Back to work

The first weeks after my leave

Since 3 weeks, I started working again and my leave was officially over. Thanks to the presence of Britt, our trainee midwife, I had a quiet start. As Britt is about to graduate, she could already do a lot herself and needed the space to work independently as well. This gave me the opportunity to slowly get used to being on call again in combination with Maas. Of course, we thought early on about taking care of Maas when we were both back at work. After all, that is not so easy when working irregularly. Fortunately, we both still have our parents who were very willing to babysit and Jordy was able to apply for 1 day of parental leave. This leaves my hands free to be there for you!

I myself was and still am happy to be back at work. Because my leave fell during the lockdown, we had little to no visitors and could not go anywhere. So I was ready for a normal rhythm and social interaction with an adult again. It may be that you will feel this differently yourself and that you are not at all ready to go to work yet. Know that it is all normal and also very personal. Make the most of the moments you have with your baby because the cliché really is true: they grow way too fast so enjoy every moment. Try to do this even when you feel like there is nothing to enjoy for a moment. For example, when you're about to leave the house and your baby starts screaming and on top of that, finds it necessary to poop. Sigh. As soon as Maas touches the changing mat, he starts laughing, he loves being on the mat and then the "sighing moment" of 5 minutes earlier is already forgotten.

Breastfeeding and work

This brings me straight to the next challenge: pumping! As a woman, you are entitled to spend 25% of your working time breastfeeding or pumping. In doing so, your employer must facilitate a pumping area that is lockable. So the toilet will absolutely not suffice and neither will the pantry. So, are you breastfeeding and do you want to pump when you go to work? Then notify your employer in time so that he/she has time to arrange a decent space for you. So as a practice owner, I am my own employer and so I have to arrange this myself. During consultation hours, this is of course not a problem. Then I can schedule extra time so I can pump. During childbirth this is a bit more difficult! Nowadays there are pumps that are hands-free (but really hands-free, so no more cables!) You can charge these and put them in your bra. So I can easily pump in the car when I'm on the road! Very convenient.

Do you have questions about your rights as a breastfeeding mother? Then ask them at the consultation hour or visit https://www.lalecheleague.nl/borstvoeding-abc/artikel/256-borstvoeding-werken-en-de-wet