Four and a half months flies when you're having fun. Gone are those long, lazy days filled with tummy time and drool and Itsy Bitsy Spider. No more morning naps with Juniper. No afternoon outings or walks around the neighborhood. This Momma is back at work.
Juni stays at home with my Mom while I spend the day at the office, which is fantastic. If I had to drop her off at daycare in the morning, I'm sure I would be a big puddle of stress and nerves right about now. Still, it's hard to leave her in the morning and it's equally hard to concentrate at work, particularly since I only have two months left.
We have settled into a routine where we wake up at 6:30am for Juni's first feeding. Then she hangs out with Grandma or Daddy while I frantically eat breakfast and get ready. Finally, around 7:30am, I settle back down to snuggle her up for her morning nap (or continuation of her nightime sleep), sneak out while she is dozing, race to work, squeeze meetings and experiments in between pumping sessions, and return as close to 5:30pm as possible. Suddenly, my whole day has become hectic.
Note: You astute and conscientious mommies out there probably zeroed in on the fact that I snuggle Juniper to sleep in the morning. I know this is a no no. New moms are inundated with sleep rules. Well, it works, she likes it, I like it. Plus, at some point in the not too distant future, she will be too embarrassed to be seen with her Momma at the bus stop, so I'm going to get my snuggles in while I can. And yes, she is capable of falling asleep on her own.
Stay tuned for all of the other mommy rules that get broken in this house.