Maternity Leave Recap....

I still really cannot believe it is over...my maternity leave that is. It really flew by this time...wow!! Not that it did not seem fast with Braden but it really seemed fast with Brant! I guess it must have been the 5 weeks that we spent up at the NICU. After the NICU I had 7 weeks at home with my sweet little angel...and now it is already time to be back at work.

I started back on Monday, May 9th and I still cannot believe it. It is easier to go back this time than it was with Braden (since we are using a nanny, Chris, and my mom to care for him for the next 3 1/2 months). We don't want to put him in any type of facility outside of the home at this point with him being a preemie. He will start at Braden's little preschool once he is 6 months old. So it will be nice to be able to keep him at home for another few months, and away from all of the germs. :)

When I look back over the 12 weeks of leave, I think about all that transpired. Goodness!! I learned more about a hospital and a neonatal ICU than I ever wanted to. I also learned that they can really take amazing care of your baby, and that they really do start to fall in love with them. I learned that it was a physicallly and emotionally exhausting journey but we made it through..and we are better parents b.c of it. :) I got to literally watch a little baby grow almost his entire 3rd trimester outside of the womb...and it was my baby. :) I learned how quickly you can fall completely in love with a two pound teeny tiny person, and how all you can think about is protecting them all of the time. :) I learned that God is so good and he never failed us while we were going through that crazy, unexpected trial. While it was a really hard time, looking back I would not trade it b.c I think Chris and I really learned a lot about ourselves and about putting our kids needs before our own. We also learned how to rely on faith and perserverance to make it through those tough weeks. It was definitely a time in our lives that I will never forget.

During the last 7 weeks that Brant and I were home bonding and hanging out, we managed to do a lot of things. :) We went to quite a few doc appts between his and mine, and we did a lot of weight checks b.c he was growing like a weed. :) We ran a lot of errands and did a lot of shopping. We saw a lot of movies (most of them at Baby Day at the Alamo Drafthouse) like: "Soul Surfer", "The Lincoln Lawyer", "Limitless", "Water For Elephants", "Madea's Big Happy Family", "Arthur", "Source Code"...and I am sure there must be a few more. We took naps when we could, and we laid on the couch and caught up on shows on the DVR. We had our master bathroom painted, AT&T Uverse installed, yard work done, and some other things cleaned, etc. We went out to eat at fun new places, as well as caught up with family and friends either in town or that came to visit. I took some sewing classes and worked on my appliques...making fun gifts for folks. And last but not least, we had incredible food delivered to us by our wonderful friends for about 3 months (which was such a wonderful treat!!) All in all, it was a memorable time to just get to spend together..getting to know one another and me falling more in love with that little man everyday. :)

Now it is back to the grind...and back to focusing on work priorities in addition to my family priorities. It is back to that place where you try so hard to give 100% to both...and some days you succeed and some days you don't. But no matter how it goes each day, I am sure I will learn something new along the way. :)

Thanks for making my maternity leave so special Brant! I love you! :)