This post on Going back to work after baby is sponsored by Mirum but all opinions are my own. #ParentsChoiceSweepstakes #ParentsChoice #AD
My life has changed so much since my girls were born. From a working stockbroker with a newborn to a stay at home mom of three to a single mom of growing girls that keep me on my toes. A lot has happened and I would not change a day. I would, however, change the way I handled some things that I encountered. Now that I know better. Now that I have learned that advice is just that, advice. Now that I have learned that my mothering skills are good enough even if they are different than what others think. Instinct is a wonderful thing in motherhood and I wish I had trusted them during one of the hardest times of my life; going back to work after baby. I took three months maternity leave with my first daughter and the day I had to return to work was excruciating. Here are 5 tips that I with I had implemented way back when to make going back to work after baby easier.
Allow Yourself to feel the sadness
I will never forget feeling so sad and so lost as the day approached to leave my tiny newborn with a sitter for 10 hours a day so that I could return to work. I will also never forget how many people told me to suck it up. Millions of women have done it, they would say. Or, ‘You knew this day was coming!’, as if my feelings did not matter. So, I tried to suck it up and hold my feelings in. I wish now that I had just let them go and cried. It would have made things just a little easier instead of having to put on a brave face for those who told me to deal with it.
Take the stress of feeding off your shoulders
I breastfed all three of my girls and supplemented with formula when I needed to. With my first daughter, after returning to work, I let the pressure of ‘you have to breastfeed’ get to me. I pumped at work, pumped late at night and in the morning and made myself almost sick because I listened to everyone who said breast was best. While it is, it is not the only. I eventually learned that it would not hurt me or my daughter if I stopped pumping so much and supplemented with formula. Quality brands like Parent’s Choice® Baby Formula only at Walmart gave my baby the nutrients she needed and gave me some relief.
Let’s face it, when you have a newborn, friends and family are quick to offer opinions on feeding methods, sleep schedules, and everything in between. We all appreciate well-intentioned advice, but sometimes a new mom simply needs the affirmation that her choice matters. My choice to use formula was the right one for me. If I were to go back, I would use it more during the going back to work after baby phase. Life would have been a lot easier if I had and my daughter would have been just as well fed and healthy.
Parent’s Choice meets the highest-quality FDA nutritional ︎standards, just like Enfamil, Similac and Gerber and is easy to digest for infants. It is compliant with FDA nutritional standards and the recommendations of the AAP – the American Academy of Pediatrics and is even nutritionally comparable to more expensive national brand infant formulas, including Enfamil®, Similac®, and ︎Gerber®.
Use your vacation time wisely
I had three weeks of vacation a year along with 10 sick days. I always saved them up. Now I wish I had spread them out more evenly so that I would have extra 3 day weekends with my daughter. Especially on the days when I missed her so.
Be honest with your sitter
As most new moms do, we question our ability to take care of baby. As I handed my newborn over to a sitter who had her own kids, and thus experience over mine as I saw it, I kept my mouth shut on my wishes. My oldest was a difficult sleeper and I tried to relay to the sitter that the schedule I had for her was important. But she wanted her on her child’s schedule, who was older and slept less, and it was not enough sleep for my child. I wish I had spoken up at the time but I didn’t and often had rough nights as a result. Be honest with the person who watches your child about everything. Even if you are nervous about it. All kids are different, after all.
Going back to work after baby is one of the hardest things we mom can do. I struggled with it a lot and eventually quit my job to stay home. But one thing I have learned, as a mom of preteens now, is that my gut instincts were right and what other people think is just that. What they think. Do what is right for you and your family and it may ease the stress of it just a little.
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The Parent’s Choice Formula Feeding Time Summer 2017 Sweepstakes
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