Returning to work after maternity

[MaternityReturn]

Have name c’d and yes I am posting for traffic.

Going to post for more career advice in the proper forum but just wanted to ask......

how long after returning to work, after being off on maternity, you felt you were doing a good job and were not just a spare part? Back after 3rd dc and finding this time the hardest.

Maybe 6 months? Because so much time off with the baby when he got sick at Nursery etc. Also I readjusted my expectations of myself at work and realised I couldn't be as productive as I had been pre maternity (returned on reduced hours for a start, and couldn't stay late anymore), kind of accepted that I won't always feel I'm doing a good job. Not sure if this is a good thing or not really!

Very quickly? Certainly less time that going to a new job. So maybe a month? I don’t feel I was left behind at all. It helps we don’t work overtime and is flexible so I don’t feel like I am no longer putting in the hours.

I started a new job when my son was 6 months, I think I slotted in perfectly to my new role. I think I would have felt like “mum” if I’d gone back to my old job!

A couple of weeks - I went back into a new role and had to figure out what i was doing.

Exactly the same for me Livinglavidal0ca

I'm really glad I started a new role when DD was 6 months, but I'm not sure I still feel like I'm doing a good job almost a year later. I'm just not given enough to do! But that's the role rather than anything to do with maternity