It's working for Sara
Virginia
2 children
“As a (part time) working parent, I never expected staying home with my children would be so hard and going to work would be so much easier!”
Enjoy your free time because there is no such thing once you have children.
With my first pregnancy, I was 18 weeks when I told my employer. They weren’t surprised, so it was pretty easy to just tell them. With my second pregnancy, I told my employer at 14 weeks because I was having complications that required me to take some time off work. My employer, colleagues, and parents of the children with whom I was working were incredibly supportive.
With my first child, I returned to work full time after 13 weeks, but at that point there was only five weeks left in the school year. I was then home for the summer and went back to work in the fall part time once he was six months old. With my second child, I started a new part-time job when she was 12 weeks old. The only thing I wasn’t prepared for was how to balance everything. I don’t think there is any way to prepare for that. It’s a journey, and we are all figuring out what works best for our families.
Everyone was happy to have me back at work and very supportive. The best advice I received was from the administrative assistant at the time. She came into my office and said, “Sara, we are so happy to have you back. If you are sad to be here, that’s okay. If you are happy to be here, that’s okay, too!”
My husband has also been a source of support in my returning to work. He has been able to help with drop-off, pick-up, breakfast, getting kids ready in the morning and in bed at night, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc.
I never expected staying home with my children would be so hard and going to work would be so much easier!