Back to work!

Last week I officially went back to work and the transition back went surprisingly well.  I missed Amelia so much!  I kept looking at her picture and feeling guilty :(  However, I'll be working part-time, so will only be going into the office 2 days a week, so I feel it will be manageable. I also think having my brother, Steven, as our "nanny" will help me ease me into it.  Knowing Amelia is with family while I'm at work is a good feeling.

My first day back was crazy busy and I was immediately thrown right into all of the chaos.  I had always known that my job was fast paced and high stress, but after a 15 week break, the chaos was more apparent! 

I didn't take long for me to get back in the swing of things and it was surprisingly refreshing to not do anything baby related for a few hours.  As much as I love going to all the mommy group activities and being at home, it's nice to be back in a professional work environment. It kind of gives me a sense of self, independent of Amelia, which I think will be good for me.

I think absence makes the heart grow fonder because when I came back to work, they decided to give me a raise!  I was very flattered and happy!  They also told me that if I wanted to, I could come back full time whenever I wanted... I think they were just "dangling the carrot" in front of me and trying to get me back full-time. 

Because I'm still nursing, I have to pump 2-3 times while I'm at work, so that's been a huge adjustment.  NIH has special lactation rooms and pumps for employees, so it's convenient.  I'm so thankful that there is so much support for nursing mothers at NIH. 

I have to admit that I still feel weird when I see Amelia feeding from a bottle... I feel like she's cheating on me, ha ha ha!  But it's still reassuring to know that she can still get "mommy's milk" even though it's not coming directly from me.  I know she really misses me because when I get home from work, she'll nurse for a hour!