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"post_content": "I am going back to work tomorrow after a 6 month maternity break. The guilt is just killing me. Does it ever stop, does it get easier?",
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You got this! Also if helpful a mom mentor at work once gave me some advice re: guilt which I’ll pass on: Guilt is often a catch-all emotion that moms use as a default when they feel a lot of feelings that they can’t quite pin down. The best thing you can do when you feel “guilt” is to ask yourself: “what feelings am I actually feeling?” Is it sadness because your going to miss the baby? Is it jealousy that other people will spend more time with the baby? Is it confusion because you’re secretly excited about going back to work? All of these things are totally legitimate and way more easy to address than this catch-all emotion of guilt. So if you can push yourself to identify the feeling beyond just saying “I feel guilty” you often are left with a specific emotion or feeling that is far, far, far more actionable to address than just “I feel guilty.” Anyway- this tactic has really helped me. Whenever I feel guilty, I ask myself: “wait, what am I REALLY feeling?” And usually I’m left with a feeling that is way more manageable than guilt.
Btw, OP, it gets easier. While I still want to spend time with my kids just as much as when I returned from maternity leave 13 years ago, you get used to it (like anything else in life). And before you know it, they have their own lives - friends and activities they want to spend time on rather than spending all of their time with you 😊
You will go through a lot of emotions! I learned something about myself after having three kids and working. It's not the quantity of time it's the quality of time and as a mother, I'm better at being a working mother. Good luck❤️
Love this one. Completely agree. My kids are now 16 and 14 and the emotions go up and down as you learn when they really need you and when they don’t! You are showing your kid a power mom:) Have confidence!
Yes! It takes time to settle into a new routine and I felt guilty as we all learned how to make it work with new obligations, new caregivers, and so on but eventually we made it work. You’ll get there but just remember to be patient with yourself and the situation, use your partner/support network to troubleshoot as things come up, and communicate with your work team about how they can help. Good luck and welcome back!
Chief
For sure. I actually don’t feel any guilt as long as I am there for morning, evening, weekends. I only find it tough when I am asked to travel, which thankfully hasn’t been for a long time
It gets easier. Not looking forward to work tomorrow but do look forward to having daycare again. We’ve resorted to Baby Shark to keep the 1 year old amused this weekend and I get why the video has 9.7B views
Chief
Yes is does get easier! Take it day by day. Right now you’ll be so upset that you only get x hours with baby before bedtime (not enough!) but before you know it you’ll have a toddler and bedtime won’t come fast enough!
Thank you so much all you wonderful moms. Feel so much better after reading all your comments ❤️❤️❤️