E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS 
From Meredith Reis, TODAY producer
Running a perpetual 50-yard dash. In heels. With a breast pump strapped to my back.
That's a little of what life feels like returning to work just three months after my third child ...a beautiful little girl... was born.
It didn't used to feel this crazy. Maybe that's because my last maternity leave, after my twin boys were born, was twice as long.
Now that the boys are older (they started preschool this year) and she's younger (her routine: Eat. Sleep. Poop. Smile. Repeat)...well, it just feels like there's a lot more going on.
And yes, the conflicts and mixed emotions women in my position feel are endless and well documented. For example:
* I just fed her, and I've been trying to burp her - but no luck! And I have to leave for work this second!
* Or, it's Thursday morning and I find a fund-raising gift catalog that the school sent home in my kid's backpack (you know, the kind where you're supposed to hit up all of your colleagues to buy candles and magazine subscriptions?). And it's due back on Monday!
I could go on, but I won't. Or at least I'll give it my best effort not to. And here's the reason why: I'm grateful.
I'm grateful for healthy children who smile, laugh...and find some way to drive me nuts every single day.
I'm grateful for a husband who understands my sometimes crazy job (he works here, too), loves our kids and insists on cleaning up the dishes every night.
I'm grateful for a job where I love what I do... and accommodations are made so that I can actually use the aforementioned breast pump (which, as you may know, is not always the neatest or most graceful endeavor.)
And I'm grateful to the wonderful woman who helps us care for our children, making all of this possible.
So no complaining.
Well, I do have one complaint. Those heels. I think I'm in denial over the fact that my feet got bigger during my pregnancy, because all of my nice looking, pre-pregnancy shoes HURT. (Maybe hospitals could give all of their maternity patients gift cards to Nordstrom's shoe department? Now there's a health care initiative I think everyone could get behind!)
So, aside from the shoes, I'm happy. Busy, and with more than my share of blisters, but happy. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
"Like" TODAY Moms on Facebook, and follow us @TodayMoms
Leave a Comment:
I'm glad to hear someone feels the way I do! Grateful is exactly the right word - as women we are able to do so much and it's finally okay to hire help on the way; not because we have to have it but because it makes our life a little easier. I just gave birth to my third child in September and I am back to work as well. People ask me if it's hard now with three - sometimes it was hard with just one! In the end I explain it this way to anyone who will listen - I love leaving in the morning and I love coming home. I believe that makes me the best mom, wife, employee, and friend I can be. Grateful.
When I had my first child, I gave up a career that I long for almost every day. That being said, I want my children to know that I am happy doing what I am doing and that THEY are not the root of all of my frustration and craziness. As moms, we owe it to our children to let them see us be happy with our decisions, with what we look like and who we are. I don't want my kids growing up thinking they have to choose the lesser of two evils...that which creates the least amount of craziness. Let them learn to make a decision and relish in all the challenges it brings.
Meredith, thanks for sharing your personal experience of being a working mom of three (and Congrats). I know that as a mom of two there are times when I feel like I've boarded the "coo-coo ka-noo-koo" bus and can't seem to get off. But even in the midst of all the stress and chaos I wouldn't have it any other way.
Oh, and as far as the "bigger feet" I had the same problem. Don't throw out the old shoes just yet... after about 10-months post delivery my feet went back to normal. Go figure?