Transition into a Working Mom

This is week 5 of being a working mom and is my first full week back at work. My managers read an article that said its best to slowly transition back to work after being on maternity leave so the first few weeks they let me work from home a few days a week. Now that time is over and I am back in the office full time. Since Brian started school 2 years ago we knew that we wanted to do it with out taking out loans if possible. Interest rates on student loans are crazy expensive so we started saving for school specifically and budgeting to live off of only one income. We were blessed with a promotion for me and a few raises so we felt confident in this goal. Brian was also blessed with an internship last summer that also paid which we were not expecting.

Then along came Liam and talks of what we would do post babies arrival were underway. We still felt that for our family it would be best to avoid loans. Since I was a little girl I have dreamt of being a Mommy so the thought of working out of the home was a hard one to accept. It may have even been a harder one for Brian to accept since he knew how much I had looked forward to staying home with our baby and that him being in school was preventing that. But overtime we both felt better about the decision and knew that we could make it work.

7 weeks of maternity leave and then back to work for me. It was a tough transition with lots of tears and emotions but I am finally getting into the new routine. (I do not do well with change)

Liam is such a fun, happy baby and I hate that I will be missing out on time with him but I am quickly realizing that what I am doing, being at work, supporting our family financially, and keeping us out of debt is going to impact our family so much now and in the future. And when Liam is bigger I think he will really appreciate this sacrifice I am making for us now by working and that Brian is making with all his schooling and it will be an example to him that we can do hard things and that being self sufficient and getting an educations brings with it numerous blessings.

I am a creature of habit and routine. Maternity leave was hard for me some days, I loved being home and being with my baby but the lack of routine was getting to me. Being back at work has brought back routine for me. I now have an alarm set (many times I am up before it), I have to get ready everyday, I have specific windows of time to eat and clean and do errands. I exercise during my lunch breaks and when I get home each day I get to just focus on my baby until he falls asleep each night. Its working for us. Routine is making this transition easier. I don't take my time with Liam for granted and for the next few weeks Brian and Liam get to be home together which is not something he would have had the opportunity to do if I was at home. I love that he gets to bond with Liam in this way and spend so much time with him before he starts his internship.

I read a lot of blogs and articles about being a working mom and there were so many things I learned and prepared myself for. We found a great sitter which makes leaving him easier. I know he is going to a good home each day and is immensely loved there. I go into work each day and focus on work and then I go home and focus on my family. I think it would be harder to go to work each day if we didn't have goals for our family that I was working towards. Having these goals gives me purpose and drives me to keep working towards achieving them.

Life is busier than ever now, I am now a mommy on top of all the previous titles I held. I am getting better at time management and am learning housework and errands can wait or be hired out. Family is my focus right now. My family is why I am working and they are the reason I make every choice I do these days. They are number 1 on my priority list and because of them I will get though this new phase in our lives.