It's Working Project

“We dealt with infertility for years, followed by 2 years in the open adoption process, so when we finally became a family it was magic.”

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

It is absolutely true what they say, “It’s the toughest job you will ever love.” We dealt with infertility for years, followed by 2 years in the open adoption process, so when we finally became a family it was magic.

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

I was a consultant, so I was selective in who I told about our pending adoption. I was fortunate that I only had one client at that time and she was pregnant so it was an easy conversation once I told her.

How much leave did you take, and how comfortable were you taking it?

As a self-employed consultant, I didn’t have a traditional maternity leave. I worked from home, so it was fairly easy to fit a bit of work into my schedule while he was sleeping. I actually went back to work 2 times a week when he was six weeks old. Ironically, I was filling in for another woman who was out on maternity leave. It was a really great situation. I worked on Mondays, had three days with my son, and then returned to work on Fridays. I was never away from him two days in a row, plus I got adult conversation and kept my mind stimulated.

 

 

What was your biggest challenge going back to work?

Now that Callan is 2 years old, it is getting harder to leave in the mornings when he clings to me. He will say, “No Mommy work.” Those mornings hurt my heart.

Who was your biggest source of support in returning to work? What was your biggest pregnancy indulgence?

I was working with my best friend who also had two children and really understood the importance of getting out of the office on time. I recently returned to the more traditional 9 to 5 world as a corporate employee. Once again, I’m so fortunate that my boss has three children under the age of 5, so we are both running out of the office at the same time.

My indulgence was wine : ) As an adoptive parent, I could eat and drink whatever I wanted.

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

I never expected getting out of the house in the morning would be so hard and not feeling guilty about leaving by 5:15 p.m. would be so much easier!

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