It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...it was Saturday.

Saturday is that magical day that all of us in the working world long for. Saturday is my day of relaxation, of getting chores done, and my most favorite part...getting to have Fiona for a whole day.

You see, Monday through Friday I get to see Fiona for about 3 hours total each day. "How can that be?" you ask...

Well, I wake up at 6:30 and get ready for work while she finishes sleeping. I wake her up at 7am, feed her, put her in her carseat, and drive her to Gabu (my mom, who takes care of her). Total morning Fiona time = 30 minutes tops.

In the evenings I get off from work around 5pm. At least one night a week I have 'late-night' which means I can't leave until the last patient is out the door. Most times this is around 5:30-6pm; the other week it was 6:45. Anyhow, I digress. I get off work at 5pm, retrieve my babe and head home. We usually get home by 5:45. At this point she eats, I cook supper (or not), we play, and then at 7:30-8pm she falls asleep. Total evening Fiona time = approximately 2-2.5 hours.

Now, I hear some of you saying "Yeah, but you get to see her while she is sleeping. Plus, you get up 3 times a night to feed her. Isn't that enough time for you?" NO. If I had it my way, I would spend every minute of every day with her and that still wouldn't be enough time.

Back to Saturday. The problem with Saturdays is that I hardly interact with Fiona during the week. While she has a pretty good routine established with Gabu, somehow that doesn't happen with me on Saturdays. In other words, each Saturday I have to re-learn what she wants and how she wants it. For example, during the week my mom gives her bottles, and Fiona doesn't have to work very hard for her meal. On the weekend she nurses and gets mad that my milk doesn't come out faster. So we spend 30 minutes with her screaming until she wears herself out enough that she'll take whatever she can get. I also struggle with wanting to play with her and find myself forgetting that she needs to nap. Add in any travel, appointments, or seeing friends and family and it can be a disaster waiting to happen.

By Sundays Fiona and I are back into a rhythm and can function pretty well together. Sunday is my favorite day of the week. And then that ugly Monday rolls around and I lose it all over again until the next weekend.

So what can I do? I've already requested changing my schedule from a 5 day a week routine to a 4 day a week routine. But that wasn't approved. I have a job lined up that would start in February for 3 days a week, but after some challenging patients this week I wonder if that job is really right for me.

I guess all I can do is learn from each Saturday and pray that the next will be smoother.

Until next time...this is working mom #185011 signing off.