Life > Work

This is something I constantly have to tell myself. I love being a working mom but there are times when I have to make a conscious decision to put my family first. I have one of those jobs that it’s never a good time to take an unplanned day off. I usually have a ton of major projects going on along with a daily calendar full of important meetings that require my presence.

There are several things that I never expected when becoming a mother. One thing was the frequency of my daughter getting sick. I was on maternity leave for 12 weeks before returning to work. She started at daycare and didn’t get sick until she was about 7-8 months. She continued getting sick at least once a month until she was about 16 months. Her constant colds combined with not sleeping through the night until 14 months, and trying to get enough sleep to think at work and not commit malpractice made for some very tough days.

As I start thinking about baby number two, I wrestled with when would be the right time to have another baby. I recently started a new position at work and I didn’t want to get pregnant immediately (in addition to some personal things that made delaying a good idea). One thing that I have to keep in mind is that in 20, 30, or even 40+ years, I probably won’t look back and say “I wish I would have worked more.” “I wish I would have delayed having more kids because of work.” I recognize that I’m in a better position than a lot of people and many people may have to seriously consider whether having another baby or even a first child, is feasible.

Life happens and you can’t plan for everything or you may be planning forever and never executing. When I became pregnant with my daughter, it was unexpected but such a blessing. I’d only been at my job for a 5 months before I learned I was pregnant. To say that I was freaked out would be an understatement. Little did I know, it was great timing. We were married, financially stable, and I was in a role that was stimulating but not so demanding that taking off would cause complete chaos. As I advance in my career I recognize that taking maternity leave becomes harder as more people depend on me as well as the random sick day.

Life is greater than work and your career is a marathon, not a sprint. For all of my working moms out there who may be struggling with timing and balancing motherhood with their career, remember that life always comes first.

Is this something you struggle with? Sound off in the comments!