, blah, blah…

Let me tell you how successful I have been gaining employment at 30 wks preggs. Yea, not so much.

And for those employers who cannot see my swelling belly through their email, my request to waive benefits in lieu of a remote, work from home situation, appears to be a red flag.

For anyone out there who believes a mere mother cannot get things done. I have two words, “Try Me”. My entire day is a series of episodes of minute to win-it. Whether that is laundry, cleaning, a craft, an article, interview, volunteer work or one of the 10,000 errands I seem to do…I.GET.IT.DONE.

Never underestimate the efficiency of a mother. We know time limits. We KNOW deadlines. We get it all done. If I were an employer, I would ALWAYS hire the mom. And pay her more. Because she deserves it.

My Friend Zeke

Merlin’s imminent arrival was confirmed exactly one month prior to our vacation that was booked and paid for in November. The morning of the appointment I excitedly told Adele where we would be in one month. 
At our appointment our doctor cautioned us about the Zika Virus and the CDC’s travel warnings. 
Rather than shoot from the hip and go into hiding, I set out to make a well-informed decision and read about Zika, checked out the CDC and WHO pages and even researched Zika Hype where comparisons were drawn between Zika and the Avian Flu. 
The Zika virus reportedly causes serious fetal developmental issues in pregnancy but has no definitive connection. The virus was first reported in the 1940s and is now an epidemic in Brazil where thousands of women who have had the virus have gone on to give birth to babies with mircocephaly, a condition where a baby’s brain and skull and seriously underdeveloped. 
The epidemic has spread throughout the Caribbean. The CDC has travel warnings for all pregnant women traveling to these areas. 
After my research, we learned that the Bahamas are in the south Atlantic, not the Caribbean Sea. Furthermore, there have been no reported cases of Zika there and it is not on the CDCs list of cautionary places. In addition, the Zika virus is transmitted by a particular kind of mosquito. Not found there. 
Armed with this information, we decided to keep the trip as scheduled knowing with young children we would not be out at night anyway when the likelihood of being bit by mosquitoes increases. In addition, our doctor felt confident that fetuses are out of the trouble zone beyond the first trimester.
I’m not a doctor, public health practitioner or epidemiologist, but I do wonder why there is a purported connection between Zika and microcephaly now when there wasn’t in the 1940s. 
I have also read that areas such as Brazil are combatting this epidemic by spraying huge amounts of insecticides to kill the mosquitoes. Which I would imagine has its own health consequences. 
As we travelled throughout the island I was armed with my 25% doctor-approved DEET bug spray and we stay in at night. Thankfully I did not see a single mosquito. 
My sympathy goes out to the women in Brazil, a country without ample access to contraceptives, who are cautioned to delay becoming pregnant. Hopefully more definitive information is forthcoming for the impacted areas.