Homestretch

We're down to the final weeks before the baby is born! We have narrowed the list of names, bought clothes and diapers and a baby bath, mostly packed our hospital bag, and set up the nursery and changing station and baby monitor, but it still feels like there is a lot to do. I still need to learn how to install and use the car seat, we still need to order lactation supplies, and somehow we still don't have baby wipes. But it's all slowly coming together. The tough part has been staying focused at work, since the due date seems just around the corner and I haven't had time to do all the things that need to be done before the baby's arrival. 

Fortunately, I'm entering Labor Day weekend with only a few small assignments that need to be done before Tuesday, so I should be able to devote a good part of the weekend to the most daunting task -- getting the whole house picked up enough for cleaners to come and do a scrub in anticipation of my wife's parents' arrival. The cleaners are scheduled to come on Sunday afternoon, and my wife isn't able to move around easily now, so I have my marching orders for tomorrow. 

The bottom line is, I haven't really had a break since last Christmas (we had planned a vacation for May, but canceled it due to COVID), and I couldn't be more ready for parental leave. I could take up to four months of paid leave, but I assured the partners in my group that I wouldn't disappear for that whole time; I think I will take three weeks off up front, but then start to work part time again as childcare permits. In a sense, it's helpful that everyone is working remotely right now and will be through the new year, because my absence won't be as pronounced, and returning on a flexible, part-time basis will seem natural given all the interruptions one can expect with a newborn. We will have to figure out daycare or a nanny at some point, since my wife plans to go back to work full time even sooner than I do, but at least we should have a while where we are both at home, and the pressure should be off on billable hours through the end of the year. I just have to keep up the pace for a few more weeks. I'm counting them down one by one, and managing in the meantime by planning a quiet, relaxed Labor Day.