What is one piece of advice you wish you could offer your former expectant self?

Deep breaths. Today’s decision does not have to stick around forever. It is always possible to switch things around.

What was your primary motivation for deciding to return (or not) to work? How early did you tell your employer?

I was okay returning to work. It wasn’t always easy, but I was okay.

FOR MOMS: If you breastfed, was there a place for you to pump that met your needs and was conducive to your success? If you breastfed, how did you decide to continue? FOR DADS: What, if any, adjustments did you (or your workplace) make to your schedule after having a baby? Was it specific to your manager or larger, whole work culture?

For my son, he would not latch and he had growing issues. So, we had to supplement and pump from the first week. So, we didn’t have much choice.

For my daughter, she was latching fine, but it was incredibly painful and it would not lessen at all for a week or two.

So, I exclusively pumped for both kids. My son had formula supplementation from early on, my daughter did not until I stopped pumping.

How much leave did you take, and how comfortable were you taking it?

1st child: 4 months
2nd child: 4 months

When did the “new normal” set in for you?

Not much will change while you are on leave. I came back after 4 months and while the time had passed, not too much had changed.

What was your biggest challenge going back to work?

I was very worried about finding good care for my son. I was concerned about “missing out” on those big milestones, not being there for him every step of the way. However, we found a perfect daycare/preschool and so my concerns were lessened fairly quickly.

I still worry about getting it all done, missing out on things, but that has lessened considerably as my kids have gotten older.

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