Hi-ho, Hi-ho! It's Back to Work I Go!

Hi-ho, Hi-ho, indeed! Last week it was back to work for me. I've had the last several months off as we welcomed Noelle to the family. I wasn't planning on working so soon after her birth but I had an opportunity come up that I didn't want to miss and since I own my own business, I can for the most part make my own schedule. If something doesn't suit my family, I don't do it. It is a luxury of owning your own business and also being able to work because you love it, not because you have to. In that regard I'm very blessed. Besides, I'm only working a few hours every fortnight (bi-weekly for my fellow Americans) so it isn't taking me away for too long. My hubby is also staying home during that time, otherwise I would not do it. Although we have an amazing woman who watches Lachlan when I need her, I'm not at the place yet to leave Noelle with anyone for a lengthy time unless it is my husband.

I did figure out the one upside to leaving your precious newbie for the first time, you are more nervous about how she is going to do, then how you'll preform at work! I was heading off to a brand new client which has potential of giving me a lot of on-going business. Generally I would be a bit nervous about this and not sleep much the night before as my mind would be racing. Instead, the sleep that I did get was good quality- the tiredness of being a mommy does wonders in the realm of sleep sometimes. Instead of worrying about what might go wrong on my drive to the city, I was worrying if Noelle would drink my breast milk from the bottle and if not would she be very upset. If she was upset would she find enough comfort in her daddy's arms? Fortunatley I was able to swith this worry off as soon as I reached my destination and parked the car. From then on I was in work mode...well, almost. My boobs start filling up with milk and became completley engorged like ballons ready to burst; but after that subsided a bit I was then ready to step out of the car as a working mommy again, praying I wouldn't let anyone down that day but most importantly that my breast pads wouldn't let me down! And speaking of 'let down' I have hyperlactation so when it does come down, it comes down like a high pressure elephant hose! It has embarassmet potential written all over it. Trust me, I know from experience!

Fortunatley work went off without a hitch (or waterworks!). I trained a lovely bunch of women on literacy development in young children. The best part is that the first half of training I got to talk about Lachlan and his literacy journey as he was my 'research subject' for the first portion of the workshop that involved development in 0-2 year olds. It was as if he was in the room. I don't generally use my children as examples in my work, but for those of you who have followed Lachlan these last two years, you know that there couldn't be a better subject then him regarding literacy. The child just loves to read and write and demonstrates this with various modes and media.

I left the workshop feeling very confident. I had excellent feedback and many of the participants waited in line afterwards to tell me how much they appreciated the information and the way it was presented. It made me feel really good as it reminded me of why I do what I do: to get parents and professionals excited about supporting childrens' development. It makes leaving my children to work so worth it, to know that I might have made a difference in the way a caregiver thinks about children and in turn, that caregiver will make a difference in the life of a child. Perhaps one day my child or your child.

So onwards and upwards! I've begun the great task of juggling it all. Somehow I seem to manage quite well--or so people tell me. Many friends ask me how I do it and I'm always surprised with this question. I just figure we all do it! I will try though to give some tips that might be helpful to others in my next blog entry; but honestly I believe most of the credit goes to the good temperment of my children and a supportive husband. I don't declare to be a supermom or domestic diva but if one trick of the trade helps ease the tension of another parent then I'm happy to help. Until next time..

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