Work :( ...and the real world Part II

SO being back at work has presented me with new challenges. You cannot imagine the things that you get used to during pregnancy. And this post comes with a warning...there may be too much information in here, so stop reading if you don't want to know. Feeding Riley ...

Sorry now I am back, I had to take a pump break. In order to continue feeding Riley I must pump every 3 hours. Thank goodness I have my own office with a door and not a cubicle! To any of my pregnant friends I say invest in the best pump you can buy. If you are going to stick with breast feeding you will be attached to it a minimum of twice a day if not more...it is worth every penny! And if I were to do it again I would get the hands free model. Think of it this way if you get the hands free model and you spend $379.00 and you use it for 38 days worth of feedings then it has paid for itself, because you would likely spend 380 on 38 days worth of formula.

My friend Angela, was nice enough to send me calender appointments that remind me to pump...it is so easy to forget. But it is so bad to forget too because as soon as you do you will decrease your supply, and then you have to start supplementing with formula (which costs $$). But I will also tell you that breastfeeding may have some added expense...I have never been so hungry in my life. It is pitiful, I was never this hungry when I was pregnant! How is the postpartum diet supposed to work when I am STARVING all the time. They say you burn 500 calories a day feeding, but how many calories am I eating? And I am concerned about making sure I eat enough to keep up my supply and diet at the same time...but I am only half way through the pregnancy weight and must lose the other half and then some.

So for others who will be returning to work...let me tell you about some of the funny things I have learned. First getting dressed for work is the saddest thing ever. Pre pregnancy clothes don't fit yet, and even if I can fit into my pants at some point, until I am done nursing I will not be wearing any of my old button down shirts. The worst part is that you old clothes don't fit and a lot of your maternity clothes look ridiculous on you. A lot of them are made to stretch over your pregnant stomach, so now that the baby bump is gone those pieces hug the remaining postpartum bump. Therefore I look more pregnant than people who are 3 months pregnant.

Next topic: REAL PANTS. One day this week I wore real pants...you know the ones with a zipper and a button. Some of you may laugh but for the last 8 months of my life I have been wearing pants with a big elastic band. Now don't get excited for me, I bought these pants when I was like 4 months pregnant so I was not getting into skinny clothes or anything. So at work I ran to the bathroom the other day in my real pants and I went to pull them down...and they didn't budge. Why you ask? Because I did not unbutton them on my first attempt. It had been 8 months since I had had to do anything other then pull down and fight elastic over my large body.

Topic Two: NURSING CLOTHES. I do not really own a ton of nursing clothes...lets be honest I spent most of maternity leave in yoga pants and pj's. I think nursing clothes are for those productive SAHM's who have the ability to shower and dress themselves everyday and put on make up and take care of the house and take care of their husband and take care of an infant, you know the super moms that make it look easy. Well I have proved not to be one of those Moms thus far, and therefore I do not really own a lot of nursing clothes. But when you go back to work and you are trying to dress appropriate for the office (pjs aren't going to cut it, and I tried to dress my yoga pants up, but you just really can't wear heals with them) you need clothes that you can easily pump in. The other day I wore a dress to work. As soon as it was time to pump I realized my mistake. I do have a door to my office and no one can see what I am doing, but the idea of me sitting with a pump is horrifying enough on its own, throw a dress into the mix and now you have to picture a girl in her office hooked up like a cow, wearing spanx and a nursing bra. Sorry I know it is an unnecessary visual, good luck erasing it from your memory, but I warned you this was a TMI post.

Topic Three: MILK.

See my emails below:

From: Carolyn Dwyer

Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 10:52

Subject: Spring Cleaning!

Hi Everyone,

It is time for some spring cleaning! We have been asked to make our area shine and look extremely professional. Please take a look at your area and work on clearing clutter, straightening things, and making your office look nice and professional. Please have your area cleaned and ready for inspection by COB today!

Carolyn

Being the professional woman that I am I responded:

From: Allison Godwin

Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 10:55 AM

To: Carolyn Dwyer

Subject: RE: Spring Cleaning!

So pump parts and bottles ½ filled with milk…what do you think?

Allison Godwin

On this same note I must let you know that milk does not dry clear on some blouses, and this should be a consideration when dressing for work...I found out the hard way. I would also like to let you know that if you pump past the fill line the bottle will overflow and get all over you...your desk...the carpet in your office. And one final thing, when leaving the office to attend a meeting after work, you should bring a cooler with you. Otherwise you end up doing what I did, which was emptying out my purse so that I could put all the bags of milk in it and carrying a purse full of milk into my meeting as to keep the milk air conditioned. (Who'd of thought it would be this hot in March?)

And below here is a picture of Riley, since I know most people check this blog to see him and not read my random thoughts.

Boy parts are hard to take care of!

Infants go to the doctor for a 2 week check up, a one month, a two month, and a four month. There is no 3 month, but changing Riley's diaper we noticed something with his circumcision and we had to go to the doctor. Riley was just fine and did not notice anything was wrong, but this was the second time. Anyway the doctor said it was no big deal and all is well. There was one benefit though...he was weighed and we know he weighs 12 lbs. and 8 oz. We will find out how big he has gotten when we go back at 4 months.

Work :(

So I started back to work this week. And as you can see in the above pictures it has been hard on Riley too. Or wait he looks just fine accept for when I am in the picture with him...but that is really Michaels fault because he was the one Riley was looking at when he took those pictures. These pictures are from my lunch break on Monday, my first day back. The day itself was actually not as bad as I thought it would be. I cried over the weekend and cried myself to sleep Sunday night, and other than someone asking me first thing Monday morning if I had cried when I left, I never even thought about tears. I miss Riley some during the day, but I do enjoy putting on real clothes, doing my hair and wearing make up. Going 6 hours without being spit up on is nice. I think in my dream world I would do this job 3-4 days a week and get to be with RIley 3-4 days and my life would be perfect. I am not so sure I would be very good at the life of a SAHM...which absolutly shocks me. But I feel a little bit more like myself now that I am back at work. Now if I can get back into communicating with my friends and family...returning phone calls and being social then I will really be in balance again!

What a Lovely Name

This is a cool website. You can go here and create a logo to go with your name and then youcan order all kinds of fun stuff.

Riley
Meaning "dweller by the rye field". Taken from the surname. A combination of the Old English words "ryge," meaning "rye," and "leah," meaning "clearing" or "meadow".
Alternates: Rylie
Tags: American, calm, gentle, happy

More snow pictures...

Here is Roxy not sure what to make of here new white environment...

Here is Michael's snow woman or maybe more like a snow alien.

Here are to shots of Riley in his other snow suit, in the Bumbo.

This is what was left of our snow woman by 4 pm.

Yes we are still in Montgomery!

Here are the pictures from when we actually ventured outside.

Riley's first Snow!

So if you had asked me last week when Riley would see snow for the first time I would have guessed much later in life, that he would have to take a plane ride to see it, and that it would be the result of a trip his grandparents would invite him on...never in my wildest dreams would I have said when he is 12 weeks old at home in Montgomery, Alabama! But that is exactly what happened.

Sunday morning Michael got up to let the cats out at 6:30, he then said, "Allison I am going to need you to come in here...and I got worried by the tone of his voice thinking it was something serious (but Riley was in the bassinet asleep next to me, so it wasn't him). He repeated himself and I rounded the corner to see snow flakes falling through our front door window...I was shocked...it was alot of fluries and they were falling quickly. So he fixed coffee, I fed Riley and then we all laid in the living room with a fire going and watched the snow fall out the windows. It was a wonderful morning. At 9 I sent Michael out with the camera to get some pictures since it looked like it was slacking...little did I know it was still going to get heavier. Then at 9:15 my Dad called from Big Sky, Montana where he was getting ready to go out skiing to see what the weather was like in Montgomery, and I assume he called my Mom because she called at 9:30 and informed that I had better get her grandson outside for some snow pictures! Meanwhile Michael was so giddy he was calling some of his friends to make sure they were up and witnessing this phenomena. A year ago Michael and I probably would have selpt through the whole storm...our life has certainly changed.

Here are some pictures of Michael and Riley enjoying the fire:
And here Riley is getting into his snow suit for his first snow outing:

Gie Gie made this precious outfit...who knew it would come in such good use in March!