There is nothing like a six-week hiatus spent entirely catering to the whims of a small but angry dictator to make you appreciate your job.
I know that many women (and some men) discover that they prefer staying home after having a baby, but I can assure you all that I am not one of those people. It was fabulous to go to work, where nobody screamed at me or pooped on me, and I could go to the bathroom whenever I pleased.
Also, I had the chance to think about my hot science and run some meta-analysis of data collected Before Small. Even though the meta-analysis was tedious and ultimately didn't tell me anything of note, it was heaven.
As a bonus, I was excited to see Small in the evening, rather than wanting to dump him in Dr Hyde's arms as I do when he's been at work all day.
It's clear that pumping milk, which was easy to schedule into an analysis day, will become a big hassle on experiment days, but we'll cross that mammary-supplied river when we come to it. Right now I'm just happy to have a semblance of my normal thinking life back.
15 years ago
8 comments:
Glad that you're enjoying being back at work!
I felt the exact same way going back to my postdoc after my son's birth too. I waited 12 weeks before going back though, which I think was too long for me. Daycare (the right one anyway) can be a wonderful blessing, and I think I am a better parent because I work.
Happy back to work day!!
yeah, that whole breastfeeding thing freaks me out maybe even more than the idea of being pregnant for 9 months and then saddled with a small, angry dictator for 18 years.
glad to hear you are enjoying being back at work, though.
It's clear that pumping milk, which was easy to schedule into an analysis day, will become a big hassle on experiment days,"
Ah yes, the tyranny of the ta-tas. Still, better than the dictator.
(Ms.PhD- breastfeeding is not mandatory, but the small angry dictators get larger. That's what would scare me, if I had any energy left to do anything than other taking it one day at a time.)
Welcome back to work and congratulations, again. The pumping is hard, but remember to just do what you can. No matter how much or how little, just keep doing your best.
I agree with you, I'm not one of those mommies either...
The first few months of pumping drove me nuts. Then I figured how long I could go before I felt like exploding, and pumped it all out. My body got used to this craziness and I ended up only needing to pump twice at work - then only once after the little ones started on solid food. Your body is "programmable", but as Isis said just do your best and don't stress too much.
Good luck!
I have no mommy advice for you, but I do have congratulations, and I am happy to hear that you are not filling yourself with guilt over being happy about going back to work. I'm glad you're enjoying work and that you have felt free and comfortable to make the choices that are right for you. That would be my best wish for you!
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