Post-Baby Work Clues- Femina

It's never easy returning to the career circus, especially when you have to leave baby behind. Shilpi Kakkar-Madan puts it all into perspective, with a little help from friends

YOU'RE in an advanced stage of sleep deprivation. Your cell phone is chirping round the clock. You're multi-tasking to meet the demands of paediatric visits, shopping lists and a flooded e-inbox. And you've just discovered a new truth: That 'parents' essentially means mother. Lo and behold! You are a mommy who has delved deep into her human resources bank to start work soon after her little one has arrived. No one said it would be easy to get out of the nursing bras and hit the career path again, but of course, it can be done.

Start by quitting the cribbing. And abandon hopes of that chimera of a full-time maid-cum-housekeeper materialising out of Fairy Godmotherland. ''I realised that I couldn't put my life on hold, and pin my happiness on the appearance of domestic help,'' says Meenakshi Goel, 29, a freelance web designer. ''My baby was six months old, I was itching to start work again, and my frustration was ruining my life. Because I had emotional support from my spouse, I was able to start freelancing. All I required was the PC and my skill sets. And of course, undisturbed time. 'Siesta' is not a word in my vocabulary; I work when I should be sleeping. It is a hilarious reality, but my one-year-old's naptime determines when I make my work-related phone calls.''

Work With Your Resources
Going back to work takes planning and determination. Recalls 35-year-old entrepreneur Alka, ''My daughter was three months old when I began work. At that time, my partner had two small kids - a two-month-old and a three-year old. So we would pool our resources. Essentially, we could never make a presentation if our maids didn't turn up. They played hooky most of the time, twisting our arms for salary hikes. Most of the time, we would take turns at babysitting; one of us would watch the kids while the other went out sourcing business. We would give the names of our maids as company directors, because there would be no presentation if there was no maid that day. Somehow, we survived that chaotic phase. Looking back, I wonder how I did it. But I'm glad I did.''

Plan Ahead For Self-Actualisation
For restless souls, a bit of advance planning is a good idea. Realising that her schedule was going to be very home-centred after her little one arrived, entrepreneur Sonali Mookerjee decided to set up her flower shop in her backyard. ''I needed to do something for my mental salvation at that point in time." Sonali worked hard to keep things afloat and overcame the teething problems in between feeding sessions. ''The labour was well worth it,'' she smiles. Executive search consultant Abha Kapoor prioritised her son over her career and still made it work.

"I had a miscarriage the first time around as my work demanded extensive travelling. I was relegated to my bed for eight months during my second pregnancy. Once the baby arrived, I joined work on flexi-hours, but felt that I was missing out on quality time with my child. I quit a lucrative job at a senior level, to start my own recruitment firm. In the beginning, I was clueless; my resources were limited, but I had family support and the thought that I could spend special moments with my child was a catalyst."

You Can Do It
If you're lucky, you may have help, but the wonderful thing is, you can choose to help yourself. Grit and determination are the marks of true survivors. Go for it girl!

Make It Happen

• Allocate some time for yourself - away from the work, away from the baby. You need it, for your own sanity and to keep those creative juices flowing.

• Negotiate to work part time; one way of doing this is to petition to have your last month of maternity leave divided into half days which gives you two months to acclimatise yourself, the baby and the family to the reality of your returning to the workforce.

• Get enough sleep to step up your productivity.

• Accept that the housekeeping will take a beating; that dust and dirt in some degree will be part of life.

• Make sure you give your marriage due attention. And divvy up chores with your husband to make both your lives easier.

• Breathe in and out deeply, when exhaustion looms large. Yoga is a great destressor.

• You're working a double shift; treat yourself well - switch on the radio; flip through a flamboyant fashion magazine; sip tea or slurp coffee... Keep your sense of humour alive.

• Indulge in a bit of keyboard yoga. Surf the web, e-mail your friends.

• Learn to work through chaos.