It's working for Erin P
Houston, Texas
2 children
"It's incredibly important to me that I normalize taking maternity and paternity leave from my position as a leader & that I advocate."
What is one piece of advice you wish you could offer your former expectant self?
To forgive myself more easily & to be vocal (in an approachable way) about how hard it was from the beginning. To feel confident & not scared about advocating for myself. I’m an amazing employee. I wish I’d felt confidence in that earlier to ask for & demand what I needed.
How much leave did you take, and how comfortable were you taking it?
13 weeks. I was really upset about having to go back to work, not because I didn’t want to work, but rather because my daughter just seemed so young. My mom ended up taking an unpaid leave of absence from her work for a month so my daughter could start daycare a little older. For my second, my mom retired & moved in with us to help care for her.
What was your biggest challenge going back to work?
I was the first person at my job to have a baby & come back. I was worried about lack of understanding what it meant to be a parent, judgement for needing to be out for kid doctor appointments or sickness on top of juggling actual work.