Back at work

That's right people, the dreaded day has come, as I knew it eventually would. I have been back to work for a week now. Last week went pretty well. It is such a great relief having my mom here to help. I feel confident Gage is well taken care of and getting all the attention he needs. Gee (my mom) will be with us until Keaton and Cort start back to school, August 23, and then Nana (Mark's mom) will keep Gage through the end of September. At that time will we make the decision to start him in daycare or look for other options.

I absolutely loved being home those 12 weeks. I definitely went into it with great expectations of this relaxing 'vacation'. Three months to spend as a stay at home mom, enjoying my three boys, and doing fun summer things. We did have fun, but it took more adjusting to newborn life than I thought and maybe my expectations were a little too high.

The 1st week was spent at the hospital and even once Gage was home, I still had a lot of healing to do. This C-Section seem to take longer to recover from than the last. I realized having a newborn is hard even when it is your third child. The toll that worry had was worse than the lack of sleep. They are just so tiny and since he did spend some time in the NICU there were added fears. Most of my worry was in regard to his nursing and gaining weight. (Wow, to see the little chunk now!)

After a few weeks at home, Keaton and Cort brought on the guilt with a few comments they made. Cort said that everything was different now since the baby was born. I was in the bathroom with him and his stuff was moved in order to make room for the baby bathtub. At the dinner table one night, Keaton said, 'we used to do fun things'. I am sure he was referring to the fact that I didn't leave the house much yet.

But at the end of the 12 weeks we were making trips to the Splashpad and Pool, the library, Magic Moon (a place I won't go back to), Pump It Up, Bowling, the Creek just to name a few. I also got myself organized to have special projects or treats for the boys each day. Sometimes it was an outing, but we also had a lot of food projects. Anything from 'fancy' lemonade to cakes or rice krispee treats. The boys love helping in the kitchen. Somehow I even found the time to keep up with my work responsibilities.

The summer fun is not over yet. Although I am back to work, I will only be working 4 days a week until the end of August. This will give me more time at home with Gage and time to plan some fun outings for the boys. Keaton is starting off the summer with Vacation Bible School this week and he will be going to Basketball Camp next week at our church. Cort started to daycare part time last week and is exciting about seeing his friends and the fun activities they have planned. Keaton will start to daycare part time the week following Basketball camp.

Sure, each day as I drive to work, my human nature kicks in and it feels like I am being punished having to work and not be at home with them. But then I remind myself how blessed I am. Blessed to have such a wonderful family, blessed to have a good job, blessed we are all healthy and safe and that I will see their smiling faces in just a few hours. (Okay 8 long hours!!)