2004-05-25, 1:21 p.m.

Back to Work

Today I discovered that one should not try to heat pizza while at the same time working on sculpture and minding a fussy baby. The pizza will lose, for certain.

Leon and I went to work for the first time yesterday. We did pretty well, considering that it was kind of a trial. And considering that we were only there for half a day, I was able to get quite a few important things done: another computer placed in my office (for my assistant, so we can both work at the same time) and a sifting through of all of the 600+ emails that had accumulated over the past 3 months.

In reading and deleting most of these emails I learned that, in the time I have been gone, the following has occured: two professors died, the Grad Center updated our web portal, various comittees met, and a bunch of problems were discussed ad-nauseum in regards to the cataloging system. An 1870's microfilm reel of the NYTimes has gone missing (that would be a reel of the 1870's, not one made in the 1870's, when they didn't yet have microfilm.), and we seem to have not received the weekend NYTimes since summer session started. Standard. In addition, a can't-get-their-act-together publisher who has now sent us volume 4 of a certain encyclopedia 4 TIMES claims that we owe them $80 for the last copy they sent - the copy which I returned to them back in December.

So, basically, everything is alarmingly normal at work. Except for the fact that I have a 2 and a half month old baby with me.

Which meant that during his first half day at work, I nursed Leon 3 times, changed his diaper 3 times, and carried him around in the sling on all 3 floors of the Library. He also slept a bit, was held by my friend Nadine, got to meet Randy the mail guy, and hung out in his new, just for work, Sesame Street bouncy chair. For those of you who have seen the bouncy chair we have at home, the work edition is not quite as cool, but K-mart was sold out of the original, and I was desperate.

Leon also got to see me yell at Linda (the union lady who works in Acquisitions), after she went on and on about how his new bouncy chair "is only good for up to 25 lbs and that's just no good". I know, you're thinking, "you yelled? Your first day back at work? Bad form!" But yes, I yelled. Hopefully in a friendly-ish "everyone out and stop talking to me while I get situated" kind of way. But aside from potantially offending Linda, everything went well.

I look at all of this 'take the baby to work' stuff as a great big experiment - We'll figure it out as we go, so far so good, etc. My friend Tara mentioned that she thought I'd be much more stressed out about the whole situation, but I just don't seem to have the time. And as long as Leon's doing okay, I'm okay

But I think it was all a little tough on Leon, especially since he'd spent the previous day driving all over New Jersey, visiting Christopher's relatives, being shown off and cuddled and coo-ed over by every female, and quite a few males, in the family. So the last few days have been a veritable whirlwind of new people and new places, new routines and new bouncy chairs. Leon's been doing really well, for a 2 month old baby, but he's worn out. So when we got home last night, and he was wailing desperately, we just sat together for almost an hour, and nursed as he got himself calmed down. And today has become a revolving door of nursing and napping, with the occasional diaper change thrown in, to keep me on my toes.

Unfortunately, I also think he got his first diaper rash today. Which means that tomorrow I get to add a tube of diaper rash cream to my stock pile of baby stuff at work. And I was feeling so smug to have avoided the diaper rash up till now...