Bring Your Baby to Work!

I worked from home for Mason's first year & a half of life.  Which means I didn't miss a single "first" during that time.  Although it was pretty hard juggling working and a little guy who knew I was on the other side of the door and wanted to hang out with me more than the nanny, I knew how lucky I was to be there.

When I took my current job, I had a minor panic attack because Tristan & I were thinking about having a 2nd child, and although he was still only a figment of our imagination, I couldn't deal with the thought of leaving a 12 week old baby to go back to work full time.  Then I showed up to my first day of work, and during my initial HR meeting, was asked if I had been told about their "Bring Your Baby to Work" program.  

Well, it turns out I work for a pretty amazing company.  The kind that allows women to bring their baby to work with them after their maternity leave is up, until the age of 5 months.  I'm not really sure how I got so lucky to find this job at such a perfect time, but I'm so glad I did (besides the fact I LOVE what I do, and the company itself).

So, after my 12 weeks' maternity leave was up, I packed up Madden, a pack & play, play gym, bouncy seat, white noise maker, diapers, wipes, bottles, pump, various toys and blankets up in the car, and headed back to work.  

The next two months were a blur, where we did everything from:

Take naps

Got some work done 

 Went on walks

Drank a LOT of milk

Played with the other baby who came to work with her mommy (He was obviously not sure how he felt about her, based on his expressions)

And did a lot of hanging out in my office

I don't think I could have survived this past 2 months without the women who became Madden's "work aunties".  These women not only love Madden I swear as much as I do, but were always there to help me out whenever I had a meeting, was swamped with work, or just needed a mental break.

He had a few work uncles, too!

This was by far one of the hardest 2 months of my life...juggling a baby and work at an office full of extremely busy professsionals is a very daunting task, not to mention the fact I of course have another child to get out of the house in the mornings, and feed/bathe/play with every evening.  My days were LONG and non-stop.  But I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am that I was able to have that extra time with Madden.

Last week was his last week at work with me, and so far this week we're both doing great - I'm loving the fact I can go to work and focus, and he's not only doing great with his new nanny and grandparents, but I think he's so happy to be at home, with his brother, napping in his own bed.  

I know there are many "firsts" over the next year that I will most likely miss, but as a working mama who has no choice but to continue working, I am grateful for the opportunity to have had those extra 8 weeks with my baby boy.