I'm a working Mom

I'd like to think this would be an eloquently written blog entry that details all of the complicated emotions that a mother feels when sending her first and only child to daycare and returning to work after maternity leave. I doubt I have the writing skills to put all of these emotions into words, though. (I am a techie, after all.) I'll write a few notes down here anyway, though, just so I can look back some time in the future and revisit this momentous occasion in my life.

Tomorrow my baby boy will be 12 weeks old. This means that I will officially return to work and he will start preschool. It simultaneously feels like just yesterday that MrKLB was driving me to the hospital so that we could meet our baby and like it has been so much longer than 12 weeks since he changed our lives forever. I've been told that with babies the minutes seem to last hours but the years seem like fleeting seconds. This is already proving to be true.

We visited Brady's preschool on Monday and got to meet his teachers again and see the other babies that will be in his room. I left there feeling 100% confident that we have made the right choice about who will be caring for our precious boy while we are working. Everyone there just doted over Brady and I know he will soon be a favorite. He is really such a good baby. Hopefully he'll be good for them. Hopefully we'll continue to see a happy baby who eats well, sleeps well, and smiles and giggles for us a lot! This is one of my fears... that somehow going to preschool and not being with me all day will change him in some way. In reality, I don't really think this will happen. But the thought does still cross my mind.

I'm excited for Brady to be around other babies. I'm excited that they will start to do sign language with him soon and that they'll involve him in little art projects (that truly are just for the parents!). I'm excited that he'll be exposed to new stories and songs and toys. I actually think preschool will be good for him.

That being said, I'm going to miss the little guy. I'm going to miss reading him stories in the morning (he's so happy and giggly in the morning) and taking him to lunch to meet Daddy and sometimes napping with him on the bed or the couch (yes, I do that!). I'm going to wonder if my time would be better spent taking care of my child rather than working. In the end, though, I know that I need the intellectual stimulation of my job. And I enjoy the nice paycheck. I have never planned to be a stay-at-home mom. I know that I can be an awesome working mom. And I will be. I will cherish the time I do spend with him that much more.

So, tomorrow starts the next phase in my adventures in mommy hood. I hope that Brady has a great time at preschool! I hope that I remember what it is that I do at work...

A pic before I go...