I Can't Believe I Didn't Already Post This.

Just sit back and relax.

First, imagine a Mom... a Mom at work in the field for the day with a coworker.
Imagine that it's now lunchtime, and the said coworker needed to stop at Dunkin Donuts.
But the Mom needed to pump.
So she headed into the DD bathroom, and luckily, there was an electrical outlet.
She gets down to business, standing there in the bathroom, balancing her pump's controls on her knee as she holds the pump to her breast.
(But oh yeah, it's lunchtime, so this Mommy still needed to eat while on her lunch break.)
So she broke out her pb&j and banana and fumbles her hands so that she looks like her arms are bent in 10 directions.
And in about 20 minutes, successfully eats lunch, pumps 5.5 oz., all while in the Dunkin Donuts bathroom.

This was my Thursday lunch break.

--

Any fun or crazy pumping experiences/locations you'd like to share?

Cloth Diaper Shout Out: Mass Media Style

Sara Snow was on Good Morning America today promoting her book and explaining the "green, greener, and greenest" diaper options for babies. You can watch the clip here.

It's too bad that morning show spots are so short because a clip that demonstrates just how easy it is to use cloth could truly use exposure. This one didn't get to emphasize how very modern cloth has become because it was just too brief.

But it's wonderful that this was on GMA. Hooray for that!

Do YOU have a Booby Monster?: Little Bit Designs Review & Giveaway (Closes 3/30)

***THIS IS A 200 Oz. CELEBRATION SERIES EVENT***

Feed, Pump, Feed, Feed, Pump. Feed, Feed, Feed, Feed, Feed. Rinse, Repeat. The life of the breastfeeding (and milk-donating) Mommy.And what does this little repertoire of activity create? A Booby Monster. Let's not forget that nursing Mommies tend to become passionate about breastfeeding in some way.

Little Bit Designs Etsy Shoppe gets that, creating adorable and clever pro-breastfeeding garb (among other cute clothing) for your little one. What I love is how bright and modern these items are. If you are particularly daring, phrases like "Breastfed boys are born on second base," might be for you. If you are looking for something on the political, but not so controversial side, the "Learning to Breastfeed: No Bottles, No Pacifiers, No Nursery" gown or the "Booby Monster" shirt is a perfect choice. I tried the Booby Monster shirt on Gabe this past week, and he looked ADORABLE in it. I cannot wait for Spring to really hit so I can bring him out in his new tee!

And seriously, if you don't already like Little Bit Designs, you should read her Etsy About Me:
"I am the mother to 2 beautiful little girls. They inspire me everyday to create wonderful items. I put my heart into every item that I make, and I would never sell an item that I wouldn't give to my own children. In fact, most items I make don't even make it here, they are forever added into the collection of my girls."

And you can win a Booby Monster t-shirt!
Enter to win and get your little Booby Monster a shirt to match his or her latte!

The Mandatory Entry
Visit Little Bit Designs Etsy Shoppe and look at the products.
Pick your favorite and comment about it.

Want more entries? Do any or all of these things...

2. Visit http://www.hmbana.org and figure out which Mother's Milk bank location is closest to you. Tell me which one with their contact number in a comment. I live in NJ, but am working with Ohio!
(2 additional entries-- leave 2 comments.)

3. Publicly follow my blog (right sidebar) and comment. If you already, follow, make sure to comment!

4. Follow @amomwriting and/or @givemilk on Twitter and comment for one (1) additional entry each.

5. Tweet the following (One (1) entry per tweet; you can tweet twice per day):

My #breastfeeding booby monster wants to win a t-shirt from @amomwriting http://tinyurl.com/ylh2bw7 Enter by 3/30. #bfcafe #bfing

6. Blog about the giveaway including a link to amomwriting and comment with the permalink to your entry for two (2) extra entries, leaving two separate comments.

7. Vote for A Mom Writing on Top Mommy Blogs here and comment. (1 entry per vote, 1 vote per day)

8. Vote for A Mom Writing on Top Baby Blogs here and comment. (1 entry per vote, 1 vote per day)

9. Enter any other current giveaway of the 200 oz. event and leave a comment.

Make sure to include your e-mail address in your mandatory entry (if it is not in your profile) so that I have a means of contacting you if you win! The winner will be chosen by random.org on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 10:00 p.m. EST. I will then notify the winner by e-mail; the winner has 48 hours to respond before another winner is picked. Thank you to Mamatini for this opportunity!

Questions?
Contact me at amomwriting@gmail.com

A Mom Writing did not receive monetary compensation for this entry.

Alas, alas, this is the last giveaway of the 200 Oz. Event. I'm happy to be rocking out the party until the 30th-- all three Giveaway Winners will be chosen on the 30th so be sure to enter all three by then!

WINNER: (by random.org) helenlam... contacting now!

The Dirty, Dirty On Donating Milk

The 200 Oz. event is nearing its close, and while one last giveaway posts tonight and all three giveaways are running until March 30th, it only seems appropriate to give you all a true run down of how things went down this past week.

The last two steps of milk donation are:
1. bloodwork
2. shipping
Step 1 involved receiving a blood draw kit from the Milk Bank that contained the blood vials, packaging, and pre-paid Fed-Ex slip to ship it off to the lab in Colorado. All I needed was a willing and qualified medical person to draw the blood, donating time and/or the needle.

Sounds simple. But it's not totally. It required a hella amount of phone calls to docs, lactation consultants, the Red Cross, La Leche League, etc. because I had to find someone to do this pro bono, and NOBODY wanted to sign on for it. Thank you, lawsuit-happy crazies and medical malpractice for scaring people away from helping milk donors.

But Quest Diagnostics came through for me. So, thank you Quest, and especially the fabulous woman who worked with me to get the blood draw business done. The blood had to be shipped in the kit provided-- Quest packaged it up with me, and then I sent it on its merry way.
Step 2 could have been a little celebratory moment, but Gabe decided he was angry about one minute into my piling the milk into the styrofoam cooler and box. Thusly, I have photos of the moment I started packing, but forgot to take shots of the final product all dressed up and ready to go. For the record, the entire box was FULL.

I soothed Gabe for a second, muscled up, and slowly carried package a few steps, then retracing to bring Gabriel a few steps, then package, then Gabe, etc. etc., drove over to a Postal Connections, repeated the Gabe/package shuffle, and sent that frozen food out to Ohio.

I got a call from the milk bank that they received the milk... so let's hope the processing, etc., has begun.

Swear By It? Wear It: Wild Blueberry Ink Breastfeeding Pendant Necklace Giveaway (Closes 3/30)

***THIS IS A 200 Oz. CELEBRATION SERIES EVENT***

I swear by breastfeeding so I pumped 200 Oz. for the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. If you swear by breastfeeding, you should probably read this review and enter this giveaway...

When you breastfeed, pump, donate milk, or any mix of the three, after awhile it is hard not to become passionate about nursing. For me, every day I breastfeed my little one, I am that more certain we made a great decision for our baby and family. And I'm proud of it. It's not always easy to balance with the demands of 2010 life.So, breastfeeding Mommies or supporters, if you are feeling proud (and you should be proud!), you are so in luck because Shirley of Wild Blueberry Ink is giving away a fantastic prize to one lucky A Mom Writing reader!

About Wild Blueberry Ink (and why I LOVE these designs).

Wild Blueberry Ink is a fabulous Etsy shop of fantastic, vividly-colored and scrupulously-formed digital designs. From the humorous to the simply elegant, the designs found at Wild Blueberry Ink are unique, chic, and modern-- perfect for a myriad of occasions and celebrations.
In the case of A Mom Writing, I am specifically talking about Shirley's Breastfeeding Buttons and Glass Pendants--
they are adorable technicolor snippets with catchy phrases and pro-breastfeeding images (as you can see from the few pictured above).
There are so many versions of these lovely things, but some of the cute phrases I adore?

"Lactivist"
"iBreastfeed"
"Breastmilk: It does a baby good."
"got human milk?"

I mean, come on, how fun are those phrases? And look at those graphics. They're bright, eye-catching, and feminine. Perfect for any breastfeeding Mommy. I personally think they, used in any form, would be a fabulous gift to a girlfriend to offer support in the early days or from a husband to his wife as a thank you for breastfeeding. Regardless of where or who or how, these images are top notch, and I adore them.

This could be yours!

Shirley was so awesome to sign onto the 200 oz. event, and she even reached out to one of her jewelry designers to collaborate on a little something for ya'll. It's a necklace with a scrabble piece-sized tile with one of her breastfeeding designs on it. And you get to choose your favorite design so it will be totally personal! So CELEBRATE your breastfeeding self and ENTER TO WIN!

The Mandatory Entry
Visit Wild Blueberry Ink's Etsy Shop and look at the big page of designs.
Pick one that you think suits a milk donor best and comment about it!

Want more entries? Do any or all of these things...

2. Visit http://www.hmbana.org and figure out which Mother's Milk bank location is closest to you. Tell me which one with their contact number in a comment. I live in NJ, but am working with Ohio!
(2 additional entries-- leave 2 comments.)

3. Publicly follow my blog (right sidebar) and comment. If you already, follow, make sure to comment!
Publicly follow Wild Blueberry Ink's blog and comment! (1 entry each)

4. Follow @amomwriting, @wildbluberryink, and @givemilk on Twitter and comment for one (1) additional entry each.

5. Tweet the following (One (1) entry per tweet; you can tweet twice per day):

I support #breastfeeding! Enter to win @WildBluberryInk #bfing pendant necklace from @amomwriting's 200 oz. @GiveMilk event. Ends 3/30!

6. Blog about the giveaway including a link to amomwriting and comment with the permalink to your entry for two (2) extra entries, leaving two separate comments.

7. Vote for A Mom Writing on Top Mommy Blogs here and comment. (1 entry per vote, 1 vote per day)

8. Vote for A Mom Writing on Top Baby Blogs here and comment. (1 entry per vote, 1 vote per day)

9. Enter any other current or future giveaway of the 200 oz. event and leave a comment.

Make sure to include your e-mail address in your mandatory entry (if it is not in your profile) so that I have a means of contacting you if you win! The winner will be chosen by random.org on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 10:00 p.m. EST. I will then notify the winner by e-mail; the winner has 48 hours to respond before another winner is picked. Thank you to Mamatini for this opportunity!

Questions?
Contact me at amomwriting@gmail.com

A Mom Writing did not receive monetary compensation for this entry.

Winner: (by random.org) Princess Mom... contacting now!

Thank You.

To this blogger and educator and activist:

http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com

Go there and be not so amazed at the squeamish sights of the American school lunch. And then realize however bad it looks, at least there's a movement to make it better.

Milk Donation is for the Stars.

***THIS IS A 200 Oz. CELEBRATION SERIES EVENT***

The postpartum wardrobe is a challenge, but it is a flat-out obstacle for breastfeeding Moms. It's hard to look good and, it's hard to have access to baby's food source. Dressed to impress AND to nurse? Is that possible?

With Milkstars, it is.

And when I contacted Jamie, the woman behind the Milkstars fabulousness, about the 200 oz. Event, she generously offered an exclusive coupon code for A Mom Writing readers. Check out these cute, not-so-I-just-had-a-baby shirts today. Enjoy!

...15% coupon code...

PUMP200
Valid during the entire series!
March 15-30, 2010

Make sure to consider pumping your own 200 for HMBANA.

I Hear Milk Donors are Hot Mamas.

***THIS IS A 200 Oz. CELEBRATION SERIES EVENT***

When I contacted Deidrea from Hot Mama Gowns about the 200 Oz. Series, she immediately tweeted about it. Can you ask for better support in le blog communite'? Not really! Then, when she told me that A Mom Writing readers would be privileged to an exclusive 15% discount coupon code during the 200 Oz. Series, I was even more impressed.
But what is a Hot Mama Gown, you ask? Only the most fashionable option for Mommies in labor, postpartum, or nursing. These organic, adjustable-sized gowns come in chic prints. And they were designed for nursing. Basically, these gowns are thee "hot mama alternative to the generic hospital gown."

So, lucky readers, to celebrate my 200 Oz. of milk hitting the trail asap, you get to enjoy this

...15% coupon code...

gotmilk

Valid during the entire series!
March 15-30, 2010

So, if you're pregnant, headed into labor (breathe!), or nursing, check out Hot Mama Gowns, and purchase yourself something swanky to wear while your baby has his or her first latte.

And please, please, please consider helping preemies in the United States, Haiti, Africa, etc. by donating your milk through the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (yes, Canadian Mommies, there are banks in Vancouver and Toronto!) That's what this event is all about.

Because Milk Donation Is No Teeny Thing: Mamatini Review & Giveaway (Closes 3/20)

EXTENDED::
CLOSES 3/30 11:59 P.M. EST
***A 200 Oz. CELEBRATION SERIES EVENT***

Nursing Moms need a drink. Lots of drinks. In fact, I cannot even count the times I’ve looked at my husband while feeding Gabriel, and without barely opening my mouth, a glass of water appeared. Water. How exciting. And let's face it, when you are pumping extra milk for your little one AND for the milk bank, sometimes all a Mommy wants is something exciting to drink.

And while that delicious Cosmo at the bar might be calling the name of most new mommies, that mixed drink is not going to do anything good for Momma or baby. What drink will? Mamatini™.

So, what is Mamatini™?

Mamatini is a pediatrician-created, organic herbal breastfeeding drink. It was designed to boost milk supply, increase nursing mother energy, decrease baby colic symptoms, and retain the nutrients breastfeeding mommies need for baby and self. Mamatini recommends pregnant and breastfeeding Mommies drink Mamatini (1-2 bottles/day) from 36 weeks gestation until baby weans. It is intended to support mothers throughout their breastfeeding experience, helping mommies breastfeed “better, easier, and for longer.”

Wow, that sounds like every nursing Mommy’s dream.

But… what is in this thing?

Lots of stuff. And by that, I mean, good-for-you stuff. Here are some specifics per serving (2 servings per bottle):

A full bottle of Mamatini has half your daily dose of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Folic Acid and B Vitamins. Not too shabby. It also is full of Micronutrients, which purportedly "increase absorption of minerals depleted by pregnancy and nursing."

Wow, that's a lot of herbs!

(Please click on the links from kellymom for each ingredient to read more about the specifics of each herb to be sure these herbs are compatible with you and your baby.)

Fenugreek and Fennel are both galactagogues. In other words, they boost milk supply. When donating milk, you must wait 24 hour before pumping and storing after taking any dosage of Fenugreek. Another thing to consider when using Fenugreek is its ability to make one's bodily odors smell like maple syrup. For those who are pregnant, using high amounts of Fenugreek can affect your baby's urine scent upon birth, fooling doctors into thinking your little one has maple syrup urine disease. (One bottle of Mamatini contains 3 g of Fenugreek, which is a middle range daily dose of the herb.) I did not smell like maple syrup from drinking Mamatini, though the milk I pumped the next day for Gabe's bottle did smell sweeter than usual. Gabe's urine did not smell after his bottle; his stool did smell slightly sweeter than normal over the following 24 hours.

Chamomile is cited to help with relaxation. It also is considered to have anti-fungal properties. According to Mamatini, Ginger is used to relieve stomach upset and provide restful sleep for baby and mom. According to Kellymom, Spearmint is known to decrease milk supply, but it is also said that most herbal effects on breastfeeding are not well-researched. I can tell you, and as you will read, whatever amount of spearmint in Mamatini did not counteract its beneficial milk-boosting properties.

The Taste? (As you raise an eyebrow...)

This might sound odd, but Mamatini tasted like a mint tea with a standard-tomato-vegetable juice after taste, and it was enjoyable. It tasted very earthy, but not quite grassy. I will not lie to you-- my favorite drink is chocolate soy milk-- if I was picking something to drink based on taste alone, it would not be Mamatini. But considering its benefits, I would definitely not say it tasted badly. I have no reason to make myself drink this stuff because my supply has not been low, persay, and yet, I drank it without any struggle. And if you like mint tea, you will love it.

Well, A Mom Writing, what did Mamatini do for you?

If you regularly read A Mom Writing, you know that last week was not an easy one for me. I started a new job, and the first three days required me to leave my baby for most of the day (I got to nurse him over lunch hour). It was not an easy transition for me as a mother in general, but it was mostly an adventure for my breasts. I was able to pump over a 20 minute break in the morning, nurse Gabe over lunch, and then I did not get to pump or nurse him again until late in the afternoon. By the third day, I was definitely concerned for my afternoon supply.

I had my bottle o' Mamatini ready for me to drink on that third night, and I definitely saw results as soon as the next day. Whereas I normally have about 4 oz. pumped to save for the Mother's Milk Bank (I always pump immediately after feeding Gabe around 7 a.m.), I had 6 oz. I had 6 oz. the next day, too, and the day after that I had 7 oz. Sunday morning I was back to 4 oz., but I imagine that another bottle of Mamatini would have kept that milk supply up very high.

It also kept me feeling close to consistently full throughout that first day post working. I did have a lull in the afternoon-- as I expected after three days without consistent afternoon nursing-- but a nursing vacation definitely aided in that recovery.

Last week could have been a milk supply disaster, but it was not, and I think that has a lot to do with Mamatini.

The Verdict?

Mamatini is a healthy, milk-increasing, safe drink choice for breastfeeding mothers. If you have any supply issues or if you are a working Mommy, this product is a go-to for troubleshooting. And if you love mint tea, you would love this, breastfeeding or not. I definitely give Mamatini two thumbs up.

So, after reading that review, I would guess you are ready to give Mamatini a try!

Buy Mamatini!

Click here to shop. Your first order ships free with code SHIPFREE.

or

Win Mamatini on A Mom Writing!

Mamatini has generously decided to send one lucky winner an ENTIRE CASE of 12 16-Oz. BOTTLES! That's A LOT of Mamatini, ladies. And it's a giveaway for a cause-- please consider donating milk to your local milk bank.

The mandatory entry:

1. Visit http://www.hmbana.org and http://drinkmamatini.com and answer me this-- How do you think Mamatini can support milk-donating mothers?

Additional Entries

2. Visit http://www.hmbana.org and figure out which Mother's Milk bank location is closest to you. Tell me which one with their contact number in a comment. I live in NJ, but am working with Ohio! (2 additional entries-- leave 2 comments.)

3. Publicly follow my blog (right sidebar) and comment. If you already, follow, make sure to comment!

4. Follow @amomwriting, @drinkmamatini, and @givemilk on Twitter and comment for one (1) additional entry each.

5. Tweet the following (One (1) entry per tweet; you can tweet twice per day):
@amomwriting celebrating 200 oz. milk donation for hmbana.org w/ @drinkmamatini! Enter by 3/20! #bfing #bfcafe http://tinyurl.com/y9ztbwf

6. Blog about the giveaway including a link to amomwriting and comment with the permalink to your entry for two (2) extra entries, leaving two separate comments.

7. Vote for A Mom Writing on Top Mommy Blogs here and comment. (1 entry per vote, 1 vote per day)

8. Vote for A Mom Writing on Top Baby Blogs here and comment. (1 entry per vote, 1 vote per day)

Make sure to include your e-mail address in your mandatory entry (if it is not in your profile) so that I have a means of contacting you if you win! The winner will be chosen by random.org on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 10:00 p.m. EST. I will then notify the winner by e-mail; the winner has 48 hours to respond before another winner is picked. Thank you to Mamatini for this opportunity!

Questions?
Contact me at amomwriting@gmail.com


A Mom Writing did not receive monetary compensation for this entry.

The Freezer is Full.

A Mom Writing presents...
The 200 Oz. Celebration Series

March 15-30, 2010
15 Days
3 Giveaways
2 Coupon Codes
1 Mommy Shipping over 200 Oz. of Milk
to the Mother's Milk Bank of Ohio
of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America
http://hmbana.org


In partnership with...
Little Bit Designs
Mamatini
Wild Blueberry Ink
Hot Mama Gowns
Milkstars

Something to Talk About

A Weekly Twitter Event All Breastfeeding Mommies, Mommies-to-Be, and Support People should know about...

Every Thursday 10 p.m. EST on Twitter.com--
Talk breastfeeding with other mommies and mommies-to-be in the #bfcafe hosted by @zealandsmom (http://zealandsmom.blogspot.com) with @bestforbabes (bestforbabes.org). There's even giveaways!
I got on and talked with some awesome moms last night.
I loved it, and I am looking forward to meeting up in the #bfcafe weekly!

In the spirit of this post, I have added a Breastfeeding Help Links section on the right. If you have suggestions for additions to my bfing link list, please share.

(Feel free to hit me up anytime on twitter about breastfeeding, cloth diapers, babies, you-name-it-- @amomwriting)

Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire.

After 2 months of cloth diapering, we've taken the dive into cloth wipes tonight.

To start things off, I made
A Very Basic Wipes Solution...
2 c. very warm water
2 tsp. baby wash
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Burt's Bees Mama Bee Body Oil with Vitamin E

From what I have read, I do want to switch from the Burt's Bees to tea tree oil for its anti-fungal properties, but I didn't have any in the house, and I just wanted to get my feet wet in getting cloth wipes together (we only have 24 for now-- I'll be ordering some more asap so that we use cloth wipes full-time).
Basically, I heated the water in the teapot, poured two cups into a measuring cup, added the rest of the measured ingredients, stirred them up, and poured the solution over the wipes. We let it sit for a few minutes so that the wipes could soak up all the goodness and cool a bit. Honestly, I'm not worried about keeping wipes warm.

How are the wipes set up?
Thanks to The Feminist Breeder and her awesomely-clear method of wipe-folding, they're nestled all snuggly-wuggly in a disposable wipe container so that they pop up just like disposables.
It is fairly simple to set up-- just lay a wipe flat and place another wipe halfway over it.
Then, fold the first wipe over, overlapping half of the second wipe.
Then, add another wipe on top of the fold.
Then, fold the wipe below over, overlapping half of the third wipe.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Get the Feminist Breeder's awesome step-by-step directions here.

We've done two or three changes with the cloth wipes so far tonight, and we love them. They are gentle on Gabe, and they are easy to use. How wonderful to just plop the wipes into the diaper pail with the dirty diapers!


I'll keep you posted if I have any Eureka moments as we further our journey in cloth wiping.

Husbands Say the Darndest Things

My husband and I decided we need to invest in some powder for the diaper pail to keep things as pleasant-smelling as possible in the nursery (we originally planned to buy some, but then didn't). He asked me to describe the scents available.

Me: Rockin' Green has a Fresh Linen and a Vanilla Lavender.
Husb: Oh, I need more Vanilla and Lavender in my life. (sigh)

He then went on to say Fresh Linen sounded better.

Who has some recommendations?

--
More info on my first work week (we're surviving, but tired!) soon.

Lucky Prevnar 13

Goober has already had his first two rounds of Prevnar, the pneumococcal vaccine, but it looks like his next two rounds will be switched to Prevnar 13, a newly CDC and FDA-approved and allegedly more widely-protecting version of the vaccine. Read more here.

Immunizations of any kind do make me nervous, and after reading Tylenol in tandem with vaccines could be linked to autism, we avoided Tylenol after his four month shots. I'm not too sure I want to switch from Prevnar to Prevnar 13 just yet, but I definitely want to protect my baby.

How do you feel about new and improved vaccines being given to your infant?

Are you for Four? (the I-am-stressed-about-going-to-work-post)

I think I am for four months, that is. Gabriel is a wonderful, reaching, pull to standing, smiling, squealing, teething, bundle of joy right now.

So much a bundle of joy that I cannot handle that I am starting a new job next week.

I LOVE being home with him. I am so attached to him. But I have to start working because I have to pay off student loans-- a lovely paycheck situation really (50% childcare, 50% loans).

I am happy with the woman we found to care for him, a mom of four with a 9-month-old at home. It's actually ideal in that he will be having social time while I am earning money. He will be staying in her home, which is seven minutes away from where I am working (so on the first few days, when I have to work long shifts, I can come on my lunch break to nurse him). And during a typical week, I will only be working 2-3 days 10-12 hours per week.

So here's the real catch, for me anyway:
The first week. I have to work three full days in a row. Out of nowhere, I am plopping my baby with someone other than me. I am heading into pumping-working-Mommy town with a big nosedive. It scares the hell out of me. How do full-time working Mommies do this without losing it? Are most Moms just more brave than me? I am taking the full-time plunge for a mere three days, but those three days are the bane of my existence right now-- I am scared, I am anxious, I am angry, I am sad, and I am crying every time I really think about walking out of my caregiver's front door and driving away. Am I nuts feeling like this? I wonder.

But I am doing this. I am doing this as bravely I can. Because I need to pay off my college loans. Because it will be good to get out of the house and do something other than snuggling, breastfeeding, not getting to cleaning, cooking, and reprimanding my cat for scratching our old dining chairs. Because it is a cool job-- coordinating volunteers for a nonprofit hospice. And because when all is said and done, this schedule is going to be great with being as close to a stay-at-home Mommy we can afford.

(And for the record, I think life at home and life at work is going to be equally as hard. No matter where I am, working or not, I cannot foresee any time to lay on my couch with a magazine and hot chocolate having every last detail of life in order anywhere in the near future.)

So, working Mommies out there, tell me, how did you handle your first week? Is it as bad as I fear it is? Will I survive? Will Gabriel forgive me? Will my home erupt in hellish craziness or will it all work out?

--
In other news, Gabe is 17 lb. 1 oz. and 26 in... in the mid 80 percentiles for both weight and height. He's a weed! Where did my little, newborn baby go?