The next few weeks were quite stressful for Amanda, as she had decided to take a year of unpaid maternity leave after the paid twelve weeks and had to pass all her cases and clients on to her colleagues, while also carpeting and painting Ty's future nursery along with Jacob. Ty felt her body's reaction to the stress and heard her occasional complaints and angry outbursts. A few times she'd just burst into tears, making Ty feel really bad for her.
At least there were some nice moments as well, such as when he first felt his mom's hand touching her belly and reacted with a series of strong kicks, communicating with her for the first time. As he grew, his dad could finally feel him move as well.
Ten weeks before her due date, Amanda's maternity leave began. She and Jacob used the opportunity for a babymoon at the beach. They spent most of the days just relaxing, but Ty was very active at times. He stretched and moved his growing body, making Amanda's belly bounce and jiggle. Often she laughed and touched her belly to keep him going, and Ty's little workout sessions would last until he fell asleep.
Jacob and Amanda were in a quite romantic mood and had even more sex than usual. When they returned home after a week, Amanda felt well rested and prepared for the final stretch of the pregnancy.
"I feel really good right now and I love being pregnant, but also I can't wait to finally get to know them", Ty heard her say, and he shared the sentiment - he loved the cozy, safe womb and the way her body took care of all his needs, but he also wondered what she was like from the outside, he wanted to really meet his parents and to find out what the world would be like for a newborn.