My Maternity Leave (or MatLeave) wasn't what I expected. I expected it to be this wonderful time getting to know my sweet baby and learning all about her. Don't get me wrong, I knew it would be long sleep deprived nights and difficult, but I also knew it would be a bonding experience. Well, our matleave was a little rough... Sophia has always been very loved from the beginning. So loved that we had at least two people visit her everyday for a about the first two weeks we brought her home. As much fun it was watching everyone hold her and get to know her and see how we were doing, at the end of it all I was ready to have some peace and quiet. I had some peace and quiet for about a week after that. I had her all to myself while Daddy was at school studying. We would take naps together, tummy time, and although it was hard being bymyself with her, looking back it was great. And then we found out my grandma passed away. After we got the phone call, we decided to pack and leave the next day. Packing for a 4 week old was a little intimidating. Not sure how many clothes, diapers, wipes, bottles, blankets, burp cloths, pacis, (and the list goes on) she would need. We stayed nights at the hotel, and days at my grandparents house. Again, she was surrounded by her family living in perfect bliss. Getting all the attention and was never put down once. As sad as the trip was, it was perfect to have her there. She was able to bring so much joy to everyone, even when she was making small noices in the back of the funeral.
 |
| The three of us the day of the funeral. |
As nervous as I was to have her at the funeral, not knowing how she would do and what noises she would make, we received compliments afterwards on what a blessing it was to hear a baby whimper at a funeral. Life goes on. Sophia rode in the car (the longest in her little life) for 7 hours there and 7 hours back. She did perfect and we were stopping often to feed and change her. It was mommy and daddy who struggled. We both had two coffees each way just to stay awake. We were really missing our afternoon naps while Sophia was enjoying hers.
 |
My grandpa with his great-granddaughter
on the day of the funeral. |
The girl likes to sleep in the car apparently. Like I said, we spent the days with all of our family and nights with a non-sleeping baby in a hotel room. By the time we got back home, it hit me. Maybe a little bit of baby blues, but a whole lot of sleep deprivation and just a lot going on. I realized 'trying to get caught up on (just a little bit) sleep' with a newborn is downright impossible. It definitely took a while for us to recover from the trip. Then in the middle of matleave, a new position opened up at work. I went in for an interview, got the job, and before I knew it I was going in for halfdays to learn the new position while the previous employee was there to teach me. And next thing I know, I'm back at work full time. I had taken 8 weeks off (which didn't include the two weeks with half days here and there). A friend had suggested to me to take 8 weeks, not 6 because they grow and change so much in just those two weeks. Boy, was she right! Exactly at 7 weeks was when Sophia started smiling at us and cooing for the first time. And now she smiles and coos more and more everyday.
So if you ask me if I put her on a routine/schedule (walks in the morning/tummy time after a certain feeding/bath at same time everyday), the answer is no. We were always having to plan something around the day. If you are married to a student, then you know that their schedule is never the same either. Test weeks and preceptorships brought nights with me by myself and him coming home to allow me to take a shower. And I know I wasn't going to take away from his time with her. When he came home, it was whatever Daddy/Daughter wanted to do at that time. I feel like this will be an ongoing theme in our future.
 |
| Daddy/Daughter time :) |
If I had to do it again, I would work hard to make matleave as less stressful as possible. Of course, everything was an unexpected turn of events and out of my control. But I think Sophia realizes that - she's a part of this family and she's going with the flow. And I already love her for that.
Here are some pictures from our sweet baby girl...
 |
| Sophia's first bath. Boss helped/watched. |
 |
| Just a little over 1 month old. |
 |
| Grandparents soaking it in |
