Planning for Maternity Leave

Truth be told, I am not the best planner. If I am making a plan for something that I feel comfortable planning for, I am all over it. If I don’t feel like I can make a successful plan, then I avoid it.

And for the most part, that’s how I have felt about planning for maternity leave. I feel like so much of my maternity leave depends on our baby and what his temperament is. If he is a super easy baby that sleeps and eats with ease, then I could probably create a schedule around his naps and maybe work a bit (and all mothers out there let out a collective chuckle). But, if he is colicky and doesn’t sleep easily, I know that I will have to take more time off.

So, these unknowns make me feel like a plan is pointless.

For the most part, we are going to figure it out as we go. But, there are a few things we have planned or that we plan on planning for (hah).

First, I am in the process of hiring someone to help me with shipping and packaging. So, this means that the shop with NOT slow down. There might be a week right when the baby is born where shipping is a bit slower, but since I will not be in charge of packaging anymore, you can fully expect the shop to keep running. Praises!

Next, I will either be hiring someone else or having the aforementioned hire manage my email inbox and content. This means that I will be able to fully disconnect from my emails and focus on birthing and loving and feeding a healthy baby. This person will also manage my content for the blog and newsletter. So, those will not slow either. I have scheduled a lot of good content for the Summer, so no worries, friend! I will be with you in spirit.

In addition, My husband will be taking a total of 6 weeks off for Paternity leave, but we will be splitting it up. So, right after baby is born (side note: name is secret until his birth...get excited!), he will take 3 weeks off. And then he will take the second half of his Paternity leave in January. We can’t wait for that! I plan to fully take 3 weeks off and at after that point *hopefully* be at a place where we can make a plan for what life and work looks like with a newborn.

My parents live in town (praises!), so my Mom is able to help out two afternoons a week. Our tentative plan is for her to watch him two afternoons while I work and then figure out how many hours I need to work beyond that. Who knows, I might not want to work more than that.

Our biggest plan is to plan as we go.

We know that parenting is hard and ever-changing, so because of that, we aren’t holding onto any “plans” very tightly. We have some ideas of what we want to do, but we are also completely willing to adjust as needed. Prayers appreciated.

In addition, we have an incredible support system in town and know that we will have friends who are willing to help as we make the transition into parenthood (and my transition into Mama AND biz owner). We couldn’t be more thankful for that!

Moral of the story? We are gonna go with the flow and trust that God will guide us every step of the way. I tell ya, parenting is no joke. Talk about dealing with control issues. But, that’s a different post for a different day! :)

Are you a Mamapreneur? What's your advice for Maternity leave? Comment below!