Labor Day shall be my first day back at work. As the day draws near, I've thought about how this leave compares to my leave with Moby not quite 3 years ago. Boy oh boy has my second maternity leave been nicer.

1. Managing baby time: I learned with baby #1 that my time comes in snippets around the baby's schedule. I know better how to choose projects that can be done in little bursts. And either I know better how to set down a baby, or Arlo is easier than Moby was. It's hard to remember.
2. Construction: After the construction hell of my first leave, you might think I'd stay away from construction. However, construction plus a full time job isn't really easier than construction plus an infant, so I'm getting the upstairs fixed up while on leave. However, this time I hired a much better contractor (Jack Cannon) whose own house is even older than ours. I'm not trusting a design-and-build firm (Craftsmen's Guild) to make sure the scope of the project matches the time available, and this time I won't be extending my maternity leave on account of the remodeling project. I'm working with a licensed general contractor who knows what he's doing and pays attention to details, rather than some guy who leads me to believe he's an architect but turns out to be unlicensed (Mike Amini) and his unpleasant and IMO disorganized brother Mike. I'm much more satisfied with my accomplishments designing the space than the combined work of Mike Amini and Callie Gray during our previous remodel.
3. Other projects: Not burdened with a construction chaos, I've managed to accomplish several other projects that were meant for the first maternity leave! For example, we finally completed our Christmas letter and sent out corresponding cards. We hired someone to make a stained glass insert for our front door, an idea pre-dating either remodel. I've unpacked some boxes and thrown out some clothes that no longer fit or I just never liked.
4. A blog: Yes! I used to write about my climbing endeavors and enjoyed the process. I admire Annaliese who manages to blog about her son monthly and aspired to do the same, but failed miserably with Moby. Yet look now: A few posts have appeared since Arlo!
5. Return to work: I get to work part time for 3 months! With Moby I was going crazy being at home and needed more adult interaction. Working full-time when my baby wasn't sleeping through the night on top of breast-feeding and pumping was exhausting. I wanted to work part-time for a while, but was told my company didn't allow part time designers. I hated Maxim but was scared to quit. With my second baby I wasn't going to do that again. I didn't know exactly how I would swing it, but I wasn't going to do that again. With Arlo, however, my manager asked me to write down what I wanted, and the management chain accepted my proposal without changes. I'm really excited to have three months to work at 50%, then two at 75%, before returning to full-time employment.

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