Back to Work I Go

This week is my third week back at work. I stayed out as long as we could afford (even with PTO I still had to put money away for bills) but I knew eventually I'd have to go back. I like my job and love my co-workers, this is the happiest I've been professionally in a long time, but it was hard enough leaving Joey to go to work and now it's twice as hard leaving two boys at home. Noah was kind enough to start smiling at us before I went back, I'm going to miss a lot of firsts but at least he saved this one for me.

Noah smiles so much now, he's so much rounder and filled out, I definitely had that moment of "he doesn't look like a newborn anymore". I still can't believe the differences between him and Joey that we're already seeing. Noah is definitely not as much of a snuggle bug as Joey, he likes to cuddle but mostly just with Mama. Joey would fall asleep nursing but wake up if I tried to unlatch him, Noah actually unlatches himself! There are times Noah actually fusses to be put down, something Joey never did, but they do share a dislike of pants! When we're home, Joey almost never wears pants. Dan discovered that Noah enjoys kicking while bare-legged, we can get a good twenty minutes out of No-Pants Noah before he's ready for something else.

Pumping at work is both easier and harder this time. Easier because I have a schedule that's consistent and allows me to sign up for spots in the nursing mother's room where we pump at work. Also easier because of nursing both boys, my supply more than meets Noah's needs so even on "low milk days" I'm still bringing home more than he ate while I was gone. That was something I struggled with when I went back after Joey, usually I only matched his intake, I was only ever a couple days ahead at most. This time I pumped like a fiend when my milk came in and let Joey nurse as much as I could while still giving Nah first dibs. I now have an abundance of milk and I'm slowly stocking the chest freezer my parents bought us as a baby gift (there's other food in there too right now lol).

Pumping is harder this time because of the way timekeeping works at this job. I'm not paid for the time spent away from my desk if I'm not working on something related to the contract. This makes an 8-hour work day more like a 9.5-hour day (I pump 3 times while at work unless the boys both nurse before I leave, then just twice). It also is difficult if I need to make up hours in the event of a delay or closure due to weather. I don't have any PTO left so it's either make up the hours or don't get paid at all for the time missed. Staying even an extra hour means I'm really sore and ready to nurse by the time I get home. The only upside to being off the clock while I pump is that time is then completely mine. I have a special knitting project just for pump time and when I finish that I'll find another one because it helps me relax and not think about the pump (which helps with getting more milk).

Off to work now, enjoy these pictures :)