Celebrations

There are many things to celebrate right around now.

1. I have successfully survived my first week back at work. It was far from easy, but I made it through unscathed. Oddly enough, even though I am only getting about 4-5 hours of sleep per 24 hour period, I feel more rested than I would have expected. I think a big part of it is that I am not trying to go back to sleep after she wakes up to eat. Instead, I just start getting ready for my day. The way I see it, if she gets up at 3 or 4am, and I have to be up at 5am anyway, I may as well just stay up and run the risk of getting to work early -- where I can start crossing things off my to-do list -- rather than trying to sleep again. Otherwise, what happens is that I end up just barely falling asleep when I'm yanked from it by an alarm. It's hard enough to wake up at 3am and I think it would be even harder to have to do it all over again an hour after I've fallen asleep. Anyway, I've basically been running on adrenaline and caffeine most of the time, but somehow it seems to be working. The pumping schedule is going well too.

2. Friday was also Greta's first visit to my school. I just took a walk down there for the school's annual Farmer's Market. I enjoyed the walk and the opportunity to show Greta off to a few students, parents and colleagues. Greta enjoyed a nap in her stroller.

3. Friday was my 29th birthday. Birthdays are just lots of awesome fun.

4. On Monday, Greta will be 8 weeks old and then next weekend it's her 2-month birthday! I can't believe how fast she's growing and changing.

5. Sunday is Mother's Day. It's crazy to think that I am going to celebrate this Mother's Day as an actual mother. I am feeling so much love for my own mother and appreciative of all that she has done for me. I am also feeling grateful for all the mother-figures in my life -- the family friends and extended family who have made me feel so cared for throughout my pregnancy and Greta's entrance into the world.

I'm just feeling tons of love and excitement. Greta is so wonderful and I'm starting to really enjoy the privilege of being her mama!