Traveling for Work with a Newborn
The first time I travelled after the baby was born was my first week back at work. I took a day trip to Houston and that was ROUGH. I had never pumped on an airplane or an airport bathroom / pumping lounge. I mean, heck, I had barely pumped period! In addition, I was still so physically exhausted at 3 months postpartum, that travelling / pumping / working / getting home late at night was exhausting.
I share this experience to juxtapose it with the trip I took a couple of weeks ago, when I had a conference in Vegas. My babe is now 7 months old and everything was totally different. First of all, it was an overnight trip so it was my first night away from him. And can I let you in on a not-so-secret secret? A part of me was actually looking forward to it! Getting to sleep uninterrupted in a hotel room? Yes, please! [Of course there was plenty of #MomGuilt that came along with that but that’s a topic for another day…]
I was also privileged to get to speak at the conference. We recently won a large deal in the market and I got to talk about our success story with one of my colleagues.
Lessons Learned
I was gone for a day and a half and here’s what I learned:
-
I needed a break and I had to remind myself that it’s OK to need one and to take one. We had just moved, the baby was still getting over his cold, I was trying to work without my mom/nanny [who also got sick], and things were just a little more amplified than usual.
-
I felt like myself again. I texted my hubby from the hotel that I felt like the girl he met 5 years ago [but with so many more blessings for which to be grateful.]
-
I knew I had to figure out a way to slowly incorporate the things that made me feel like me back into my life. That includes working out, getting my hair done, mani/pedis, etc. With a baby, it’s so easy to follow their schedule and put yourself on the back burner. But when I had some time alone, I realized how much I needed to do these things in order to also take care of myself.
Now that I’ve been back from that trip for a couple of weeks, I can report that I have by no means been able to do all of these things. But I have made progress and that’s what I’m striving for! Doing a little something each day for myself, whether that’s a 10 minute dumbbell workout or washing and moisturizing my face. Ha!
Progress, not Perfection
Here are my recent accomplishments:
-
I went to a wedding where I was a bridesmaid and I made a commitment to pump during the wedding events so that I could be there for my girlfriend and also spend time with my college friends who I don’t get to see very often.
-
This weekend I worked out twice! The first workout, I went for a walk/run and it started to rain 5 minutes in so it only lasted about 10 min. But I’m counting it! The second workout was my first time in the gym since giving birth. #BabySteps
-
I got a pedicure! If you follow me on instastories, you know all about it and that it took planning and coordination with the hubs. But how worth it, it was!
I share these [what I consider] accomplishments to encourage you to try and make some time for yourself, regardless of what you have going on (i.e. work, family, etc.). I also hope it gives you support in knowing that if you’re struggling to find time to work out or just wash your face, you’re not alone. It’s important that we champion each other along the way. It’s so easy to see the instagram highlight reels of other people’s lives and to feel like everyone else has it so much more together than you do. However at the end of the day, we’re all just doing our best and taking it one day at a time.
Lots of love!!
