Off to Daycare! And Back to Work...

WARNING: This is a long posting....
This was Jack's first week at daycare. I didn't think I'd have a hard time with it, but it was tougher than I thought! We started him on Monday so I could get an idea of what time I needed to get up, when I needed to feed him, how long it'd take to drive to the school, what traffic would be like... you get the point. Even though I wasn't starting back at work until Wednesday, I went ahead and practiced like it was a work day. I didn't get out the door with my teeth brushed or face washed, but I was on the road by 7AM. Pretty good for the first day, I thought. I dropped him off and visited with his teacher for a while before I left, then got in the car and had an emotional breakdown! I don't know what came over me. I came home and asked Maggie (my other baby - the dog) to come give her momma a hug, and let her lick the tears off my face. I pray daily for protection over Jack, and that the Lord would give the teachers wisdom in how to care for Jack and that they would be loving to him, and that he would give me peace that this is where he needs to be right now. I kept myself busy all morning - I had my quiet time, did laundry, picked up around the house a little, made some curtains I'd been meaning to finish for the past year and a half, folded the laundry, and went to the chiropractor to get an adjustment. Crazy morning, but I was eager to see him before long. I didn't have him stay the whole day and ended up picking him up just after lunch. The teachers said he did really well.

Tuesday was a lot easier for me. The Lord covered me with peace and I did not feel uneasy at all. I even got out the door with my teeth brushed! Josh went with me this time to meet the teacher, so we dropped him off extra early - I think we were out the door by 6:30. Jack stayed until 4, and he had another great report.

Wednesday was my first practice day back to work. Let me start off by saying that we've been real lucky because Jack has started sleeping about 9 hours at night. Here's how the day went...

-NIGHT BEFORE - shower, get laptop loaded into car, diaper bag ready, car seat in place, outfits picked out (mine and Jack's - Josh can pick out his own clothes these days...), and anything else I can get done, preferably all before 9:15PM

-5:50AM - get up, brush teeth and pump

-6:15AM - put away milk, feed Maggie, wash face, get in contacts, put on a little bit of makeup so I don't scare anyone

-6:20AM - Josh wakes up Jack and gets him out of his pjs, changes his diaper, and gets him into his outfit for the day while I finish getting dressed

-6:25 to 6:30AM - I feed Jack and say bye to Josh

-6:50 to 7:00AM - grab a quick snack and go

-7:10 to 7:15AM - arrive at daycare and visit with teacher

-7:20AM - off to work!!

I'm going to be honest and admit that I was not able to get in my quiet time Wednesday, Thursday or Friday - and it's been difficult to be consistent since Jack arrived. Once I started getting back into the routine of things, we had to change it up with going back to work! I just don't see it possible to do it before I leave for work unless I get up earlier, which I'm already struggling to get up at 5:50. I'm going to challenge myself to commit some time to do it at night. Please check in on me and ask me about it so that I've got some accountability!! And if you think about it, please pray for me as I work on this!

Overall the week back to work was great! My team was sure not to put too much pressure on me - there weren't any high expectations for me this week, and I even left early a couple of the days to pick up Jack. My bestest friend Kristyn decorated my desk with printed pictures of Jack, and taped "Jack Loves You" to my computer screen. If I remember, I'll have to get a picture of it! It was nice to see everyone again and to get back into the swing of things. I forgot how much fun I have at work and how much I missed everyone!

My sweet friend Melissa surprised me with a "going back to work" homemade frozen key lime pie - well, it was kind of a surprise. Her husband accidentally told me when he shouldn't have. Nonetheless, it was sweet of her to make my fav dessert - and it was delicious!! I don't know where she found the time to make it with her busy schedule, but I'm so glad she did - it was a nice treat!! I'm sure you're salivating from the photo below. :)