The Process of Going Back to Work - Part 2

Well, we have done it. I am back at work, Eli is going to daycare and Dan is alone once more in the house. We have survived two weeks of our new "normal" and so far we are all surviving... well except the blog, which has obviously taken a hit, but at least it is the blog that is getting neglected not my son, husband or job.

I did really well with dropping him off at daycare the first day and overall have really enjoyed being back at work (well, except the whole work part). The hardest part of the day for me is between 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon when my brain has checked out of work and is so ready to be at home with my boys. Also, I struggle at night when he falls asleep in my arms to put him down in his bed. I savor that snuggly time with my boy. I don't want to put him down, I don't want to leave him again. It is strange how it hits me at night. I think it is because the mornings are busy and hectic and the evenings seem so precious to me.

I think Eli likes his school, but then again he is constantly happy and smiley (even when sick...more on that later) so who really knows. His teachers seem to like him a lot...again with the "smiley all the time" thing. He has learned to sit up, hold his own bottle and eat his cereal (finally) since he started school so I guess it can't be all bad.

We all treasure our evening time together, it doesn't seem like there is much of it most nights, but we enjoy it as much as we can. Eli is typically in bed by 8:30 and if we are up an hour after that it is a miracle... I guess that is what parenthood does to you.

And I will leave you with a "smiley all the time" boy picture:

The Process of Going Back to Work - Part 1

I have been exceptionally lucky to be able to spend the first three months of Elijah's life at home with him and have not had to work. We only have 1 more month of that wonderful arrangement before I head back to work and Eli starts at daycare.

While I like my job and I am happy with the daycare center we have chosen for Eli, I am not at all happy about returning to work and leaving my lazy days with my boy. I am very nervous about leaving my boy with others, I know him best and I want to be the one to care for him. I don't want to miss anything, he grows and changes so much, that I don't want to be away from him even for a minute. I can't hardly imagine being away from him for 8 hours a day, but soon enough that will be our norm. It is going to take a lot of adjusting for me emotionally and in our schedule.

All that being said, we like our 2 income lifestyle and I worked really hard to get a Master's degree and become a Speech Pathologist. I never imagined that I would even toy with the idea of not working, I have always been focused on my career, but it is amazing what that little boy has changed in me. I am hoping to find out more details about my work assignment for this year so that I can start getting excited about work instead of dreading or fearing it.

The Montessori school where Eli will be going called the other day to confirm that he has a spot in their infant room and we set his start date as August 9th, my first day back at work. Instead of thinking about leaving my boy, I am instead working on gathering the "supplies" that he will need at daycare and thinking about how we will make the mornings work. One thing is for sure, I will certainly be getting up earlier this year.