Returning to Work After Having Your Baby

There’s a good amount of adjustment that a parent must undergo when they’re ready to return to work after having a baby. Here are some of the things you can expect to happen when you decide to return from maternity leave.

When you’re due back at the office, make sure you have a tried and true plan already set in place. If possible, arrange for your child care to start a week or so early so that you can try out your routine, and try to get used to parting with your baby. Set your alarm clock earlier than you actually need to wake up to give yourself some leeway, and ensure you have a backup plan just in case the babysitter gets sick.

Sheer exhaustion is something you have to be careful to avoid – and it’s very easy to succumb to. Your own sleep needs should take priority over doing another load of laundry or cleaning up the kitchen. Try and get family and friends to help as much as possible. Try and get to bed earlier as well to restore and build up your energy for the day.

Although you might feel like an absolute wreck when you’re at your desk — worrying about your baby, feeling physically and mentally exhausted, being daunted by the piles of work that have built up in your absence. You might even become more productive in the process.

You might be expecting yourself to immediately get back into the swing of things with your work habits. However, don’t seek immediate reintegration. It’s going to take some time before you’ll get to the point you were at pre-baby. Just be patient with yourself, and you’ll reach that point sooner than you know it.

Hopefully you’ll find some of these tips useful. When you come across these things upon returning to work, you’ll know exactly what to expect.

By: Tim Milles