Mom to Max and Jack
Industry Strategist, Automotive
Maternity leave: 6-weeks and 3 months
Childcare: Daycare, Latch-Key and Nanny
What did you struggle with most about returning to work after having your kids?
10 years later it wasn’t any easier but the experiences were vastly different. With Max I was only able to stay home for 6 weeks. My employer tried to make it easier allowing me two days in the office & 3 working from home...which consisted of me fighting back tears not only dropping him off - but while trying to work with him in a baby Bjorn on conference calls...I was a puddle every day. With Jack, while I had 3 months off, the pressure was intense from the moment I walked in, coupled with raging nightmares that the Nanny would actually kidnap my newborn leaving my 10 year old to fend for himself. I was nuts each time.
What do you find difficult about being a working parent?
That it’s never enough. Since I'm a working mother, Max can’t do more than one sport, he can’t play travel, and I’ve missed important moments for school. With Jack, I struggle as I know I would do things differently if I was with him all the time. It’s the choices and the compromise that get me. Here’s the thing I’ve come to realize... they are perfect by the difference in which they were raised. By the different choices those caring from them make & understanding that we need to prioritize what is important to us.
What do you enjoy about being a working parent?
The humans that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. The challenges that push me to see things differently outside of my bubble. The growth I’ve experienced to pass on to my own little humans.
After being back at work for some time, have your views about career and family changed?
We all make sacrifices whether or not we're parents. It’s recognizing the sacrifices that those around us have made to be there that brings empathy to the work place. I don’t think that would have come to me without my boys.
Knowing what you know now, what’s one thing you wish you could go back in time and tell yourself as you were preparing to return to work or getting ramped up in your role?
Give yourself time. Some distance. Time + Distance ...to give in and grieve the life you THINK you are leaving behind.
What did you choose for childcare, and how has it been for your family?
Daycare/Latchkey/Nanny
They all work. It’s not worth worrying what’s best. Think about what you can afford & where you feel comfortable.