Return to work

So gee, uh, my blog has been pretty sparse hasn't it? Since returning to work I really don't have time. I'm sure this will settle. If you look at my blog when I went to work after Neil, I had a similar drop. I am hoping to pick back up soon though. I have a couple of problems. One is that I never have any time to myself. I am writing this on a Saturday as both kids are sleeping (I just jinxed that one) on a laptop I don't normally use. Speaking of that, the other problem is that our desktop is in Nathan's room. So I would have time at night but if the kids are asleep then I can't get on the computer. This laptop is Dave's work laptop. I try to avoid using it.

Here is my previous return to work post. I read it before returning to work but haven't since and am writing this blog post without re-reading it so this can be somewhat independent.

I think this time the return was easier. Neil was already in the daycare Nathan was going to so I was comfortable with the daycare itself. They also did "training" so I dropped Nathan off 2 separate times the week before I returned to work to test things out. The first time was just for an hour and the second was a trial run with a bottle. They both worked really well and I think the training is more for the parents than the kids, at this age. Nathan transitioned seamlessly and seems to be an easy baby for them just like Neil was for the daycare in Pittsburgh when he started.

I also somewhat knew what to expect returning to work- the big hardship is the pumping part. I at least checked out the rooms BEFORE I had Nathan, where with Neil I didn't even think I'd be nursing so I didn't bother. (STUPID on my part but whatever). I still have/had issues with the areas but I am starting to think that goes with the territory. There are 3 buildings where I work and they have a room in each building. The building I work with, that room is always busy. Most of the times if I try to go there it's occupied, and on the rare time it isn't, when I'm done another mom is standing outside the door waiting to use it. So I went to the next building over- I'm the one adding on so I figured oh well. Plus I was walking there anyways and taking longer because I was trying the room in my building first (it's two floors above my floor- the one in the next building over is 1 row below my floor). That worked well for a bit but then it turns out there were men using the room. Two were using it for praying, one was using it for insulin shots, and there may have been someone additional I ran into who really creeped me out. (He might have been the insulin guy, I'm not sure, but he made me really uncomfortable.) One of the other moms told me she has caught another woman sleeping in the room in my building. These people clearly don't understand how it can feel physically when you really just need to get in there and pump. But I digress.

So the rooms used to lock from the inside and were left open. Now they are locked 24/7 and the mom's have been given keys. I am still running into a conflict- another mom started a few weeks after I did and she and I are trying to use the room at the same time during my 3rd pump. There's another person who comes in one day a week at the same time so 3 of us are trying to get into the room and we need to work that out.

The rooms themselves are pretty good. They have a comfortable chair, a refrigerator and a sink in the room, except the room in the 3rd building (which is also why I haven't talked about it, plus it's quite a walk for me from where I work). I'm going pretty much every 3 hours, which is working.

Milk quantity wise. It's always touch and go at first, going back to work. The baby would rather nurse with mom than drink from  bottle so from a lot of women I've talked to, in the transition, the baby starts nursing more overnight. It seems to adjust though. I started out with 4 oz in each bottle and sent 3 bottles. Nathan only drank 2 at first, the time he was there. Now I send 5 oz in each bottle, send three bottles, and he does usually drink all 3 there. I also pump when I wake up before I get in the shower and Dave feeds Nathan about 5 oz before he takes him to daycare. Nights and mornings are very sporadic- Nathan gets up at least once but sometimes as much as 3 times a night. And Dave doesn't have a routine in the morning mostly because of Nathan .Poor Dave is scrambling to shower at times from what he's told me.

I am wearing my bigger work clothes from after returning to work with Neil. At least this time I'm not surprised I can't fit back into pre-pregnancy clothes. I am down to pre-pregnancy weight BEFORE Neil which is awesome but I guess even if you lose the weight it takes awhile for your body to actually get back into shape. Sometimes the pants feel a bit big but the next size down (which are my "normal" clothes) are still slightly too small. I'd rather wear something slightly too big than something slightly too small.

That's about it. I will try to figure out how to keep up with this blog but honestly right now my biggest struggle is trying to find "me" time. At least at work I get adult time but it's pretty rare for me to go just do something all by myself, especially now that we have two kids. Even if I go and leave one I'm usually taking the other with me.

Oh and one last thing I did want to say- I am so glad from a work perspective that I started a new job before having a baby. From a personal perspective it made things much harder but from a work perspective it made the transition a lot better for me. I already knew people; some actually stopped by my desk to say welcome back (I was very surprised about this honestly, because I was only there 6 weeks before having Nathan). I am very nervous about making a good first impression. I am definitely feeling the fact that I don't get a full night's sleep EVER. It's broken up and not enough hours. I am definitely not at 100% but people at work probably don't realize this. I try though to not worry, do the best I can, and hope it doesn't hurt me in the long run. This all is hard, people! I also really need to find some good friends but I know that will take time as well. I'm just not a very patient person.