Life as a Working Mom

Whoa. I have always had an idea of what life was like for the life of a working mom... or so I thought. I have a whole new appreciation for them. There is not enough hours in the day!! Now that Brynn is no longer stationary, and pulling herself up on EVERYTHING, it is so hard to get stuff done! Not to mention when I get home from working all day, the last thing I want to do is laundry, scrub toilets, dishes, etc. All I want to do is cuddle and play with Brynn. I have been trying to do more work at home as well instead of staying longer at school, because I want to enjoy some time with Brynn before she goes to bed. I am sure we are just going through an adjustment period, and as soon as I figure out what works, something will change!

Speaking of change... I have been SO stressed lately. I think I have written about us deciding to rent out/ sell our townhome. Well, we have come to decide our best option right now is going to be renting it out. So, we will be moving in with my Grandma for a few months until we find a house we want to buy. That way we can save a bit of money, and not be in a rush to find a house. On top of that, we plan on helping out my Grandma. My Grandpa passed away in March, and my Grandma has been alone since. She hates being alone, and could use us there to do things like shovel, mow the lawn, and even help with grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, and filling her car with gas. I know she is looking forward to the company. I am just stressing about moving Brynn from her familiar room/ house into a new space. She will have her own room there, and we will make it her own... but with me working, and all of our weekends just filling up, I just get stressed about how time consuming it all will be. Packing our house up, cleaning, cleaning out my Grandma's house... my Grandpa was quite the collector. It is going to be ahuge undertaking, and I know my Grandma is overwhelemed with it all, as am I. I just wish we could blink and it would be done. I am sure there will be more updates on that as we move forward with it all.

I am at home with Miss Brynn today. She has been doing so great with her "manny," as I like to call him. Kevin is so great with her, as is Kelsey in the afternoons when she is home. Brynn loves Sophie and Liam and I am sure enjoys playing with them everyday! However, she has come down with her first cold of the season. I am bringing her in today because she has a runny nose, was sneezing, but the big thing I have noticed is her eyes seem to be puffy and a little red. And she is rubbing them a lot, not just when she is tired. It may be nothing, but for piece of mind, I want to get her checked out. I hope she is better by Monday, today was not a great day for me to have to miss. One downfall of missing work as a teacher, it can really mess with your schedule and set you back.

Other than that... life has been hectic. Just trying to adjust to my new role as a working mom. Dan has had some late nights too working with Kolby and her training... so we haven't been able to connect as much as I would like either- since I am in bed so early now that I am back at work. Happy autumnal equinox! Have a great weekend :)

8 Months and a Rant

I am going to start with my rant. It is something that has been on my mind since right after I had Brynn, and I just needed to figure out when I wanted to voice my mind about it.

All of you moms out there know people always share their birth stories and ask about yours. Some women take pride in having a "natural" birth, other have no issues using drugs to ease their pain. Why is it that we as moms then are always judging eachother? Let me explain...

If you have been following my blog, you know I ended up with an emergency C-section with Brynn. It wasn't planned. It wasn't wanted. It was necessary. Why is it then when I say I had a c-section when I am asked about her birth, I feel like I need to explain and defend myself? I get this look from some moms like "oh... that is too bad." Almost like I am less of a mother for it. I should not feel like I have to explain that my c-section was an emergency. I am THANKFUL for the technology that is in place that allowed my doctor to determine a c-section was necessary. If our modern day technology had not existed, Brynn would not be here today. If I had not trusted in my doctors and refused a c-section like so many mothers say to do, I would have been putting Brynn's life at risk and again, she wouldn't have survived delivery with her cord wrapped around her neck four times.

I usually don't use my blog as a space to preach... but this was something that just had really irked me. Having a home birth or natural birth for some moms is what they want to do. Is it something I would choose to do? No. But I don't judge them for it. I am and was happy giving birth in a hospital. I was in a place that I felt comfortable, and could quickly be helped in the case of an emergency. I went into labor hoping and praying for a healthy baby most importantly, and also wanting the experience of a vaginal birth. No, I didn't get the delivery I wanted, but Brynn was healthy, perfect, and beautiful, and in the end... isn't that what matters?

OK. Switching gears :) Brynn is a big 8 month old tomorrow! No major milestones since last entry... just crawling like crazy and trying to pull herself up on everything... so she has a huge bruise right now on her forehead from that! She and I both survived her first week of daycare. School went great, and I have some amazing kids this year. I think it is going to be a really good year.

I need to upload some pics to the computer. I haven't been takinng as many since I have been back at work the last 2 weeks. I finally get a pay check this week so that is exciting, too! I will try to get some up tomorrow or early this week.

With tomorrow being 9.11, please remember our fallen heros and our men and women who are overseas protecting us, as well as the ones right here on our own land protecting us from hatred. God bless them and all their families.

Back to Work!

So, a lot has happened in the last week! I started back at work, and Brynnie has met some milestones!

Work of course was fine, I knew it would be. I was worried about how Brynn would handle being at daycare. How would she sleep and eat? Those were the 2 things I worried most about. And guess what? She did fine at both! She is taking the bottle just fine and eating her sweet potatoes :) She also napped well. Whew. It makes this going back to work thing a whole lot easier when I know she is getting what she needs! Kevin and Kelsey's kiddos seem to just love her, too. One of the days I showed up to pick her up, Sophie was singing to her. So sweet.

Being at work means I have to pump. Something I hate. I already have seen my supply take a hit... and it is so tempting to just not pump at work. I am going to give it this week and see how it goes. If I can make it one more week, then that means I made it until Brynn was 8 months, and that I am proud of. I would still breastfeed her at night and morning as much as I can, just cut out the daytime when I am at work. She is going to start eating more solids now anyway. This weekend, we gave her crackers which she loved. I also got her some puffs and stuff to try with her. It is so fun!

As far as milestones... holy buckets! Pulling to stand??! How did that happen? She still prefers to crawl with her belly on the ground, she can move fastest that way, but will crawl with her belly off the floor. She now is trying to pull herself to stand off everything since she figured out she could, so here come the bumps and bruises! She has crash landed a few times, but luckily hasn't hit anything sharp or anything. I am loving our coffee table right now since it is leather and not wood. She wont hurt herself on that! She also is screaming when she gets mad/ frustrated/ happy. Piercing screams. Luckily it is just a shriek and not constant... but it is loud!

Not sure what we are going to do today... think we may head to the zoo. It is going to be a beautiful day so we might as well take advantage of it! Hope it isn't too crazy. I am sure I will have a lot to update after my first week with the kids! I am really excited to meet them!!

Here is a little look into Brynn's world :)