Back to work!

Well, it's official. My maternity leave is over. The J-dog turned 9 months yesterday, so I guess that's a pretty good run. I am very thankful that I had all that time to spend with him, non-stop, and to really get into the whole mommy thing. But I have to say that it was actually good to get back to work. I wasn't too thrilled about it on my first day back, this past Tuesday, but by yesterday, I was much better. I am very lucky to only have to go to campus two days a week. Just like the schedule I had last spring when I was pregnant, it is two very intense days but then I am home the rest of the week. Of course I am still doing plenty of work from home, but to be here with him during that time is great. (I am going to have to start doing more work in the evenings and weekends though, but no big deal.)

We have a very fun, young and enthusiastic babysitter. I don't really want to call her a nanny because she doesn't really have that vibe. And she knows that this is a short-term gig, just through the semester. I'll be off for the summer and then we will re-evaluate our childcare needs. Plus we are hoping to move over the summer...where is still to be determined. Anyway, for now this is a good situation. She is silly and plays a lot with him, plus sings songs and brings various instruments to play for/with him.

In terms of eating/drinking, things are going pretty well. I was worried because he wouldn't take a bottle and doesn't do great with a sippy cup. We saw the doctor on Wednesday for his 9 month appointment, and she recommended that we keep trying the bottle at this point, because he wouldn't be able to get enough from a sippy cup for quite a while. She said we should just keep trying it. Sure enough, on Thursday morning he took a bottle of breastmilk. Hooray! The only problem is that I have not stockpiled very much at all (already used it this week in fact) and while I did decide to try to pump at work, so far I've only managed to get 2 ounces each day. So I'm doing it more to keep my supply up than to produce milk for him. Which means he's going to have to start drinking formula as well. I'm thinking of mixing the two together at first, and then gradually cutting down on the milk. Does anyone have experience with combining breastfeeding with occasional formula bottles?

Developmentally, things are a lot of fun. He is "crawling" (on his belly still), but can really get around. While he hasn't pulled himself up to standing, he loves to pull up on the couch arm if we are sitting there together. Today he learned how to open the kitchen drawer next to his highchair, and before I even noticed had pulled out the bottle opener. At least it wasn't anything sharp! So now I'm on alert. He has also been teething, and though nothing has popped out yet, the doctor said she could feel it right under the surface. When she pointed it out to me, I could actually see the outline. So really any day now I think. He hasn't been too fussy, though last week he did have a particularly bad day. I'm not used to him crying or fussing, so to have him keep breaking out in tears is new for me. But he is doing mostly better now.

Overall, he is a lot of fun. He laughs and claps his hands, and loves playing with all the new toys and books he got for Christmas. He is really enjoying our music class, which is now with the mixed ages group. Again, he claps along to the music and bounces.

A final note - as I was writing this entry, I heard him wake up and peeked on the video monitor - he was sitting up! I have only seen him get himself to sitting once before, on Wednesday morning. So this is a new thing. Every day brings something new and exciting. I just hope I don't miss anything too big on the days that I am away from him.