It's working for Gillian G
Ypsilanti, Michigan
1 child
“I had planned to work up until my due date, expecting that a first baby would come late. We were all surprised when she arrived two weeks early!”
What is one piece of advice you wish you could offer your former expectant self?
It’s okay to put the baby down and leave her there sometimes. You don’t *actually* need to be within two feet of her at all times.
What was your primary motivation for deciding to return (or not) to work? How early did you tell your employer?
I told my boss pretty quickly, at about 13 weeks, right after telling my parents. I didn’t want her to find out accidentally from someone else. I actually wrote up a letter outlining how much time I wanted to take, my due date, and some preliminary ideas about who could take over various parts of my work. She was pretty surprised by this, apparently that’s not what most people do around here! Mostly, she was excited for me and felt we could figure out the details later.
How much leave did you take, and how comfortable were you taking it?
I took the full 12 weeks allowed by my organization (2 weeks of paid time off, 4 weeks 60% disability leave, 6 weeks unpaid–I really would have hoped for better, but I guess the disability payment is better than nothing.) My back-to-work plan was pretty close to what actually happened, except that I had planned to work up until my due date, expecting that a first baby would come late. We were all surprised when she arrived two weeks early!
Who was your biggest source of support in returning to work? What was your biggest pregnancy indulgence?
My parents and in-laws. My husband’s parents and mine all live in the area and three are remarried, so my kid has 7 grandparents. My parents are both retired and have been willing and able to take turns taking care of the baby, so we ended up only needing daycare once a week and the grandparents have been very flexible and generous with their time. I know most people don’t have this level of support, so I feel very fortunate.
Egg McMuffins. I rewarded myself with a breakfast sandwich every time I had a doctor’s appointment … which was often.
Fill in the blanks: As a working parent, I never expected ____ would be so hard and ____ would be so much easier!
I never expected pumping at work would be so hard and sleeping at night would actually not be so bad!