Positive stories about going back to work after mat leave

[Goldendoodlelover]

I’m going back to work tomorrow after mat leave (son is 11 months next week!) and am having a bit of a before-school emotional wobble! I’m a teacher and going back part-time - part of me is excited and looking forward to having a bit of a ‘break’ from the relentlessness of parenting, but I’m also nervous about how I’m going to juggle everything (I work at a very academic, full-on school which can be quite demanding), and DS is a very active, mobile little boy who will never sit still for more than a minute!

I’ve found mat leave so much more physically and emotionally challenging than expected, and I found the first 6/7 months in particular really hard - he is now walking, sleeping consistently through the night, and I feel like we have finally found our groove and got into a really good rhythm and now we have this huge change!

Guess I’m just looking for positive stories - a lot of my friends who have gone back to work after a baby have found the juggle really hard and really struggled - so looking for some reassurance!

Hi op, teacher here too - secondary English, so also a demanding work load. I loved going back after dd! 3 days a week was a great balance for me. It made me enjoy my days with baby even more and I became a much more organised, resilient teacher. Have clear boundaries and expect a few wobbles when finding your feet again, but you will be fine.

@Sk1sk0 this is really reassuring, thank you - especially as I’m also an English teacher! This is exactly what I’m hoping, I really hope that having some days ‘off’ from him will mean I appreciate the time I do have with him a lot more. I’m just going to have to be super organised and efficient - like you said boundaries are going to be very important!