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The whole way through pregnancy and maternity leave you know that being a working mamma is going to be tough. You imagine the practicalities of going back, how heartbroken you will feel about leaving your baby, but how freeing it will feel to be in that staffroom wearing a non nursing top. You plan the juggling and funding of childcare, you test and finally decide upon caregivers, prepare your baby as best you can with drop in days and prepare yourself with either kit days or a phased return.
You answer every single person who asks you the dreaded
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’Who is baby with today?’ question on your first day back, and smile politely (but scowl inside) when they say the time apart will do you both the world of good. You put the framed picture of the two of you on your desk and try not to check your phone too often. If you are pumping you figure out how in the world you are going to do this alongside your job and where on earth you are going to store your milk.
As the time goes on it gets a little easier and being a working mamma becomes the new norm. That’s when they start to get sick and if you are
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lucky you have alternative free (ie family) childcare options close by (as we did this week). If you are not so lucky you have to decide which of you takes time off or takes a sickly child into work in their sling for the day (as we did for the previous 4 years) . Doubly so when you have two as they inevitably spread those germs around.
If you decide to use flexi time or drop a day you quickly learn to cram your work into a smaller time slot. On the plus side you have different priorities now so find it easier to cut certain tasks. You leave for your
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non working day(s) and if you are blessed with understanding colleagues you say see you a few days and they tell you to have a good time knowing that you will be doing a much harder job than the one you’re leaving behind. If you are not you learn to take the sarcastic ’enjoy your day off while we’re working’ comments on the chin and brush them off.
And when your child cries and doesn’t want to go to preschool / breakfast club you smile and say you don’t really want to go into work either but that you have to and that you’ll be back together
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soon. Then you go into work and count down the hours until pick up time. If you are really lucky you count down the hours in a place that you like if not love, surrounded by great colleagues. 💚
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Julie Suffield - 30 Sep 19
The whole way through pregnancy and maternity leave you know that being a working mamma is going to be tough. You imagine the practicalities of going back, how heartbroken you will feel about leaving your baby, but how freeing it will feel to be in that staffroom wearing a non nursing top. You plan the juggling and funding of childcare, you test and finally decide upon caregivers, prepare your baby as best you can with drop in days and prepare yourself with either kit days or a phased return.
You answer every single person who asks you the dreaded ‘Who is baby with today?’ question on your first day back, and smile politely (but scowl inside) when they say the time apart will do you both the world of good. You put the framed picture of the two of you on your desk and try not to check your phone too often. If you are pumping you figure out how in the world you are going to do this alongside your job and where on earth you are going to store your milk.
As the time goes on it gets a little easier and being a working mamma becomes the new norm. That’s when they start to get sick and if you are lucky you have alternative free (ie family) childcare options close by (as we did this week). If you are not so lucky you have to decide which of you takes time off or takes a sickly child into work in their sling for the day (as we did for the previous 4 years) . Doubly so when you have two as they inevitably spread those germs around.
If you decide to use flexi time or drop a day you quickly learn to cram your work into a smaller time slot. On the plus side you have different priorities now so find it easier to cut certain tasks. You leave for your non working day(s) and if you are blessed with understanding colleagues you say see you a few days and they tell you to have a good time knowing that you will be doing a much harder job than the one you’re leaving behind. If you are not you learn to take the sarcastic ‘enjoy your day off while we’re working’ comments on the chin and brush them off.
And when your child cries and doesn’t want to go to preschool / breakfast club you smile and say you don’t really want to go into work either but that you have to and that you’ll be back together soon. Then you go into work and count down the hours until pick up time. If you are really lucky you count down the hours in a place that you like if not love, surrounded by great colleagues. 💚
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Lancashire born Liverpool based mum to two preschoolers. Blogging about motherhood, family life, being a working mum, local interest and mental health.
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