Just when you think you’ve got the whole maternity leave thing down, and you and your kids are rockin’ n rollin… you get the job offer you’ve been waiting for… and you sign on the dotted line! Made all of the appropriate arrangements for my kids, worked out pick ups and drop offs with Hubby, and then a month into it, you realize how the hell does ANYONE do this on their own?!!!
Staying Sane is the Name of the Game
I casually mentioned to another working mama friend how crazy it is now that I’m back at work. How I’m constantly feeling under pressure to be on time, make nutritional lunches for my kids, stay on deadline AND keep everyone happy (including my husband & me!)
She looked at me and said, “Oh my god, I thought I was the only one! We need to trade secrets and figure this out!”
The thing is, my friend and I figured out, there is no “secret” – unless your “secret” is a full-time Nanny… I’ll get into that later. But both our kids go to daycare. We like them having the social aspect, the schools and teacher / caregivers are amazing and plus I think we just liked them going somewhere instead of being at home.
But lately it’s just all about staying SANE! With work travel kicking up a notch and my husband being AMAZING {as usual} we’ve been able to slide by… with a couple of apps, tricks and friends. It truly does “take a village.”
Tips for Going Back to Work from Maternity Leave:
- Prep and research your baby’s caregiving routine for when you go back. Do a dry run with the daycare or nanny. Time the drive, drop off or how long it will take you to kiss goodbye for the next 8 hours.
- Prep, prep and more prep! The night before, set up bags, bottles, food, etc. Try and drop off diapers, wipes etc. ahead of time so the day you go back to work, it’s an easy drop off and you’re not lugging a ton of crap.
- Be upfront with your manager / employer. Letting them know you need some time with the transition or have to leave at a certain time to pick up from daycare will foster a smoother transition back.
- Have a great babysitter (or 2 or 3) as back up for those days when the baby gets sick, you have no family in town, and you AND your husband both have major meetings or commitments at work. We have been using 2 amazing babysitting apps lately. I HIGHLY recommend! For Arizona parents: Busy Bees Babysitting and Juggle (which is in select markets around the country). Kind of like Uber for babysitting but SUPER legit and the closest I can come to a “babysitter on-call”.
Those are just a few of my tips, but honestly, it really comes down to trusting your caregiver / daycare, prepping as much as you can the night before, and communication with your significant other and manager. Otherwise, you’ll go crazy with work deadlines, trying to please everyone AND keep a tiny human alive! Oh, and don’t forget to think about yourself once in a while!
xoxo, L