Returning to Work

Recently I have been forced to think about returning to work and subsequently what to do with Alfie.  I made the decision in the third trimester of pregnancy that I only wanted to return to work part time, possibly 3 days a week.  The attachment I felt to my unborn baby was strong from day 1 of finding out I was pregnant however financially I wasn’t sure we’d cope with me only working part time.  We’re very lucky in that Alan has a fantastic job with great pay so we can afford for me to return to work part time.  I’ve made the decision that I want to go back, 3 days a week although I haven’t exactly mentioned this to my employer yet.  When I got pregnant, they were concerned I wouldn’t return to work at all after my maternity leave and as much as I’d like to be a full time mummy, I think I need that little bit of independence as well as the financial aspect of it all.

So, if I’m at work 3 days a week what happens with Alfie?  Next week I have given myself the mammoth task of finding somewhere suitable for my baby boy.  We’ve decided we’d like him to go to a nursery rather than a child minder for the social aspect of it.  Obviously by social aspect I don’t mean my baby will have a social life, what I mean is that he will be well integrated with other babies his age – and possibly younger/older.  For us, it’s important that he socialises with other babies to allow him to develop social skills.  It may seem mad that we want our baby to develop social skills but he’ll benefit from being with other children learning to share toys when he’s old enough to play with them and playing with other babies.  I also like the facilities that the nurseries have access to, arts and crafts, water play, outdoor play etc.  Whilst child minders do have other children in their care, they don’t always have access to the facilities that nurseries and day care centres do.

There are two nurseries nearby that I need to contact to arrange a visit which I plan on ringing soon but before I call them I need to know what days I may want Alfie to be there.  The problem with this is I haven’t spoken to my employer about returning to work on a part time basis and whilst I know they won’t have any problems with this, they may want some input into which days they want me to work.  They may want me to do three days altogether Mon, Tues & Weds etc or they may want me to split them Mon, Weds, Fri.  I really ought to speak with my boss Lou about this it’s just getting the courage to approach her about it.  Now I know she won’t have a problem with me returning to work part time but I feel a little bad about it.  I’m not sure why I feel bad, I just do.

I think on Monday, I’m going to email her and arrange to meet her for lunch and an informal chat to sound her out about the days she’d like me to work.  Personally, I’d prefer to do the days in a cluster so that it’s all over and done with so to speak but I’d do whatever is right for the company and more so my team.  I feel very close to Louise and she has done a hell of a lot for me and the company has been fantastic throughout my pregnancy especially with all the time I had off due to illness or the many threatened early labour starts I had.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

Today, our sling from Victoria The Sling Lady came today and it’s fabulous!  I had Alfie in it straight away but we haven’t managed to go out in it because we’ve had his hospital appointment today.  If the weather man is right in his forecast tomorrow should be dry meaning a good day for a test run!  Alan is working afters tomorrow so I’m thinking after Alfie’s feed in the morning I’ll either catch the bus to town or go for a walk locally wearing the him and see how it feels.  Once we’ve given the sling a proper test run, I’ll blog a review and let you know how we get on along with the all important photographs.  On first impressions though, I have to admit the sling is practical, comfortable and great looking!  Alfie was comfortable in it and I was comfortable wearing him – all 16lb 11oz (or probably more now…!)