Lived to tell another day...

Day one conquered. And it couldn't have gone any smoother than it did. Last night was pretty emotional for this cry baby. And I'm not talking about the three month old. Her momma layed in bed and cried for awhile before I realized that I was running out of time to actually sleep to tackle the big day ahead. Sleep. That was the first successful part of today. From what I had calculated, I needed to get out of bed by 5 to get baby, dogs, and myself squared away before heading out the door. Thank you God for by sweet little girl who woke up at exactly 4:59!!! Can't get much more perfect than that. I was planning for the worst, but hoping for the best. I figured I would either have to wake up a drowsy baby who didn't want to eat or that she would wake up at 3 and not go back to bed. We ran like a fine-oiled machine without even a spit-up requiring a change in clothes or a crying fit. I realize that this will not be the case every morning, but I think it was prayer that helped the first day go well to give me the strength to face all of the others. I am in no way saying that I enjoyed any part of this morning, but if it had to happen, it happened well. Lol! Hallie got prettied up first and then did her morning aerobics in bed under Emmi's watchful eye while mom and dad got ready.

"Emmi, mom won't pay you if you are asleep on the job all the time. Come on and do my aerobics with me!"

She let us know once her exercising was over and she wanted to join us in the bathroom....

"You guys look really tall from down here!"

Once I was dressed I noticed that I had about 50 minutes to spare. Woah!!! Talk about overestimating how much time it would take to get ready. BUT I was absolutely thrilled to have that extra time to feed Hallie again and spend some time lovin' on her. I had my 10,000 lists by the door and everything packed up. I did like Saint Nick would do and checked my lists twice (I did a horrible job of this as I will tell you later). Of course as I loaded Hallie up in the car seat she was flashing me these big smiles that just melted my heart. And that's when the tears started. I was glad that Mindy's house was dimly lit when we walked in because I felt like a big ol' bawl baby. The one year old boy, Parker, arrived at the same time Hallie did. He had fun pointing to her and saying "babeeeee!" I picked her up to give her a hug goodbye and couldn't hold back the tears at that point. Mindy said "it's the mom's that don't cry that I worry about." Mindy told me to feel free to text or call if I wanted to know how my girl was doing....and of course I did!!!

Once the car door shut, then the flood gates opened. But I knew I had to gather myself soon because it only takes 12 minutes to drive to work. I gave myself a pep talk as I pulled into work. Walking in brought about almost as much dread as dropping Hallie off at the babysitter's house. When I left work three months ago, things were a bit chaotic. And I wasn't sure what I was walking back into. Well another world is what I walked into. My boss took it super easy on me today and I had a whopping two patients. I had a lot of catching up to do on some mandatory online courses that I had missed out on. Those took most of the morning and then I went to lunch with a couple coworkers, Mindy and Brandy. Both of these ladies are in their thirties and have four children a piece. Talk about supermoms! I feel like I can definitely learn a thing or two from them! I finally couldn't wait any longer and I texted Mindy mid-morning. "How's my Hallie girl?" Mindy responded, "she's doing great! She just ate but has been sleeping ALL morning long and now Kayla (her daughter) is holding her." Whew, what a relief I felt knowing that Hallie was happy and not screaming her head off. Again, the day could not have been any better. The only part of the day that made me scrunch up my nose in frustration was losing my desk. Well, just temporarily I guess. I didn't realize I was so territorial but I guess I am. The traveling PT who replaced me had taken over my space and continued to take it over today even though I returned. Okay, that's my only gripe for the day. I planned on staying for the whole day even though I ran out of things to do, but I realized quickly upon arriving at work that I had forgotten a very vital part of my breast pump. Hmmmm. So much for makin' a list and checkin' in twice. So I headed to pickup my girl  around 2:30! Woohoo!! When I walked in she was hanging out in the swing. Kayla said she was a good girl all day and didn't get fussy at all! When I went to gather her bottles I couldn't believe my eyes.....she had only drank 1 1/2 bottles all day. SERIOUSLY????!!!! This was very reassuring to me as I was super anxious last night about not being able to produce enough milk to keep up with her demand. If she keeps this up I will have no problem. She must have been super busy with the other kiddos. Mindy said the other kids enjoyed trying to get Hallie to join in the playing. They tried to offer her toys all day and didn't understand why she didn't want to take them. Lol! We made the long 50 yard walk home and strapped on my walking shoes and headed out for a walk in the beautiful weather with Emmi. Hallie must have had a busy day with the big kids because she slept the whole way. Tonight is laundry night so I guess I had better get started because it's not going to do itself.

Funny observation I made  today: taking care of a baby and taking care of my patients have a startling amount of similarities. For example, most of my patients are wearing diapers, they need help to eat, many are learning how to walk, and some drive me insane sometimes with their stubbornness.

Hallie's Corner

Today was awesome. I met three new kids. The only other kids I've ever met were my third cousin Isabelle and the hyperactive kid down the street from us who tries to feed me his sucker everytime mom and I walk by. I met Parker, Kyra, and Jackson. They all play with big kid toys and they piled up options in my lap all day. Once they realized I couldn't pick them up, they decided I wasn't fun to play with. Ya know, it's funny how less hungry I am when I have so many distractions to keep a me busy. I hear that Nanny is coming to love on me tomorrow and Friday. Does that mean I get to sleep in??