My New Obsession

After working all day and not seeing my baby, when I get home I just want to kiss her all over, squeeze her and never let go of her. When I wear her, I get to go about doing things and all the while having her close to me!

Until recently, I have just been using a sling. Unfortunately after awhile, the sling starts to hurt my back and shoulders. We also have a Baby Bjorn, which we got when I went to Ellen's Mothers Day show. David loves it, but I find too bulky and hard to move around in.

I started doing research on other ways to wear your baby and came across wraps. I specifically wanted something that I could wear Ivy in and do housework at the same time. I considered getting a Moby Wrap but noticed that they were not recommended to be used to carry your baby on your back, due to them being stretchy.

So, a woven wrap it was! Thanks to the lovely girls on the AP board on the Bump.com, I became familiar with the baby wrapping world, which I never knew existed!

There are so many different types of woven wraps, different sizes and they are just beautiful. They are pricey, but I was able to find a used one that I loved on a FSOT board, that was a great price.

Woven wraps are definitely not easy to use. They take lots of practice. I think this one reason why they aren't very popular. It has been a fun learning process.

Here are some pics of a finished project. I believe this was my 3rd try at it and the first time that didn't leave Ivy crying. I was super excited after this and really proud of myself. What I didn't realize at the time though, was that I totally messed up the last couple of steps and Ivy is not supported well, at all! I was doing dishes and she started to slip down. I was a little horrified, once I had realized what I had done.

Didymos Indio Lilac, 4.6 m, supposed to be a double hammock carry

I made sure to re-read the directions several times before trying again! It's still a work in progress, but today's try was pretty good and Ivy and I ventured out of the house to get the mail!

First 2 Weeks of Work

Going back to work went better than I anticipated. I didn't cry when I left in the morning, which really surprised me. That evening was another story. As I got her and myself ready for bed, I cried because I kept thinking about how I had to go back and how much I had missed her. But like everyone said it got easier each day.

The first week I did half days and on my first day back, by the time I went and did my drug test (silly that I had to do one) and came back. it was almost time to leave. I am really glad I did this as it it helped me ease back into work and getting used to pumping.

This past week of working a full 40 hour week went well. My first full day, David brought Ivy to the office so my boss and a couple of the other ladies could meet her, as they had been sick when I had brought her in previously. I miss Ivy so much while I am gone, but I am busy at work and the day goes by really quickly.

David has been doing an awesome job of watching her during the day. She has been sleeping great and sleeps late for him. She has started going to bed around 9:30 and I have to wake her up at 5:30 to feed her. I have been getting around 7 hours of sleep each night, which is awesome!

When I come home, I try and savor each and every moment I have with her, before going to bed. We have done a lot of cuddling and I have been putting her in her sling more often, so she is close to me. Somehow though, I need to work on fitting in cooking dinner and cleaning into our schedule. I am sure with time everything will fall into place.

Going back to Work

I would love, love, love to stay at home with Ivy, but unfortunately it's pretty impossible for me to do so. We have crunched the numbers and thanks largely impart to my student loans, I can't stay at home with her.

So as of Monday, I will be back to work. :(

She will be at home during the week with daddy. This makes me feel so much better. If I can't be at home with her, the next best thing is Dad. I know the two of them will form a special bond because of this, which is a plus.

In preparing to go back to work, I began pumping a couple of weeks ago to build up a stash. I also started taking Fenugreek in efforts to bump up my supply. I started taking it when I started pumping, so I'm not sure if it has actually helped. I think it has though. I figure if it doesn't help, oh well as it's not hurting me to take it.

One thing that I dislike about it, is that I now smell like maple syrup. Yuck! I hate maple syrup. David thinks it's funny. The plan is, if I am able to pump enough at work and not have to dip into my stash or do additional pumping sessions while at home, I will probably stop taking the Fenugreek. And if not, I guess I will smell like maple syrup for several more months!

Ivy is also exclusively breast fed and I knew I wanted to introduce the bottle in advance, so David didn't have any problems when I actually went back to work. When we introduced the pacifier at 4 weeks, she would not take one. We tried several different types and she finally took a Nuk, but that was also with a lot of persuading. Because of this, I was so sure we were going to have problems introducing the bottle.

Well, when it came down to it, she took the bottle from David like a pro! Whew! I took a really cute photo of her taking her first bottle, but I can't find the camera anywhere!

The bottle that she ended up taking was the first one we tried, which was the Medela bottle that the pump provided. I also have some Weil Baby bottles that I received from the Ellen show, but we haven't tried them yet.

So far, she has taken several bottles from David and a bottle from my mother in law, with no problems. I have not given her any, as I fear that if I do, she might decide to reject the boob, due to the bottle being easier. My goal is to breast feed for a year or more and unless I absolutely had to, I don't want to do anything that might decrease my supply.

Going back to work also has required some new clothes. I hate spending money on new clothes, especially when my old ones are still nice, but my old ones don't fit. I have lost all of the baby weight that I gained, all 40 lbs! Wohoo! But, my boobs increased dramatically in size. I went from a small B to small D. Holy cow!

My pre-pregnancy clothes also tended to be on the form fitting side, so the bigger chest, plus the tiny bit of belly left, doesn't work in my book. Properly fitting clothes are a must when dressing professionally for work! We went shopping and I came home with several new shirts that I am looking forward to wearing!

I have 4 days left of maternity leave and I am trying to savor every moment that is left. I decided that I will not fret over going back to work. I will not spend this time worrying about it and being a bad mood. Nothing can be done to change the fact that I have to go back, so I am going to enjoy these last 4 days with baby girl!

And if any of you have any of you working mommas have advice, I am all ears!