An Adjustment

This past week has brought about some serious changes in our lives.  The first is that John Henry started daycare and the second is that I went back to work.

First up, John Henry started daycare last Tuesday.  It was a glorious day.  Yes, I said it.  It was glorious!!!  I realize that this is not how a mom should feel about a child's first day at daycare but it's the truth.  First of all, that Monday night was the first night John Henry slept through the night.  He went to sleep at 8 and woke up at 6:30.  Fantastic!  So the fact that he slept through the night started the day out great.  Second, because he woke up at 6:30 I was able to feed and play with a well rested baby before dropping him off.  (I was also able to have a nice cup of coffee and some cereal which doesn't always happen).  Jay and I went together to drop him off and I could tell Jay was having a harder time than I was.  Since it was my last day of maternity leave I was off.  Can I tell you how much I got done that day?  I returned stuff, bought some new fantastic summer shoes, cleaned up the house, went to the pharmacy, went to the grocery store, dropped off gifts and borrowed maternity clothes, paid the bills, and took Lady to get groomed.  I haven't gotten that much done in one day in months. 

(These two pictures were taken as we were leaving to take him to daycare.  The picture above is JH after he got home from daycare.  See, he doesn't look like he had a bad time!)

Next up, work.  I had an ambitious first day back that overall was a success.  My first day back consisted of a day trip to Miami.  I was out of the house by 5:30 that morning, flew to Miami to meet with my colleagues, then was back on the plane and home by 8:30.  It was a long day but it was good to see everyone and I got home earlier than my originally planned arrival of 11 PM so I consider it a success. 

After writing about the first day of daycare and work it sounds that we have adapted to our new schedules without any problems.  Unfortunately we've struggled every day since. 

John Henry is no longer sleeping through the night.  Although he is close, it's taken some time for him to adjust to his new daytime atmosphere which in turn has affected his night sleep.  The first couple of days he was back to waking up between 1 and 3 AM and then again at 5.  Now he's sleeping until 4:50 or 5 so I have a feeling that he'll continue to sleep longer as he adjusts.  John Henry is also sick.  No surprise there when you look around at the other babies in his class with runny noses.  Our sweet boy has a bad cold that thankfully has not affected his appetite or mood.  He's still a happy baby, just a happy baby with a very stuffy nose and sad little cough.  We also worry about his napping during the day.  He is struggling with his naps at daycare and so he's exhausted when he gets home.  I know he will sleep more as time goes on and I just have to remind myself of that.  The great news is that they LOVE him at daycare.  I know he gets lots of attention and I'm sure he will learn so much from the other children in his class.  As for me, work has been difficult.  Getting back into the groove of things is taking some time and the amount of work I have is a little stressful.  On Monday I dropped off John Henry and made it to work by 9:15, only to discover that I didn't have my laptop or laptop bag when I pulled into the parking garage.  So, it was back home and then back to work.  Since I didn't really get started until 10 that day, I didn't get home until 7:45 and by that time John Henry was asleep.  I have to accept that I will not be able to put John Henry to bed every night of the week but I am very fortunentate to have a wonderful husband that can take care of John Henry when I'm not around.  The rest of the week hasn't been awful but I can't seem to get to work early enough which only means I get home later than I want or that I'm working after John Henry goes to bed which cuts into my time with Jay and Lady. 

I miss my son during the day.  I think about him often and wish I could spend more time with him.  But the truth of the matter is that I have a job that will not always allow me to be around for bedtimes or sometimes even dinner at 8 with my husband.  It's a good job that challenges me and helps support our family.  So until we adjust to our new schedules (or win the lotto) it will be rough.  But I have every faith that after a while, we will be just fine.