phew.
that wasn't so bad.
first, thank you all so much for your sweet comments, texts, emails, tweets - everything. they really made yesterday so much more bearable... and to be honest. all in all, it wasn't so bad.
I got up at the crack of dawn [5:15am] - got showered, dressed, packed up all my stuff, got ready to go and then woke up sweet penny girl and changed her, fed her and handed her over to Danny and I was out the door at 6:30am, got to the office at 7:30 and got reacclimated with my office - a few other folks were using my office while I was out on leave so I setup my computer and got things set up "as I like them." when I opened up my desk drawer I saw an envelope with my name on it and opened it up... this is what I found...
man. this was exactly what I needed. I was wondering about this scholarship/student all summer and could not have been happier for this student, she truly is so deserving and it was a great way to start my first day back.
overall, the day went really smoothly.. I truly am lucky because I work in such a supportive environment, also, I was ridiculously busy yesterday which really did help. I purposefully filled my last two hours in the office with student meetings so they would go by faster - it helped, the day flew by. I think it also helped that I had been working from home the past six weeks, I knew what I had to get done and that transition of "working" again had already happened... it was just distraction free... I also got my dual screens back... oh I love me some dual screens...
[pictures of your adorable as new desktop images also help...]
DJ was also great, we skyped during my lunch hour and he sent me adorable pictures of my babies like this one...
[caption of this photo/text: Ollie is watching his sister practice flashing people while daddy yells at both of them -- haha, special]
I also am starting to figure out my new routine... which includes plenty of time with this new friend...
If you plan on going back to work/pumping I definitely recommend getting a handsfree support/bra/thing -- it makes pumping so much "doable" when you can get other things done at the same time [what can I say, I'm a multi-tasker.
with that, I wrapped up my day at 4:30 meeting all of my goals for the day...
[don't cry at work, no breakdowns, leave by 4:30, get to work by 7:30]
got home at 5:30, woke my sweet pea up from her nap to feed her, had dinner with fam, went to go get fro-yo to celebrate surviving my first day back and then fed Penny her bottle at 8:30pm [an hour past her bedtime, selfish I know, sorry moms on call!]
why, yes that is my three month old baby holding her own bottle... baby genius, I know.
then I crashed and went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 5:15am to do it all again.
wow.
welcome to my new life...
I'm going to reflect on this some and write a post about some helpful tips on this whole process... but I figure I should have more than 24 hours experience before writing that, hah.
do you have any helpful "going back to work" tips that I should share with others new moms?
My tip is to not feel guilty. If you enjoy going to work, then let yourself enjoy it. Don't let other moms make you feel bad for working! You CAN be a successful career woman and successful mom too. And you won't miss all the firsts in your kid's life.
ReplyDeleteMy other tip is to spend time with other working moms. No one knows quite what you're going through like they do!
Oh, and make a sign for your door if you're pumping. :) I once had a janitor try to walk in even though the door was locked - yikes!
Ditto on the sign for your door. I don't have a lock but I shoved a chair in front of it for good measure. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, wear fabrics that will forgive the inevitable milk drips from pumping. I learned the hard way that silk tops and pumping don't work well together.
And if you can grow an extra arm for help with carrying all your bags, pumping while typing and talking on the phone, etc. - that will be super helpful too. :)
You're an awesome momma - miss penny is so lucky to have you!
I second not feeling guilty (which is so hard to do)! I love my job, and I love my daughter. I, personally, am a happier mom when I work. I'm a big believer that a happy, healthy mom is one of the best thing a baby can have, so I remind myself of that often :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on making it through the first two days...the first week is the hardest!
I can't even imagine how hard it must be to go back to work! (I will soon find out though.)Someone reminded me that you are doing so much for your baby when you are working. You are working hard to provide a good life for her. I never thought I'd be the type to want to be a stay at home mom until now. Keep being strong! You are an amazing working mother!
ReplyDelete