What to Expect About Life After Having a Baby
As we’re sure you can guess, life after a baby is monumentally different to the life you’d have lived prior to welcoming the little one into the world.
You’re not only having to take a few month’s break from a lot of your daily routines such as heading off to work, or whatever else you would typically do, but you’re also now committed to taking care of your little one and essentially revolving your life around them — at least for a while. On top of this, yourself and your partner will have to work on developing a whole new dynamic that works best for you and makes it a little easier to take care of the little one.
Of course, you’ll be stepping into a more vibrant and richer life, though, one that feels strangely unfamiliar. Not a whole lot will have changed, however, there’s a major new segment of your life you’ll need to get used to, and fast. Although you might feel life becoming a little turbulent and unstable in the short term, you’ll have a chance to redefine a lot of things! That means everything from your life’s routine to adapting your career.
That said, let’s take a look at what to expect about life after having a baby and how you can get started on your post-baby career!
A Little Added Free Time
In the time right after you’ve had your baby, both mum and dad will have a little extra free time provided their workplaces offer this type of leave.
With this, you’re going to have plenty of time to reevaluate where you’ll want to be in life and to ensure you’re positioned in the most optimal lane to provide for your new child, and that’s fantastic news for many people.
It’s always suggested you take advantage of as much of this free time as possible and use it to maximise your skillset when returning to work. We’ll touch on this more in a moment, though one key point to consider is learning whilst at home.
You may be concerned about your job’s stability following your leave, or even whether you want to change roles in your company. That in mind, taking the time to upskill online while you’re taking care of your newborn may be on the cards.
Providers such as Upskilled, for example, offer fantastic resources on what you need to know about returning to work. Along with this, you’ll have the option to learn and strengthen your resume prior to getting back into the office. This will keep you on your toes and in the loop when it comes to applying to transition in your workplace, or move up the ladder.
You Can Hit the Reset Button
As we’re sure you’ll agree, after your baby arrives, you’ll have a free pass when it comes to hitting that reset button — on just about anything you’d like to.
For those who are in a line of work that isn’t ideal, or you’re stuck in a daily routine that you can’t really get out of, then this is the time to reset. You are taking care of a new person after all, and this little fellow comes with some new demands; and one of those is asking for as much of your free time as possible.
A lot of new mums and dads, find the arrival of a baby, and the change of life after the little one’s arrival, is the perfect time to adapt their careers and move into a job or role that’s more ideal and well-suited to the new family dynamic.
That in mind, life after a baby can be one that you’re adapting and moulding into your perfect, ideal one.
You’ll Need a Family-friendly Routine
A second major thing to expect about life after a baby is the new child friendly daily routines, or set of routines you’ll need to develop.
For our readers who often found themselves staying awake all through the night to work, or had a rather strenuous daily work schedule — this will need to take a back seat or change entirely.
Of course, a number of companies out there will happily adapt your workflow to be better suited to your child’s needs, or the needs of your partner, however, some will not. That in mind, you may need to adjust and adapt your career goals or move into a line of work that’s better for your newly-created family routine.
That said, however, you will be able to work to adjust your career to better suit your career goals in the downtime you’re getting after having a baby.
You’re More in Tune with the ‘Big Picture’
Another rather big change that will come into life from having a baby is being a little more in tune to seeing the big picture.
As we’re sure you could have guessed, you’re able to look far beyond just the day-to-day in your life, and well into the future now. This essentially gives you the power to slow things down in your mind and lets you better predict, plan and absorb the shocks of daily life.
That in mind, you’ll find that life after a baby is a little more stressful, of course, but you’re seeing everything from a whole new perspective.
You’ll be more in tune with finding what you enjoy and what you don’t, which may end up being the catalyst for a career change, or a role-switch at your company.
A New Daily Timeline
One other thing to consider about life after having a baby is the time it takes to do things, get things done and head out somewhere.
Of course, when you’re on your own things run a little more smoothly. It’s only yourself you’re responsible for and that means getting somewhere in ten minutes is a cinch.
Though, with a little one by your side, you’ve got a lot more to do.
A trip that may have routinely taken you ten minutes will now almost certainly take thirty or more, which means finding a new groove in your daily timeline will need to be met with open arms, and not a fight.
That in mind, this isn’t such a big change, though it is certainly something you will need to expect, plan for and get used to following having a baby.
The Day’s Workload Needs to Remain at Work
In line with a few of our points above, one major thing to expect is the inability to work at home when you’ve got a newborn, toddler or even a young child. Keeping your personal and work lives separate is crucial.
As you would agree, in the past it was nearly effortless to end your days at work, arrive home and continue burning the midnight oil to get those important projects finished in time for submission.
However, after having a baby, things will be unimaginably different.
Work from the office will almost certainly need to stay there, and not pick up again until the following morning — even after your maternity or parental leave ends.
It may be worth asking your manager or boss if you’re able to switch to high-productivity three or two-day work weeks in order for you to get back into the groove once things do begin to go back to normal, as easing into this work role will take a little adjustment.
Visiting Friends and Family Must Remain a Priority
One of our final points we’d like to outline is the fact that seeing your friends, family and even your coworkers outside of work needs to become and remain a priority.
A vast majority of new parents often find that leaving home after the baby is incredibly difficult. Either due to the worry of something happening when you’re not there to help, or the chance you’ll upset a nap routine.
Though, with this in mind, you must move to keep interacting with friends and family as much as possible and keep some semblance of your old life intact.
In the times of COVID, this may be a little more difficult, though it remains imperative to have this out-of-home social interaction and to keep in touch with the loved ones that you hold most dear.
Conclusion
Our myriad of points out of the way above, it’s quite clear to see that there is a lot to expect about life after having a baby that goes just beyond career changes.
Although this may seem rather daunting, the reward is incredibly worth the risk and the change, and you’re going to find it increasingly easy to adapt and alter your daily life to suit your needs, the needs of your baby and the requirements of your career.
A lot of new parents find that the short downtime and the chance to hit the reset button was exactly what they needed when it came to making small changes to their career, investing in their education and coming back to work stronger than ever — and we highly encourage this.
There is a lot of room for growth here, though there’s also the possibility of dealing with postpartum depression and general woes following a new baby, though with the right mindset, planning in place and a commitment to making the most of your first few months with your little one, you will be on track to a happy post-birth lifestyle.
