Returning to Work After Baby

It seems like only a short time ago that we were bringing Christian home from the hospital, and not too long before that waddling around with my bump, wondering if I would stay pregnant forever! (I went 1wk 6days past my due date before being induced). I’ve had 6 glorious months off, but we now find ourselves in a place with many others, it’s no longer financially feasible for me to stay off.

And yet, here I am after my first week back at work – albeit part time. I dreaded coming back, agonized over whether I would be able to pump enough at work to keep my milk supply up for baby the 2.5 days I would be away from him, whether I would cope with not being with him the majority of the 24hours in a day. Well, after the first week back at work, I can happily say: It’s not that bad.

Being at work on a Monday, Wednesday and for half the day Friday gives me the headspace I need from baby being totally dependent on me, to allow me to enjoy the time I get with him more. And by the time I’ve had enough during my working days, I get to go home and know that the next day I’ll be home with Christian.

I DO miss him, and it’s been a big adjustment, for both me and my husband who looks after him on Mondays and Wednesdays. Learning how much expressed milk to leave out for him, teaching him how to have it ready to go before Christian kicks off but not waste any, and much earlier mornings than my husband has been accustomed to. Breastfeeding has been an amazing journey so far, but not without it’s downs as well as amazing ups. I’ve learned that I am on call 24h a day, whether I’m at work or not. With me on nightshift, Hubby gets the advantage of sleeping through unless something is very wrong, which thankfully is seldom.

Now I’m back to work, because I start earlier to finish earlier, he has to get up from his peaceful slumber in the spare room at 6.30am and crawl back into bed beside our child, who doesn’t always stay asleep until his usual waketime between 8.30-9.30am. Neither of us are morning people and we aren’t terribly nice when we haven’t got enough sleep, either. We have to learn to try and be kind to each other even when we’re frustrated, because we know the other is not the problem, tiredness is.

I hope that my husband is learning how tiring it can be, staying at home with the baby, and appreciating that most days I don’t tend to hand him the baby for “his turn” as soon as he comes in the door from his own work, but that a little help in that case goes a long way. But it makes my heart so full and proud to see his confidence growing with his son, and now him knowing (as I always knew) that he can indeed do it, and is a very good daddy.

I’m so glad that I’ve had the opportunity to return to work part time, and that things have worked out so that we don’t have to pay a fortune for daycare for Christian, which we just wouldn’t have been able to do. I’m not yet ready to be away from him for that long that often, and have been saved the ordeal of trying to find someone we don’t know or trust to leave our most precious possession with all day.

How did you find returning to work after having a baby? Let me know your experiences below!

Love, Twinkle

xoxox