First Day Report

We survived!! It went better than expected. All in all: success.

I learned having a baby means waking up an hour earlier for work. John was amazed I was out of bed by 5:15. I was too...thank you adrenaline. It was actually kind of nice getting ready while everyone was fast asleep...something that never happens here anymore. I even had time to do my hair and attempt to mask the dark circles under my eyes!

I was almost giddy when I got to work. It was extremely early and it felt so surreal for me to be a "professional" again. (I like to think I am a professional mom but it feels different...) I ended up getting a lovely assignment with 2 very nice patients and families. I was able to help one facing a new emergency heart condition and help the other finally recover from a few weeks of an ICU stay and gain some sense of "normalcy" again. Fulfilling day, which made me realize I am still called to the vocation of nursing on top of motherhood! I took my time giving meds, final report, and charting. It meant I was the last nurse out of there but I didn't care. Bonus: I was still able to put IVs in an elderly person, but it was nerve wracking. Now I just have to work on moving away from my own assignment and help out on the unit more...I had a bit of tunnel vision. Not bad for the first day back in 3 months though.

The pumping went well. A few painful moments...it just means I have to be better about stopping what I am doing to pump...period. My coworker who lends his office was so sweet, he had relaxing music ready to go for my first break. Its little things like that that make me realize what amazing coworkers I have. They are all very supportive of breastfeeding mothers which makes such a difference in a new mom's life back at work.

C did well from what I gathered in our phone updates. She was asleep when John dropped her off so the poor thing woke up to quite a surprise. She had a little trouble eating from the bottle at first but Missy did well at improvising to get her in the groove. They use disposables there which meant they had to handle one of her famous "blowouts." This is why I packed 2 extra outfits for them :) She napped like a champ, which is a big relief for me.

The only teary moment was when I got home and she was already asleep for the night. Couldn't be woken up for anything. I got over it and ate my dinner...but as soon as she peeped I ran up there to change her into her sleeper and swaddler. I will admit I worked hard to wake her up at that point but we had some great mommy-daughter time and she was able to nurse. C was all smiles and "talked" all about her first day of school. I probably threw off her sleeping schedule but it was worth it to go to bed knowing she was well fed and loved.

It will take a few tries to get a routine going. John and I decided that he is in charge of preparing our meals for our co-work days and I am in charge of getting C's meals and supplies ready. I think that system should work well. I love my hubby...I don't know how single moms or military wives do it.

I am proud to be handling motherhood and part-time work balance. I caught myself thinking too hard about what to do when a second baby comes along. I need to stop that for now :)