The End is Here

Well, this is it. Today is the last day of my maternity leave. Tomorrow, it's back to work. Geez twelve weeks can certainly fly by!

Overall, I think I'm ready to head back to the workforce. I love spending time with Ellie and I'm sure I'll miss her terribly during the day, but I never saw myself as a full-time mom and I've missed my job, which I also love. Plus, I'm not just "okay with" day care -- I'm a serious believer in it. I think it's important for kids to get used to new people and learn to socialize at a young age. I'm a product of early day care myself (I think I started at six weeks) and I think I turned out okay.

At least at first, Miss Mouse will be in day care in the same building as my office. This has clear advantages since I could pop down and see her if I felt the urge. The downside is that she also has to do the 45 minute (each way) commute with me. Thankfully, she seems to have adjusted to car rides and is now enjoying them more, or at least sleeping through them more. Thank goodness -- an hour and a half a day in a car with a screaming baby is a fate too horrible to contemplate.

I think the most difficult part of returning to work will be readjusting to the working woman's schedule. Ellie has been waking in the night lately, but it hasn't been a big deal because then I go back to bed and sleep in as long as she'll let me. Getting up at 6 every day, regardless of how much sleep I got the night before, could prove challenging! Perhaps it's time for me to take up drinking coffee.