I'm back to work. The biggest indicator in our house of my return to out-of-the house employment (other than the dishes that piled up in the kitchen) is the drying rack in our laundry area -- it is full of clothes that require special treatment - lay flat to dry - hang to dry. Why are women's work clothes in need of special treatment?! A few weeks ago I started a laundry schedule to help me stay on top of the 8 or 9 loads that I'm doing every week -- a load a day, with some double-load days. Let's just say that it worked fabulously, that is until I went back to work. I haven't done a load all week!
In preparation for heading back to work, all last week I attempted to train my body to get up early, stay up all day with no naps, work out, fit in my quiet time, etc. I was feeling great and thinking "wow, I can do this." Let's just say that "no I can't" for now. I admire the women who manage to work out, have quiet time, work, and spend time with their kids and husband (and sleep!). Personally, I think they don't exist (or lie about their ability to do it all). Let me just say that my 3-day work week this week kicked my butt. Going back to work with 2 kids is totally different than going back with 1. When I get home, I am "attacked" at the door by Hannah, and then I have to change my clothes without Lauren seeing or hearing me or else I have to take her upstairs with me and stay in her presence while I change to keep her from crying! The evening just goes SO FAST because Jon and I are constantly tag-teaming with the girls. I have one or both of them from the minute I walk in the door until Lauren goes down for the night. Hannah wants my attention at bedtime, but that often coincides with a feeding for Lauren. I'm so torn in how to best spend the few hours I have with the girls in the evening.
So how did Lauren do with me going back to work? Well, on Tuesday (my first day), she went on a hunger strike. She refused to eat all day. Poor Lisa! Lisa attempted to give her a bottle at least 5 times, and she refused. Lauren has been horrible at taking bottles since we first introduced them back when she was 4 weeks old, but we've tried off and on the whole time. She can take them (and has on multiple occasions), but apparently, not on my first day back. When I got home from work, she nursed and napped continuously until midnight and then got up at 5am to eat again. Fortunately, Lauren's Wednesday with Lisa was better. Lisa accused us of sending an "impostor baby" on Tuesday because on Wednesday she was absolutely perfect. Then, on Wednesday night she went down at 11 and was up at 2:30am and then again at 5:30. By Thursday morning I was wondering how in the world I could work on a going-forward basis on 5 hours (or less) of sleep a night. I was totally exhausted. While at Lisa's, Lauren doesn't self-play as well as Hannah did and wants to be held a LOT more than Hannah (Jon says I ruined her), but Lisa has her in "Mommy De-Tox" and she seems to be responding well so far ; )
I'm actually enjoying being back at work - I'm still on my 80% schedule, so I have Friday's off. I have a few things to do, but not enough to be overwhelmed, so that is nice. I do miss the stress-free laid back time at home (after all, my 3-year old was at the babysitter most days, since she refused to stay home with me when I'd ask her if she wanted to stay home), but it's nice to be thinking again.....so long as Lauren is sleeping through the night! My group chair at work stopped in on my second day back to check in on me, if I had enough to do, and how the girls were doing with my transition back -- it was so nice to have him check in on me! The biggest downside of going back to work is pumping at work....3x every day. It sucks (literally!). But, I'm committed to not using formula, so it's a necessary evil this year.
Hopefully we'll settle into a routine soon. (One that includes the dishes and laundry getting done!)
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