This week's blog is brought to us by Lori K. Mihalich-Levin, JD. Lori is the founder of Mindful Return and creator of the Mindful Return E-Course. She is also a health care partner at Dentons, and mama to two beautiful red-headed boys (ages 3 and 5). Lori holds a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. We hope you find her blog helpful as you contemplate a return to the work force from maternity leave! ~ Doula In The Wild If you’re anything like me, the prospect of heading back to work after maternity leave comes with a jumble of emotions, spanning the gamut from terror, to uncertainty, to fear, to excitement. But when I had my two little redheads (now ages 3 and 5), there were strikingly few resources out there to ease with this transition. No one at my office (of 500+ people!) was talking about it. And there were courses on how to give birth, breastfeed, massage your baby, and puree baby food. But *nothing* about how to go back to work without losing your mind (or at least reassure you that all mamas are struggling, too).
As I started researching the experiences new mamas were going through and thinking hard about what I would have wanted to know on my way into and out of maternity leave, I discovered many pitfalls women face with this experience – that can all be reduced or avoided through education, support, and planning. Here are my top four pitfalls I’ve seen, and a few thoughts on how to overcome them: (1) Letting anxiety and worry spiral out of control. There is so much to be worried about in new motherhood - not to mention in heading back to work - and it’s easy to get overwhelmed and lose perspective. What if my childcare arrangement doesn’t work out? Will my baby take a bottle or eat for anyone other than me? What happens when my baby gets sick and I have an important deadline? How will I get to the 100 things on my to-do list today? (Sound familiar, anyone?)
Good luck with your return!
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By: Doula SonjaYour one and only uncensored Archives
November 2017
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