Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts

Saturday, July 10, 2010

10 Years and 3000 Ounces!

Today, I'm going to celebrate a couple of my milestones, instead of Claire's!

Ten years ago today, I started working for an insurance agency, and while I enjoy my job, I never really figured I be in the same place for ten years!  The anniversary kind of surprised me since we'd been so busy with Claire's surgery, but now that I think about it, it almost wouldn't surprise me if I'm there for another ten years.  We don't have any plans to move, and in a small town like ours, there really isn't any where else I'd rather work.  It's a small office and it's been pretty much the same staff for all ten years.  After this long we're not just co-workers, but friends too.

While ten years at a job is impressive, I'm even more excited about my 3000 ounces...of breast milk in the freezer! Claire has never nursed.  She's always had a great suck, but wouldn't latch well.  I could get her latched and sucking for only a few seconds before she'd let go.  The doctors really wanted her to gain weight well, and with her OHS looming, pumping was the best solution for us.  I'm very thankful that I've been able to exclusively pump and provide her with milk, but man, it's a lot of work!  I could have done without the extra steps of pumping and washing bottles. 

My original goal was to pump for six months, and I've made that.  The milk in the freezer should get me through about three months, and now my goal is to get Claire through her first year on BM.  While I'm looking forward to the end of pumping in the next few months, I'm almost not sure what I'll do with another three hours a day!  ;)


This small freezer in our house held all of the small bottles from her NICU stay when she was born.  I've used most of them up since she'll be six months old next week.  We have more space with the small bottles gone, but we did have to purchase another chest freezer to hold all the milk!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

First Day at Daycare

Today is Claire's first day with her new babysitter.  I've been back to work for 5 or 6 days, but Claire has always stayed with Darren or Mimi, and today will be completely different for her.  She'll be with a new person, in a new house, with another baby around, and I have no doubt she'll be fine.  It's me that's going to worry!

Our babysitter, Sharon,  is wonderful.  She's an older lady and she has tons of experience, both with her own kids, grand kids and all the other babies she's watched.  She only watches one other baby, so she should have lots of time to spend with both of them.  I am very comfortable with her, but I really hate leaving Claire. 


One thing I am very excited about is Sharon's willingness to learn about DS.  Sharon is very good friends with our neighbor (who was a nurse), and she has been educating her and answering her questions.  I brought a copy of Babies with Down Syndrome to her today, and she was excited to have some reliable information to read.  I also told her to ask me anything at all, and I would share with her what I know, or find an answer for her.  I'm hoping she takes me up on this, and we can learn together!