Surviving back to work

kaf7 · July 2013

It's been my first week back at work and so far it's been ok. I've only done one day shift and one night shift. I think it's the cumulation of days away from LO that I'm going to find hardest. Any tips for that? Pumping sure is a pain and I have a clogged duct today...booooo. LO gave DH a run for his money last night by waking every hour and having long fits of rage. But I came home to everyone being alive so I consider that a success. I just feel out of sync with LO now and that I've already missed so much.

JBdamon, has your week gotten any better?

mnj05 · July 2013

I would love for H to give his daddy a run for his money when it's just the two of them. He needs to see/experience the hard days!

It wasn't that hard for me (that sounds really bad) but I went back to work for two weeks before summer began so it wasn't long either. I did feel like I didn't get to really see him because he would sleep when we got home, wake to feed, then down for the night. That part was hard, I wasn't getting awake time anymore. I don't know how to make that feel any better other than to stay busy at work. I hope it gets better and I'm sure it will with time. You'll get into a new rhythm and it'll all work itself out.

TJ1979 · July 2013

It got better pretty quickly for me. You just have to make your time together really count. As they get older, evenings get better. And we really make the most of our weekends. Tons and ton of cuddling.
Big hugs mama. It's probably harder since you don't have a regular day shift. The going back and forth sounds really rough.

Mrs.AmyDylan · July 2013

First, hugs! It is so hard being apart from your LO.

I've been super busy with my business the last month. My mom has been watching J. It is hard, but I know that my busy season is wrapping up in another month, so my situation is different.

I've found pumping getting easier. I can empty out in 8-10min!

J is having some sleep regression and nursing frequently throughout the night. It has gotten to a point where we co-sleep after the first wake up because I'm so sleep deprived and she is up 4x night. She loved snuggling and the all night buffet only sort of wakes me up (which is weird because I read of other people doing this and I thought it was freaky and I could never sleep with J eating boobie).

So pretty much you and your LO adjust to a new routine. Good luck!

imoverit · July 2013

Its not easy going back but with time it gets better. Hope next week is even better.

JBDamonM · July 2013

Thanks so much for thinking of me.

My week was AWFUL, but it's been caused by a culmination of things...

First of all, the plan was to keep LO out of daycare until the 22nd, and DH and I would shuffle things around with our schedules until then...I'd either work from home, and get a helper as needed, or he would be home with her. Well that has now all fallen apart because be starts a new job Tuesday. And frankly he did not pull his end of this arrangement this week anyway....I wound up at home taking conference calls with LO in tow, throwing her on the boob several times just to keep her quiet.
Additionally I am pretty sure I am not the only one around here struggling. LO has drastically cut back on her sleep. Up every two hours the past few nights so the exhaustion coupled with me working again has been nothing short of a nightmare.

I have come to the realization that I am going to be in survival mode until the end of the month when she starts and acclimates to daycare. It's one day at a time over here and prayers that she sleeps well again. Wink wink.

Thankfully I'm in the midst of a 4.5 day weekend thanks to the holiday, and soaking up every second.

itsmevkb · July 2013

I've always really enjoyed working so returning to work was never really hard for me, however, even with that I always needed some time to get into a new routine. It's a big change from being home everyday to being gone long stretches of time. It's being gone from your baby and not having as much time to get home/errand type stuff done. I really like the idea of my kids having a lot of time with their dad. That's something I didn't have as a child and I think my children (and husband) are very lucky to get alone time together. As for the rest, things just start to fall into place. You learn to make the most of the time you have with your children and find a way to balance that with working and everything else that needs to get done.

kaf7 · July 2013

Thanks everyone. Sorry JB about your week. Today was the first day I cried at work. Pumping isn't going well. I am pumping on the same schedule as I feed at home but I went from getting 5 oz off in 5 min to getting 3 oz in 30 min and I am all clogged p. I have to pump and then hand express to get things going again every 2 min. I am sore and sad. This is no fun.

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