Back to Work...

Hmmm....There are so many ways to start this blog.  I guess I will start with yesterday.  Yesterday was my first day back to work after 12 blissful weeks of being home with my sweet baby boy.  And let me just say, in case you don't know, that I am completely in love with that 13-pound bundle of pure joy!!
I have been thinking about my first day back to work since our first day home from the hospital.  I remember sitting on the edge of our bed, peering over the side of the pack-n-play into the bassinet where the most beautiful little baby in the world was resting peacefully and thinking to myself, "How in the world will I ever be able to be apart from him?" That was the first of many cries I have had over this issue.
Since that night, I have gradually been able to seperate myself from him for small increments of time.  45 minutes to run to target and pick something up, and hour and half to get a pedicure with the girls, 2 hours to enjoy my sweet friend's baby shower.  Each time it was hard to say goodbye, but knowing that I would be back before he would even need to eat again made it OK.
Yesterday was a whole different ball-game.  I am so grateful that my parents were willing to stay in Dallas and extra day and half to stay with Jonah on my first day back.  Saying good-bye to him was one of the worst things I have ever had to do.  It ripped my heart out to know that I wouldn't see him for 12 hours.  All I could think about was the fact that he would eat 3 times without me, he would take 3 naps and wake up to see someone else's face, he would spend 4-5 hours playing with and talking to someone else.  I know it's silly, but I wondered if he would notice that I wasn't around and wonder where his momma was and why she wasn't here to take care of him.  Needless to say, there were many tears shed as I said good-bye and on the drive in to work.  That being said, I am thankful that I was able to leave him here, at the house, with people who love him and wouldn't be upset if I called 10 times to see how much he ate, how much he slept, where he slept, and what he was doing at that minute.  So it was a really hard day, but I survived.  Praise Jesus.
Speaking of praising the Lord, let me quickly tell you how God answered our prayers regarding daycare for Jonah.  Obviously, my parents can't drive to Dallas every Monday and Wednesday (I'm only working 2 days a week :) to take care of Jonah.  I have struggled since I found out I was pregnant with where we would be comfortable leaving our little boy each day.  I know there are amazing caregivers/daycares out there who would take good care of him.  But I couldn't get comfortable with the idea...even after checking out a perfectly acceptable possibility.  The Lord has provided in a mighty way!! 
Our small group, which is A-MAZING, has had and will have LOTS of babies who will all be close in age!  The oldest of the "babies" (one couple has a 6 year-old) is Preston who is around 10 months, Matea is almost 5 months, then we have Jonah at 2.5 months, Parker Ann will be here in 2-3 weeks, Harper Faith will come sometime in November, and Baby Petty will be here in late December or early January. Isn't that super exciting!!  Anyway, several of the moms are either working part-time or have flexible schedules!  Sooo...we have set up the Petty Playpen!  Manny and Bethany (our group leaders) have basically turned the upstairs of their home into a little daycare for our kids!  We have cribs/pack-n-plays, a swing, a bouncer, an exersaucer, blankets, etc, etc, etc and we are going to take turns keeping each other's kids.  We will set it up one month at a time.  On days where there will be 3 or more babies, we'll do our very best to have 2 or more moms! Some days will be tricky, and as the babies keep coming, things may have to be adjusted, but we have the month of August pretty much covered! 
It will never be easy for me to leave Jonah for the day.  And honestly, I hope there comes a time where I don't have to..at least for a few years.  But while I do, it's great to have this option!  I keep saying that it's one thing to know for me to leave Jonah with people who love kids, but it's another to leave him with people who love JONAH!  My friends love Jonah and they want to see him become a little boy and eventually a man who loves the Lord.  They want amazing things for him, just like I do.  Praise Jesus again!  Thank you friends, for being willing to invest in Jonah's life, and I can't wait to invest in all of Jonah's little friends!!