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COO BABY — Maternity Leave

Returning to Work with a New Baby - Written by Lisa Nerem

Returning to Work with a New Baby - Written by Lisa Nerem

After I had my first baby almost 6 years ago, I was sad when I had to take her to daycare, but I guess I just accepted it. This time around, I really struggled. Was it because I knew this would be my last maternity leave ever? Was it the fact that my baby screamed whenever I wasn’t holding her? Or was it my raging hormones following my c-section? Whatever the reason, returning to life with a new baby as a working mom is beyond challenging.

US Maternity Leave Policy & Culture is Setting New Mothers Up for Failure

I’m here to tell you - maternity leave, in any form, is not a luxury. That sentiment is not only ignorant, but also highly damaging to our culture here in the US. We need to fight for better and more postpartum support for all working mothers (and parents) in those first several months of a baby’s life. 

The sad thing is, if you receive even 12 weeks of paid maternity leave in America, you are considered lucky. FMLA requires 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually for mothers of newborn or newly adopted children if they work for a company with 50 or more employees. For so many, 12 weeks of unpaid work is not an option. According to PL+US, one in four new moms go back to work 10 days after childbirth. 


7 Ways to ACTUALLY Help a New Mom - from Iowa Parent Mag

7 Ways to ACTUALLY Help a New Mom - from Iowa Parent Mag

1. BRING HER FOOD.

Now I am sure you have heard of this one.  Now that her life has changed and she is no longer sleeping, it can sometimes be hard to make time to eat.  Don’t call her and ask what you can bring her, be thinking of this point before she even delivers the baby and try and take note of things she likes.  This can be as simple as stocking her pantry with easy one-handed snacks like granola bars, or bringing some frozen meals for her to easily warm up as she is pumping, breastfeeding, bathing the baby, changing the baby, walking in circles to soothe the little one.. you get it, she’s busy.  Don’t overthink it, in the end she’s just going to remember you were thoughtful, not what food you actually brought.


Going back to work after maternity leave

Going back to work after maternity leave

Going back to work after being on maternity leave can be really challenging. On the one hand, you are kind of looking forward to getting back into your old routine, but on the other, at least for me, I felt like I really didn’t want to go back - even though I knew in my heart that I’d be fine once I got there...and even if I didn’t want to, I had to because we were not in a position to be a one income family from a financial standpoint. I tried to beg and barter with my husband to find a way to make it work but it was a no go. 

5 Tactical things dads can do to help with a new baby

5 Tactical things dads can do to help with a new baby

While he may not have your mother’s intuition, be able to breastfeed, or have your ability to wake up on full alert at even the slightest baby coo– there are still ways that your husband or partner can support you and take a substantial amount off your postpartum plate. And chances are he wants to, but just doesn’t know how. Even though you’re ultimately the head coach of the family - he can be the quarterback! (How’s that for a guy-friendly analogy?) Here are five things he can do that’ll make all the difference in those first few weeks!