Back to Work

Last week marked my first week back at work. Referring to it that way is kind of ironic to me because it sounds like I haven't been working the past few months! While staying home with Caleb and learning how to be a Mommy was hard work, it felt more like a wonderful vacation and was definitely a true blessing.

My first day back at my job that pays me money was last Monday. I spent the first week back in Houston in the office rather than working at home. It really went much better than I expected it to for both me and Caleb! I only cried when I backed out of the driveway in Temple... with sweet Caleb in the backseat and Bryan waving goodbye to us. I really didn't enjoy taking Caleb away from his Daddy for a week. I also cried Sunday night when I put Caleb to sleep because I knew I'd already be seated at my desk when he woke up. I was worried about him being confused and knew it would be difficult for him to understand where I had gone.

Lucky for both of us, Caleb handled the change in routine very well! I am so blessed that my parents are willing and able to care for him during the one week per month I will be coming to Houston. They did a phenomenal job taking care of him. He rarely skipped either his morning or afternoon nap and was a great eater. They played, played and played with him and also did lots of his physical therapy exercises with him.

My Mom & Dad also gave me tons of updates throughout the day on how Caleb was doing and even let him 'type' to me on IM. From what I hear, he loved typing on the keyboard! He even managed to use all caps, bold, and throw some smiley faces in there. I am so grateful that Caleb was with them; it made going back to work much more tolerable and much less emotional.

Surprisingly, it felt good to be back at work. Adult conversation is nice and I enjoyed doing some critical thinking about something other than calculating Infant Tylenol doses. I missed Caleb but also found it rewarding to be back at work. Most of all, it was fun to see my friends at work who I had missed very much.

Bryan had an out of state residency interview on Thursday. His flights home that night involved a layover in Houston and I managed to convince him to just get off the plane and not continue on to Austin! On Friday morning Caleb woke up SUPER early. Bryan nearly knocked me down trying to get to Caleb first so he could see him! It was so adorable to watch baby Caleb lying in his crib and showing a huge toothy grin when he saw his Daddy. During the day on Friday and on Friday evening we visited with Bryan's parents. They got to see firsthand that Caleb has truly discovered his voice as he shrieked in his high chair during dinner!

We are now back at home in Temple and enjoying being back in our regular routine. Luckily Bryan and I both had MLK Day off so we spent most of our time getting our house clean. I'm going to fool that nanny into thinking we live in a super clean house for her first week... and then by next week she'll probably realize we live like everyone else does! It feels nice to have done some deep cleaning and to have everything ready for someone new to come to our home.

I'm glad to say that I am not really anxious about the nanny. She is such a sweet person and even called today to check in and see if we needed her to do anything else prior to coming tomorrow. Based on last week and the insight of our social worker, we fully expect Caleb to not follow his routine 100% as he tries to figure out what is happening in his little world. I'm thankful that during this first week Bryan is on an easy rotation that does not require him to be at the hospital much. Caleb will be able to see that while the nanny is taking care of him Mommy & Daddy are still around. We think this is going to be a great way for him to transition into having someone else care for him during the day.

I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to work from home and that we are able to have a nanny care for Caleb in a familiar environment. Although the transition is not the easiest thing we've done, I'd have to rank it as easier than the adoption process itself! We are blessed to have a precious little boy who is happy and seems secure in who Mommy & Daddy are and still loves us, even if we do have to go to work :)

Thank you to everyone who sent me e-mails, text messages, blog comments and prayers as we made this transition. It was all greatly appreciated!!!