From One Cup To The Next

Coming back to work after maternity leave is bittersweet…at least it is for me. I love my job – the clients I get to work with, the daily challenges I face, and the people that I get the privilege to collaborate with. However, coming back after 12 weeks with my baby boy is hard. It is a constant feeling of guilt, worry, and anxiousness. Am I doing the right thing? Will the new daycare provider “get” my little man and help him flourish? Am I a bad mother? Can I give my “all” at work and at home? How are we going to do this? How will I cook and clean my house?

Yes, the questions and doubts keep coming and I have to believe I am not the only one. After my eight week mark of being on leave, I started giving some thought on what could I do now that would ease my transition back to the “real world”. I know that not everything is in my control, but planning the best I can I knew would help. Here are four things I did the week before heading back to work. 

Meal plan and prep

Meal planning is a popular topic that we have covered many times on this blog. I think it saves countless hours and helps control the stress at the end of the day. Prior to the week of going back to work, I planned the rest of the meals for the month. I didn’t want to have to think about what we were going to eat when I was in this transition. 

I took inventory of what we had in the freezers, fridge, and pantry. I planned meals for the next three weeks. I knew the meals had to be easy or prepared prior to the week starting. I also knew I wanted to make sure we had lunch supplies so I could easily make things for on the go. None of the meals are elaborate and none of them are new. They are our tried and true meals that I can make easily or prep early.

You may have already heard this tip, but I also cook once and eat twice. If I am making a casserole one night, I will double the recipe and throw one in the freezer. If I am browning hamburger then I will do two pounds so it is ready for the next night’s meal. 

Start my new schedule early

I knew that we were going to need a new schedule with this transition. We now had two boys to get ready in the morning and out the door. Plus with a newborn, you need some cushion as they don’t quite understand time and the need to get out the door. 

The weeks leading up to me going back to work, I would start waking up at the time that I thought I need to be up so I could pace my mornings. Most mornings I want to up and ready to go prior to my oldest. I hit some bumps those first few days but made adjustments and it has made a big difference. 

Get my house in order 

I had a list of projects that I wanted to get accomplished on leave. Some got completed, some didn’t even get started. The week before going back to work, I took the time to complete some easy outstanding tasks around my house. I cleaned my house like a cleaning service (aka service cleaning), I made sure laundry was done, and put clutter away or took to the donation center. 

Treat Yourself 

One of the last days of leave, I found someone to watch my little man and I got a massage. It felt so good and a great ending to my leave. To be honest, I felt a little guilty, but it was such a nice treat and I highly recommend it.