What is one piece of advice you wish you could offer your former, pre-children self?

Live more in the moment.  The future will come to you, and when it does, it will be incredible.  But before it gets here, soak in the freedom and flexibility you have in life.  Both levels of happiness and enjoyment are amazing, but will be vastly different from one another.

How long did you take for paternity leave before heading back to work? How close was your back-to-work plan with the reality upon your return? How was this different with each child?

With each child, I took a minimum of two weeks off, and flexed for probably another month or so after that.  My wife and I own our own business together, so the ability for us to both be away for extended periods at the same time is incredibly difficult.  We also have an incredible support system, so we had a supportive group of friends and family members who were eager to be involved – for which I am thankful. 

Who was your biggest source of support in returning to work?

My wife.  I’ve always felt that we try to be a team on everything.  The emotional roller-coaster of  owning your own business can be difficult.  She was there to help give me the right pushes at the right time.

What was your biggest back-to-work post-baby challenge?

Not allowing work to become an energy drain. 

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As a working parent, I never expected all of the logistics of parenting would be so hard and leaving work would be so much easier!

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