The thought of returning to work was the worst feeling for me. I had just spent 4 1/2 months with my son. Every day, all day me and him. Now I have to return to work and this means everything is going to change. Here are some tips to considered before you return to work after baby.
About a month from my return to work, I started to prepare myself, my son, his father for the transition. This would be a change for not just myself but the entire family.
I figured a month out would not only help me mentality but physically as well. Here are a few things I did to get the family ready for my return:
Get Use to a New Routine
One of the hardest parts about changing from at home life, to work life is changing your routine. You get so used to waking up when the baby is up and sleeping when the baby sleeps. You make life happen around your child’s schedule. But a routine is very important when returning to work because you will no longer have the freedom to do what you want, when you want.
Start early such as 2 weeks or earlier from when you will be returning to work. This will help you and your child to get use to this new schedule. Act as if you’ve returned to work and include all necessary factors that may have an effect on your maternity leave lifestyle.
For me this was waking up early. I started to wake up around the time I estimated I would need to get up for work. My hope was that it would get my body comfortable with this new time since myself nor my son were morning people. I would set an alarm and wake myself up and try to keep busy around the house to test out the time I would need in the morning. I also tried not to nap with him during the day. I knew I wouldn’t be able to nap at work so I had to practice this to see how my energy would hold up.
The new routine may interfere with your significant other’s, so practice will not only help you but allow the family to adjust to the new flow.
Get Your Baby Use to a Bottle
Thankfully my mother would be watching my son so I didn’t need to prepare him for daycare. But if you are going to place your child in daycare or leave them home with a family or friend, getting them used to a bottle is necessary.
Since I strictly breastfed while on maternity leave, I wanted my son to have bottles in the day and breast at night. It is helpful to start feeding your child through the bottle during the day, even when they are with you. I started by rubbing the nipple of the bottle on his gum and drip some of the milk into his mouth to introduce him to the bottle.
I think it’s important to test out bottles with your child early on because some kids don’t take the bottle so easily. Starting a month out gives a child more than enough time to get comfortable. My son was a really good sport and took to the bottle well. In no time he was drinking from the bottle and knew that in the afternoon/night he could have all the milk he wanted straight from the breast.
*Sidenote* If you’re going to continue to give your baby breastmilk when you return to work, freezing milk is very helpful. I used the Lansinoh storage bags. The reviews were really good and most moms stated they didn’t experience the bags leaking. Although I wanted to do more, I managed to freeze about two bags of about 2-2.5oz a day for two weeks. I figured this would be enough to start my Mom off. I would pump during the work day and continue storing milk in the freezer.
Mentally Prepare Yourself
You need to mentally prepare yourself for this transition. This is something they don’t tell you.
During the last two weeks of my maternity leave, the reality of leaving home for work would hit me randomly. I would start crying at the thought of leaving my kid and not being with him all day, everyday. I was devastated. This child became my world. I was his Mom. We literally spent all day, every day together since he was born. I didn’t like the feeling that after 4 1/2 months, this would all change.
Pregnancy, birth and postpartum is not just a physical process but a mental one as well. Share on X On a regular basis I would need to tend to my mental health after giving birth. But no one warned me that I would need to do the same when it came to returning to work. Once, I asked my Mom and Aunt if my kid would remember me when I started to go back to work. They laughed and told me of course he would. My Mom told me he will start to know my schedule and expect me home at a certain time.
I spent a lot of time talking to my boyfriend, Pop as he is my biggest supporter and encourager. He would wipe my tears, assuring me that this was all normal and that I had nothing to worry about.
Make sure you take time to get your emotions about returning to work out. Do some serious bonding with your baby so you can physically and mentality assure yourself that you will be okay. Use the bonding time to soak up the time you have home with your child.
Try on Work Clothes
The night or maybe two nights before returning to work, I went through my clothes. I would advise you to start earlier so you can know what fits and doesn’t fit. I dug deep into the work clothes I had hidden throughout pregnancy because they no longer fit. Some things fit now, while others were still too tight or too short. I started to play around with outfits that would work.
Trying on your clothes in advance will let you know if you need to go out to buy new things. Pregnancy and birth can change a women’s body in so many ways. *Sidenote* also try on your shoes. My feet grew a half-size after birth, which was crazy because my feet was the same size my whole pregnancy. I had to also buy new shoes for work because my old ones were tight or no longer fit. My feet would literally hurt when wearing shoes I had for years.
I must admit, this made me very angry. But my cousin told me and I quote “Girl, it took 9 months for you to get that size, you think your just going to lose everything in 4. Give yourself and your body the time to reset.” She also told me since I was breastfeeding my hormones are still all over the place and once I stop breastfeeding my body will return to its normal state. Then I will know if my shoe size or my weight would shrink or if I need to do a little more work in the exercise department to get back to where I wanted to be.
Although the body change can be a big thing for most moms, finding a reason to go shopping and buy new clothes is always nice.
Try to get some Sleep
Please, please, please try to get some sleep. The hit of returning to work can have you nervous and your mind all out of whack but sleep will be key for you to do what you need to do as a working mom. Sleep is necessary for your mental and physical health. Going back to work and being a mom is not an easy thing to do, but sleep will help it feel easier. Don’t miss out on this as you will wish you got more sleep once you get into the swing of things.
For the Win (conclusion)
Just to recap a little, to prepare yourself for going back to work you can:
- Get use to a new routine
- Get your baby use to the bottle
- Try on your work clothes
- Try to get some sleep
These are just a few tips that were pretty helpful in my transition back to work. I would love to hear about some other ways, how do you prepare yourself or family for your return to work?
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