Saturday, January 11, 2014

Life Lately: Back to work again & our favorite foods and snacks for Mira

I started working on January 6th at OptumHealth, part of UnitedHealth Group, which headquarters in the twin cities. I honestly haven't been very optimistic about it since I interviewed, for different reasons, but I'm going to give it a chance. I'm still pumping, so luckily there are 3 "mother's rooms" in the building, each loaded with a table and chair, a sink, and a fridge. It has been rocky, though, trying to fit pumping into my scheduled break times and fitting that in with other pumping mama's ideal times, too. I do miss being able to sit and pump at my own desk in my own office and didn't have to worry about pumping at the "appropriate break time", I even worked while I did it. But I've only been there a week, so we will see how things go with that.

The big plus side is that my boss is fun and hilarious. Her sense of humor reminds me of Chelsea Handler, except not as depressing. Her voice even sounds like Chelsea Handler, with a strong Minnesotan/Wisconsin accent. I have already laughed so hard to the point of crying at least twice. My coworkers are all great so far too, we've all had fun this week. Apparently people love potlucks at this place so we're planning on doing a potluck every payday. I'm in! 



These are foods and snacks we've all tried with Mira. Her favorites are the happyyogi yogurt chips and the white cheddar crunchies. 
I'd have to say my favorite, as far as actual food goes, are the Plum organics pouches. I have to mix them with fruit for Mira, usually like applesauce or pears, otherwise she doesn't like it (she's definitely got a sweet tooth). But they have the best combinations. I also buy Wild Harvest organic jars for fruits.   Mira wasn't too fond of the chicken casserole from Ella's kitchen, even when I mixed it with fruit. It was pretty chunky and she is still easing herself into different textures. And like I said last post, the Earth's best formula is just for nighttime before bed. 


Hoping next week goes well. This week was tough for me, adjusting going back to work. It was hard because Mira isn't getting the care we expect from her daycare providers, it was hard because I question that I will even like this job, it was hard because I was getting less than 3 hours total out of my whole day to be with Mira, and it was hard because we cannot go to ECFE anymore. ECFE was great for both of us; Mira got to play with other kids and toys while she was still within an arms reach of me. And it was great for me because I got to engage in conversation about our kids with other moms, bond with them over it, and then learn new parenting skills and ideas from our ECFE teacher. I got an email from ECFE while at work yesterday and just started crying, because the first ECFE day we missed was picture day, and the email was a group photo of everyone except me. It still hurts to think about it. I didn't even get to say goodbye to them. We'll hopefully be able to join an ECFE class that runs in the evenings next time. I'm just stuck in a rut over all of this. I hope it gets better or I adjust. I already miss the stay-at-home-mom days, but I realize the party's over and I need to get back out there. All I can hope is that it ends up being worth it. 

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