No worries on the hijacking, I really love hearing what other people think of this kind of thing so I am happy to see a little back-and-forth.
Padds, good luck to you! I've just gone through what you're about to so if you need any support just look me up. I am a lawyer at an American law firm myself. I came back part-time (I am on 85% time), so I am committed to being in the office from 9am to 5pm M-F, though I often work outside of those hours at home after DS has gone to sleep. I don't mind those hours, but full-time would have been impossible for me.
Check out my thread when I was back three months and over it and looking at other options here. Talk about overwhelming support!
As for bf, it sounds like you've got that sorted, but just to give you some support should you reconsider the possibility of expressing at work, my boss has been very supportive, I do it twice a day and get more than enough for my DS, and I have a little fridge in my office so I don't have to worry about other people messing with/(tbh) looking at my milk.
I wouldn't worry what the nursery people think of you at all, and tbh I don't worry about what people here think of me, either. I have pictures of my DS in my office, with DH and on his own, which helps with my letdown when I express. Also, he comes in to visit once a week, which is lovely and completely necessary for me. Plus I still co-sleep, so that also keeps us close. I have not maintained a separation between work and home, as you can see, and I find that this works better for me, just to provide an alternate view to lennygrrl.
lennygrrl, I do find that it is easier when I am really busy at work, which hasn't been the case since I've come back from holidays. Compounded by all of the lovely times I spent with DS over the break and you get the resultant low at being back to work and perceived need to try to remain close to DS throughout the day even though we're physically apart. It will get easier as the work picks up.