Ch-ch-ch-changes!

This picture was taken about a month ago.  Emmett used to eat peas and carrots like a champ and I was one happy mama.  He also ate green beans just as well.  Since just after Christmas he stopped.  He refuses to eat any of the frozen veggies he was munching so well before.  However, he will eat baby food veggies from the jar, so I guess I can't complain too much.  I just wish I didn't need to buy baby food anymore considering I have a 13 month old who has 16 teeth.  Oh well, maybe the solid veggies will come back around.

Its possible that Emmett may not need two naps a day anymore.  Its been hard trying to decide if he's ready to give one up or not.  I work from 9:30 to 3:30 on Mondays and Tuesdays and on those days Emmett has been giving Nana a really hard time about going down for naps.  And some mornings he sleeps in until almost 8:00 so he's not always ready for a nap at 10:00.  He only took an afternoon nap for Nana on Monday and Tuesday and she said he did fine with that.  He didn't seem too cranky in the evening after getting up, and he still went to bed ok.  So today I was all set to try waiting until after lunch to put him down for a nap.  Well I heard him moving in his crib a little before 7:00 this morning, and I don't think he snoozed at all like he sometimes does.  A little after 10:00 he was getting fussy so I decided he must still need a nap this morning.  He fought it for just a minute and then he was out.  He's been alseep for over an hour now.  I guess today he will need two naps.  When I googled naps I read that while babies are transitioning from one nap to two, there will be a period of time where some days they will need two naps and other days just one.  That is going to be really difficult for me to deal with.  For the first almost 6 months of his life, Emmett had no nap schedule.  He slept whenever, wherever.  But around 6 months he fell into a pretty solid napping and nursing schedule and once that happened I got quite used to it.  I don't like to deviate from that schedule.  I think babies need consistency and they will be consistent with their behavior.  Emmett is such a happy kid, he rarely fusses, and I think that's because he knows what to expect in his day.  So its difficult for me to embrace the idea that some days the schedule may have to be different than other days.  And I'm not entirely sure that will work for Emmett either.  But I don't want to force him to take a nap when he doesn't really need one, nor do I want to force him to stay awake when he really needs a nap.  So I guess its back to unpredictability for a while.

Work is already back to "same old, same old" feeling.  The "new"ness wore off and its just something I get through until I can go home and be with Emmett.  I get my first paycheck Friday, so we'll see if its even worth it.

And I will leave you with another picture of my pride and joy :)

We got him that xylophone for Christmas, and he loves it!  But he tries to walk around with the mallet in his mouth, so then we have to put it up and he FREAKS out.

Back to work: week 2

Today was my first real day of work, meaning I actually worked the 6 hour shift that I will be working every Monday.  I will be working 9:30 to 3:30 every Monday and Tuesday and then 9:00 to noon on Saturdays.  Today I sat with one of my former coworkers and listened to her take calls.  It was nice catching up with her.  She showed me some things that have changed since I left but for the most part it seems like it will be pretty easy for me to step right back in.  Tomorrow I will probably be the one taking calls with Tammy listening and helping.  Then Saturday I should already be on my own.  I'm not nervous at all, which is very different from how I felt when I started this job the first time.

Emmett did pretty well today, but I could definitely tell he missed me.  When I got back and picked him up he was obviously glad to see me.  But when I put him down so I could go to the bathroom, he got pretty upset.  He was tired though, because he wouldn't take his afternoon nap for Nana.  I sure hope that me going back to work doesn't cause him to start having separation anxiety.  He has not shown any signs of that before now, and I'm still not sure that's what it is because he doesn't care when I leave in the morning.  I think he always just assumes that I'll be right back like usual, except sometimes I'm not, and he may be noticing that that's happening more often lately.  I'm trying not to worry about it.  I know this is good for him and I know that he will be fine.

And just like I remember it, after staring at a computer screen for 6 hours during the day, I find that I've had enough.  I apologize in advance if going back to work causes my blog to suffer.

Fun time is over

Christmas went by really fast this year.  Something just felt off and I'm not sure I ever really got in the Christmas spirit.  I think I was too worried about what was coming when the season ended.

What was coming that I was dreading?

Work.  That's right.  Its finally time.  I returned to my previous job this week at the credit union call center.  I am only going to be working part time, just 15 hours a week.  This week I went Monday to fill out rehire paperwork and yesterday for security training, the only part of new hire training that I was forced to repeat.  Chris's mom is going to be watching him and so far its going very well as far as that's concerned.  He already knows her well so he takes naps well for her and everything.  I should be working two 6 hour days and then 9:00 to noon on Saturdays.  I have to admit that it was good to be back in the building catching up with my former coworkers.  It feels good to be part of the outside world again.

When I left Monday morning and got in my car, I was expecting the tears to start falling...but it never happened.  I realized that I wasn't upset the way I thought I would be.  Of course I missed Emmett and it was a relief to get home to him.  But it wasn't the earth-shattering heart-breaking experience I was expecting.  I think I can actually do this.  And I really have my mother-in-law to thank for that peace of mind.  If I was leaving him at daycare with strangers, things would be a lot different.  Well, if that was necessary, I wouldn't be going back to work at all.  I just hope that when I get my paycheck it will be worth it.