Throwback Thursday: Maternity Leave

Dear Em,
It's hard to believe that five years ago I was on maternity leave. I took four & a half months months of leave after you were born (most of it unpaid), & it was the most amazing gift. I needed every single one of those 4 1/2 months. I had a body that felt beyond broken & this new & incredible baby that I just couldn't get enough of.

Much of my maternity leave was spent recovering from childbirth & being spit up on & not getting enough sleep & caring for a newborn that needed 99% of my time & attention. I remember days when Daddy would come home from work & I would be in a sports bra & underwear because you had spit up on all of my clean clothes I fit in & I didn't have time during the day to do any laundry. Still, those were four & a half of the most incredible months of my life.

Most of my maternity leave was during the winter months, but we didn't let that stop us. We did everything, you & I. We went on walks at the bike path & beach. We went to the zoo & the aquarium (even though you were too young to pay attention to any of it). We went shopping. We traveled to North Carolina. We went to story time. We visited with friends. We played at home. We snuggled. We napped. I spent endless hours just watching your changing facial expressions. I fell more in love with you each & every precious day.

I never even considered being a stay at home mom until I had the wonderful gift of 4 1/2 months of time home with you. I dreaded going back to work. I was going to miss you way too much. I did a lot of crying. There was a lot of help from your daddy, our family, & the amazing nannies who watched you. But we did it. I made it back to work, & I'm glad I did. I think it's what is best for our family.

Still, when I think back to those precious 4 1/2 months...Sigh, it puts a smile in my heart just thinking about it.

I love you so,
Mommy