Human Llama Racing to the Finish!

As of this week we are 25/40 weeks into this pregnancy and our food budget is feeling the pinch almost as much as my wardrobe. Between the hubby's non-stop grazing and my increased snacking and the odd craving or two, we are spending soooo much more money on food. For the most part it has been healthy, but there is always in the back of your mind this nagging voice saying "slow the heck down!" I work across the street from a PCC market, which is a high end local and organic co-op market, so the worst of the snack food isn't even an option, but even though I'm buying somewhat healthier snacks I'm still eating and spending a ton. This has got to stop, especially in light of trying to save money for the three months that I'm going to be on leave, for the eventual downpayment of a house, and for the third mouth to feed and clothe.

Llama chowing down. Sometimes I resemble this...

The first half of this pregnancy felt like it crawled by, and now it feels like I have hardly any time left! We've still got almost three months, but I'm crossing off the last month as usable time since I'm unsure how much energy and motivation I'm going to have. I want to get as much done now as possible without rushing things. We took our homebuyer's education seminar last week, are getting ready to open an IRA for the spouse's retirement future, deciding whether or not we're ready to start the pre-approval process for getting a mortgage knowing that there are things we are probably going to need to fix. I spent one night this week completely reorganizing our financial documents and getting ready to complete our taxes once we receive the last W-2. I always try to get them done in February just to get them out of the way.

All of the preparation for the future and examining finances makes it startlingly clear how easy it is to slide into poverty in this country. I refuse to sink into the cycle of only buying the cheapest food available as you will pay for that in the end with the health impacts, but that does mean reprioritzing to make it all work out. We're fine now, but things are definately going to get tighter as the year progresses. Trying to figure out if it is financially better for me to reduce hours to 32-25 instead of 40 after maternity leave to allow the hubs to work more or to basically leave him only the weekends for paid employment. Paying for childcare for an infant is somewhere in the range of $50-$100 more a week than a 1-year old (and even then it is still in the $150-$200 range), so if we can swing it by alternating our schedules for 9 months until his first birthday we'd save a ton, like almost $4000 over 9 months.

We still need to pick up the cradle from my cousin, find a dresser to use as a changing table, figure out clothe or disposable diapers, and look into breast pump rental; since we don't know how long my health will allow breastfeeding since no MS drug is approved for while breastfeeding it doesn't make since to purchase one and potentiall only be able to use it for 2-3 months. Plus there is the delayed christmas that we are having in February when the in-laws get back in the country from Asia - still need to finish the presents for that... 

And then there is work. I'm trying to not freak out since I'm not in a position of authority to control things at all, but I'm concerned about the state of things while I'm gone. We are going through a period of hiring new staff right now and  depending on how long that takes, the new lead at my location may or may not be up to snuff by the time I leave. When I've left in the past, such as for my periodic month off the continent every few years, it always takes me a few weeks to get things caught back up even with people covering my position while gone. That is not to say that my coworkers are incompetent, but there are always things that get over looked that I end up having to clean up once I get back. I'm resisting the urge to make a daily checklist for the position of what you are supposed to do for each task. I feel like my efficiency level is such that I could reduce my hours and get everything done, but I'm not so sure about others. It's probably just my ego talking, or at least I hope it is. I'd rather be proven wrong in this instance.

I suppose that it is perfectly normal to have a mid-pregnancy freak out and this is my month to have it. Luckily everything with the pregnancy itself is going well, although the next big test is coming up in 2 weeks - the dreaded gestational diabetes test. High hopes that it turns out normal, but seeing as how all predictions I've had about the pregnancy have been wrong I'm going to try to leave my expectations at the door.