We'll make it...

Well, I've officially made it through my first 4 weeks back to work.  And guess what!  I survived and Evan survived and, most importantly, my nanny survived!  She's the most important because if she didn't survive I wouldn't be able to work and if I couldn't work, we wouldn't be able to pay the bills and without that we'd be homeless and...well...you see where this is going.  Basically, she's now the foundation of our family :)  haha!

Here are a few things I've learned along the way:

1.  Wash your bottles more often - in fact, maybe you need to buy more bottles

2.  Make a video of your baby being fussy - watch it while you are pumping.  It'll help your milk let down faster :)

3.  Having a nanny is amazing, a must-have!  She'll take such good care of your little one.  Take care of her and she'll make your work life a breeze.  She'll text you pictures of your sweet one.  She'll bring your baby to work to deliver things that you forgot.

4.  Steam bags are an amazing help.  They can sterilize your pump supplies easily after you rinse out the milk.  It makes pumping at work so much easier!

5.  Communicate with your department and supervisor.  I know, it's weird to have such a shift in your work identity, but you are a working mom now and pumping is a normal part of life.  It probably won't weird the coworkers out as much as you think.  Also, let them all know the struggles you are having.  They will be amazingly supportive and helpful...and understanding.

6.  Don't have high expectations of what you can accomplish.  Go in slow and build up from there.  Be easy on yourself.  Don't worry if you feel like you are starting a new job - your life basically changed 100% over your maternity leave.  You shouldn't expect to retain silly job tasks when you have the cutest baby in the world to take care of! :)

7.  Have faith that your decision is the right decision.  You will have up's and down's about going back to work.  Believe in yourself.  You know instinctively what is best for you and your family.  If working is the best thing right now, you have the power within you to make it work.  When you feel that working isn't the correct choice anymore, you'll figure out a way to stay home. 

If I could just share one thing I've learned from this journey, it would this.  Mama has the power to do anything and everything necessary to keep her family alive and protected and fed.  Mama can do everything needed to provide and when mama falters, all her supporters are there to scoop up the heap on the floor and put her back on her feet on the pathway to success.