9 to 5: how to survive going back to work after baby

If you’re like most other new parents you’ll likely have little choice about whether or not you return to work after your baby is born. Figures show that more than 25 percent of moms and 90 percent of dads with babies younger than 12 months of age work. And the first weeks after you return to work can be traumatic as you cope with the emotional fallout of leaving your baby in someone else’s care and with the exhaustion of disturbed nights – after all, your baby doesn’t know you need to get up for work in the morning!

You’ll feel guilty about these things, more so if you love your job and don’t want to give it up. So how can you best ease the transition and get the best of both worlds as a working mom?

Ease back in if you can

See if you can negotiate part-time hours in the first few weeks after you return to work, or perhaps even telecommute a couple of days a week. This helps you to get used to the idea and to the new system and will also help your baby transition in with a new home care provider or into daycare, as it means she won’t be spending all day without you. At the very least, even being able to get to work and hour later and leave an hour earlier will help you and shouldn’t cut too much into your productivity. In fact, because you’ll feel more relaxed you might get more work done in your reduced hours.

Organize a routine

Mornings especially will need to run like clockwork and parental teamwork is essential to achieve this. Start into it the week before you return to work so you can work out any kinks before day one, and arrange for your baby to go to her carer or daycare for a couple of hours in the morning that week so you can get your mind around what exactly you need to do by what time in order to leave when you need to, and get used to being apart from her and saying goodbye. Your routine needs to be as simple as possible so pare it down by leaving out anything you can possibly do later, such as putting on your make-up – take five minutes to do it at your place of employment if you can.

Share the care

If you’ve been at home for some time with your baby you may have both fallen into the habit of leaving most of the household chores to you simply because you’re there to do it. Be prepared to have to ask your partner to pick up his share again once you return to work – it might not be something that occurs to him automatically! He needs also to step in with dropping off and picking up your baby from her carer. If it looks like it’s going to be difficult to keep up with chores while you both are working outside the home, look into the possibility of hiring someone to assist – even if it’s just to do laundry and change the beds, it will help make things easier for you especially if the alternative is that you end up missing out on sleep while you try to catch up.

Preserve mommy time

Set your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier than you need in order to spend some time with your baby before you leave for work and be sure to carve out some time for her in the evenings too. And keep up with the friends you made while you were at home with your baby – they can be a great emotional support for you and if any of them are stay-at-home moms they may also be a good source of practical help if there is a problem and your baby needs to be picked up early from her home daycare provider or daycare, or if her home daycare provider is unwell and can’t have her. 

Stay frosty at work

You’ll miss your baby terribly at first but if you can, try to keep your emotions in check and separate home and work issues. Your boss needs to know she can rely on you to be 100 percent at the office, so if you feel a few tears coming on, take yourself off to the bathroom for a few moments! And think about how you do things at work too – if you’ve always been a micro-manager it might be time to step back and delegate more jobs to ease some of the pressure.

Keep up breastfeeding

Breast milk is best for babies and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends you breastfeed for at least the first 12 months of your baby’s life. However this can be tricky if you’re working outside the home. In order to continue breastfeeding while working, you’ll need to get into the habit of expressing breast milk at work if you can – either in your office, if you have one, or in a room set aside for the purpose. You’ll also need a small refrigerator to store your breast milk. Start pumping a month or so before you return, so you’ll have a supply already stored, and if your baby has never fed from a bottle, get her used to doing so (this might be easier if your partner tries it first – if you do it, your baby may refuse and want to nurse instead). Once you’re at work you’ll need to take two or three 10-15 minute breaks during the day in order to keep up your milk supply. If your boss is dubious, let her know you can schedule one of these in your lunch hour and are happy to substitute the others for refreshment breaks or screen breaks if you use a computer. If you have work colleagues who smoke you might also want to point out that the time you take to pump milk is likely equal to the time they take for cigarette breaks!

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.

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Last Modified: 19/04/2009