I've been back at work for two weeks, and I won't lie - it's hard at first. The reality is that you go from being with baby all day, to just a few precious hours. At first, I seriously considered quitting my job (well, just not going back to work) - but financially, this just would not make sense for our family; next I started plotting how I could get alternate sources of income that would allow me to be at home more. Ultimately, though, (for me) it paid (literally) to go back to my company.
In my situation, I went back to work at the same company but in a different job - this has been challenging, but having familiar faces around has helped. The first week back in the office was tough as I had so many people come to chat to welcome me back, and ask about my baby (so much for not thinking about her...!). So, if your company allows it, I suggest a visit to the office before officially going back - that way everyone can meet your little one (to "ooh" and "aah" over him!) and catch up.
My first week back was a bit of a disaster, too - I took 1 1/2 days off as Zoey had a reaction to her MMR shot at her 1 year appointment - diarrhea, fever and then exactly 7 days after the shot, she got a rash on her neck and body (which is a typical reaction 10% of babies get). This is just a heads-up, in case your return to work is less than a week after baby's 1 year check up.
For the separation anxiety, I suggest you start to 'wean' yourself before going back - for both you and baby's benefit. I put Zoey in daycare three weeks before I actually went back to work. This helped a lot, as it allowed me some time to myself (okay, to clean and organise the house top to bottom and run errands!) and allowed her to start getting used to spending time with other people besides me. As Nina said, you're very lucky to have family to help out - you'll know Julian is getting the best care possible! Make sure you both spend plenty of time with them now, so he is already used to them, and they can become familiar with your routines and you can explain his little quirks.
For me personally, I needed a bit of a break from being mommy at home. I'm a very rush-around-madly-to-get-things-done-as-quickly-and-efficiently-as-possible type of person, so being able to do exactly that was great. It doesn't sound like your baby's very clingy, so you're lucky the separation anxiety may be yours alone! Zoey got very clingy from about 10 1/2 months and it was starting to drive me a bit nuts staying indoors at home, as it was cold outside and difficult to get around since we relied on public transit.
On a separate thing - daycare has been *wonderful* for Zoey. Their regular routines have stabilised her feeding and nap schedule, she is much more independent (she'll actually play on her own for a bit!), and she is so much more sociable. Thank goodness, or I really would've had to revisit the idea of quitting my job!
Good luck - there's not much else you can do to prepare, but like everything else in motherhood, you and baby will take it in stride and get through it!
PS I'll be hosting some 'working moms' meetups, hope to see you there!
