How Becoming a Working Mom Has Changed Me

After years of reading about issues facing working mothers, at the beginning of April I became one myself. It’s not an easy job, working and raising a family. So with Mother’s Day this month, I starting thinking about how being a working mother has transformed the way I live and work.

Becoming a mom, and especially a working one, has made me a morning person, like it or not. I no longer just roll out of bed and go to work. I need to get another little person up, changed and out the door.

The work that goes along with motherhood, coupled with the demands of my job, can really tire me out -- now I understand Thad’s post about his exhaustion from a few years ago. It’s been important (and not easy) for me to put my pride aside and ask for help when I need it, whether it be from my husband, my mother-in-law or my own mom.

As every parent knows, raising a child is not a 9-to-5 job. When my son is up in the night, the next day at work can be difficult. I’ve learned to live on fractured sleep, naps when I can take them and caffeine.

Having a child has also changed the way I work. Knowing my workday could be pierced by a call saying my son is sick and needs to be picked up (it hasn’t happened yet, but it’s only a matter of time), I’ve learned to triage the tasks I can only do in the office first. It’s also made me more efficient time-wise -- not only do I work a compressed schedule, but I have a hard stop at the end of every day, since my son needs to be picked up.

Finally, and most importantly, I think becoming a mom, and particularly a working one, has put my career in balance and perspective for me. My job is still important, sure, but so is being there for my son. He’s one of the main reasons I work, after all.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms -- we all work, whether we have a job outside the home or not. And feel free to tell us about your experience of being a working mom in the comments below.

Share this post: Digg, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, Facebook, Twitter, etc.