Surviving W Day

My short lived maternity leave is over. I went back to work on Friday.
It was pure hell but I survived!! Yey me.

First off, I only work part-time and I'm away from baby Friday through Sunday. I have a screwy work schedule though. I travel around, so I'm not in the same place for more than 2 days in a row. I have an unpredictable work day so I never know how many hours I'll be gone. I have to drive anywhere from 20-90 miles each way to work.

But the good news is that I have family to watch the baby. I'm very thankful for that.

I was anxious for W Day (work day). My milk stock was small - I only had enough milk frozen for two feedings and fresh milk for 4 feedings. But I had no idea how much she'd drink since she doesn't usually get a bottle! So I was ready to supplement with formula as needed. I also needed to pump while I was gone, which I hoped to do every 4 hours or so.

But it all worked out. It was really hard. I had to drive 90 miles each way to work, in the rain. I had to pump in the car which is just comical! I found a nice big open parking lot to pump in which was private. Except for my first morning pumping session and the employees who worked nearby all parked near me. By then, I'd lost some of my modesty and while pumping in my non-tinted window car, I just covered what I could and avoided eye contact.

It was like the first day of school - leaving the baby was a little hard but I know it's good for me to get out too. And back to work. Now that I've gotten through the first weekend, I think it's still going to be hard but at least I know what to expect and I know that I can do it. Baby ended up getting only a small amount of formula and mostly my milk. And I was able to freeze what I pumped so I now have a small freezer stash.

Oh, I had a blocked duct - OUCH!! We got the okay from the pediatrician to let the baby sleep for as long as she wants at night - thank goodness!! She took full advantage and slept from 11pm to 5am the first night. Good for baby, bad for mommy's milk ducts. The plug has since gotten better but it's still sore.

She's doing so well with the sleeping (knock on wood!) She's going from 5-6 hours at night. Yey.

Otherwise, things are going well. I'm just really happy to be feeling more "normal" again and like a person, rather than a zombie who doesn't leave the house. It's a good feeling and I really like being a mom.

Tomorrow we're going to a mommy/baby class....wish us luck!