Back to Work

Well, I should say back to work at the museum, because Lord knows caring for an infant is most definitely work.  It was tough to walk out the door my first day, but once I got to the Villa I had so much to do to get myself organized and up to speed, the day went quite fast.  It goes even faster when you have to take twenty minutes here and there to pump a couple of bottles.  For the first time I found myself in the Villa's nursing mother's room.  Actually, a more accurate name for it would be the "nursing mother's closet with a chair."  Spartan as it is, it's great that they have a place for a mom to pump or nurse.  However, I doubt I'll be using it much since every time I need to pump I have to have a security officer unlock the room for me.  I don't have the option to check out a key or any other arrangement, and given the fact that I have to keep up my work schedule, I'm not going to have time to wait to be admitted to the nursing closet every time I need to pump.  Most likely I'll end up in the bathroom to pump, like many other women do.  For a country that claims family is a value and a priority, public places do very little to support pregnant and nursing women.  I'm sure it would be different if men lactated, but as it is, moms are pretty much on their own.

Liam is now a little over three months. Who wouldn't miss that face?

But I digress.  Liam survived my first day back at work and so did I--without any tears, thank you very much.  My main symptoms were a heavy sadness at leaving my baby and a strong desire to get back home after work.  I did my best to imagine Liam having one of his meltdowns and tried to feel relieved that Eric was the one who had to deal with it for once, but that just made me feel guilty.  Because let's face it--daddy isn't mommy.  I'm sure I'll be acclimated to the working mom thing in no time, but in the meantime I'm still figuring things out.

Football!