My take on working mom guilt...

So, going back to work has been good for me. I really enjoy the challenges of my new job and the opportunity to be a part (a leader) in something that seems so "big!" Right now I'm primarily doing the bulk of the content work and Erica, the project specialist, is helping me with alot of the fine details like booking workshop locations and catering details. In a few more weeks my "content team" will come on board fully and we will embark on a project journey that will take us into April of next year! So, I'm pretty excited!
So far, being a mom and working isn't as challenging as I thought it would be. I just have to shift some of my priorities and the house cleaner comes once every 3 weeks for my sanity! I'm such a mom though, my desktop at work, my screen saver, and my phone screen background are all pictures of Evelyn. It's funny, when I tell someone I have a baby, I always follow it with "and here's a picture of her!" I'm so proud of my little champ. She's 3 1/2 months now and I just got the developmental survey for her 4 month checkup in the mail...so here is where the title of this blog post comes in....

I was told when Evelyn was born that I should expect her to lag behind developmentally 5 weeks (since she was 5 weeks early) or basically a month. I'm sure you remember my beginning posts on this blog where I told about the guilt I felt because she was early and wondered what I did wrong for this to happen for our family. Well, I've moved on from that, thanks to my heavenly father for pulling me through that one!

Anyways, I got the survey in the mail and I sat down excited to fill it out as I thought Evelyn's development was coming along really well! As I started to fill out the form I found that I could not answer all of the questions. If this had been a 3 month developmental survey I would have rocked it...I was home with her then and I saw everything. However, since I started back to work she gets home with Scott about 6:00, we eat dinner, she gets a bath, and I snuggle with her for a little bit, we say our prayers and read a book and then she is down for the night. So, I knew she was doing better at holding her head up because of how she holds her head when she is on my shoulder, and how she sits up when we go out to restaurants etc. However, I genually had not been doing tummy time anymore and I realized that for the 1 hour I get her on week nights she was either in my arms or in the high chair.
So, I composed myself and did not have a meltdown. This time Satan wasn't about to get the best of me! It was in that moment I realized that the weekends were to be cherished!!!! Yes, the weeknights are cherished too - in a different way - just being together! However, on the weekends I get to see her in action!
So, this weekend was great!

• Floor mat: wow! She used to hate the stuff over her head and when I would put her on the floor she would SCREAM! Now she loves it and laughs at herself in the mirror. She is also batting at the toys with her arms!
• Tummy Time: She can hold her head up for a little bit and is starting to look around
• Bouncy Thingy (Exersaucer): While she is only accidently pressing the buttons and her feet don't touch the ground yet, she does enjoy sitting in it and looking around.
• Her eyes follow us when we pass by
• When she hears our voice she looks for us
• When she wakes up and you go in her room, she smiles when you get to the crib and greet her

Anyways, so many exciting things are happening with her and I'm so thankful I'm adjusting so well to the "working mom" life! I think it's great that I have friends that get to stay home with their kiddos, but you know, everyone can't do that, so if you are a mom going back to work soon or working already, don't get down on yourself! You gotta do, what you gotta do! Cherish the moments you do have with your kids, they change so quickly!