Preparing Yourself to Go Back to Work After Having a Baby

I am currently on extended maternity leave with my infant daughter and I will be returning to work next week. I honestly dread going back to work because I have been out so long with her and because someone else is currently doing my job. However, I have been preparing with going back to work and I'm going to give you some tips on returning back to work after having a baby.

1. It all starts when you are pregnant with your child. Many daycares have waiting lists for infants. I had to put myself on a waiting list for my daughter when I first found out that I was pregnant. If you wait until the last minute to search then you might get caught short. So you need to start looking for daycare sooner rather than later if you are planning to return to work.

2. Practice taking your infant to daycare. My toddler daughter and my infant daughter go to the same daycare. I get up with my husband in the morning to get the girls ready for school. I practice taking my infant to her classroom and my toddler daughter to hers. This way I will know what to expect when I actually do return to work.

3. Pack your infants things for daycare before you go to bed. I make sure that I make my daughter's bottles and pack her diapers and mark her name on them before I go to bed. This way when I wake up, all I have to do is put the milk bottles and blankets in the diaper bag.

4. Get your children's clothes ready before you go to bed. I place my toddler's daughter outfit on her bed and my infant's clothes on mine. I don't like searching for shirts, pants, and socks so early in the morning and theirs no questions on what the girls are going to wear to school.

5. Wake up before your children so that you can focus on getting them ready when you are done taking care of yourself. I have to be at work at 7:30 am and I get up at 5:30 am. I take my shower, put my clothes on, and put my makeup on before I wake up the kids. It makes it easier on me and my husband and we don't have to rush.

6. Since infants get sick when they first start daycare, I placed my daughter in daycare 4 weeks before I had to go back to work. She has had a cold and a virus. I was able to keep her home with me without having to miss time at the job.

7. Get your emergency contacts list ready. Think about who will be able to pick up your children if an emergency happens. If you have family in the area then this will be easier for you. If not, then you will have to put down some friends that you trust.

8. Make sure you know what the added cost for daycare will be and budget. My daycare is going to cost me an additional $100 a week for my infant. I had to plan and budget ahead of time so that my family would be prepared for that extra bill.

I know that it is hard for mothers to leave their children in the care of others; especially when they are very young. I honestly wish that I could be a stay at home mom. Unfortunately, my circumstances don't allow me to do that at the present time. However, if you ready over my tips on how to prepare yourself to return back to work, I'm sure that you will be ready and better prepared to handle leaving your child in the care of someone else.