Returning to work with your new baby
When a baby is born, the world stands still, just for these first moments, while we become enchanted by this precious new life.
At the same time, young parents have a lot to get on with – changing nappies, feeding the baby, discovering new sleep routines – and everyday life has to be reorganised and adjusted. Between all of the baby’s needs, household chores need doing, food needs to be made, appointments need to be kept. And yet, we parents are also allowed to have our own needs amongst the chaos, too.
More and more parents want to, and need to, stay in touch with their professional life after their baby is born, balancing family and career. Some also decide to learn something new during their parental leave and lay the foundations for a new career path. We at DIDYMOS know a lot about this – this is how our company came to be, too.
Combining a new life with a child with work responsibilities seems difficult for many parents at first, so we have put together some tips.
A gentle start
In our increasingly complex working world, it is becoming more and more important to keep up to date and stay in touch with your job.
Flexible working hours, working from home and part time working during parental leave offer new opportunities to continue working during babyhood. It is also possible for partners to split their time in order to create free space for the other parent.
Working while your baby is with you
Our youngest children in particular have a great need for closeness and physical contact and are often happy to simply be snuggled up close in everyday life.
That's why it's good to work with your baby in a DIDYMOS sling or a DIDYMOS baby carrier at your desk or while moving around. Depending on the task and the size of the baby, it can be helpful to carry your child on your back.
Plan breaks
If your baby is with you at work, you should not schedule your work routine too strictly, instead plan on adding in breaks. This way you can satisfy hunger and other needs in peace and quiet and continue working without stress.
If you are lucky, you will also be able to work for longer periods at a time while your baby sleeps peacefully.
Involve help
It is always important to avoid caring for your baby alone where possible. Help can come from your partner, but grandparents or other friends and family can also become close caregivers for your baby.
If you are breastfeeding your baby, the carer can bring him or her to you if necessary. Alternatively, it is possible to feed pumped milk from a bottle or a small cup if you have a longer appointment.
Always remember that there are only a few months when your baby drinks milk exclusively. The older he or she gets, the longer he or she will stay without your milk.
Your baby can build up a relationship with new people in a short time, for example, with the help of a baby carrier. You can find out more about carrying and bonding here.
If you carry a lot yourself in a DIDYMOS sling, but the person looking after you is not confident enough to do so, then a baby carrier such as our DidyKlick or DidySnap can be a good alternative. You can find support from us or a babywearing consultant near you.
Strengthening your bond
Our children seek protection and security with their caregivers and maintaining and strengthening your secure bond is possible even if you are not always immediately available.
Consciously schedule reconnection time for you and your baby. During this time you can, for example, play, breastfeed, read, or go for a walk in your baby carrier.
The family bed also provides a lot of closeness and security if everyone likes it.
Babies are welcome guests in the DIDYMOS team and the team is happy to borrow a baby from a colleague from time to time. We hope that this kind of support for parents will become more and more widespread.
No matter when you go back to work, we hope for your every success.
We wish you a lot of strength and courage in your new family life, but also a lot of joy, love, and cuddles! 
This blog post is by Christina Riffi