9:30 pm, yesterday Pack diaper bag with 10 diapers, extra wipes, two pacifiers, two outfits, stuffed monkey, stuffed ball, The Hungry Caterpillar, swaddling blanket, and - in another bag - bring nursing pillow, sling, horibbly-named Hooter Hider, my lunch, bouncy chair....Wonder if, perhaps, may have overpacked.
6:45 am, today Axel wakes up and eats. This is followed by much scrambling: change baby, clothe baby, feed pets, let out pets, push cat off of the counter for the 33rd time, double check diaper bag, put baby on bath mat, get dressed, move baby to floor gym, consider eating but realize there's no time, brush teeth and hair, load car, almost forget lunch, drive away.
7:45 am Arrive at work. Lug car seat and diaper bag into office. Wonder how to get all the rest of baby crap to the 8th floor. Husband arrives, between his shift at the firehouse and his all-day training, and brings stuff upstairs. Husband leaves.
8:25 am Baby sits on lap and stares at computer screen. Consider that computer screens are like television screens and this may be rotting his brain/causing autism/triggering a future life of deliquency. Oh, well. Baby takes a nap. Mama gets some work done.
9:15 am Feed Axel, in office with the door and blinds closed. Blinds are still see-through - great job there, privacy blind makers! - so use the nursing cover so helpfully suggested by blog readers.
10:15 am Coworkers sit on the floor and play with Axel. Mama runs to the bathroom and eats an apple. Then, a little while later, a sandwich. Axel contemplates the world from his bouncy chair, and tries to figure out who tried to replace the toner in the copier and broke the machine.
10:30 am Axel gets a little fussy. Whip out the pacifier and stick him in the sling. Thankfully, he falls asleep quickly without too many squawks. Note: typing around a baby in a sling is interesting and likely not ergonomic.
11:50 am Axel eats again. And eats. And eats. Marathon nursing session while mama reads month-old mail.
12:45 pm Mama's new personal assistant answers phone calls, gets dry cleaning, picks up a latte, balances checkbooks, makes double-sided color copies with ease. Then, he spits up all over his shirt.
1:15 pm Agggh! Fussiness eruption! Baby threatens to blatantly violate quiet-babies-only policy. Swift intervention again with pacifier and sling and the beast is tamed. Three cheers for fake nipples and baby wearing! If only there were a hammock in the corner of the office, so mama could take a much-needed nap, too. Instead, phone calls are returned, emails read, anti-legging insights from the brilliant fug girls checked.
2:00 pm Help a coworker stuff envelopes while Axel naps.
2:30 pm More eating (by Axel), more catching up on reading (by Mama).
3:00 pm Huge poop explosion - it's Axel's gift to the office.
4:30 pm Reverse the scramble, packing up to leave to rush home before the next feeding. Axel is appointed the new office mascot. Mama is happy, baby is happy, everyone is exhausted.
