Going back to work

pixiqueen79

I will be returning to work in a little over a week. I will have been off for 10 weeks.  Right now I'm having a hard time not tearing up thinking about leaving him.  He will be with Dad at work and Grandma most of the time. I just feel like he will grow up with out me.  I also feel bad for him because in a little over a week his whole world will change.  So far his whole life has been just momma and him at home all day.  I have a weird schedule that changes month to month sometimes I start at 4 am and sometimes I start at 6:30am and sometimes I start at 11 am.  I never thought I could fathom being a stay at home mom but now I wish I could, unfortunately we can't afford for me not to work. 

Also he doesn't sleep well and likes to be awake from 10 till midnight... and then wakes up every few hours.  I'm stressed about being able to get enough sleep to function at work. 

Also I have a very physical job and somedays we are away from the shop all day.  I am having major anxiety about how I will pump during the day and how my coworkers will handle it.  we are all pretty close. We want to feed him breastmilk for at least 6 months. I just feel like after a while they might get annoyed by me having to find a place to pump... especially if we only take one truck. 

Can anyone offer any advice for any of these issues? 

cwm11985

Be upfront from the beginning with your co-workers about needing to pump.  Mine have been extremely understanding when I've had to leave early/come late to daily team meetings.  Also, as far as sleep.  Starting tonight you should make LO's bedtime earlier and earlier until you get it to where you want (which should probably be ~7 or 8pm) so you aren't worrying about not getting enough sleep.  Another thing about pumping, pump on the weekends, too so you can have a stash in case you don't get to pump enough one day at work.