Returning to work after mat leave

[foreveranxious2]

Looking for some advice/tips on how to cope with returning to work after maternity leave. It's my first day back tomorrow after 9 months off. This isn't a job I enjoyed at all pre-pregnancy so leaving DD and going back feels like a double whammy, but am unable to get a new job any time soon due to receiving maternity pay and needing flexible hours. Just want to cry my eyes out and feeling so overwhelmed! DD feels like my right arm at this point and I miss her when I'm only away from her for a couple of hours!

Is she going to a childminder? Nursery? Or do you have family help?

When I returned to work after my first son (he was 9 months old) I was devastated and that was me going back to a job that I loved!!

I cried the whole drive to work and couldn’t stop thinking about him all day either. I cried a lot for the first few weeks, it just felt so unnatural to be leaving him with someone else (childminder) but it did eventually get easier.

How many days a week will you be working and what hours? Will you still get to spend a lot of time with her outside of your working hours?

It does get easier; the first few days it will really drag at work but you get used to it and learn to appreciate the time that you then have with your DC in a different way. It’s tiring at first as well for both of you but again you get used to that as well