It's hard to
believe that I've been back to work for over six months now. Some days it seems like just yesterday that
I was dropping my little guy off at my in-law's and heading to the office for
the first time since he was born. Other
days it feels like I have been a working mom forever. I thought I would post another update about the things I have learned
since being back to work.
Pumping at work is hard work. Trying to find an hour during my already
packed day is becoming more difficult.
At my office there are only two pumping rooms and there are a lot of
nursing mommas. We have to reserve our
times for the "quiet room" months in advance. If you miss your time because a meeting ran
late, you're pretty much out of luck.
Although I have a laptop that I take with me to the quiet room,
gathering all of my things twice a day and getting set up usually ruins the
momentum I had going with my work. I
find it difficult to work on a laptop on your lap while you're also hooked up
to the pump, there just isn't enough room.
My goal is to be able to breastfeed for one year. I've made it this far, I feel like I can
buckle down and make it three more months.
I have realized that pumping at work is more of a marathon than the
sprint I thought it was when I first returned to work.
My weekends are sacred. I lived for the weekend before Henry was
born, but I also feel like I had more freedom to do things after work instead
of trying to cram all of my social gatherings, chores, and errands into two
days. We tend to spend most weeknights
at home now. Every once in a while we
will make a mid-week trip to the grocery
store, but now that Henry is older and more mobile I want to be able to give
him lots of playtime at our home before bedtime each night. When I first returned to work I had a bad
tendency of packing our weekends full of things to do. When I would look at my calendar I was
overwhelmed. I only get four, maybe
five, weekends a month to see friends and family, do chores, run errands, and
have me time. I've started winding down
the amount of things we do on the weekends.
I really try to have only one event on the weekend so that we can have
one full day to hang out just as a family, get things ready for the next week,
or have some me time. I've learned that
allowing that time is necessary and more important for my family than getting
together with extended family or friends.
My nights are wonderfully predictable. Evenings at our house are much busier than
before Henry was born. Ben picks Henry
up in the evenings. I rush home from
work to feed Henry while Ben makes dinner for us. We eat dinner as a family, which is really
entertaining now that Henry is eating solids.
I clean up Henry and the kitchen while Ben does another chore. We play with Henry for a little bit and then
its time for bed. By the time Henry is
sound asleep Ben and I only have energy to watch maybe one TV show before
turning out the lights. I'm asleep the
second my head hits the pillow. Compared
to the easy going, lazy nights we had just a year ago it feels like we are
running at full speed from the time we get home until the time we turn out the
lights. I can't believe that we used to
come home from work and watch TV or sit outside in the backyard for hours. I'll admit sometimes I even felt bored after work. I love that I know what
our evenings consist of. Even if they
are incredibly packed and crazy.
I still have bad
days and good days with both of my jobs.
Some days I dread going into the office because I am having a great
morning with Henry. Other days I can't
get to the office quickly enough because I am craving adult interaction. I've learned to lean on my village more and
have found comfort in knowing that Henry has a great network of people he loves
who are helping to raise him. I still
miss him all day while I’m at the office, but I love seeing his smiling face
when I walk through the door in the evening.
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