For new moms, heading back into the office after maternity leave can be tough. In a HuffPost Live conversation, mothers shared their experiences with the transition, talking about everything from pumping to finding affordable day care.
Mom of three Sinead Fox explained that after taking 42 weeks of maternity leave, life at the office was very different from what she remembered.
“You think you’ve forgotten everything you know the first time because you’ve been away for so long,” she told host Nancy Redd, who also just returned from maternity leave. “You haven't really had time to keep up-to-date when you’ve been breast-feeding, and I‘ve got three kids now, so there’s been a lot going on.”
Fox also explained feeling out-of-the-loop when she returned.
“You think you’ve missed out on everything, that you don’t know anything [about] what’s going on at work, she said. “You’re afraid to answer those questions ... so it’s a bit scary as well. Your confidence really takes a bit of a beating, too.”
For Farah Miller, executive editor of HuffPost Family and Relationships, the transition at her previous job was a bit easier. Miller reflected on her hectic first day back at work after maternity leave, which unexpectedly ended on a positive note.
“I just remember that I dropped [my daughter] off at day care, which was really hard and scary and all of those things, and then I had this huge smile,” she said.
Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation about life after maternity leave here:
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