I’ve heard about separation anxiety in the past. But I never realized how deep it is until I experienced it myself for my newborn child. Everybody told me to enjoy every moment of motherhood. But no one told me about the apprehension that I would go through as I leave my baby and go back to work. I have always been a productive flight attendant. But then I was not so sure during the early stages of being a working mom. I had low energy, and I lacked motivation at work. My brain could not focus as sharp as it was before. And most days, I’m excited to end the day, so I can be with my baby.
Some days I had mom guilt for leaving my baby for work. Then at work, I had the guilt of not performing as well as I did before. This difficult period in my life was probably my darkest as well. I hope somebody gave me tips on a work-life balance as a new mom.
Life-saving tips that you shouldn’t ignore
This article is for you, new working moms, and single working parent. I’ve been there before and wished that I learned these tips earlier. So don’t take that similar route and build motherhood with a work-life balance.
Redefine your goals
If I am only allowed to tell you one thing, I’d tell you to redefine your thoughts. That is how important this is. Start by accepting that everything will be different from now on. You’re renewed into another being, you have become a mom. When you gave birth to your child, you got rebirthed into a completely new being. Redefine the meaning of your career. Your roles expanded to being an employee, a wife, and a mom. Identify that you cannot give 100% for each role. Be gracious to yourself if you can’t be the high performing employee you once were. And be kind to yourself if you cannot stay with your child 24/7.
Redefine your priorities. Will you be willing to readjust your timeline to reach your desired position? Or are you ready to sacrifice to get the promotion you’ve been working hard? Set your priorities and commit to it. Make a SWOT analysis to help you through the process. And when you feel the guilt, go back to it and stay committed to your goals.
Share parental responsibilities
You cannot be everything. Share your burden with your spouse. Take a moment to sit down together and list all your parental tasks. Then delegate responsibilities–so you don’t get overwhelmed on your own. Parenting is teamwork. This will need trust and confidence from both of you. If you are a single working parent or sharing tasks between partners is not possible, it’s time to contract help. Go ask help from trusted relatives or good friends. But if support is not freely available, pay for help. This is the only way that you can work productively and enjoy your motherhood at the same time.
Trust me working moms, you can’t do it all and live a quality life.
Recover through self-care
You need to recover! I know it seems like your baby is so fragile and it’s hard to entrust them to others. But trust me. You might be a better mother if you can regain your health. You’re given maternity leave so that you can recover and adjust to your new life. So take care of yourself. Self-care is not selfish. Stay tune to my blog and learn about the benefits of self-care for you and your family.
Milestones of the work-life balance for new moms
When you accept and try to learn about your new self as a brand new mom, then you have reached your first milestone. When you know that some days are better and some days it could be the worst, you have reached your plateau. Nothing’s going to be perfect, and some will not be what you have planned. But I promise you that some days, it’s even better than your plans.
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