Returning from maternity leave - Top 10 tips

Returning to work from maternity leave can be filled with emotion. For some it's exciting, exhilarating, and full of promise. For others it's filled with fear, trepidation, and guilt.?

For me returning after maternity leave was exciting, scary, challenging,??and the fear of the unknown. I was returning back into a workplace I knew. Somewhere I had worked for eight years, into a team of people many of whom I knew very well. That didn't mean there wasn't a level of anxiety sitting right next to all that excitement.?

I had taken two years off to have my two children. Yes they are close together 13 months apart. I had decided that it was now time to go back to work. For me that moment hit when I went to type an email and I sat at the keyboard for a good few minutes trying to find the @ symbol. It was at this point that I knew I was ready and wanted to go back to work.?

I was lucky during my maternity leave I'd been able to stay in contact with several work colleagues and also visit my workplace at different times for different functions meetings or events. This definitely lowered my anxiety level heading back into the workplace knowing that I was seeing some familiar faces, who I had only seen recently. Below is a list of tips that I've put together from my own experience and from talking to other women returning from maternity leave. Hopefully this will help your transition back into the workplace to be a little smoother, a little easier and as positive as possible.

Tip 1 - Settle your child into caregiving arrangements early

Given that I had my two children close together when I was returning from maternity leave I already had my son started in child care but my daughter was going for the first time. Six weeks before I was due to return to work I was able to start her at her childcare centre. She went a couple of days a week to get her used to the centre, but also to get my husband and I used to doing drop off/ pickup. Also an opportunity to practise the routine that it takes to get two little kids to childcare on time and potentially me to the workplace on time. I was very lucky that I had two kids that settled into childcare easily without too many issues with attachment. I watched many of my friends struggle with this having to have long period’s of time spent settling their children at childcare or leaving themselves and their kids in tears in the arms of childcare workers and feeling that huge sense of guilt when they left the centre.?

If you are able to get your children settled into whatever caregiving arrangements you'll be using when you head back to work whether it's a child care centre, grandparents, friends a couple of weeks before you return to work you'll have this process practised both for you and also your child. It will make it easier for you to do drop off in the morning and leave knowing that their settled rather than leaving an emotional wreck and potentially feeling guilty. The other thing to consider if you have the option to do this early is getting kids ready for childcare and yourself when there's no tight time frame can be quite a simple task but when under pressure to get to the workplace at a certain time all of a sudden that pressure increases. By having a couple of weeks to practise everybody in the household getting ready whether you've got lunch boxes to get ready, kids to get dressed, you to get dressed properly full outfit ready for work out the door and dropped off at whatever time you would normally go to work is a great practise to get you ready for those first few days of work.

Tip 2 - If possible attend a team meeting or event in the lead up to your return.

Attending a team event or meeting can be a great way to just break the ice with a larger group before having to confront everyone potentially on your first day back. Also depending on the event it may also give you an opportunity to chat with people and socialise in a more relaxed environment. If there's an option to attend a team meeting it may also give you a chance to get an update on how the team is currently going, strategies, or a general business updates so you're not walking in cold on day one.

Tip 3 - Visit your workplace and re establish connections at least one month prior to your return.

It’s not always possible in some workplaces to attend a meeting or a team function prior to your return. If this is the case for you I would recommend organising a time with your leader to visit your workplace to meet with your direct team whether it's over morning tea or coffee to have a catch up face to face to reconnect with the people who you will be working closest with and your direct reporting leader. This will make it easier on your first day when you arrive to see some familiar faces.

Tip 4 - If breastfeeding discuss arrangements during work visit for pumping/feeding room and storage.

When you return from maternity leave if you're breastfeeding it's really important to have a conversation with your leader around your needs whether you're planning on continuing to feed while at work or pump and therefore what facilities you need to be available for you upon your return and also storage of any pumped milk.

Tip 5 - Decide on your new work boundaries. Hours, working from home, type of role etc.

It's really important to rethink what your new work boundaries will be once returning from maternity leave. What was acceptable before may not work anymore and you need to be clear with your workplace and also at home around what will work for you moving forward and your family. Think about the amount of hours you want to work a week. You may have been full time before and now only want to work part time, or the hours during the day that you can work may need to be split or require more flexibility than before. Working from home, a hybrid role may be an option for you now. How will that work for you? Do you consider it a normal day's work therefore your child is at their normal caregiving arrangement. Trying to work from home with a child around can be quite challenging so consider working from home may not be an option to have your child at home with you for the day. Also think about the type of role that you want to have. You may want to have a change of role after you leave, maybe step up into a new role, or maybe step into a different role with less responsibility. There's no right or wrong here it is totally up to you and what will work for your situation. What's important to consider is making sure that you have clear boundaries and you know what the operating rules are.

Tip 6 - Check you have an appropriate work wardrobe.

It would be fair to say that for a lot of women after having a child their body shape has changed a little. My suggestion here is don't leave it too late to check through your wardrobe to make sure that you have appropriate clothes for your workplace that fit you now, that you feel comfortable in. Also quantity have you got enough to get you through the working week, fortnight with enough rotation of items. I've spoken to so many women who spent the weekend before they started work shopping for clothes because everything they had in their wardrobe no longer fit. This often led to them buying clothes they didn't like, didn't feel comfortable in, but they had to have something for their first day. After having time off work you want to walk back into the workplace feeling comfortable and confident and a big part of that for most women is their clothing.

Tip 7 - Practise morning/night drop off/pick up routine - can be a lot harder than you first think.

I remember when I first returned to work after my leave something that hit me really hard was the getting up early in the morning having to get the kids ready for drop off get out the door and then arrive at work. In the few weeks that I had both my kids in child care before returning to work I only practised once getting up at normal work time getting ready properly for work ie. hair makeup proper clothes, then getting the kids ready out the door and dropping them off at childcare. I still remember to this day sitting in the car in the childcare car park feeling exhausted wondering how on earth I was going to do this multiple days a week, every week thinking how can I delegate drop offs to my husband. I wish I had practised this more to get myself into a better routine earlier and place less stress on myself and my kids. So my advice is where you can get up at your normal time that you would for work, get yourself ready like you would to go to work. Organise the kids drop them off and practise the full run through in the weeks leading up to your return.

Tip 8 - Have some frozen or easy meals prepared for the first few weeks.

Prepared meals is something I always do when I know I'm going to be busy and before I headed back from leave I once again packed the freezer full of meals ready to go. This might be something you do on one of those days the kids are being looked after just before you finish your leave. This made it so easy on the nights where both my husband and I were running late collecting the kids, or we couldn't be bothered to cook dinner after a long day of work. It took a few weeks to get the routine going but having some pre prepared meals made work lunches and dinner time a lot easier in our house.

Tip 9 - Discuss your plan with those who will be supporting you - at work and at home.

Returning to work after maternity leave can be challenging and you need to have support around you. You can have the best plan in place but unless you discuss and involve others with your plan it's going to be really hard for people to offer support if they don't know where you need that help. Share with the people around you what your plans are, how you would like them to play out and where you need the help and support but also what you're capable of doing yourself.

Tip 10 - Be kind to you, your child and those supporting you it takes time to adjust to the new routine.

Understand that with returning to work there are going to be different emotions, challenges, and feelings floating around. A lot of them will be positive and some of them may be negative. It's going to take time for you to find your routine and find your groove. It's also going to take time for those around you to find their routine. Your child's is going to be adjusting to a different setting, maybe your partner or family are stepping in to help also. It all takes time. Yes many women and parents have done this before you, but this is your journey and you need to find your way that works for your family. Prepare where you can, have conversations with those around you, cry when you need, laugh when you can and remember to ask for help.

If you discover any other great tips please put them in the comments section.

Best of luck with your return

Mel