Into Mommyhood: Return to work

Returning to work, and leaving my sweet baby behind was hard! I'm still adjusting and figuring it out. If you think about it, I was with her every day and night for the past year (9 mo of pregnancy and 3 mo of maternity leave). I hadn't worn many of my work clothes in probably as long. Being comfortable with who was watching her (Grandma Jan, and a neighbor) makes a big difference. One of the hardest parts was missing her development. Being with her every day, I had noticed her do something new practically every day, and now that I'm at work, I haven't been able to notice her daily changes.

Elena can answer the following questions:

Q: "Who is the President of China?"
A. "Hu"

Q: "What sound do owls make?"
A. "Hoo"
She is wearing size 3 months now, and weighs 13.4 pounds! We are using Medela "Medium flow" nipples (4-12 mo). She is beginning to reach and touch objects in front of her. She smiles at the dog and cat, and also their pictures.

She scratched her face a lot last week, I kept trying to file her nails, but didn't have enough time during the week, and I think I needed Brian to hold her while I do her nails (afraid to try to cut them, they're not long enough). Saturday morning when she woke up I noticed she had scratched the white of her eye, there was blood in it! We took her to the Saturday walk-in clinic at the Ped's, and had to give her antibiotic ointment 3-4 times a day for 5 days!! This adds to my working mother guilt. If I was home with her, I probably would have tried to cut her nails or had them filed down.

I finally finished adapting "My Pregnancy" journey (as told in this blog) into a photo book! Check it out at the link below. If you're interested, you can preview the book, and even order a copy for yourself!!

Some of the pics below were taken by her grandfather, and some by her grandmother.