Hey YMF readers, Mrs. MoneyFinance here! As y’all probably know, our life changed dramatically in February when we welcomed BabyMoneyFinance to the family. I’ve been enjoying maternity leave, but that is coming to an end as the school year is about to start. I wanted to share with you some of the ways I planned for maternity leave and made the most of this new stage of life!

How I reviewed leave policies and planned my leave:

I work in a small school, and to be honest, most schools don’t have the best maternity leave policies. I am thankful that my school offers 6 weeks of paid leave, however I knew that 6 weeks wasn’t going to be enough time for me to fully recover and bond with my baby. I knew I didn’t want to leave BabyMoneyFinance with someone else when he was so tiny, so I had to plan. Mr. MoneyFinance and I had been talking about having kids for a while, so when I took the job at my current school and realized I could roll over up to 30 sick days in my “bank” so I knew I would make the most of that. That would be another 6 weeks (30 I had in my bank plus 5 I’d accrued this year) on top of my 6 weeks maternity leave.

When I found out I was pregnant I immediately reviewed the leave policy to make sure I knew exactly what it stated. I had the option to take any sick days I wanted before the birth of the baby and maternity leave started the day he was born (which was a school holiday, so it started the next day technically). I then knew that after my 6 weeks I could take my sick days, which also happened to be 6 weeks. I then accounted for spring break and I ended up getting 13 weeks off. What. A. Blessing!

Because of when I had the baby, I only had to return to work for 1 week before it was summer break. I’m so thankful that I’ve essentially had a 5 month maternity leave with a few meetings here and there to attend, but mostly just time to bond with my baby and learn to be a mom. 

**Some schools offer FMLA, but my school is too small, so we don’t have it. I would definitely look into your company policies and see if you can also use FMLA, which is unpaid time off, if your maternity leave isn’t as long as you’d like.

Moral of the story – know exactly what your company policy is and when/how you can use the leave, and what your pay will look like.

How I prepared to leave work:

Many teachers must write a lot of substitute plans before leaving for any break, including maternity leave. I am in a role where I don’t have a class, and therefore didn’t have to write sub plans. I did, however, have to plan for how my many responsibilities would be covered. I started planning this before I told my employer I was pregnant. When I shared the news I also shared my thoughts for how my responsibilities could be covered. I think this helped my boss feel excited for me rather than overwhelmed by all that would need to be done.

In order to do this I listed my responsibilities and then carefully thought through who could help with those tasks without overwhelming any one person. I then worked to create detailed instructions, including emails for those people to send, and timelines of how and when to do things. I essentially created a guidebook so they wouldn’t have to guess at anything and the tasks would be as simple as possible. I met with each person and asked their comfort level. I then met with them closer to my leave to share all of the resources I’d created. I also let each of them know that I was available by email or phone if they needed help or guidance along the way. I tried to think of everything so they wouldn’t run into any issues and would feel well equipped to take on a little more.

Moral of the story – be proactive and make the transition easier by coming with a plan.

Focus on Recovery and Bonding with Baby:

It was really important to me to recover well. I had a quick, all natural labor, and afterward, I felt like I got run over by a very large truck, and then the drive threw it in reverse and backed up. Having a baby Is. No. Joke!

Knowing I’d likely feel this way, I assembled my tribe before I had the baby. My girlfriends knew I’d need them, and they were there for me any time I needed them. I had girls hold the baby so I could get a bath, run to the pharmacy for me, go for walks with me, and bring me so many meals I can’t even begin to explain it. My tribe was THERE when I needed them. If you’re having a baby, starting assembling your tribe now, you’ll need them!

As I adjusted to motherhood (and less sleep), Mr. MoneyFinance and I spent time getting to know our baby by going on day-dates. This was a highlight! We tried to do something fun every few days and get out of the house, either for lunch or coffee or a walk in a different part of town. This helped life feel normal more quickly and probably aided in my mental and emotional recovery greatly.

After I was cleared to workout, I started SLOW! If you are having a baby, I highly recommend checking out BirthFit (no one asked me to mention BirthFit, I just love it THAT much!) BirthFit introduced me to new exercises to recover and heal, a community of new moms to relate to, and mindset and nutrition advice as well. This program helped me heal physically and remember to take things slow.

I’m not saying this is the only way to recover, but it worked for me! As for bonding with BabyMoneyFinance, all of the things I mentioned honestly helped me bond. I spent so much time snuggling and getting to know BabyMoneyFinance because my tribe was there for me. Mr. MoneyFinance got to bond with BabyMoneyFinance as we did our day dates (and during his 4 week paternity leave!) And Baby came with me to BirthFit and we had a lot of fun working out together!

Moral of the story – this is such a special time of your life. Slow down, enjoy everyday and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

How I planned to return to work:

Returning to work is something I’m still nervous about. I’ve thought about it a lot over the past several weeks. We have a great daycare for Baby and we started daycare a few days before I have to go back to work. That way BabyMoneyFinance could ease into it, and I could ease into it too. I haven’t had to do any super early drop-offs like I will when I’m back at school, and I’ve been able to do pickup a little earlier. This has helped me feel comfortable and, I like to think, has helped Baby feel comfortable too.

I have had several meetings with school leadership to get myself reacquainted with everything. My role is shifting slightly, so I’ve had many discussions to clarify my role and to ensure I know what is expected of me as I return to work. This has helped settle some of my nerves and has given me something to think about and look forward to so that I’m not dreading the return to work or nervous about the changes.

Moral of the story – start planning early and take it one step at a time if you’re able to!

All in all, maternity leave has been amazing. Baby MoneyFinance is amazing and is a great sleeper. We’ve been so lucky that way! I can’t believe it’s coming to an end but I’m so thankful for the time I’ve gotten to spend with my little baby and learn to be a mom!