Fight fatigue. By the end of your maternity leave, your baby may still not be sleeping through the night, leaving you exhausted. Try dividing your workload into manageable chunks and tackling the toughest tasks in the morning, or whenever you feel most alert, says Serrette.
Breastfed babies sometimes react to their mothers’ work schedules by sleeping more during the day and waking often for night feedings. If yours does this, try getting your caregiver to offer feedings every two to three hours during the day. If she still demands frequent night feedings, try nursing her in bed (consider a co-sleeper). And keep in mind that this phase won’t last forever. Eventually, your baby will outgrow her night-owl ways.
If home responsibilities are adding to your fatigue, ask for help. “When I went back to work, my husband and I divided up the responsibilities. Now he gets our two girls ready in the morning, and I take over the nighttime routine,” says Tracy Fives, director of marketing development for Everglades Direct, a Florida-based direct-marketing company. For extra support, swap babysitting services with a friend. On weekends, try to rest instead of packing in errands.
Give up work guilt. A baby changes everything, including your work schedule. But you can be a good employee without regularly putting in tons of overtime. “I feel I should be the kind of manager who works late, but I can’t,” says Emily Allen, who heads the online publishing group at Smithsonian magazine in New York City. “Before I had kids, I didn’t rush home at the end of the day. Now I work efficiently right through to 5:30 p.m. I also use my BlackBerry to answer emails during my commute, so technically I’m working close to another hour.” Remind yourself that motherhood is honing your time-management skills.
Let yourself miss your baby. Some moms ease their anxiety by surrounding themselves with photos of their baby, checking in with their caregiver a few times a day, even talking to their infant over the phone. Others may feel upset rather than comforted by such reminders, so they immerse themselves in work. Whichever camp you fall into, remind yourself why you came back to your job—whether for personal fulfillment or more family income—and give yourself time to adjust. “Let your feelings ebb and flow,” Serrette says. After the first few weeks, the worst of the sadness should pass and your comfort level rise.
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