Back To Work I Go

The time had come and my 12 week maternity leave was finally over. I returned to work last Thursday full time.  What a change this has been, but for the better I think.  As much as I loved staying home with Owen (and Megan most days) it was time for me to get back to reality.  With my first maternity leave I only took 8-9 weeks, but even though my last month or so this go round was essentially unpaid I am so glad we were able to make it work.

I seemed to bounce back both physically and emotionally rather well so I actually got to enjoy my time off.  The only thing that would have made it nicer would have been some not so hot and humid days but I am so thankful for the good-ole AC!  It felt like we were go-go-go the whole time but it's summer, what do you expect?

Even though my first words of advice to women expecting their second child is to keep their oldest in daycare while on their leave, I am so glad that I was able to spend some quality time with my daughter.  Sure, she would drive me nuts and things got kind of hairy at times but I wouldn't have traded it for the world.  How she ever matured in the last two months!  By being home with Megan I was able to help her learn to ride her tricycle, learn her colors and to count to 10, learn how to use the computer mouse and navigate through pre-school websites, help her start using the potty, use her ever-expanding vocabulary to turn her words into sentences and witness her unending affection towards her little brother.

And for Owen, he has changed and grown so much in these last couple months and sure doesn't look like a newborn any more.  One benefit of going back to work here is my back will get a little break as I won't be carrying around a 15+ pound baby around all day long!  I'm continuing to pump breast milk for Owen and hope to give him my mommy juice until he's six months but we'll see how that goes.

Even though it's work, it's nice to be back and see my co-workers again, have adult conversations and actually use my brain again!  I got a little rusty and there is definitely a little re-learning curve but for the most part it seems like I had never left.  (There is also a little cleanup effort on my part but that was to be expected... No one else is as anal about formatting their Excel spreadsheets as I am...)  I decided to go back last Thursday since the end of the week is usually a little more relaxed than the beginning.  And I got through my nearly thousand emails before lunch the first day!  I would have had a lot more had I not setup rules in Outlook to auto-delete daily things.

I won't be around Megan and Owen much during the days any more but I know that they are in excellent care.  John's parents will typically care for them on Mondays and Tuesdays, my mom on Wednesdays and Fridays and John is usually off on Thursdays.  We are thrilled that they can spend such quality time with grandparents!

Plus, there is nothing better at the end of the day than having a little one run up to you with open arms screaming, "MOMMY!!!!"