A little help from the team will make those first weeks from maternity leave go more smoothly.
After three months of maternity leave, just when you are getting used to being home with your newborn next thing you know is that you are becoming a working mother. This transition might be the most trembling for most new mothers. That’s where the colleagues of the new mother can come in. While they can’t prevent the dreaded three-month sleep regression, they can make the life of their exhausted colleague a tad easier by doing the following;
- Give Her A Warm Welcome.Welcoming a new mom colleague back to work can be made a fun thing. Colleagues can arrange to tie a balloon to her chair. Put some flowers on her desk. Homemade cookies in her honor. A gift card to a coffee shop. Show her you’re happy she’s back, and she’ll really be happier to be back.
- Reassuring her that you will be there to help her.Of course, don’t lie—working motherhood never suddenly becomes easy, but it does get better. So tell her: “The first day, maybe even the first few days, will seem impossible. I promise you will get the hang of it. And I’m here to help.”
- Routinely checking in.Yes, being back at the office gets simpler with each passing day, but it’s still not simple. Touching base with a new working mom, even weekly, can be the therapy she needs to make it through and thrive.
- Being open and honest.It’s powerful when another working mom shares her struggles. We all tend to look at others with an air of “I don’t know how she does it” and feel like we, ourselves, are failing. When we lift the curtain on what our lives and cluttered brains are really like, we can all feel better about our own daily journeys.
- Compliment Her.Tell her how great her work is. Tell her how beautifully she’s making the transition. Tell her how impressive her efficiency is. Your words of encouragement could be exactly what she needs to hear.
- Covering for her.It’s day three and already daycare is calling her to pick up her sick baby. Tell her to go that you’ve got her covered.” She’ll feel a lot less panicked about her predicament. And guess what? She’ll be more likely to return the favor when you need backup.
