Mummascribbles – Working mums – Life with Mrs Lee – Mummascribbles

I have been a working mum for more than three years now and am currently at the start of my second maternity leave. Some days being at full time work for those three years was extremely difficult while on others it was nice to be able to sit and have a hot cup of tea without having to wipe a nose or change a bum! I know there are a heck of a lot of working mums out there, some who love it, some who hate it and others who are somewhere in the middle. I thought it would be interesting to see exactly how others feel about being a working mum and maybe we can all learn a little something about dealing with that dreaded mummy guilt!

This week we have Harriet from Life with Mrs Lee answering all of those working mummy questions.

Tell me a little bit about who is in your family. 
My name is Harriet and I’m wife to Josh and Mama to Bella who will be three in November. 

What age were your children when you returned to work? 
I actually juggle two jobs as well as my blog. I head up marketing and business development three days a week for our family business but I am also my Dad’s registered carer/ personal assistant which means I’m always on call in case of an emergency. I returned to my office job when Bella was almost nine months old but I wasn’t really able to take any time away from caring for my Dad, instead Josh and I just shared the load and I would take Bella along with me. 

Did you return to a job away from the home or within the home?
Away from home.

Did you choose to return or did your circumstances force you back? 
A combination of both. Financially it was worthwhile me returning to work but I did also miss the adult conversation at times! 

Did you return to work full or part time? 
Part time in the office but with caring for my Dad too, technically I do work full time hours!

What childcare do you have in place and how did you go about choosing it?  
Bella currently goes to nursery two days a week and to my Mum for one day too.

What do you find the most difficult about being a working mum? 
I’m forever feeling like I’m missing out on things. When Bella was smaller I worried about missing out on all of the milestones like walking, talking etc but now I just feel like I’m missing out on making fun memories with my girl! 

How do you deal with the working mummy guilt? 
Mummy guilt is something I really struggle with. Occasionally Bella will get upset when I drop her off at nursery and it honestly breaks my Mama heart, I often have to fight back tears myself. I try to remind myself that she will have got over the tears within minutes and that she’s probably having a great time there with all of her little friends, that it’s amazing for her learning and development and that if I didn’t go to work we wouldn’t be able to afford all of the luxuries like nice holidays abroad and family days out. 

How did you feel when it was time to go back to work?
Very emotional. It literally felt like I had lost a limb! I was still breastfeeding when I returned to work and I was constantly worrying that she’d need me and/or my milk as she wasn’t very good at taking a bottle. I felt so anxious every time I drove away from her but as the weeks and months went by we quickly fell into a routine and it definitely got easier.

Is your work/life balance what you want it to be or would you rather work less or more? 
Of course I would love an extra day or two at home with Bella as I constantly feel like she isn’t getting enough of my attention but we try to make the most of our weekends together as a family. 

What advice would you give to a mummy heading back to work? 
Take tissues. It’s totally okay to cry on that first day (week/month) and don’t feel like you need to apologise for it either. It is tough but I promise it does get easier. Your baby won’t be missing you anywhere near as much as you are missing them, so try not to worry about that like I did. Also, the cuddles you get at the end of the day make it all so worth it! 

Harriet, this is such a beautifully honest interview. You have to juggle so much in your days you should be super ruddy proud of yourself. I have had those tears on the nursery drop off and I often get told ‘I don’t want to go to nursery mummy’ but like you, I also know that he has a wonderful time when he is there. I know what you mean also about the missing out on memories – I found it getting harder to be away from him the older he was getting and felt like everyone else was getting to have fun with him rather than me. We also lived for the weekends and found the house became very untidy while we were busy having fun hehe! 

Along with her blog www.lifewithmrslee.com you can also find Harriet over on Twitter and Instagram.