So after the most wonderful summer with the little one I am now counting down the last two weeks before I need to return to work. Not an easy decision but I've decided to give it a go and see how things work out.
One thing that I have found very helpful is planning out the practical things that will help transition all of us smoothly.
I've searched high and low on the web, asked other moms and checked out 'This is How We Do It' from the library (I won't review it now but in a few words, its quite old-fashioned and lots of anecdotes about the authors life, not the practical list I wanted!!!).
Here are the 'going back to work' tips and tricks that I have thought worth while (note, I breastfeed and plan to continue so obviously some of these won't make sense for formula fed baba's):
> Plan your return date to be on a Wednesday/Thursday so that you don't have a full week the first week. I am going back on a Thursday and am sure those two days will go very quickly.
> Start pumping... NOW! The sooner the better really, I have spent the past month stocking up the freezer with as much milk as I can make. I added a pumping session per day to cater for an additional 4-5oz of milk which I freeze straight off. I also discovered Lasinoh breast milk storage bags (previously used Medela); the Lasinoh ones can be frozen flat as they are a more flexible plastic and also have double zips so less chance of a leak. Because you can freeze them flat they don't take up as much space which is great when you start to get to 50 bags in there!
> Buy additional accesories for your breast pump. For me this meant an additional breast shield so that I can pump twice a day at work without cleaning the kit. I am worried that I will have little time to pump as it is so do not want to have to concern myself with cleaning equipment as well.
> Check on your offices lactation facilities. I called our office nurse ahead of time and we have a new lactation room with fridge and storage - find out what kind of facilities you can expect, it will help you plan what you will need. If you have minimal facilities then remember you can buy cleaning wipes and a battery operated pump and use the ladies room at a push!
> Write up a schedule for your caregiver. I have made a 'daily schedule' for the baby with timings of everything and also I made a sheet which has space for the caregiver to write in how many wet diapers, how many bowel movements and how much food the baby consumes per day. I feel that I need this level of information in case the baby gets sick (and its also a good way for me to see if I think there is a problem , i.e. baby not eating enough in the day). Make sure there is a list of emergency numbers available for the nanny/caregiver.
> Make some meals for the adults of the family. My husband and I spent a happy weekend cooking some favorite dishes that are easy to heat up and freezing them. This way our diet will not suffer if we are having a tough week and are too tired to cook. Especially whenyou are still breastfeeding its important to keep your body well nourished and not rely on convenience foods every night. I'm going to try and make my lunch as well so that I don't need to worry about finding something on the run during the day.
> Stock up on household items/baby basics. Now that you won't be able to visit buy buy baby and babies r us during the quiet week days its time to stock up so that a. the caregiver has a plentiful supply and b. you don't spend all the precious weekend time doing errands. We stocked up on toilet paper, kitchen towels, washing liquid etc for the house and then diapers, breastmilk bags, wet wipes etc for the baby. I found that amazon.com and diapers.com are good for ordering bulk (and often cheaper too). For household stuff in the city I like Home Depot as they sell the bulk sizes for paper towels, toilet rolls etc and also have a good selection of cleaning products.
> Decide what is most important to you and try and schedule around it. So, for example, I want to give my daughter her last feed of the day and put her to bed. I will then be happy to go back online if needed to finish my work but it means I will need to leave the office at 5.30pm and no later...I know this will be hard but this is a priority for me. I also want to pick out her outfits each day as I think that will help me feel connected to her (so I'm going to do that each evening when I am getting my office clothes ready too).
> Agree with your partner what will happen if the baby gets sick (or the nanny gets sick!). What will you do? Who will stay home? We haven't figured this out yet but I think its an important conversation to have...we don't want to be having it at 6.30am one morning when we are both knackered and due in work!!!
Whilst these things won't make it any easier to leave my precious girl on my first day back (and I know I will be an emotional wreck), at least I can rest easy knowing that the practical things are taken care of which will be one less worry. Going back to work after having a baby is hard enough!!!
