If you’re at the end of your pregnancy, you’re probably looking forward to your maternity leave. Huge, heavy and bloated, squeezing into office-appropriate clothes and shoes is not much fun. Your nesting instincts have likely kicked in by now, so you would like nothing more than to stay home and prepare for the new baby.
Many women who are able to take 12 weeks of paid maternity leave use two of them before the baby is born, while many others work until the very last minute so that they can spend as much time as possible with their newborn.
While a maternity leave is pretty much a necessity – you do need time to recuperate and to adjust after giving birth, and while many moms choose to extend it, others quickly feel trapped and isolated and can’t wait to go back to the stimulating, grownup environment of an office.
Whatever your personal feelings are about being home with your baby for a few months, the following tips should help you make the most of your maternity leave while keeping your sanity!
1. Prior to leaving, make the transition for coworkers as smooth as possible. Many expectant moms create a detailed handbook that details unfinished projects, including contact info. While this is a lot of work, it will help alleviate some of your own worries – and guilt – about taking time off. Remember that your leave can start earlier than your due date even if you had planned on working until the very last day, either because the baby arrives early or because of medical issues.
2. Don’t plan on getting any office work done for the first month after giving birth. Most moms agree that caring for a newborn is the hardest job they have ever had – much harder than any office job. Even if you’re eager to transition back to work as soon as possible, don’t plan on accomplishing anything other than recuperating and taking care of your newborn for at least four weeks.
3. Take care of yourself. Easier said than done, for sure, but this should be a priority. It’s interesting that so many new moms report that they’re just not able to take a daily shower during those first few weeks – the baby is so demanding that they sometimes reach the end of the day still wearing their pajamas. I felt like that with my first baby, but with the second, I knew better than that. Taking a daily shower and taking care of myself were a priority, and I knew that leaving the baby in her crib for a few minutes, where she is safe (albeit unhappy), while I’m taking a shower and getting dressed, is not the end of the world. You ARE entitled to take care of your own needs, and in fact, you will be a better, more patient mom if you do.
4. Stay in touch. While no one at the office should expect you to be constantly available during your maternity leave, it’s a good idea to check your email and voicemail daily just so that you’re in touch with the office and your inbox doesn’t get out of control. Many moms feel that the single hour they take each day for reading work email actually helps them keep their sanity and feel like grownups. It’s a welcome break from the daily chaos of dealing with a newborn.
5. Most importantly: give yourself a break! Don’t be hard on yourself and accept that it is going to take time – usually several months – before you get used to your new life. Feelings of sadness and depression are very normal, so give yourself time to get over them, while being alert to any possibility that you might have postpartum depression – this is very normal too, but needs to be addressed medically.
Phoot by Surlygirl
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