For every mother out there, there can be a lot of trepidation if you take time off to have children. For those parents on maternity leave, this can cause anxiety, but for those mothers that have actively stopped their life and left their career to focus on raising their children, but are now at the point where it’s time to step back into what they used to do, is this something that can be done?
Welcome back to my next installment of The Sunday Pregnancy Diaries #4. You can catch up with last weeks here. This week sees me at 25 weeks so only 15 weeks until my due date. To be honest because I’m having the baby at 39 weeks as planned the due date doesn’t mean much to me at the moment. Anyway as I’m at the 15 weeks point before my due date this week work needs to know what I plan to do.
With baby girl I left pretty early at 32 weeks. Partly because it was December and working in retail is hell at this time of year. Secondly I still had nearly 5 weeks of holiday to take which I took before my maternity leave started. Then of course baby girl decided not to come and arrived at 42 weeks. That time before she came I kept myself busy with blogging, reading and preparing for a new baby.
You won’t believe how quickly the time goes after you have your newborn. It feels like you are pregnant forever, but when your baby arrives, the time can zoom by. After all, you are getting to know your newborn and trying to adjust to your new life. By the time you manage to get into some form of routine, it’s time to go back to work. If you ask any mum, they will tell you how difficult it can be when maternity leave is over. After all, you need the money, but you don’t want to leave your baby for long. But there are some ways you can make it as painless as possible.
Here is how you can make going back to work tear-free after having a baby!
We are now three weeks into our new routine. Going back to work after 10 months off was hard. I’m currently working 3 days a week until December when I move back to the full 5 days a week. So not looking forward to that. I think 3 days is the perfect balance for us.
That first Monday was hard. It broke my heart to leave her. I knew she would be fine with my parents though. When I went to pick her up at 4pm her little arms and legs were going and she practically jumped into my arms. She cuddles into me laughing and smiling away. It was an emotional moment.
The second day was much better. Baby girl is loving being spoilt by my dad – her papa. He makes her laugh and giggle all the time. This second week is now easier. We are into a good routine now. Getting up at 5:15am is hard but we all go to bed early.
It’s here.
I never expected my maternity leave to go so fast.
I’m getting up at 4:45, that’s not true. My husband is pulling me up out of bed at 8 months pregnant to go to work on my last day. That day has come. Normality as we know it is disappearing. The next time I walk through these doors at work I will be a mum.
So here I am sitting on my stairs struggling to tie up the laces on my safety boots. Just think Rach in 10 hours time you will be free of work for 10 whole months. Truthfully all I’m thinking about is getting through this day. Baby girl loves to lie on my sciatica nerve. Standing on your feet all day is no joke. Might have to find a place to hide in!
Rest up feet up!
That won’t happen as its a Saturday.
