Worried about career after DCs

[Puddleducks9]

I will start by stressing this baby is very much wanted and because I have PCOS I thought I would have fertility issues.

I am 31 and expecting DC1. I am married and DH and I are in a good position really, we have a nice home and don’t struggle for money due to an inheritance which means we have a big buffer of savings. We’re also likely to get help with childcare which will be an extra saving. I take home about £2.2k per month and DH more so I think we will be able to afford baby.

However I’m feeling disappointed I haven’t advanced in my career sooner. I work for a big organisation and am fixated on people going on maternity leave and a lot are in more senior positions to me. I feel people look down on me for going on mat leave in my role as I’m not ‘senior’ enough. I’m also really worried my career will stall when I go back to work. I changed careers about 5 years ago which has put my behind my ‘peers’ of a similar age, so I know there is an explanation for it, but I still feel really down. I had some interviews lined up in my first trimester but it didn’t make sense to pursue them as my maternity package is really strong in my current job.

Can anyone give me some success stories of keeping/building a strong career after their DC were born?

I had no issue progressing after having children. I actually thought that was a good plan to get kids first as the years on maternity leave counted as ‘experience’ even if I was at home 😅. And if you’re 31, are the others in senior positions actually older than you? So they focussed on career first? As that’s what I’ve seen around me.

@ababo quite a few people in senior positions are my age but they didn’t have a career change so have more years ‘in industry’. It’s a young industry that I work in as well (digital/tech). I hadn’t thought about that aspect of maternity leave boosting my years of experience though!

Yes, I'd forgotten about that advantage too!

I'm in a director level position now, and when I look around the room at the other women in the same or more senior positions as me, we all have older children (with the youngest being 6 or 7 - well into primary age) or are child free.

I had my first relatively young but that also means I'm one of the youngest in the room, particularly of the women. It didn't impact on my career in the way I though it might (ditto working part time for the past 5 or so years) and I'm happy with where I've ended up at this point. I did a job I knew well and didn't need to expend too much mental energy on while the DC were very little and then really was able to concentrate on progression once I felt they needed me less. This has worked well for us as a family too.

@LBOCS2 I know I could be earning more if I changed to a new company but another reason I didn’t (when I found out I was pregnant) is because I was feeling so awful in the first trimester I had no idea how I would have the mental capacity to perform well a new role! So there is this aspect to things too.