Back to Work

On January 4 2013 -- after 8 months of parental leave (with pay ...thank you U of Utah!) -- Becky went back to work full-time.  

Carolyn took my picture on the morning I first went back to work:

I admit, I was excited to go back to work.  I enjoy my job, and can honestly say I am not all that great of a stay-at-home mom.  It is not that I did not enjoy my time off and treasure every moment I was able to be with Elizabeth.  It is just that I am not very good at keeping a structured daily schedule.  I would often look at the clock and see that it was 4 or 5 in the afternoon and realize that I still had on my pajamas and that I had not even thought about dinner yet.  All I did all day was hold Elizabeth and play with the girls.  It was a great 8 months.  I would not have traded it for the world.

Now that I am back at work, Elizabeth spends her days at University Kids, which is a daycare facility right across the street from campus.  Up until December 22, I did not have any childcare for her.  We contemplated using a nanny, but it was going to be very expensive and I was only going to be able to cover about 20-25 hours a week.  We could have made the arrangement work, but I was a bit uneasy about how I would do my full-time job, with only a part-time nanny.  So, right before Christmas, I went into the daycare facility by campus and literally begged them to let us in (I knew they had some openings starting at the first of the year because we had friends who had infants there transitioning to the next age room).  We were not necessarily the first one on the waiting list, but my "charms" (err, desperate begging) must have worked because the director called the next day and said I could have the spot if I wanted it.  We jumped on it. 

Elizabeth is adjusting fairly well.  She is in a classroom with 6 other kids -- and two caregivers named Heather and Cheryl.  Heather is her primary caregiver.  Cheryl has been at the facility for over 20 years and is impressive to watch.  She can manage so many babies at once.  She is always singing and smiling.  Heather is a lot younger, and has only been at the facility for a year or two.  However, she is absolutely smitten with Elizabeth and gives her so much attention.  I feel very comfortable with these ladies and the facility overall.

Of course, daycares are a breeding ground for illnesses.  So, Elizabeth has already been sent home with her first fever -- it was a sinus-y cold, which turned into an ear infection.  Coughs and runny noses are fairly common for her now, but that should even itself out in the next couple of months. 

The worst part about being back to work is the amount of BAGS I have to manage every day.  Look at the picture below -- 2 kids plus three lunch boxes (one for each of us), a breastpump, my work bag, a bag of exercise clothes, and Carolyn's school bag.  All of these bags come and go with me everyday, and I cannot think about how to lighten the load.  These bags make me pretty crabby.  Other than that, I enjoy our new schedule.  And, ironically, I am more organized now, and am more successful at getting decent meals on the table each night.  Well, some nights ....