Work and Babies

When I was pregnant with Natalie, Chris was doing medical rotations. So we lived in hotels and moved five times and finally settled in for a six month rotation in Indianapolis the month before I gave birth. Since we were only there temporarily and I had a new baby to take care of, I did data entry from home to bring in a little extra money but was essentially able to stay home with Natalie for the first 9 months of her life. When I was pregnant with Anna, I was working for a nonprofit women's organization. I took six weeks off, worked from home for six weeks, and then brought her to work with me until she was a year old. It was so important to me that I was able to be with her. Then there were some changes at work and, rather than put Anna in full-time daycare and stick with a job I no longer loved, I found my current part-time job.

Now I work for a small family-owned business. One of my other co-workers has adopted from Russia. My boss's wife has adopted siblings. Needless to say, my boss and his wife have been supportive and excited as we've gone through this process. So I wasn't too worried when I went to talk with him yesterday about working once the baby comes home, but it was still something I needed to get settled. Right now, I pop into the office for a few hours two days a week and put in the rest of my hours at home. After a quick conversation with my boss, who threw in words like 'attachment' and 'bonding' and really impressed me :), we decided that I'd take a couple of weeks off when I get home from Vietnam, so that I can get settled and un-jetlagged, and then I'll work from home for a few months, dropping into the office for an hour or so with the baby once or twice a week. Perfect!

I know I'm incredibly lucky to be able to work part-time and from home. I appreciate every minute of it. It really is the best of both worlds - I have a career and I'm able to stay home with my children... the two that are here and the one we're waiting for.