Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Back to Work

Today was my first day back at work. I'd say that it was easier than it was when I went back after Pumpkin was born, but that would be a lie, because I don't actually remember how easy or hard my first work day was after Pumpkin was born.

Things went relatively well today. I forgot my lunch, but remembered all the crucial things, like my breast pump. I seem to have drunk enough water to avoid the dehydration headache that I do remember from my early days back at work after Pumpkin was born.

Pumpkin was beyond excited that Mommy took her to day care today, and the smile I got when I picked her up reminded me why day care pick up was always my favorite time of the day.

Petunia is always so full of smiles that I couldn't really tell whether she was particularly happy to see me, but she did nurse for a long time. Of course, she tends to nurse a lot at about that time every day. It felt good to hold her.

So, despite the worries confessed to me by several coworkers today- I am back to stay. (My direct report and my boss both admitted to worrying that I might not come back. That was a nice little ego boost. It is nice to have been missed, especially since my direct report did an excellent job running things in my absence.) Now, I just have to figure out the routines and processes I need to make sure I have clean pump parts when I need them and don't leave my lunch on the counter every day.

4 comments:

  1. congratulations on making a smooth transition back to work!

    That is awesome your coworkers made you feel appreciated :)

    I got lazy with pumping at work for no. 2. With my first I boiled everything but almost set stuff on fire when I forgot the pot on the hotplate a few times. Then I just brought two pumps to work instead of washing one.

    With second babe I started refrigerating the pump after I used it and put it in a clean sterile plastic bag. That way I just pumped with the same pump.

    I figured if the milk in the bottle stayed fresh in the fridge so would the milk in the pump parts.

    It was very easy and I just sopped up drippy bits with a Kleenex before putting it in the bag for the fridge. (p.s. this was a hand pump, not electric).

    I saved cleaning/sterilizing the pump properly until I got home. No more burning down the office that way!

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  2. Congratulations! I confess that part of me wishes I still worked in an office far away from home, instead of at home, such that "coming back from maternity leave" would feel a bit more like the actual transition it is.

    Yes, it was much, much easier with the second baby. As with so many things, really!

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  3. Welcome back to the working world! (Not that you haven't been working as a mom!)

    I hope the transition continues to be smooth and that you remember you lunch. :-)

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  4. paola4:01 AM

    How do you manage the pumping? How often do you do it to keep up with a voracious eater who feeds on demand? Have you had to put little Petunia on a schedule? Has going back to work affected her sleep?

    Hope these questions are not too inane. Seeing I was a SAHM who breastfed on demand I'm curious to know how it's done.

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