Returned from maternity leave in January and just feel so burnt out. I just made partner but my hours are tanking now and I just have no motivation to do the work. I’m in litigation. Two under two and feel like I’m being a bad mother and bad lawyer. How do you balance it ?

With two under two, you kind of don’t—every day is tough. But make sure you’re outsourcing everything you can/don’t care about, like meals, cleaning and laundry. Get your support in place for emergency care when kids have to stay home etc. Take it one day at a time, knowing that it does get easier as they get older.

I don’t have advice but I can commiserate with you. I returned from maternity leave in January and thought the burn out/lack of motivation would be gone by now but it has probably gotten worse. It’s my partnership vote year and I couldn’t care less when a year ago I was really gunning for it. FWIW, You’re not alone ❤️

Try to be really intentional about your time. Make decisions about how to spend it and stick to them. I would limit the time you spend on your phone while with your kids as much as you can—it’s just the worst of both worlds, crappy parenting and not really billing much time.

I don’t work between like 4-bedtime every day and that works well for me. I do work late sometimes, but I get a solid chunk of break time where I completely tune out work. I overall feel good. And I bill straight through like 9-4 and 8-10. It’s enough hours and enough time to keep up. I also work during nap time on weekends.

Outsource everything, and spend money on things that will make you happy. Treat yourself as often as you can. Buy some expensive face cream and a nice sleep mask so bedtime feels like heaven.

This chapter is incredibly finite. If you have 2 under 2, in a handful of years they’ll be in kindergarten. Their needs will diminish considerably in by age 3/4. Do whatever you need to do to be comfortable during this time, which is inherently going to keep you in survival mode a lot of the time (this is true for SAHMs too).

I so feel your pain. My kids are 19m apart, and my younger is now 20m, so we are seeing more light at the end of the tunnel, but holy he'll, this has been the hardest season of my life. You're right to feel overwhelmed and burned out. My advice is to just keep perspective as much as possible - you're a longterm asset to your firm because careers are decades long. Your best today will look different than your best pre-kids and different than your best in 5 years when your kids are more independent.

Following.. hope you’ll find a solution that works for you🙏🏻

Returned from my second maternity leave in October and still feel this way. I keep telling myself it’s just really hard right now with a toddler and baby, but it will get better. My perspective currently is to do enough to stay afloat at work but spend all my extra energy on my kids, not my job. There will be time for career development later when they are older. You’re not alone. Good luck!!