Our New Normal in The Day To Day Ramblings

So I think I need to eat a little crow. My MIL stayed with us this weekend while I worked my first stretch of three 13 hour shifts in a row back at work and while Rob hosted a 4 day March Madness party with a bunch of his friends. My MIL was awesome. From what I can tell she was patient and playful and attentive and followed every thing I wrote out to a T. She truly impressed me. She’s still scatterbrained and a bit ditzy in general but she loves the crap outta my kid and for that I am grateful. I had written out a “Leah Care Tips” sheet and she read the whole thing and asked a bunch of questions and really took my instructions to heart. It went a long way in ‘mending fences’ between our very different personalities.

It was fun to come home and hear her tell me excitedly about all the things they did and about how much fun they had. They read books and played on Leah’s play mats and went for walks and did tummy time…they were busy! She said Leah slept great for her and took bottles no problem and she repeatedly thanked me for “letting” her come and help. I am thankful it worked out this way and I’m thrilled it went so well for Leah and for my MIL. She’s a sweet lady and I know it kills her that not only do we live 2 hours away but her daughter and her other granddaughter live across the country in Boston. It did her heart good to get three full days of baby snuggles and play time. :)

My first long weekend back went pretty well. I get repeatedly asked in a very worried tone how I’m holding up being away from Leah and honestly, I feel really good. I’m confident in our daycare lady and especially confident in the other days a week that she’ll be with either Rob or my parents. Leah is now old enough that she isn’t such a fragile, delicate little newborn. She’s pretty tough and while everyone does her routine a little different, she’s pretty much like every other baby. She eats, she sleeps, she plays, she smiles, she does tummy time, she bats at toys on her play mat, she swings in her swing. It is actually a bit of a relief in a way that she’s old enough that others can share in raising her and caring for her. I was her everything 100% of the time for over four months and it’s time for both of us that I let go of the reins a little.

I threw myself hardcore back at it over the weekend and took a pretty sick lady. She kept me busy and with her multiple tubes and drips she helped me remember many intricate details of our job that an easier patient would not have. My coworkers were great about making sure I got away to pump, I chugged water like it was my life blood and while Leah slept like complete crud every night, I still overall feel like the weekend was a success. We even admitted some critical patients and I was able to jump in and draw labs, start IVs, place catheters, etc etc and not just be in the way. It was nice to step away from a role I loved and back into another role I love, in a different way. I am extremely fortunate to enjoy my job so much and I give mamas who dislike their job immense props for going back and struggling through all those hours away. It’s hard even when you love what you do so I can’t imagine how hard it must be to work while also hating your job.

Leah’s first day at daycare is tomorrow and I’m not really stressing about it. Randomly I only work an 8 hour day so I’ll get to do pick up - something that will likely only happen once or twice a year. It’s wonderful that it works out like that on her first day. I’ll get to talk to Jen, our daycare provider, about how the day went and how she slept and if there were any issues. Rob would probably happily just pick her up and go but I’ll need details. Mama likes to know all the info! It’s nice too that it’s only a 8.5 hour day for Leah instead of the normal 10 hour day. I’m sure she’ll be just fine and I’m excited for the relationships she’ll make there.

Also, not sure I talked about her daycare set up but the woman is the wife of a one of Rob’s coworkers. She has run a daycare out of their home for many years but her last kid ‘graduated’ this past January and went off to full time preschool and the others started kindergarten last fall. She has a 3 year old and a 6 month old and then just Leah. It will be nice and small but safe and quiet and hopefully less germ exposure with fewer kids there. She is very ‘earthy’ and makes all homemade organic food and takes the kids outside for nature walks and to the park and to the museums and to mommy play groups. Her childrearing philosophies are so similar to mine and every time I ask “What do you think about this? Or this? Or that scenario?” she’s answered right in line with how we feel. I just hope Leah fits in there, gets along well and it’s a good long term plan for us. I will be sure to report back tomorrow with how the first day goes :)