Community Questions - Returning to Work

'I'm heading back to the office soon after 9 months of maternity leave and I'm so nervous and scared - any tips?' These feelings are so common when parents head back to the office following parental leave, so please know that you aren't alone! Some tips that the Carol App Community share are: - Speak with your Manager about a phased return to the office. Suggesting to your manager that you use some of your Annual Leave that you have accrued during your maternity leave period can help to reduce overwhelm and feeling burnt out unlike heading straight back into the office, full steam ahead! Using some of your annual leave to reduce your hours/days for the first few weeks can help phase your return to work and make it easier for you to get back into it - many mums on Carol have said this helped them! - Find your mum community. Nobody else will quite understand what it’s like going back to work after maternity leave like other mums, so finding your mum community is so important! Carol App connects and supports mums throughout their Motherhood journey. Mums can meet like minded mums who live closeby, have children of the same age, join and create their own groups to share tips and advice, as well as have access to 100’s of expert led resources across Pregnancy, Postpartum, Baby Sleep, Baby Feeding, Baby Development and The Early Years, all for free! Carol App is available on the App Store. - Be Kind to Yourself. This is the most important tip in my opinion. You have just gone through such a huge life change and it’s so important to be kind to yourself. Heading back to the office can end up being emotionally and physically draining so trying to make time for yourself is so key. Whether it’s taking 5 minutes at lunchtime to yourself, going for a walk before you head to the office around the block or listening to your favourite podcast on the way to work, try to take some time to yourself every day. - Nourish Yourself. Eating nourishing food and taking the time to batch cook some healthy balanced meals for you and the family once a week helps to keep you feeling energised and means that choosing what to have for dinner doesn’t require too much brain power as it’s already made! Some favourite bulk meals from the Carol App Community include bolognese, coconut curry, soups and lasagne! - Rest up! Getting an early night is important as you head back to work. The washing can wait! Try to avoid watching TV / Netflix until late into the night, especially when you have little ones as who knows what their sleep will be like that night - getting an early night means that even if they wake several times in the night you’re likely to have had a good few hours sleep regardless! Getting into a healthy sleep pattern will help your energy, mental clarity and alertness especially as you are exerting more being back in the office! ​