Jul 26, 2017
After the great feedback that I have received on my #workingmum blog posts, I decided to take it one step further and turn it into a series. So, welcome back to my fellow working mums!
My son is well and truly a ‘daycare’ lover nowadays and is thriving! Although the pangs of guilt I feel when I collect him and he wants to cling onto the educator rather than me do hurt, but at the same time, I am happy that he has bonded with someone who is responsible for his care.
** more fun than I could ever provide and they have a lot of trucks at daycare; he loves trucks**
The 2 days that I have at home with him (Monday and Wednesday) are a highlight for me. We read books together as he is a true bookworm. We go to play centres and I panic about germs, cook yummy food whilst making a mess and we can spend hours wandering around Kmart looking at their homewares. Although I am sure that I enjoy that more than him….
I am struggling to keep on top of the housework, so I am trying to convince my partner to let me get some help and outsource the mundane task of cleaning. So far, it is going OK, so stay tuned!
One thing I have noticed about my blog posts is that I am not alone. There are plenty of us #workingmums out there, and my posts have got some traction. In fact, I was at a wedding the other week and a woman who I have met a few times mentioned my blogs (you know who you are) and how she had read them on LinkedIn-I thought that was pretty cool.
Considering that, I decided to interview my fellow #workingmum and general Mum of the office, Hannah Pryjmachuk to see how she handles life as a #workingmum… here goes…
** Hannah and I with our boys… who look strangely alike**
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What emotions did you go through when you returned to work after having a baby?
Excitement! After being out of work for so long, I was itching to get back into the swing of things. There are always worries leaving your 11-month-old, but I know mixing with other children and having that structured play time is the best place for him and where he will develop best.
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What have been the positives?
Getting a part of me back! Not cleaning, cooking or changing nappies, but focusing on what I want to achieve with my career
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What struggles have you found?
I am always dreading looking down at my phone and seeing ‘daycare’ calling! What sickness could it possibly be this time! Being tired of course. Toby sleeps mostly through the night but when you want to get home and put your feet up…you can’t!
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What advice would you give to women trying to return to their paid jobs rather than their ‘at home’ jobs?
I would say DO IT! You had passions before children, and there is no reason why this shouldn’t be as important as your other half’s passions and career. There is room to adapt for children and careers in life and I know I would not be doing myself justice if I didn’t pursue the career I always wanted and what I studied so hard for before children. Don’t worry either! They love being with their friends and playing all day far more than staying at home alone with you! Enjoy and embrace weekends and evenings while you can both ‘do your own thing’ during the day!
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How does Precision Sourcing support your journey as a working mum?
Precision has supported me by letting me trial part time work (this did not work for me) and are also understanding when I need to leave to collect Toby if he is unwell.
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How do you think companies can improve their support for working mums?
I believe there is an issue regarding flexible working which is slowly coming into fruition with modern companies. Often when older children are unwell (depending on the illness), they stay at home in bed. Being able to work from home, so these days do not come out of your 10 allotted sick days. This would take a massive stress off as unpaid leave would not need to be taken when your child is unwell. I still wait for employment law to change and allow a separate allotted amount of time which can be used solely for parental/carers’ leave.
** The Pryjmachuks’**
