It's Working Project

"Paternity leave needs to come a long way. It's not an emotional or an equality issue. It's a requirement for two parents to get rest and be functional. "

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

Start saving for daycare LONG before birth if you can. Also, plan on pre-k being expensive or inaccessible depending on the time of year your child is born. Missing the cutoff adds a year to your pre-k wait.

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

I left my job at a company and started freelancing.

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?

Breastfeeding triplets long term wasn’t in the cards for me, but I tried for about 6 weeks.

What was your biggest challenge going back to work?

As a friend put it, “When you have kids, time is the first casualty.” Being torn between home life and working life (especially working from home) is a huge emotional and logistical challenge.

Fill in the blanks: As a working parent, I never expected ____ would be so hard and ____ would be so much easier!

That I could feel so miserable being torn between two worlds.

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