My first week back at work was really great. People are so incredible and have been so happy about having me return. (They will forget how much they missed me when I start beating the bee hive with a big bat.) Not much has changed. The same problems still exist but I’m hoping to take this opportunity to reinvent my job and my team’s charter. We’ll see how long it takes me to do this on top of pumping, getting everyone off to work and day care, paying bills, petting cats, etc. I am really glad to be back. I feel different when I’m working and I can tell my brain is operating a bit differently. I think my limited vocabulary has re-expanded to my pre-pregnancy level. I love my work and I’m thrilled that I’ll be able to make a difference in how we market on the web. I have a few thoughts about my week I’d like to share…

I was going through the notebook where I keep my plethora of lists. I had downsized to a smaller notebook while I was on maternity since I only needed personal and AiT/Planet Lar lists (my other notebook is larger because it must accommodate those lists as well as the Adobe lists so you can imagine it’s bigger and a tad more unwieldy). It made me feel like I was already behind in the things I needed to accomplish as I had an active list with unchecked boxes that still needed to be attended to. Hmmm. These things didn’t resolve themselves while I was out. I guess work still needs me. But the really cool thing was that I came upon the list of things to pack for my Mommy Hospital Bag. It seems like yesterday I was making that list. Ah, well.

This pumping@work thing is going to take some getting used to. There’s a lot of equipment and it kinda needs to be done on demand. I mean, a girl can only go so long without attending to this activity. As a matter of fact, I was talking with a colleague about Walker one morning and I experienced a rather impressive let down — more a feeling than a physical one — but I realized that this was going to need to be monitored or I was going to find myself in quite a predicament at some point. The process of the pumping is something to work out as well. What do I take with me, where to store the equipment (should I leave it at my desk and take it down each time or should I leave it in the designated room) and what should I do to pass the time? One day, I was rocking out to some music on my iPod. The next day I was chatting with Larry on the cell phone. Our facilities will be modifying the room slightly to include a phone and perhaps a small fridge (so I don’t have to work to find space for the milk aside folk’s leftover lunches). The biggest, most helpful addition will be to include a small trash can in the room ;-)

Walker went for his four month well baby visit (almost a week before his 4 month birthday). He’s 16lbs 6oz, 25 inches, and has a 41.4cm head. He’s still a BIG BOY with a small head. He had to get four shots and one oral vaccine. He was so brave and wonderful. He only cried during the shots and then fussed only a bit when we got dressed. That was it ALL DAY. He smiled and laughed in the morning and then took some really good naps in the afternoon. I was so proud of him. I kept him at home for the day because I figured if he was going to be cranky and tired, he didn’t need to be with all the other kids. I was so pleasantly surprised when Sofiya (yes, I’ve been misspelling her name…) called to check on her Walker to see how he was doing. If I had any doubts about sending him to day care (which I don’t), Sofiya’s true concern about Walker put my mind at ease. She also demanded a photo of him to put up on her board.

This weekend we went to the zoo and got our membership. We had an incredible time. There was a big tiger that was sitting right up against a window and Walker loved to look at it. I loved the Meerkats (of course, they look much bigger on TV on Meerkat Manor — a must see!) Today we went with Malcolm (and parents) to the Chabot Space and Science Center. Walker was so fascinated with all the experiments and lights. Daddy loved the space suits and even got to see one he hadn’t seen before. It was so fun watching both of them so full of glee.

It’s late and I have to recharge the Mimzilla batteries. We’re starting to get the morning routine established — I even made it to work by 9am once last week (I had to get up at 6:15 to manage it). This week I’m going to throw in a new challenge — the San Jose factor. I hope to travel down there on Wednesday. We’ll see how that works since I want to be able to see Walker every night before he goes to bed…