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

I have two pieces of advice. 1. Do not judge anyone else’s parenting style. You never know what his/her situation is. We are all doing the best we can. 2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

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

I was 8 weeks pregnant and had not planned to tell anyone until 12 weeks. Unfortunately, I had started to bleed at work. I became very worried, called my doctor, called my husband to meet me at the doctor’s office, then went straight to my boss tell her I was pregnant and was having “some issues.” She was absolutely wonderful, compassionate, and caring. She even offered to drive me to the doctor.

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

I took 12 weeks off. Thankfully, my back-to-work plan was fairly accurate. Working for Medela, my expectations were properly set.

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

Friends and colleagues who have children were my biggest source of support, and assured me that whatever I was experiencing was normal.

With my second child, I had gestational diabetes. I had to track everything I put in my mouth, in addition to monitoring my blood four times a day. Each night, assuming my body could handle it, I had a true serving size of ice cream. That little ½ cup was heavenly.

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

I never expected that finding good and reliable child care would be so hard and having a second child would be so much easier.

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