this is what happens when I wake up at 5am

…I actually blog!

So I had a baby. June 4th. Am working on a post about that, but I certainly have been distracted for the past, er, eight months. I love my little babycake, especially when he gives me smiles like this:

He’s only two months old, but he smiles and coos like crazy. He’s so cute!

Ahem, anyway, I’m returning to work in a week, hence why I’m up at 5am today. My hubby and I are doing a trial run of our mornings today to see how it goes. It went well even though Grayson decided to get up at 3 and not go back to sleep until 7. Ouch. So I’m existing on about 5 hours of sleep right now. In any case, it does mean I have some free time, so here I am.

And, some lists!

Reasons I Look Forward to Work

1. It’s only two days a week for four hours, so it’s not like I’ll be separated from my little bugger for very long. But it’ll be enough time that I feel like I’m getting out of the house for a bit.

2. The chance to talk to adults in a normal voice. I don’t baby-talk Grayson, but he does respond to tones. I think my students wouldn’t appreciate a high-pitched and way too excited “Who’s a good student? Yes, you are!”

3. Man to man bonding time. I’m so happy that Dave can take care of Grayson while I’m at work.

4. Things to do other than take care of a baby. It is sad that I’m looking forward to having things to grade?

5. Money! I haven’t had a paycheck in a while, and having that money to help pay for the 20 diapers a day that Grayson goes through will be helpful. (He has a very sensitive tushy.)

Reasons I’m Not Looking Forward to Work

1. Waking up at 5am. Grayson still doesn’t have the whole sleeping through the night thing down yet. He normally sleeps from 8:30-3, if we’re lucky, but it can be difficult to get him to go back to sleep for a while after that. We’re used to getting out of bed at 6-7:30, which usually gives a bit more time for sleep.

2. Pumping. I hate hate hate pumping. I’m not very good at it so I don’t get many ounces, which means I have to do it often. But we don’t want to supplement with formula, so there you go. I really love breastfeeding. Even with all the problems, it’s been easier than I thought it’d be. In any case, I’m happy to be able to feed my child even while I’m away, but don’t enjoy the process.

3. Teaching long classes. This means I don’t get to eat much but a snack between them if I’m lucky. I also won’t get to eat lunch until near noon. I’m breastfeeding and pumping, which means I’m thirsty and hungry all of the time. And I do mean all of the time.

4. Wearing work clothes. I’ve existed in pjs for two months now. It’s a transition!

5. Being away from Grayson. I get so exhausted taking care of him sometimes, but I miss him terribly when I’m gone even for an hour. He’s my babycake, my cuddle-bug. He makes the best faces and loves to be held and talked to.

I’ve gotta head off to campus to run some errands. I’ll post more again soon about the baby, but for now, here’s a naked baby pic.

4 Comments to “this is what happens when I wake up at 5am”

  1. hang in there with the breastfeeding/pumping. i found that it worked better if i did some deep breathing to relax, had a picture of the baby, and RARELY looked to see how much i had pumped already. 🙂 you are using an automatic rather than a hand pup, right? i also found the soft suction cups worked FAR better than the hard.

  2. Luckily, I get to pump at Dave’s work where Grayson is, so I can look at him while I’m pumping. That went well today and I actually got a full bottle, which is rare. Not looking at the pump output is important too – still working on that one. 🙂

    I should try the soft cups. I have a Medela PISA; they make those for Medela pumps, right? I’m sure they do. I just know I have way more milk than I pump.

  3. sorry it took me a while to get back here. you know why. 🙂

    yup–i had medela too. let me know if they work better. i can’t wait to meet Grayson!

    and if you feel overwhelmed at any point and just need someone who understands to listen to you and offer a shoulder, just let me know.

    • So an update: the soft cups didn’t work too well, but at least I’m able to stay ahead of the game with pumping, even freezing a few extra bottles a week.Yay.

      We should totally do lunch/dinner one day.

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