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

Patience is a virtue!

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

My colleagues were among some of the earliest to know about my first pregnancy. Our team was working on our staffing plan for 2011. I felt awful keeping the news from them since it would impact the discussion, so I decided to tell them early on, around 10 weeks.

With my second, I shared the news with Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association’s  Executive Director while we were driving to an industry event. Another colleague had just informed the team four weeks earlier that she was pregnant, so my news meant the team was down two people for a five-week period in 2014. She was completely supportive and excited, but in hindsight, I’m glad we didn’t end up rear-ending the car in front of us when I told her the news.

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

JPMA is managed by AH, a professional services firm that specializes in helping non-profit organizations achieve their mission, create value, and advance their causes, industries, and professions. AH provides employees with 12 weeks of maternity leave. Their organizational model allows for others to step in and support client teams when short-term leave occurs. This made my transition back to work much smoother.

While I was on maternity leave we relocated to a brand new office space complete with beautiful nursing mother’s rooms. When I returned I was able to focus on finding my way around the new office and learning about the new initiatives that were developed in support of JPMA’s 2015 strategic plan while also supporting my choice to continue nursing my daughter.

I returned to work during the week of Halloween. My husband headed off to Montreal for a long weekend to celebrate his buddy’s final days as a bachelor. He was only gone for a few hours, when my phone rang. It was the daycare and the baby was projectile vomiting – diagnosis acid reflux. That was the start of a very long winter getting used to now having two kids bringing home viruses and other issues. I remember feeling like I was putting out a fire every other week. I didn’t expect that as part of my back-to-work plan and was really grateful for the flexibility that my employer provided during that time.

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

My husband rocks! We both have high demand careers and neither one of us could achieve our professional goals without our team effort mentality at home. He is so supportive of my passion for the work that I do. We share everything, including, packing lunches, laundry, taking time off when one of our girls is under the weather, and more.

I had a maternity leave indulgence: General Hospital while I was on maternity leave. I hadn’t watched it since I was in high school. It was my daily guilty pleasure.

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

As a working parent of two, I never expected coordinating schedules would be so hard and being a more efficient employee would be so much easier!

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