The alarm goes off. It's 4:15am. Fifteen. Fifteen more minutes
until I have to wake up. Every 5 minutes it keeps going off (yes, I am one of
those people with an alarm set for every 5 minutes for about a half hour
straight). Snooze becomes my best friend. Before I know it, it's already
4:35am. If I don't get up now, I won't have time to wash my hair. Let's be
honest, I've gone two days with dirty hair, one more day won't hurt. A little
dry shampoo will do the trick (priorities)! I spend the next hour getting ready
to start the day: hot shower, make up, get dressed and put a few curls in my
hair (because what mother has time to curl a full head at 5 in the morning?). I
run downstairs while the baby is still asleep, warm her bottle and get her
medicine ready. I run back upstairs, wake the baby and take her downstairs. I change her, give her the peppermint flavored reflux medicine that she JUST LOVES (seriously, who decided to make new parent’s lives miserable by making
baby medicine peppermint flavor?! Whatever happened to the good old grape
flavor?!) and give her a bottle. I spend the last ten minutes I have with her
holding her tight while I have to pass her on to her father. I close my eyes,
press her face against mine, listen to her little baby breaths and cherish
those last ten minutes in the morning that I have with her.
Ten minutes quickly goes by. I rush up the stairs to give her to my husband. I run back downstairs, grab my lunch and run out the door to begin my day at the 9-5 job. As I get settled in the office, I realize 4:00 pm can't come soon enough. I count down the hours until I can hold my baby again. I keep looking at the clock. 8 more hours to go. 7 1/2 more hours left. I begin daydreaming of the 12 weeks I had morning, noon and night with her. The time where the nights were long, but the days were incredibly short. I would give anything to go back to those days. Yes, the days where I was lucky if I successfully took a shower and brushed my teeth. The days where my days consisted of diaper changes, cleaning and making bottles, feedings and breast pumping around the clock. Take me back. Two more hours until lunch and then my day will be half over, and I can see my baby. Lunch comes and goes as I quickly eat at my desk. I try to spend my free time admiring my baby's most recent pictures and wondering if she has reached any new milestones without me there. 3 more hours to go and boy is it dragging! I look at the clock and it's FINALLY 3:55 pm. I begin to shut down my computer and put on my coat. Everyone in the office knows I will be out the door at 4:00 pm on the dot. 4:00 pm strikes and I am gone so fast before anyone has a chance to say "goodbye".
I spend the next 20 minutes on public transportation, anxiously awaiting the sound of my baby’s voice and the look on her face when she sees me walk through the door. Anxiously awaiting to hear about her day from the eyes of her grandparents. I must admit, I do become more and more envious every day after work just hearing about all of the things I have missed. The sound of her new giggle, the smile she gives with her new toy, and even the look of satisfaction on her face after a warm bottle. These may seem like little things, but to me these are really big things. As I get settled at home, I try not to think about the minimal amount of time I have left with her before we have to start it all over again. This is me. The life of a new mom, who works a full-time job. I am exhausted, busy, in love and so incredibly grateful. Leaving her to go to work is something that never gets any easier, but it has definitely made me stronger.
Ten minutes quickly goes by. I rush up the stairs to give her to my husband. I run back downstairs, grab my lunch and run out the door to begin my day at the 9-5 job. As I get settled in the office, I realize 4:00 pm can't come soon enough. I count down the hours until I can hold my baby again. I keep looking at the clock. 8 more hours to go. 7 1/2 more hours left. I begin daydreaming of the 12 weeks I had morning, noon and night with her. The time where the nights were long, but the days were incredibly short. I would give anything to go back to those days. Yes, the days where I was lucky if I successfully took a shower and brushed my teeth. The days where my days consisted of diaper changes, cleaning and making bottles, feedings and breast pumping around the clock. Take me back. Two more hours until lunch and then my day will be half over, and I can see my baby. Lunch comes and goes as I quickly eat at my desk. I try to spend my free time admiring my baby's most recent pictures and wondering if she has reached any new milestones without me there. 3 more hours to go and boy is it dragging! I look at the clock and it's FINALLY 3:55 pm. I begin to shut down my computer and put on my coat. Everyone in the office knows I will be out the door at 4:00 pm on the dot. 4:00 pm strikes and I am gone so fast before anyone has a chance to say "goodbye".
I spend the next 20 minutes on public transportation, anxiously awaiting the sound of my baby’s voice and the look on her face when she sees me walk through the door. Anxiously awaiting to hear about her day from the eyes of her grandparents. I must admit, I do become more and more envious every day after work just hearing about all of the things I have missed. The sound of her new giggle, the smile she gives with her new toy, and even the look of satisfaction on her face after a warm bottle. These may seem like little things, but to me these are really big things. As I get settled at home, I try not to think about the minimal amount of time I have left with her before we have to start it all over again. This is me. The life of a new mom, who works a full-time job. I am exhausted, busy, in love and so incredibly grateful. Leaving her to go to work is something that never gets any easier, but it has definitely made me stronger.
So to all of the working mamas out
there, take it all in and enjoy EVERY MOMENT!
We got this.
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