Working Moms Check-In - 2/5

[brittnic531]

I didn't see this started this week and I need to unload... I've had a rough week for a few different reasons, but for starters I took cereal to daycare for them to start giving LO her breakfast on Monday.  I know it's probably dumb that this makes me sad, but I've been dragging my feet with solids anyway and have only been giving her one jar a day.  So now that we're starting two meals a day, I want to be the one that is able to give it to her, but I just can't and it tears me up.  Also, I'm so exhausted all the time trying to do everything that I can barely wake up in the morning and have slept through my alarms wayyyy too many times.  Then, I just got of the phone with DH who picked up LO tonight.  He said that she has had a very fussy day but daycare told him that it looks like a few teeth are trying to come through.  I have been WAITING for teeth to come through, and been so excited to see them, but I didn't check this morning.   I'm seriously sitting here at my desk (obviously not working), trying not to cry.  This sucks and I want to go home and cuddle my baby. 

How are you ladies?  Would you rather have a thread on FB?  

[cgab36]

Ugh I'm sorry brittnic531! It really is hard sometimes. H's teacher asked MH about bringing in a sippy for her. She barely takes one at home right now - we've been slowly just letting her have it during dinner time to deal with. While I say often I don't think I could be a SAHM (and we can't even come close to affording it) it still sucks when you realize others are teaching your child things

[cgab36]

I'm having a pretty crappy week too, I wonder if something is in the air. A left over from being sick, I think, H has been sleeping like crappy and I am throughly exhausted. MH finally pitched in a couple of wake ups but 99% of the time he doesn't hear her.

I'm still miserable at work and I'm not finding any jobs that fit my skills. I get mad at myself for all the money I spent on school that feels like it means nothing right now.

[KK_8721]

I leave Sunday for a work conference and don't get home till Wednesday night. First time away from my babies and it's for 3 full freaking nights. I have just been pushing it aside and not thinking about it, but it's going to totally suck!

[brittnic531]

KK_8721- hugs! I really hope the days go quickly for you and you get lots of FaceTime!

cgab36- thanks! I'm still struggling with letting go of the mom I want to be and accepting the mom I have to be. Thankfully it's the weekend and hopefully we'll both have a better start to next week. I absolutely know how you feel about work. What did you go to school for?

[thankusweetlordbaby2]

brittnic531 (hugs) I always feel like I'm just not enough, like I don't do anything right because I have to split my attention between so many different things. I guess we all have that guilty feeling and though it doesn't change things it definitely makes me feel better that I'm not alone!

[cgab36]

I'm glad we are all in the same boat as far as being "not enough!"

Hugs KK_8721!! Good luck. I still can't get myself to go away for one night let alone 3.

brittnic531 I have a bachelor's in business with a marketing concentration and a master's in business with a sport management concentration. I really wanted to do events on sports but quickly realized there is $0 in that and you work about 100 hours a week. I fell into a teller job when I moved to Boston and have gotten stuck in the banking industry.

I just may have hit the jackpot though. Another local bank just posted a job today for a marketing person/admin assistant. The head of the bank used to be the COO at the bank I'm currently at, and the recruiter used to be the recruiter here. Think good thoughts for me please!!!

[brittnic531]

cgab36 - Good luck!!! It sounds perfect for you!

Thanks thankusweetlordbaby2! You're definitely not alone, hugs to you too!

[skfg]

@milano - thanks for sharing the link
brittnic531 - hope you are feeling better
KK_8721 - safe travels and hope you get some FaceTime/Skype time with babes
cgab36 - fingers crossed on the job prospect!

Sorry for being MIA last week. We're in between childcare providers and it has been busy! We let our sitter go for safety reasons, making it even harder to leave G despite knowing he is in good hands with friends while we search for someone new.

I appreciate this board and am not part of the FB group (I'd love to be and also am relatively new to j14 and know it has been by invite only).

[catsinawindow]

Feb 9, 2015 0:22:26 GMT -5 @milano said:

www.momsoffmute.com/pump-like-theres-no-one-watching/

I know a lot of us are working and pumping: WARNING: this amazing article may make you cry.

Thanks for sharing, I love this!

[charsam]

I'll be joining you all next Tuesday as I head back to work and DH takes over on pat. leave for 3 months. I thought I'd be okay with it once it rolled around but it's tougher than I thought. I don't have the freezer stash that I wanted so I'm sure we'll run out and pumping to build it has been taking a lot longer than I anticipated. I'm a teacher and live close enough to come home on first break but she'll be bottle fed during second break and I can feed her again once I'm home but I'm nervous about it. I love teaching, but I don't feel ready to go back.

[skfg]

charsam - Welcome! I am relatively new to the working mom check in (January) and the support has been great! While it is hard and I miss G a ton, I am finding it easier. I still have my cruddy days. Be gentle with yourself and we're here for support.

[KK_8721]

Thanks girls! Today is my last full day and tonight will be my last night! Tomorrow evening I will be home! I can't wait!

[brittnic531]

skfg- I'm so sorry about the whole babysitter situation! That sucks and I hope you find someone you trust quickly. Leaving LO is never easy, hugs momma!

@charsam- Welcome! Going back to work is tough, so feel free to unload all emotions here!!! We understand That's awesome that DH is able to help out and take care of LO and that you'll still be able to go home during a break. I hope that makes your transition a little easier!

KK_8721- Yay!!!

[amackattack]

KK_8721 glad your trip is going fast and hope you're getting some enjoyment out of it!

@charsam best of luck to you. This is going to be great for your H and babe's relationship and your relationship will continue to grow with your babe. I hope your first day goes well.

cgab36 I hope you get that job!!

Hi all! I love to still see this thread. I love being able to communicate openly with other working moms. I miss my babe! Like always. She has joined the gang of mobile babies at her daycare and I must say it is so adorable. They seriously are like a little roaming gang around that room. When I come pick her up she crawls as fast as she can over to me with all the other little crawlers in close pursuit, and it's the best part of my day. Things are crazy. I'm taking the second part of my certification exam in 2 weeks and have a bunch of other social obligations lately. My most recent worry is that the daycare had a 3rd party come in to evaluate the babe's and how they are hitting their milestones in relation to their age. We got a "caution" in language. Basically, babe isn't repeating sounds back and forth like a game, and 75%-90% of babies in her age range were already doing that, a month ago. I'M WORRIED. I'm trying not to be but I am worried. She seems to be so focused on physical things and way less focused on speaking. She makes different sounds but not tons of consonants I must say. So we'll see how that develops, hopefully at least if there is a problem we can get a referral to speech therapy pretty early.

Hope everyone has a great tuesday!

[frenchchocolate611]

awww amackattack that sounds do cute!! If it makes you feel any better, I don't think E is really making any consonant sounds or repeating things back to us. He makes A LOT of different noises, but I don't think he does any da/ma/la/etc.

[sjdihle]

amackattack um girl, your baby is CRAWLING! my lo has no interest in moving. I'm not sure that my LO is necessarily repeating back. I'm kinda mad that they're scaring you like that. Seriously.

[amackattack]

sjdihle thanks! I get the concept and the thought behind doing evaluations this early, and I like that if there really was something wrong it'd likely be caught, but I do think the expectations are pretty high! On the sheet it does say that if the baby has a caution they should be practicing it and likely start doing it soon...it's just scary to hear stuff like that about your baby already! Like we don't all have enough to worry about.

It's my own fault for getting all worked up about it. I know that babies all develop at their own pace and do some things earlier or later than others. I need to CTFD!

[brittnic531]

Ok, I'm going to write more later... But I work in Early Intervention and know a lot about speech and Lang. Development. I would be more than happy to answer any questions and offer strategies to help work on those areas! It's never easy hearing those things and they shouldn't have left you out to dry! I'm sorry they didn't give you more resources!!! amackattack

[sm623]

My LO is nowhere near crawling yet. She's just barely got to where she likes to roll all over the floor instead of just back and forth.

[cgab36]

Ekkkkkk after lots of tweaking I just sent off my resume and cover letter for that job I want. Cross your fingers and toes for me!

[amackattack]

brittnic531 The babe just started with bababababa two days ago and has done it back and forth with me once or twice but I would most definitely be interested in hearing strategies to help her work on it!

[brittnic531]

amackattack- Sorry it took me so long to get back with you! My first question is whether LO passed the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening. Anytime speech and language become a concern, it is always good to check to make sure that LO is hearing correctly. Is LO prone to ear infections? That can cause a speech and language delay as well because it causes a temporary hearing loss. If the ear infections are chronic, then that hearing loss lasts long enough to cause a delay. I'm saying all this because I work specifically with kids with hearing loss, not because it's what I suspect! I can't even say for sure that your LO has a delay or concern because I'm not there in person. BUT this is what I would tell my families to help work on encouraging speech: 1) Make it exciting! Every time LO babbles, repeat it back. Clap, smile, and say encouraging words. Ex: "babababa.. good job! I love it when you talk to mommy!" 2) Read! Introduce LO to lots of language, this will also set the foundation for literacy later in life. 3) Narrate your life. This may seem silly, but it's an easy way to fit more vocabulary into your daily routine. For example, if you're folding laundry "Mommy's folding clothes. Look at these tiny socks!" 4) Routine: Establishing a routine will help LO to become familiar with the language associated with those routines. Baby's begin repeating the words they hear most often.

[skfg]

amackattack - glad your daycare is so thorough and I imagine it can have its nerve wracking moments. G doesn't chatter much unless he is comfortable with someone. This chatter started within the last week.

brittnic531 - thanks for the speech tips!

Cgab36 - sending good job vibes your way!

Sorry to be away a lot this week. Another crazy one for the books. G is doing well with all of our interim sitters which makes this time easier. I am exhausted and I have no patience for anything. I am hoping for a quiet w/e. Please keep your fingers crossed that our sitter search is soon a distant memory.

[amackattack]

brittnic531 thanks for the response! She did pass the hearing screening, but she has had two double ear infections since she was born so part of me did wonder if her ears were clogged up. We read soooo much because she's obsessed with books but we will continue doing this. I do think though that most of the time, and this is going to sound so weird, I'm not talking to her, I'm singing to her. Like I think I sing to her an inordinate amount of the time. And when I am just talking, I don't really hold up an object and say it's name or say really obviously what I'm doing. I just talk. So there are definitely things I'm going to change in the way I communicate with her. The last week or so she definitely seems to be making more sounds. Basically I think I need to just shift my focus, we've been so wrapped up in physical things that I haven't thought about speech much.

How can we tell if her ears are clogged up due to ear infections? The last few times we were in to the pedi they seemed to think her ears were fine!

[brittnic531]

amackattack- I'm so sorry for leaving you hanging!!! It sounds like you're doing a lot of things really well! Singing isn't bad as for talking more, think of it as narrating your day. What were the qualifications of the person who came to the daycare?

If the pedi says LO's ears are fine, then don't stress. You would know if it were a chronic problem because they would never clear up. Or happen very frequently.