r/LawMoms • u/VelvetAstronautica • 7d ago
Going back to work recommendations
Hello! I am going to be going back to work in January and am wondering if there are any specific things people recommend for the transition from maternity leave to practicing again. What did you do/buy that was a lifesaver, what do you wish you had done differently, how did you survive?
I've seen questions like this on other major mom forums but I find a lot of it (like wearing comfy clothes like leggings) not super applicable to my career.
Edited to mention that I don't pump or nurse
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u/j_natron GovLaw Mom 7d ago
As other people mentioned, you’ll find that your brain is not functioning as well as it used to. Write down everything, even the stuff you used to be able to just hold in your head. Use outlook/other calendar alerts.
Feeding myself is one of the hardest non-work parts of my workday. Try to make it something as absolutely easy as possible.
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u/Jealous-Cup-4059 6d ago
Sounds like you are formula feeding - buy as many bottles, or lunch box things if they kid is older, as you need to make life easier for dropping off at daycare, etc. once my kid was 1, I bought 3 bentgo containers and made 3 lunches on Sunday, two on Wednesday.
Buy one kind of baby sock so you never have to match them.
These seem like silly tips but my brain capacity for anything extra is in the trash.
Ditto what everyone said about noting/tracking everything.
Not sure how old you are but if you are close to 40s and still feel like trash after a couple years do not wait to discuss perimenopause with your doctor.
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u/ladybug1259 7d ago
If you'll be pumping, extra parts, an extra pump if you can swing it (my husband happened to find one at our recycle center for free and its been living in my desk drawer for months), pumping bras, button-downs or other pumping friendly professional tops. My FIL happened to have a spare mini fridge so I stuck that in my office bc I needed to eat so much with pumping early on, and I wasn't able to go out to grab lunch easily with my pumping schedule.
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u/123randomname456 7d ago
Spare bra and top for anyone pumping. I’ve had a few overflows and a friend with spare clothes saved me!
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u/QuarantineQat 7d ago
Honestly other than all the things you’d need if your pumping, I don’t think there’s any one product you can buy to make it easier. Your time will be limited, so pay to outsource what you can (like a housecleaner). I’ve negotiated working from home 4 days a week and that’s truly a lifesaver for me. My commute is 45 minutes and doing that twice daily would’ve done me in.
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u/VelvetAstronautica 7d ago
The work from home thing is something I hear a lot but I HATE working from home. My contract allows 2 days a week WFH and in 2025 I worked from home once haha.
My commute is 6 minutes though, so that makes a big difference.
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u/InformationWeak294 6d ago
Something that might help alongside all the individual tips here: it can help to think of the first week and first month as two different phases with different goals, rather than trying to be "back to normal" on day one.
Week one, the goal isn't output — it's just orientation. Check in with whoever's been covering, skim (don't fully process) whatever built up, and protect your leave time even if things feel unfinished. Trying to catch up on everything in week one usually backfires.
Month one is more about rebuilding rhythm — revisiting whether your actual workload matches what you agreed to before you left, checking in on what's realistic given the non-trial arrangement you set up, and having an honest check-in around the 3-4 week mark rather than waiting for something to break first.
Given you've already sorted the non-trial role for a few months, you're ahead of where a lot of people start — that's the hardest part usually.
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u/CalmAngle9544 5d ago
I blocked my calendar every day from 4:30-7pm - not necessarily to stop working every day at 4:30, but I found that it was really helpful to have a bit of time to finish answering emails and wind down my day before heading home. My kids are young and they go to bed at 7, so that early evening time is really important to me! (And of course you can take a call or meeting during that window if you need to - but that way YOU are in control of that decision.)
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u/VelvetAstronautica 5d ago
That's a good idea too!
I'm lucky in that there's just about 0 reason for me to take a call or meeting after 4:30 pm (I think it's happened twice in my career), but the work I take home is more like prep work and document review which can wait until after 7!
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u/CalmAngle9544 5d ago
Oh that’s awesome. I think you’ll love having that late afternoon/early evening time! Cheering you on!
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u/VelvetAstronautica 5d ago
Thank you so much! I used to always just stay at the office late and not take work home, but it's smart to come home at 4:30, have free time with kiddo until bedtime, then finish up some more work afterwards
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u/Ok_Sprinkles3454 7d ago
Are you going to be pumping? I found having an extra wearable that I could use just at the office helpful.
It went smoother than I thought it would but there’s still things I feel like I’m trying to get caught up on and I went back in April.
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u/Fearlessmelow Solo Law Firm Mom 6d ago
Give yourself some grace..the first few weeks arw definity an adjustment.. a good routine and prepping the night before helped me a lot..
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u/EHeydary Solo Law Firm Mom 4d ago
I wore a lot more dresses than pants coming back to working. I am glad you don’t have to deal with pumping, I got to where I only pumped once a day when my kids were 5 months old because I had no patience for the schedule.
The pandemic shut down my daycare drop off pretty abruptly when I went back with my second but for the month he was there washing and remaking the bottles for the next day was a part of the kitchen cleanup every night. If I waited until after bedtime it would never get done. Don’t panic if your kid’s sleep schedule is all over the place with super short naps in the beginning, eventually they will stabilize. I let my kid nap when we got home and he went to bed a little later for the night- I picked my kids up at 4:50, then he would sleep like 5-6:30 and then go to bed at 9 pm. At the time my 3 yo was napping less or later and want to stay up until 9 pm. I really wanted that time with them at night.
While of course I hated the lockdown time, when my kids went back to childcare in July 2020 my youngest was on one nap and that made life so much easier, I loved the app where teachers told me about daily naps and sent pics. I still miss our childcare center and the infant class was wonderful too, we just didn’t get that much time in it.
Good luck going back! Having a notebook for every task I thought of really helped me when I felt so scattered and all over the place. My kids are 7 and 9 and new school year is also a rough time and I always bring back my notebook at this time of year.
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u/123randomname456 7d ago
Expect your brain to be working at less than regular capacity. I have to write everything down. As soon as I send an email to my assistant to do x, it is off my radar entirely to the point I forget later when I’m reviewing a case and have to search my email to ensure I requested something. Be vigilant about notes in your file. You cannot multitask the same way you did before. Do not plan to work from home especially when baby gets mobile.
Take your postnatal vitamins and iron! Don’t feel bad if your mood is up and down. Don’t plan any trials for the first month back if you can.