Goodbyes are always so hard, and this one was particularly difficult when my parents left. It was truly such a blessing to have them here for the week that I transitioned back to work. Because of them, I had a much less stressful experience than I otherwise would have. I'm honestly not sure how I would have fared without them here and I know that it's definitely not something that everyone gets to have in their lives. Going back to work only makes me recognize this all the more when I see new moms going about it all on their own without any support whatsoever.
I've essentially set up my own little corner just with Adler-related things at work. Every time I sit at my desk I glance over and take in the sight of our beautiful baby girl!
Week one back at work I delivered a baby in the same delivery room that Adler was born in. I even had the luxury of being with the new mamma for the last hour of her labor (usually I come in just prior to delivery and don't get to be there for an extended time period). Coaching her through those final stages of labor was quite surreal in LDR 18.
I also had my first trip back to the operating room since my due date when I spent the morning doing cases. I am happy to say that it really was like "riding a bike" and it felt so comfortable to be there again--and time just flew by. I guess it helps that the total case time from incision to stop was 18 minutes and we welcomed a beautiful baby boy in that time! While I was away, Tom was with her at home and it was great daddy-Addie bonding time
I'm on the high-risk obstetrics rotation right now so I'm dealing with a lot of sad stories and also a lot of victories. It is definitely a totally different view of new moms, their in-hospital experiences and their concerns/worries. I feel more connected with my patients and, contrary to what I believed even though everyone said I would feel this way, I do feel like becoming a mom has made me a better doctor.
Adler is now sleeping in 6-7 hours stretches at night. She isn't much of a night owl though, so she is often in bed close to 7pm. So I get one stereotypical "2 AM feeding" session and I can't believe that it's only once a night! We've been working hard to get her on a schedule, and it's definitely working. My at-work brain is certainly grateful to have uninterrupted sleep in at least 4 hours chunks.It makes for a happy baby and a happy mamma to have sleep!
It is really hard that she goes to bed so early though, because I only get to see her for a few minutes when I get out of work around 6:30 or 7 before she goes down to bed. So the post-work snuggles are limited! She often gets fussy right before i feed her for the last time before bed, so some of my snuggles are inevitably fussy times...but she's still so cute!
Days off truly are blissful though. She's learning new skills --like how to take a nap lying FLAT rather than in her recumbent position in a bassinet
And the days off do make me cherish every moment with her (and also make me much less likely to want to share her with others so on my days off I anticipate I'm going to have to force myself to NOT be a home-body and just hog her to myself). We did have friends over for pizza on Saturday and I do have photo proof that I did share her (once) with Meri (who, by the way is now ENGAGED! Check out that rock!!).
She had her first day at daycare when Nanna and Pappa left. We all had to brace ourselves for the emotions of dropping her at daycare that day! But, she did great and was quite a happy camper when I picked her up that afternoon
She had her first FULL day of daycare today and it was a great success. She ate well, napped a bit, and was once again a happy camper when she got home! I got back from work to my beautiful baby girl and we got to try on the gift from one of the labor and delivery nurses who was there to help me through labor and welcome Adler into the world.
It's funny because Tom and I had said that we were going to steer away from all things pink but more often than not she is wearing pink and this hand-crocheted tiara with bling is no exception. She's definitely turning into our little princess with the tiniest little fingers and toes that I never want to forget!
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