Back to work/ 6 months

I have come to the end of my (mostly unpaid) maternity leave, which means this baby is 6 months old! She is such a sweet girl and I have enjoyed this time with her so so immensely. Gloria has been very busy- she can now sit up, she is loving solid foods- we basically give her whatever we're eating so she has tried sweet potato, avocado, apricot, turkey burgers, roasted chicken, pulled pork, zucchini, and carrots. Her favorite food is Greek yogurt for sure. Her favorite thing to do is watch her sister do absolutely anything. Her favorite toy is her crinkle butterfly- she loves to crinkle. She is all smiles all day. She went from being a short napper up twice a night to a champion. She takes 2 2 hour naps during the day and sleeps 12 hours straight at night. It all started two weeks ago all of a sudden! Good timing!! She loves being thrown up in the air. She loves having her diaper changed. She loves reading books. She loves being tickled. She loves taking walks in her carrier touching all the flowers and leaves. But like a good Seattle girl she hates the sun and cries when it gets in her eyes. Charlotte picked out a lovey for Gloria- a panda bear- and we named it Po after kung fu panda. I've been sleeping with it in my shirt to get it to smell like me and now Gloria snuggles with it every night. 

What have I been doing? I've read a ton of books. I've taken a lot of walks around the neighborhood. I've had some play dates with other friends on maternity leave. I've done a bunch of exercise videos on YouTube. I've gotten to spend a lot of time with Charlotte, too. But mostly I've stayed around the house making sure that Gloria doesn't get overtired and that she naps in her crib at just the right time. I have also developed a huge appreciation for the work of a stay at home parent caring for two children. It is harder than any job I have ever done in my life! The baby stuff is much easier the second time, but meeting Charlotte's needs has been a huge challenge, making sure she knows how much we love and appreciate her, finding appropriate ways for her to help and be involved with Gloria's care, and giving her the attention she expects and deserves. Hats off to all the parents out there who do the big job!

I'm going back to work at the health department 4 days a week. A lot of breast pumping in my future, but luckily we have a nice pump room. I've been pretty teary eyed this week thinking about leaving Gloria all day long. I will miss her terribly. But there is also a part of me that is looking forward to using my brain and my skills again, to thinking outside the walls of our house and our family to contribute to the world again. And I am very lucky to have a job that is flexible and low stress and that I can leave at the office. I think, like most things about my second child, it will be a little easier the second time around. But it will not be easy.