One. Year. Later.

Oops. Another large gap since the last blog post. One year ago, I was returning to work after maternity leave. And now, I am about one week away from going on maternity leave again haha. I am pregnant with my third child now. My first two were boys, and now I am finally getting my girl.

The pregnancy went well, very similar to my first child. I didn’t document it like I did with my first two. In fact, most of the pregnancy I sort of forgot I was pregnant. There have been extra appointments this time around due to me being 40 years old. The genetic testing I had done also indicated that there was a chance the baby could have a chromosomal abnormality. But we didn’t get the follow up testing done due to miscarriage risk and financial reasons. So we won’t know if she’s okay until she is born in about four more weeks.

This third baby has ended up being the most expensive, mainly because I had to upgrade my vehicle. I previously had a Honda Fit but I was not going to be able to fit two car seats, a school-aged child, and all the stuff they require. I was also hoping to have a vehicle where I could fit my parents without having to take two vehicles (although they live across the country). I was sad to get rid of my car. I had it for 10 years and it was still in great shape, but there was not much point in keeping it when I bought a new one.

I ended up buying the 2025 Kia Telluride. It barely fits into my budget so I’m worried about how my finances will look while I’m on maternity leave, but it is a nice car. Has all the bells and whistles I wished I had with my last car. I’m a little sad because my front window already got cracked after owning it for about 5 months, but that’s Alberta for you.

We also had to buy a new infant car seat because the previous one expired. It’s kind of annoying, because those seats are typically only used for the first 6 months. I am also wondering if I should get a new stroller too, because my current youngest still likes riding in the stroller. But I don’t know if it’s in the budget right now. Maybe I will see if someone wants to buy it for me as a Christmas gift, or at least put some money towards one.

My oldest son is almost 7 years old now and is excited to be getting a sister. He’s now in grade 1 and still enjoying school. Unfortunately, the teachers here have gone on strike, so there hasn’t been any school for the last three weeks. Hopefully they will conclude the strike soon so he can return. Once school starts again, I will be walking him to and from school, hence the reason I would really like a double stroller. I’m not really looking forward to taking everyone out in -30 degree weather, but at least we only live across the road from the school.

My youngest is now 2 years old. He still enjoys going to daycare. I will probably be taking him out of daycare once I start maternity leave, but it hasn’t yet been confirmed. He may stay part-time which will help for when I have appointments or just need a break. I have also found a Dayhome nearby that does drop-in care, so that is also an option.

I’m excited to take my 2 year old out of activities at the library and community events. It’s nice that the age gap is smaller between him and his sister, so eventually they will both be able to enjoy and participate in the activities. I found with my boys, that the 4 year age gap was too much. The events were either geared towards the younger son, or the older one, but not usually both.

I haven’t really done much preparation yet for the new baby. I washed the clothes and set up the pack and play. I still need to move the pack and play into my bedroom. I haven’t packed the hospital bag yet and am trying to remember what items I am going to want in my bedroom for night time feedings. I still need to get the bottles and pump parts washed and buy new bottle nipples. I feel like I had all of this prepared by now with my other kids.

Right now we are just playing the waiting game. As mentioned before, I have one week left of work, and then my mom is flying out a few days later to help watch the kids while I go to the hospital. As long as baby girl stays put until after mom is here, I will be happy.