Back to Work

Well, 3 months of maternity leave passed by more quickly than I imagined, though the 1st 6 weeks went at a slower pace. That 3 months means that my maternity leave it over. I initially cried over the thought of having to leave Jane and go back to work full time, but fortunately, my boss has been super accommodating and has let me come back part time. In May, I will have been at PAMF doing research for 2 years and I have been the one consistent person on a study during that time, as well as one of the primary qualitative researchers, and so I really feel like I need to see the analysis process out completely. We are now at the paper writing stage for the mental health study and beginning data analysis for the patient centered medical home study.

I admit that I was a bit teary when I left Jane this morning but I did not shed any tears and was able to make it through the 4 hours. My work email inbox has been dealt with, my desk organized (it was a disaster since I just had to leave so quickly to give birth), and I am back to writing about what happens when a patient cries during a primary care visit. I am the lead author on this paper and I have been working on it for months and so I am hoping to finish it up within the next few weeks. It was nice to see my coworkers again and get some work done- the office is SUPER quiet- even more so than a library. I am planning on working just half days, but I still need to work out the details with my boss (she was at a meeting all day).

While I was super excited to see Jane and teared up at being "reunited" with her, I think that she did not miss me very much. I truly feel SO BLESSED that we have an AMAZING family taking care of her. They have a 4 year old girl and two year old boy and the kids are just the sweetest, and I know it is because their mom is the same way. Jane was fascinated by the kids- sometimes she couldn't decide which ones to watch- and she was apparently pretty good (she was asleep when I arrived), though she did have some fussy moments, which sounds like how she is most of the day with me. Jane really loves being around people and doesn't want to miss out on any of the action (that's how she was when family was in town) so she had so much fun that she has been asleep since we got home.

I really feel so lucky to be able to have OPTIONS regarding my going back to work. I know that some women are not so lucky and have to work full time or want to do part time but don't have a flexible employer. William has been super supportive of me with whatever decision I made- I thank him so much for being a good provider so that I do not have to work full time.

So, we survived day 1 of my being back to work. I think that working a 4 hour stretch is just perfect- enough for me to get work done and have mental concentration but not get burned out :-) Here's hoping that the following days work out even better for everyone!