Walking by Faith: Back to work!

This is my first week back at work, day three and so far I've managed to keep everyone fed and bathed and thats about it. I've had 3 revelations during these first three days of what life is going to be like working and having a baby. Number 1: Brian and I will be eating a lot of sandwiches and frozen food for dinner during the week. Number 2: Clara is probably not going to be getting a bath every other day like she has in the past (its amazing what you can do with baby wipes). Number 3: Sleep is a luxory.

The first day went better than I expected. Clara took her bottle from Kristi (Praise the Lord!) and I managed to get through the day without my little girl in my arms. I'm pumping twice a day at work and thankfully have gotten enough milk so far to last Clara through the following day.

Day two wasn't too bad either. I think day two was actually harder because I wasn't only thinking about having to leave her for the day, but the fact that this was going to continue week after week. I'm really proud of myself for only calling Kristi once a day to check on my girl. A sweet friend brought over dinner which was a huge blessing because we had nothing to eat and who knows when I'll have time to go to the grocery store.

Day three, things have started to go downhill. I think it was a combination of sleep deprivation and only having two hands when I acutally need 4 or 5. Things actually started going downhill the night before when I got a call from Clara's doctor reminding me of her appointment which I had obviously forgotten about. I started to freak out because Brian said he couldn't take her because he had a test and I hadn't told anyone at work that I wasn't coming in. So I text my boss at 8:30 at night and call Kristi to let her know Clara will be late. Well about an hour later I'm thinking about her appointment and I realize that tomorrow is Wednesday. Her appointment is on Thursday. So then I have to text my boss again to let her know I'm crazy and will be at work and call Krsiti again to tell her Clara will be there at 7:30 in the morning. I had originally hoped to be in bed by 9PM but it was almost 11PM by the time I got her diaper bag packed, her bottles all cleaned and everything ready for the next day. The next morning I'm on my way to work and Kristi calls to tell me that there aren't any bottles in her diaper bag. No, of course there aren't. I just spent an hour last night washing everything then serilizing a new kind of bottle I wanted to try to help with her gas, only to leave everything on the drying rack in the kitchen. Luckily Kristi's little girl Macie still takes a bottle so we have a backup!

Poor little Clara has been worn out the last couple of nights after being at Kristi's all day. I'm sure its because there are so many new things to look at and Macie to watch so she hasn't been napping well. Last night she woke up at her usual 3AM to eat but she didn't eat much because she couldn't keep herself awake. This repeated itself at 5AM. This morning when I had to get her up I usually just turn the light on and she will wake herself up after a few minutes, but this morning she was still sound asleep. I was halfway finished with changing her diaper before she started to wake up. Hopefully this means she will nap better today!

We've also been having trouble with her having a lot of gas pains in the evening. I'm sure its because she is getting more air when she eats now that she has to have a bottle during the day. We've tried Madela and Avent bottles without much luck. I'm gonna try her on the Dr. Browns bottles tomorrow which are supposed to be better for keeping air out. I'm hoping they work because there is nothing more pittiful than my little girl in pain. It rips my heart out when there is nothing I can do to make it better.

I can't get enough of this smile!!!

One of Clara's favorite things to do the last couple of weeks is to play with her toys on her mat. She loves kicking her feet and swatting at the toys. She is usually talking the whole time too. This girl loves to talk! And Mom and Dad love to hear all about it! Last week she was playing on her mat when she grabbed one of the toys with both hands and actually pulled her upper body up off the mat. This girl is getting strong!