Preparing for your return to work after maternity leave

Before kids, we imagined going back to work after maternity leave would be fairly painless. In fact, we both figured we'd be happy about the return to our careers, coworkers, and that feeling of success.

The truth was - it was hard. 

.

For Kelsey, she spent her first day sobbing at her desk while pumping and looking at photos of Remy.

For Rose, it felt a bit like she'd been forgotten during her absence, with no real structure in place to get her back into the swing of things. 

And then there were all the child care woes (daycare in LA is competitive and expensive), and the desire to still be badasses at work, but also make it home in time for dinner.

Kimberly Didrikson of Learning Motherhood can relate - she spent her 15 year career working for Fortune 100 companies. Pregnant with her first child she imagined she would simply take a short maternity leave then drop her kid off at daycare and add Mom as a new role on her resume. The reality? A battle with postpartum depression, and a loss of a sense of identity. Not to mention - the priority shift that happens when you return to work. The once workaholic had to adjust schedules, prioritize on a level she had never done before, and figure out how to balance her family at work and her family at home. 

So she left the corporate world and started Learning Motherhood - with the aim of supporting other working moms through the shift to motherhood. She works with both employers and parents to help make the transition back to work an easier and more accommodating one. 

Annnnnd Kimberly has ever so graciously agreed to take over our Instagram stories on Monday morning (that's tomorrow!) to answer all your questions about how you can plan for your own return to work. Send in your questions via email, Instagram, or even comment on this post and we'll make sure she gets to them tomorrow. 

.