Lessons from a Working Mom-Lesson 103

Eating for Two

Many pregnant ladies like the idea that you are "eating for two" - it is a good way to justify the mandatory trip to the Cheesecake Factory at 10 o'clock at night. In reality, you aren't really eating for two because number two is the size of whatever type of fruit they compare your baby to each month it is in utero. Well, when you finally give birth and are breastfeeding - you really are eating for two. Not because you need to eat more (it does make you really hungry and thirsty!) but because whatever you eat gets passed to the baby. You eat broccoli - your baby is a little extra gassy. You eat a spicy crab roll with wasabi - your baby is a little extra fussy. And in my case, you eat dairy - your baby snorts like a little pig and gets all congested. That's right. I can't eat any dairy because it makes my sugar all snorty and snotty. Gross is right. And if that wasn't bad enough, because she can only breath through her nose when she eats, if she is all congesty then she can't eat. This leads to a really bad situation. 

Now, I don't drink milk and only eat yogurt on occasion (except for frozen yogurt which is my go-to!) but I LOVE cheese. Everything delicious has cheese on it - Pizza, Nachos, Cheesburgers, Turkey sandwiches with cheddar, potato skins, bean and cheese burritos, need I go on? To be unable to eat cheese is horrible!! It truly makes me sad :( Especially when I watch all my lovely family members porking down on some delicious pizza....and I am eating bread with sauce. No bueno. 

I tested this condition last week....Caite was breathing clear and loving life. I decided that the new BBQ Chicken Pizza at Round Table needed to be tested. Tasting this pizza was like finding my long lost love. I had half the large pizza myself. The next day, I had a baby with a large amount of boogers. So the verdict was correct - no dairy for me because I am eating for two. 

The lesson in all of this is that while I love cheese, I love my sugar more. That isn't something you hear everyday but it is a very powerful statement - "Baby, I love you more than Cheese!"

Lessons from a Working Mom-Lesson 102

A (working) mother's job is never done

Any mom knows that the day starts at dawn and doesn't stop until everyone is sound asleep. Between wiping noses and wiping butts there is hardly time to sit down or even eat (unless it is the leftovers off a high chair tray).  But any mom that has to deal with going to work as well as take care of everything at home knows that the combination of these two things adds a level of chaos. This chaos is maximized if you are a breastfeeding mom who has to pump at work. I fall into this category.

At work there isn't a desginated "mom" room...so we are left to fend for our breast-feeding selves. Some women pump in their car, some in the bathroom, one women even had to do it behind a shower curtain. Lucky for me, I have a locking office. Unluckily, though, even if the office is locked, people can come in through the adjoining classrooms. So every day this week I was "busted" in on during my pumpin'. The first two visitors were women so I wasn't too concerned. My last visitor - and the one that kind of iced the cake - was a man who didn't leave when I told him I was pumping and proceeded to sit and have a 20 minute conversation with the lovely sound of the pump keeping in tune with his words. I was mortified! Mostly because throughout the conversation, I became increasingly more aware that my hooter-hider wasn't in position and I was a little 'al fresco'. And to top that off....the conversation was certainly slowing the flow. 

I talked this situation over with a coworker and decided that an all staff email should be sent out to kind of make everyone aware that if the door is locked, please don't knock...and definitely don't come in through the side door - because, no matter who you are, a locked door doesn't mean "please try a different way in". So I send the email out...and it wasn't five minutes before responses were flooding my in box. Women were understanding, Men were freaked out. No eye contact is made now when it comes to the male workers on campus, unless it is because I am the butt of all jokes. Oh well! Better to be made fun of than to get busted in on. 

The lesson is that we breastfeeding-working the 9 to 5 and at home-moms are pumpin' with a purpose and our little sugar-pie-pops are going to be that much more well-off for us doing so....right? Right! 

Lessons from a Working Mom

Lesson 101 - Going Back to Work is REALLY not fun!

Don't get me wrong - I love my job -  but going back to work after having 11 weeks off is really not on the top of my super-fun-things-to-do list. I got home from work yesterday, after fighting the rain and 60 14-year-olds, and had to make dinner, help a five-year-old with Spanish homework, got peed on - changed my pants, got spit up on - changed my shirt, gave two kids baths, FINALLY got them in bed, graded some homework, sat with my husband on the couch for like two minutes and then went to bed. Then my alarm went off and it started all over again. 

I know - complain, complain, complain...blah, blah, blah....it could be totally worse.  I love my job, my kids, my husband, and my life - but finding the balance to deal with it all, is not coming easily. I am having a hard time even remembering what day of the week it is, let alone all the things that need to be done. 

I recently hung out with a wonderful woman from Canada. She told me that they all get 6 months paid time off to have a baby...and then have the option of taking off the rest of the year. She also told me in Europe that women get a whole year paid. I may be making a location change before baby number three...it's nice in Canada, right?

 

So, I guess the lesson in all of this is adjusting to being a working mom is no bueno. Hopefully in a few weeks, the routine will be in place - but for now, I am one toilet-scrub away from scooping out my eye with a spoon.

Welcome Baby Caite!

She's here! 8 pounds 2 ounces. Born on my birthday - October 27th

Our Cute Fam!!

These are our family pics from Christmas! It was so cold, I thought we were gonna freeze. AND - I decided to wear some of my old cute shoes that I hadn't worn since I got pregnant. Big Mistake! I totally ate it and nearly skinned my face....needless to say, those shoes are now in the give away pile. But the pics turned out great :)