In part one of our guide to returning to work after maternity leave, we got tips for handling home life with a new baby now that you are no longer with your little one 24-7. In this second installment, we look at some of the tougher realities of life in the office now that you have a baby.
Going back to work after being on maternity leave means a transition at work as well as at home. Put simply, you now have two jobs to juggle - being a parent as well as being an employee. While at home you are answering to the needs of your child, at work you're answering the needs of your boss... as well as your (off-site) child.
Much of your new schedule will revolve around childcare. The daycare you're using likely has firm opening and closing hours, and a nanny or sitter will expect you to be home at a specific time each night. Forget spontaneous plans to go out for a drink or staying late to catch up on a project.
"You simply can't put in as many hours as your colleagues who don't have kids, or who have a partner at home running the household. Accept this, and try not to feel guilty about it.," says Gayle Weiswasser, a mother of twin girls in Washington, D.C.
Manage scheduling expectations with your boss and coworkers. Tell your boss before you return to work about what time you'll have to leave to pick up your child, so there are no surprises.
"It helps to share the responsibility, such as having your husband drop the baby off so you can get to work early on days when you need to leave on time to pick up the baby," says Deborah Goldstein, a mom of a toddler son in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Respond to work email from home later in the evening in order to make up for leaving early.
Nursing moms have additional challenges at work. The first may be finding a private space to pump milk. Goldstein says she sat on a broken-down computer in a closet to nurse.
"The office busybody would often rap on the door, wondering 'what was going on in there,'" she says.
Since sustaining your milk supply requires pumping at regular intervals, put pumping time on your calendar so a meeting can't be scheduled at the same time. Look at your baby's photo and listen to a recording of your baby's cries using headphones in order to encourage milk production.
And set up a reminder to take home the milk you pumped that day, Goldstein says.
"Nothing is worse than getting all the way home and realizing you forgot tomorrow's milk in the office fridge!"
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