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

You have no idea how you will feel when you have a baby! Just trust me on that.

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

I was self-employed running a bakery/e-commerce business. However, I did have to have a serious conversation with my husband when I realized that I wouldn’t be able to run the business the way I wanted AND be a mom the way I wanted. Since running a bakery was so physical, I realized it would be a challenge even while pregnant. So we sat down and talked about the process of winding things down in the first half of my pregnancy, and decided to sell parts of the business. However, I opted to keep the Keep It Sweet Desserts name, so that I could continue to blog under that brand as I had been doing for about four years already. It was very emotional and difficult to say goodbye to something I had worked so hard on.

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

Since going back to “work” for me was blogging, I was able to set my own leave schedule. My baby was due mid-October and I didn’t want to have to really focus on the blog until January. By working very hard the summer before, I was able to schedule out my posts (recipe creation, photos, etc.) through that time period. Getting back into the swing of things in January was definitely harder than I anticipated, though.

How easy was it to put a childcare arrangement together and did it work for your family?

We have very helpful grandparents, but no other childcare, so I work through naps!

When did the “new normal” set in for you?

What was your biggest challenge going back to work?

It really was all on me to get back into things. I consider my blog very part-time (although it doesn’t always feel that way) and still haven’t figured out what my next step is in the working world.

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

My husband has always been incredibly supportive of my career choices. I ate so much ice cream. So much!

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

I never expected leaving my child would be so hard and having infinite hours in the day would be so much easier!

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