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How would you know if your infant hates daycare?
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1. Follow your heart and not what the “(not so) perfect moms sect” will tell you to make you feel guilty
2. Push for a maximum flexibility (e.g., WFH, protected weekends, protected hours for bed time and other quality time activities, etc.) especially in the beginning until you find your own balance
3. Go with the flow and don’t put too much pressure on yourself, as it will be hard for you to be perfect on all fronts
4. Surround yourself with a great support system (family and colleagues) as you would need it
Remember that your baby will always love you and be proud of you :)
Don't go back to work on Monday. Start on a Thursday so you can ease into the "first week". I echo the surround yourself with support (meal prep, cleaning service, family/friends), find other working moms, and give yourself grace. One thing that helped with the mom guilt, is asking will this matter in 6 months, 1 year or 5 years? We put a lot of unnecessary pressure on us as moms when somethings really don't matter.
Meal prep and be as organized as possible! I also crockpot meals so I can just come home and be with my family.
Practice leaving baby with someone in increasing increments the week before you go back.
Day 1= Leave baby for an hour…while you sit in your car and cry!
Day 2= Leave baby for 2 hours… while you pull to the end of the street, pull over, and cry!
Day 3= Leave baby for 3 hours… and make it almost out of the neighborhood, pull over and cry, and then call your best friend to cry some more!
Day 4= Leave baby for 4 hours… and go shopping by yourself! (This will be a rarity in the years to come!) Go home, unload groceries, and make yourself something yummy to eat!
Day 5= Leave baby for 5 hours… meet friends for brunch, and go home and take a long nap! (Something else that will be a rarity until baby reaches teen years!)
But seriously… ease into it, because mom guilt is real! And take care of yourself and talk to others as much as possible! You’ve got this!!!! 💕
Take. It. Slow. Remember you are not the same person as when you left and that is a positive! After my first I went full throttle into my first week back, made all the mistakes - full days, started on a Monday, etc. - and was crying on Tuesday because I couldn't understand why I felt like was failing.
You have done an extraordinary thing. Celebrate that and remember it when you are answering an inane email instead of daily snuggle time.