Hellobee Boards

1) Did you ever feel "ready" to leave things at work for 3 months (or however long your leave was)? Nope. And it didn't help that I was expecting to go late and ended up going early so I wasn't prepared yet. Perhaps God's way of forcing my hand?!?!
2) Did you completely disconnect while on leave? Nope. Not only was I not able to for myself but there were several requests made of me while I was on leave. Nothing that necessitated going to the office but some responses and phone calls were required. Also, I went to the office twice during my 8 week leave. I am not a good stay at home personality.
3) Did you worry constantly about what condition you'd be going back to work in? Yes but it was going to be what it was going to be. Most my clients knew when I'd be back so they didn't push my jobs too hard while I was away.
4) Do you feel you were different when you went back? Not really. My days were longer for all of the time I had to take for pumping but it was okay. I still worked just as hard and was just as dedicated as before. Some days were worse than others but it would be that way with or without LO.

1) Did you ever feel "ready" to leave things at work for 3 months (or however long your leave was)? I went on Maternity leave during our busiest season, and I had a million and a half things to take care of. I had a very good maternity plan in place with the folks I was leaving things to, and went into labor on a Tuesday night after work...started my maternity leave on Wednesday when he was born.

2) Did you completely disconnect while on leave? I totally disconnected while I was out on leave. I didn't even think about work for the first 4 weeks. LO was extremely colicky, we had BFing issues and I was exhausted.

3) Did you worry constantly about what condition you'd be going back to work in? Towards the end, I was a little worried to find what I was going to come back to. But again, I had a really solid maternity plan going in, and I took care of a ton of stuff prior to leaving.

4) Do you feel you were different when you went back? I do feel as if I'm different. Things don't bother me as much. I'm not a workaholic by any means anymore. I still do take my work very seriously, but I negotiated a good schedule for myself where I can work from home 2 days/week while my FIL and dad watch LO. It's definitely an adjustment, but it improves every day!

1) Did you ever feel "ready" to leave things at work for 3 months (or however long your leave was)?
Yes! People really cut back on giving me work a few months before my due date. So i was BORED before i went on leave.

2) Did you completely disconnect while on leave?
Yes. I work government contracts and it is illegal for us to work and not be paid for it. So...NOBODY was allowed to contact me or talk to me about work! It was crazy. I literally fell off the face of the earth one day. And my boss was very encouraging about, "do not work. You are not allowed to. Enjoy your leave".

3) Did you worry constantly about what condition you'd be going back to work in?
Yes. I was hoping I wasn't coming back to a total mess. And I kind of did. it was stressful for my coworkers to pick up the slack and I already feel bad about asking them to do it again (and a third time!) in the future. But, they'll manage.

4) Do you feel you were different when you went back?
Nah. When I have work, I do it. When I don't, i find things to entertain myself

1) Did you ever feel "ready" to leave things at work for 3 months (or however long your leave was)?
I was placed on bedrest after being hospitalized at 37 weeks. Fortunately being the super-planner that I am, I had already made a booklet of my contacts, my contract templates, my passwords, and where I could be reached.

2) Did you completely disconnect while on leave? Not quite. While on bedrest I continued to work on ads that I had started and other small projects. After DS was born, I was waaay too busy with him and figuring out how to be a mom on 3/4 hours sleep to even deal with work.

3) Did you worry constantly about what condition you'd be going back to work in? YES. I was a zombie. Honestly, bigger challenge of my life was figuring out breastfeeding/pumping and work - on 4/5 hours of sleep at 7 weeks postpartum, when I returned. Some days were better than ever. I was happy to enjoy the cup of coffee, conversations with my coworkers and have projects that can be completed in the time I was there. Other days I felt like I couldn't pump and work at the same time and was failing at everything.

4) Do you feel you were different when you went back? Yes. I used to stay long hours, work through lunch breaks and do work projects at home in the evenings. I don't do that anymore. There really aren't enough hours in the day to do it all.

LO isn't here yet but I'm definitely worried about this.

Where I worked, you were not permitted to be involved during your maternity leave. They disconnect your email account and if you have a blackberry, you must turn it in. When you turn in the bb, it disconnects the app on your personal devices.

I had no problem leaving for maternity leave, heck, I even took a 2 year break. I jumped right back in, it's like I never left.

@Mrs D: Totally feel ya! Performance reviews are due in November for me and that determines pay raises! Eek!