Back to Work

Goodbye Maternity Leave...hello alarm clock
Today is my last week day of maternity leave. I went on bedrest on 9/1 and I head back to work on 11/2. It was so nice having all of September and October off. It has been a blessing to bond with Corey and give my body lots of time to heal. 2008 was such a hard year for us and then 2009 was SO blessed because of Corey, but also stressful because of my pregnancy and all the medicine. I really "crashed" mentally and emotionally in September when my little guy came into the world. He is such an answer to prayer and truly the fruition of a lot of lessons that God taught us on faith, hope, disappointment, joy, and just surviving the journey. I spent lots of time in September weeping tears of joy and tears of being overwhelmed that one part of our journey in life was over. My tubes are tied, no more kiddos, this is the Nelson family that God has blessed us with, and if I do say so myself, it is a BEAUTIFUL blessing. :)

October I really enjoyed Corey and Carley. I did have that painful surgery, but other than that, it has been a great month. Corey is SO stinking cute and sweet. He is a very easy baby so far (I know that can change in a moment). I just love cuddling him and kissing him. Today I spent my last day home with just him doing what he and I love to do....we took a nap together. I also ate chocolate fudge poptarts in the recliner while I watched the Halloween costumes on the Today Show. Now I am counting the minutes till Sonic Happy Hour and I can get a Vanilla Diet Coke. Yep, maternity leave has been nice. I really have been much more low key this time. I think I realize how fast it goes and how much rest it takes to get through the day.

Also, Cody has been home with me a lot on Maternity Leave. I promise, I have the most amazing husband. He has been a wonderful partner these past two months and been incredibly supportive. As many of you saw on his facebook a month or so ago, Cody quit one of his extra jobs. This is SUCH a blessing for our family. (I know it seemed like bad news to lots of you when you saw his status, but it is a good thing). As many of you know, Cody works full time on the Fire Department and then for fun, for money, and to keep up his skills, he works several other little jobs on his days off as a paramedic or an instructor. He quit one of those extras so he could spend more time with our family. He told me the other day that as the provider for our family, he wanted to provide more time with him for us. I can't tell you what a blessing this is.

I have done many posts on being a working mom...really on being a mom. It has been a blessing to be home on paid vacation and I pray that my family is blessed by my return next week. I had a lady at church tell me on Sunday that she was sorry I had to go back to work. "It is so sad what this world has done to the family unit that mommies aren't home with their babies anymore". Well, although there is some truth to that, I do think the amazing thing about God is that family is SO important to him that He blesses families in all situations and circumstances when you make it a priority. Whether you work part-time, full-time, stay at home, whether you are married, single, divorced, God loves your family and wants your family to be happy and healthy. Cody and I made the choice for me to work and we stand by that choice right now. I pray daily that Carley and Corey are blessed by this and that this decision makes me a better mom and wife.

Here are a few pictures of my little man during this week. The first one is his full face right after a morning feeding. I love how HUGE his cheeks and double chin are after he eats. The second his Corey in a cute outfit watching TV with his dad. They have spent lots of time watching Sports Center during maternity leave. And the last is my sweet baby taking a nap on my bed. I love laying next to that sweet baby for an hour or two in the morning and enjoying the blessing that he is.