Well we survived our first day. I’m not going to lie, I found it tough going back. I’d forgotten what it’s like to be on your feet all day and it was strange spending that amount of time away from Polly. But, we did it. I worked a day shift while Henry entertained our little lady, then I took care of bedtime while Henry went to experience his first shift in the hospitality industry. The fact that she was covered in paint when I got home and had pulled almost all her toys out made it clear that Polly had had a typical ‘Polly day’, which is great and I am genuinely happy they had fun. It’s just strange to not be apart of that fun. This is me just being a bit stupid really as I have had nearly 16 months of this fun. Well 13 months really, the ‘newborn phase’ can’t really be described as fun for anybody.

The build up of going back to work was just a normal week really. Polly and I went to a couple of toddler groups and spent a lot of time cuddling. I didn’t really mark this time with any fancy trips or special mum/daughter moments. We just did our usual. My last actual day of mat leave had me still in my pjs at midday watching Peppa pig while Polly ran round the living room in her pjs carrying various toys to different parts of the house. And I’m not going to lie, I can’t actually remember what we did in the afternoon. That’s bad. It was only a couple of days ago. Nope I really can’t remember. All I know is Henry came home from his last shift on the farm with a happy smile and was then handed a screaming toddler who was refusing to go to bed. Typical. I went downstairs feeling sorry for myself that on my last bedtime before leaving her I had failed at getting her to sleep and Henry spent half an hour working his Daddy magic to calm her down and settle her.

On Saturday night we all got our first taste of the town carnival which was pretty fun. It goes right past our house. I really mean right past it too, like so close we sat in the porch with the front door open to watch it roll past. I was actually pretty impressed as there was a lot going on and little lady loved it. Lots of ‘wow’s’ coming from her mouth and lots of dancing and waving. I was also pretty amazed that she went straight to sleep after it was finished (lulling us into a false sense of security for the next night). Even more amazed when 20 minutes after she fell asleep a bunch of the noisiest and brightest floats when back past again and guess what…. she stayed asleep!​

​So, we are now on the third day of visible (really visible) big changes. Polly and I have just finished breakfast. Georgia and Gyan have just turned up ready for us all to head into Exeter as we all have a day off together. The cat is meowing for a second breakfast. And Henry. Well, I’m thinking this change to our lives might be hardest for him to get used to. After making our breakfast for us and sorting through the recycling he’s currently outside gardening. I think he’s just struggling with the concept of chilling out in the morning. Can’t complain too much though as I’m getting a lot out of it 🙂