8 ways to make going back to work after baby easier.

Well, it’s here. After four months at home running around with Zoey and loving on our newborn William, I headed back to work today. It was seriously hard to leave the kids this morning, especially as Zoey threw a pretty big tantrum just as I walked out the door. Plus, William had not taken a bottle until today and the stress of that kept me nervous and on edge all day.

I know I am supposed to say how much I don’t want to go back to work and how much I am going to miss my kids, but truthfully, I am excited to get back to my professional life. Yes, I am going to miss the kids so incredibly much (especially having my Zoey side kick around), but I am looking forward to not dealing with two year old tantrums and having other things to talk about besides just mom life issues. It’s about 50/50 on my feelings of being excited and sad about returning to work full time.

Leaving Zoey and William at daycare is going to be emotionally hard for a little while as I so enjoyed my time with them this summer. I am relieved that I didn’t have to be the one to do the drop off this morning since being up, dressed, functioning, and out of the house by 6:30 was hard enough. I cannot imagine doing it with the kids right now. Thankfully, Rob’s schedule is more flexible and he dropped the kids off at daycare which made my return to work on time easier to manage.

As I took that first step into the school building, it truly felt like summer was over and we are back into the grind of regular life. As a co-teacher with three other teachers and the support system for about 100 English Language Learners, today felt like a complete whirlwind. Not only was I trying to get myself caught up on all the content, assignments, and school meetings, but I was trying to support the students. My task list is already longer than I care to look at, but I know I will be able to chip away at it on Friday during a teacher workday.

In order to make this transition back to work easier, there are 9 things I am doing to make this end of maternity leave as smooth an adjustment as possible for myself, Rob, and the kids.

1. Eat healthy when going back to work

You knew this one was coming didn’t you? Keeping my meals full of vegetables is key for me. This summer I worked hard to make a shift in how I structure my meals. I used to think about what meat would be on the plate first and then fill in the rest. Now I plan the vegetables first and meat if I get to it which makes for some abundantly beautiful and colorful plates of food.

It would be really easy to stop eating well with the full time schedule now since my body just craves carbs when its tired, but I know how much better I feel when I eat positive things for my body. It will keep my energy up and keep focused.

2. Meal plan and meal prep

Even with the very limited time I have to spend in the kitchen, I know how vital it is to my healthy eating, and my family’s healthy eating, if I meal plan and meal prep. Just twenty minutes every few days can work wonders for healthier lunches and nutritious dinners.

You can get your free Meal Prep Planner here to help you maximize the time you spend in the kitchen.

3. Give myself grace when going back to work

These first couple of weeks I’m giving myself grace. The next  few weeks are jam packed with both work activities (parent teacher conferences) and non-work activities (our hosted race series, bible study, get togethers with friends). This is on top of all the catching up I have to do at work to support both the teachers and students I work with. It is going to be busy but it is all good activities that I am looking forward to.

That being said, I am giving myself a lot of grace with things that might not get done, or get done 100%. (aka cleaning and grading) If I try to do everything to its fullest and let little things take over I will get completely overwhelmed and most likely feel like a failure in a few aspects of life. Once we get back to the school routine and our activities settle down a bit I will hit it all full throttle.

4. Preparing the night before

Getting myself out of the house on time is going to be a feat in itself, but getting Zoey and William ready to leave is going to be a whole new ball game. Even though I am not doing the actual drop off and leave before the kids do, I want to help Rob out as much as possible so he has smooth mornings as well.

Packing my lunch, all of William’s bottles, and laying out everyone’s clothes the night before is going to be vital to a smooth morning. Luckily, Zoey’s daycare gives them breakfast, lunch, and snacks so we do not have to worry about packing her food.

This is again where meal planning and meal prepping are going to make a huge difference in the ease of getting out of the house. This is probably one of my biggest life savers when going back to work after baby.

5. Being efficient with my time at work after baby

It took until about my fourth year of teaching to learn how to leave work at work, but it took until about year 8 to learn how to maximize my time at work. (I am currently in year 11. Shocks me every time!) This year is going to be an even bigger test of efficiency as I will have no space (or desire) to do any grading or lesson planning at home.

Work is work and home is home. I do not want to be distracted by work issues while I enjoy the precious 3-4 hours I have with Zoey and William at night. While I already work through lunch breaks and elusive plan periods, I need to get better about random meetings and keeping them on topic.

6. Staying present with the kids and work

Similarly to being efficient with my responsibilities while I am at work, I am going to leave work at work when I am home so I can really focus and be present with Zoey, William, and Rob. I already spend very little one on my phone while I’m home with the kids, it I want to be sure that continues once our schedule becomes tighter.

It helps to remind myself of how little they are and how fleeting this season of life is. When I think it about it in those terms, I do not want to miss a single moment I have with them. One of the biggest issues I have with going back to work after baby.

7. Sleeping as I can

I have a tendency to do one of two things when it comes to bed time: crash hard and early or stay up way to late working on a project (like blogging). I am headed back to work at a time when William is still not sleeping through the night or taking s bottle (though I hope daycare changes that within a few days).

These two things mean I need to crash hard and early more often. I know I will struggle to not start a new blog post or check in with my Facebook group, but if I am going to have enough energy for the kids during the day (all of them: students and my own), then I need to be sure I am getting rest.

8. Communicating with Rob

Rob is my number one partner and supporter in all this life stuff and even though things are about to get insanely busy, I want to be sure we are keeping each other up to date on what happens at work, what the kids need, the household chores, and our own relationship.

It is going to be hard to get everything done, but I keep reminding myself that this is a season of life and I want to enjoy it through all the tough stuff, busy schedules, and dirty diapers. This has made it so much easier for me to handle going back to work after baby.

I hope you found these 8 ways to make going back to work after baby easier. It’s always hard but doing these things definitely made it a little easier on me and a great transition for the whole family.

Brooke Selb

I’m Brooke Selb, a Personal Trainer and Health Coach specializing in helping busy moms and moms to be to easily juggle mom life with family friendly recipes, and easy exercise routines to help you achieve your fitness goals that fit in with your already busy life with sound nutritional advice.