Sunday is about to come to an end, and Little Foot is finally sound asleep.

Mummy finally gets some time to pause and reflect upon this week, my first full week as a full time working mum aka FTWM.

So many of my very supportive mummy friends have congratulated me at the end of Friday with “yay! you survived your first week!”. I am so touched.  It really takes a fellow mummy to understand the pain of this transition,  especially since mine came so late in the mummy game.

How do I feel?

I think I didn’t do too badly for a fully latching mummy that has been glued to her baby for more than 10 months. I thought I might be so emo on my first day,  but honestly, once I stepped through the doors,  I didn’t really give myself chance to wallow in self pity. (It is good to have a linear brain sometimes. )

I spent the first two days cleaning my old workstation and shifting to the new one. 3+ years of junk and 11 mths of dust.  No joke.

The IT folks took awhile to get things going for me again. So it was only Wednesday that my machines were up. By then some work had already landed on my lap. Thursday morning was spent off site at a long meeting. Friday was the first day I felt like things are in full swing. There were a couple of occasions where meetings brought on migraine. I think some parts of my brain still needs time to be reactivated.

I had returned to work a changed person, but it wasn’t just me. The place seemed to have changed too… many of my kakis were no longer there. I don’t quite know what to make of it, but perhaps it migbt not be a bad thing. I feel less attached and so it doesn’t make me feel so bad when I left on the dot.

My mummy routine at work?

I set aside half an hour after lunch to visit the mothers’ room. Supply is slowly but surely dwindling,  so 1 pump session in the day works, as long as Little Foot latches in the morning and when I return home. It is during this pumping time that I think of her and miss her the most.

I try not to call home more than once daily. Simply because I know she jolts awake if the phone rings. If I do miss her, I have photos and videos on my phone /Facebook to get me through. We did 2 video calls this week 🙂

I find myself quickening my pace when I knock off. So, it’s a good thing I decided to drive instead of take the train. I definitely want to be there for her evening bath time and bed time.

I didn’t really have time yet to process whether I felt my time with her was more precious now that it is confined to the small pockets before and after work, but I was secretly happy when she pushed her bedtime,  because it meant more time to hang out together and play. I found myself more patient with her when she’s being cranky or resisting sleep.

As we had a hectic Saturday with the Winter ONEderland party and quite a tiring day today, maybe what I will miss most is being able to sleep till later than office hours on weekdays.

Is Little Foot coping well with our separation? I think she’s not doing too badly for starters.

Mornings,  she would cling to me for dear life once she saw me out of my PJs(clear signal mummy’s going out!)

Evenings, around the time I’m home,  she starts fussing. Once, she was there at the lift landing when the lift opened. I was soooo happy to see her face all lit up,  it brought me nearly to tears.

I think we both deserve a good pat on the back for doing so well in our first week of transition.

So this more or less sums up my transition from SAHM back to FTWM. I do feel that returning to work that I’m familiar with is less daunting than say, if I had gone to a completely new posting or workplace. Let’s hope my positive feelings continue.

To my Little Foot,

Mummy returns to work for us –  You, me and Papa. I firmly believe Papa should not be burdened with the role of being sole breadwinner. It is a psychologically draining position for anyone to be in, even if he doesn’t feel it.

And Mummy was brought up to believe that one must work hard and not be reliant on your spouse financially. What’s more, Papa and I have always been equals, and maintaining the equilibrium makes for a healthy marriage. With both of us working, we will be able to afford the best for you within our means. I believe we can do this without compromising our love and attention for you.

Thank you for nearly 11 months of company… and thank you for the bright smile you reserve for me when I reach home each evening. Thank you for letting me go back to work a changed person. You let me see that there are more important things to life than being a workaholic. Yes, you changed me, for the better.

Love you to the moon and back.