The Adventures of Baby Boo: The final count down

It's only a matter of months (2.5 to be exact) before life as we know it really changes. I mean it's changing ALL the time in so many ways already but the real shake up will be my return to work and Jakson's introduction to life at nursery. So the final count down is on but I have to say, it doesn't feel like an impending doom like I thought it would. I actually went in to work this past Friday for a 'Keeping in Touch' day, which allows mom's on maternity leave a chance to go in to work without jeopardizing their maternity leave. So I went in to the office to meet with HR, my team, my boss and say hello to the old stomping grounds (i.e. go out for drinks after work). It was a great day and the 'test drive' felt pretty good. I actually loved seeing my team and all my old colleagues and just having a few intellectual conversations. I think I have a long way to go to get my brain back to where it was pre-Jakson but it was nice to pretend i was smart again, even for a day.

So the return date will be 16 April 2012, which equates to me taking a bit more than a year of maternity leave (can you believe I've been off since 14 March 2011!!!?) and returning 3 days a week for 3 months and then 4 days a week once I've used up all my holiday accrual from 2011. It's crazy to think I've had all this time to spend with Jakson as he's grown up and changed (holy crap has he changed!) and I've not had to worry about juggling work + parenting + life at home. I feel so, so, SO lucky. But I will also admit I'm scared sh*tless to starting being a working momma. After just reading my dearest friend Jenn's blog it makes me even more scared to think i'm gonna have to juggle everything I do now with work. Yikes. But i must remind myself people do it every day, all the time and they do it as a single parent or with multiple children or any number of additional challenges so I just have to take it one day at a time. Harder than it sounds, I'm sure but at least I know it can be done! And I'm lucky enough to have Jakson starting nursery a month before I go back, so we'll ease our way into it. We will start with a few hours at a time, then a couple of half days, slowly working our way up to 3 full days. This makes me feel much better about leaving him and also gives me a bit of time for myself before I head back to work. I think it's the best option for everyone!!

And while all the planning for the return to work is happening, the wee man is growing so very quickly. As I said on facebook earlier today; he's a crawling tornado on the move. Crawling around all over the house, pulling himself up on everything, pulling CD's and DVD's and books off every shelf, reaching for things that were once out of grasp only to now pull them down. Nothing is sacred to the wee man! I keep saying it, with much love in my heart, that my baby is crazy!! I do totally wonder if he's like other babies or just a little, extra special :) I'm pretty sure it's option 2 :) Here is some recent mischief: