First day back at work after maternity leave today- hand holding needed!

[Wharm14]

So I've made it. On the train at 07.10 and on my way into London for my first day back after maternity leave. Normally I'd be fast asleep by now on my commute before baby, but I'm wide awake and worrying about everything! DS is with daddy all day today but was fast asleep as I left so I didn't get to say goodbye ( possibly a good thing for him though, right?) and it hit me as I left that I put him down last night at 8 pm and as his daddy settled him twice overnight, I won't have held him for nearly 24 hours by the time I get home from work tonight. After 11 months of being with him nearly 24/7 that's quite a shock. He's been in nursery a couple of days a week for a month now so I'm used to that but this is the first day I'll have done a normal long day at work and been out for 12 hours.
Anyway, just thought the lovely Mum's of Mumsnet who've probably done this before could hold my hand on the way into work today!

Good luck!
I remember returning to work after maternity leave. The first few days were a bit of a fog but luckily the day went quickly and it was actually nice to see people again!

Then one day I realised that I hadn't thought about the dcs for a few hours and that's when I knew I had settled back in.

What sort of childcare do you have?

Good luck! Your little one will be fine. I came home from my first day grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Everyone was so welcoming and pleased to see me back. I felt like me again. Hope you have a good day. Don't worry if it feels like they are all talking super fast it takes a while for your brain to adjust!

Ah thanks guys! I'm going back three days a week after a phased return over the next four weeks (had PND so doctor signed off on a phased return), daddy day care is doing a Monday then nursery the other two days which DS loves, he's settled in really well. This is the first time DH has looked after him solely for longer than a few hours though so I think I'm more worried about him the DS!

Good luck ! Make sure you enjoy your hot drinks & lunch today !

The first couple of days are the hardest & then you'll get into a routine.

My kids loved nursery too & eldest one used to ask to go on my days off lol

Good luck. I remember dreading going back to work after having a year off with DS and I cried quite a bit in the run up.

But once at work I found it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and it soon felt as if I had never been away. There was even some work in my in-tray that had been there when I left a year ago

I found it was nice being me again not just mum, IYKWIM. I did struggle in the first few lunchtimes when popping out of the office and seeing other mums pushing prams and I would miss DS then. But after a few days I realised how much easier it was shopping without a pushchair.

DS loved nursery which helped. I worked 3 days a week and I felt that was a good choice because it meant I was home more days than I worked, so helped psychologically.

Getting in a good routine is also important.

One word of warning, DS may come down with all sorts of bugs in the first few months of nursery. I think I had only been back at work just over a week before I had to have time off to look after a sick DS. Then I caught whatever he had, and rinse and repeat. He has an amazing immune system now

Good luck, I do three days as well and for each of those I'm out the house just over 12 hours but it's okay. I have a 10 month old and he seems to like nursery and has settled in well. Once you get into the routine it just becomes life and not so bad as the thought of it.

Hope you're feeling better about it! I'm getting nervous about returning in 4 1/2 weeks, but my baby will be six months old. Hopefully, my work will approve me only working four days a week instead of five! I've been crying every day since eight weeks. Im so sad. I wish I could have taken a year off but it's not possible.

Oh new, fingers crossed they approve you dropping a day. It was fine, I even forgot about him for a little while during the day, it was nice being a grown up again. It's so hard, especially when they're so little, in hindsight now I wish I'd been a bit less worried and just made the most of my time with him. They change so quickly, every few weeks you suddenly have a different baby on your hands so the things I was stressing about a few months ago in terms of going back just simply aren't relevant now. He does love nursery which is a big help for my peace of mind. Your LO will enjoy their time with their caregiver and you will cherish the time you get to spend with them even more. for you though, enjoy the next few weeks x

Hi Wharm, thank you to your kind words. I ended up working out how to work part time and my husband wholeheartedly supported it. He told me he wants me to be happy b cause he sees how happy our baby is and he agreed that he thinks it's good if baby still has me the majority of the time. Work didn't approve things and I ended up putting in my notice. They gave me garden leave and now I am happily looking for a part time job at 22 hours a week. The nice thing is baby still starts nursery, but I won't be working yet, so I can pick him up a few hours earlier at the start so both of us can get used to it. I think nursery will still be important, so he will be there for about 3 days a week then.