Life of a Working Mom
When you become pregnant, one of the first things you are likely to consider is how having a baby will impact your working life. Finding out what you are entitled to can ease anxiety about how you’ll cope and help you to plan ahead. Juggling pregnancy and work can be a daunting prospect at first. I am a consultant orthodontist, who is bound to visit various clinics at least once a month for consulting patients undergoing orthodontic treatment, so couldn’t afford taking long maternity leaves. So preferred working few hours per week or based on appointments.
During pregnancy, having one of those mornings when the thought of dragging yourself out of bed for work is only compounding the nausea? Then better to ditch work on such mornings. Like I would prefer to schedule evening appointments for my patients. Comfortable clothes, having lemon ginger tea or eating little (worked for me), staying hydrated, are few simple remedies to alleviate your symptoms of morning sickness.
Commuting to and from work can be the most stressful and tiring. Apart from the unruly traffic, bumpy, pot-holed roads make any ride a nightmare. So, plan your office routine with care. I often preferred husband, if he wasn’t busy, for picking me and dropping off from work. Car trips are notorious for inducing travel sickness and fatigue, so drink regularly, eat energy — giving foods (such as fruits and nuts) and enjoy some relaxing music. If you are working full time, you can even talk to your employer about letting you work from home for one or two days a week as it could reduce the strain for you.
In the precious first few months of my new born, I felt a little nervous handing him to anyone else. However, a little team effort can work wonders. So, we divided our working hours, diaper duties, cooking and shared baby’s day to day care, and took turns so that other parent can take a nap. Creating strong bonds with baby is meant for dads too, to feel secure and confident as a parent. The time they spend touching, stroking, playing and kissing baby will help to develop their own special bond. Also, welcome grandparents if they can offer invaluable help in handling your baby and create an emotional bond that will enhance both of their lives.
When breastfeeding is established, you can start to express milk. This is handy if you want to freeze milk so that baby has enough supply if you’re away from her, and allows dads to get involved. Its efficient to express milk by electric breast pumps over manual. You can freeze your milk in a sterilized container or bottle for up to 2 weeks.
And let go of the guilt mommies! Rather than dwell on how you’re not with your child, take these opportunities to do something for yourself, freshen you up, like recharging your batteries for your emotional and physical wellbeing, or the act of parenting can become a chore rather than a pleasure. Make it an alternative, for filming the event so you can watch later and not miss a moment. During your breaks at work, call your child or caretaker; hearing her can help you get through a rough day, and she’ll be comforted to know you’re close. The anxiety about being a perfect mom or a star performer at work dissipates once you discover the work-family harmony that is right for you.
So, buckle up mommies, don’t be harsh on yourself, ease out your stress, have enough sleep, carve out some leisure hours, divide your daily chores, be elastic to schedules that can bring a gentle rhythm to your baby and partner. Don’t give up your lucrative careers, it doesn’t matter if you are working or stay — at -home mom, you breast feed or bottle feed your baby, someone always be willing to criticise your parenting choices, WHAT MATTERS IS YOU JUST DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!
