A day in the life of a Desperate Housewife...

Today marked my first day as a housewife and I can't tell you how weird it feels! Thursday before the long weekend (here in the U.K. we get Good Friday off and Monday for Easter so Mark and I had 4 lovely days together this weekend) I manically handed over all of my work to my director and said goodbye to commutes on the train and work in the city.

My first day was actually a pretty busy one-I dropped Mark off at the station and headed to my new local hospital to sign up with them. I've been a little apprehensive about going to this local hospital because I wasn't sure if they could offer the same level of care that the massive University College of London Hospital in London could offer-basically the maternity unit there has just had a £100 million renovation and offers the best care in the country. Saying that, I've never seen the same midwife twice and regardless of what hospital you go under the NHS (National Health Service) in the U.K. you wouldn't meet the doctor who is going to deliver your baby until you show up in labor at the hospital so it doesn't make too much of a difference changing this late in the game. Anyway, the midwife I saw today said she would be my midwife throughout the rest of the process and even afterwards when the baby has come. She's also from Cork, Ireland which is close to where Mark's Mum is from and there is something so trustworthy and reassuring about the Irish, I felt very comfortable with her straight away. Unfortunately we won't be able to see the maternity ward until the day of but I think we've decided to have the baby locally rather then risk trying to get to London when the day comes since it could be up to a one and a half hour drive....

After the hospital I went to coffee. I know to you guys at home this seems so basic but this was a huge milestone for me. It's just not something that is part of my routine here, living in the heart of London you would have to get on a bus and go about 15 minutes before you got to a Starbucks. Now that I'm in the suburbs I can resume a routine which is more like that of the one I had in Seattle which is something I've missed. Anyway, I got coffee and then went to the grocery store BY MYSELF-another milestone! Because I haven't had my license until last month Mark has had to go with me to the grocery store every time we have shopped for nearly 3 years now. It was so nice to be able to dilly dally and take my time browsing around (even if 3 separate people made comment on how big I was and how it looked like I was going to pop at any minute!).

I finished off the afternoon with my pregnancy yoga class which is always a treat and then came home to make dinner and catch up on the day with Mark. It's going to be hard to get used to not having the mental and social stimulation that my job offered, but it's also going to be great to have the next year (yes, here in the UK we get ONE YEAR of paid maternity leave!) to get to know myself again and of course to get to know this little baby. Let's hope the rest of the week is just as fulfilling-tomorrow I'm going to plant some flowers in the garden and do some weeding since it's going to be in the 60s again. Can't wait x