I’ve been too negative lately. Here are some happy things:

1. I am having no problems with milk production. All the things I did to increase seem to have worked, and I’m responding well to the pump!

2. When I dropped Lewis at daycare today, his teacher jumped up from her chair and exclaimed, “oh boy! It’s Lewis! I love my babies!” and came over to hold him. That really felt good. I love how much they care.

3. I have enjoyed eating out for lunch at work. Something I hadn’t done much since Lewis was born. I love food that other people cook. 🙂

4. I’m having my first redbull in over a year. It is helping with the fatigue. Not a healthy solution, but at least I feel better!

Lewis just fell back asleep. And he is grinning from ear to ear while he sleeps.

I’m supposed to get in the shower now so we’re not late for the 4th day in a row. But I need to stare at my happy baby. I feel like I don’t have time in my schedule for soaking up baby smiles. So I’m just going to take the time.

I have never been this tired in my life. Not even when Lewis was a newborn.

Working with a baby is way harder than Lewis as a newborn.

Why? Because I’m getting 2 hrs less sleep every night than when I was working part time from home. Instead of feeding Lewis around 5:30 or 6 and then going back to sleep when he took a nap around 7:30, I hop in the shower and we’re out the door by 7:30.

I can’t imagine ever doing anything social again. I’m just going to want to sleep on the weekends.

P.S. I think Lewis is already getting his first cold. Coughing, sneezing and snotty nose are happening. Daycare is the devil.

Before Lewis was born I was lazy about household chores.

After Lewis arrived – surprisingly – I improved in that arena. Suddenly I put laundry away the same day it was done and kept dishes out of the living room and ran the dishwasher more frequently (unloading it is a different story). The sheets and towels even got washed more frequently. The only thing that didn’t improve was my vacuuming.

Now I’ve been back at the office for 3 days and I have to say… the laundry isn’t getting put away. Or even washed for that matter. Being a mom who works away from the home is… a lesson in prioritizing.

When you finally get home from a full day of work and picking up your baby from daycare and your to-do list consists of:
– unloading the dishwasher
– loading the dishwasher
– preparing bottles for the next day of daycare
– feeding your breastfed baby who hasn’t eaten in hours because he still doesn’t like the bottle when the other babies are screaming
– making and eating dinner
– cleaning up from dinner
– bathing the baby
– washing your pump parts
– packing your pump bag
– putting excess milk in labeled storage bags
– spending time with the child you didn’t see all day
– putting away the laundry
– doing more laundry
– getting the baby to bed at a reasonable hour

…you just don’t get it all done. Because you only have 3 hours after getting home before baby’s bedtime, and let’s face it… after 20 minutes feeding the baby and another 30 trying to get him to sleep… it is your bedtime too.

I’m both exhausted and totally impressed with myself.