people in my businesses know who to turn to if they
have a problem and our clients know who to contact
when I'm unavailable. I chose to tell them early in my
pregnancy so we had plenty of time to get organised.
transitioning into the journey of parenting is all about
fl exibility. "It's helpful to be able to create the fl ex-
ibility to choose exactly when you start your mater-
nity leave, when you return to work, and what hours
you work when you do return", Benveniste says. "You
won't always know the best arrange-
ments before your baby arrives so
having options is useful".
work or are you exhausted and over
it? When your baby arrives, are you
completely smitten and don't want to
leave her side or do you crave using
your work brain? When returning to
work, do you have good affordable
childcare, can you negotiate differ-
ent start and fi nish times, or can you
work some hours from home?
doing. But if you tune into your needs
and your baby's needs, you'll soon
work out what works best for you and
your family."
try not to be too hard on yourself
and really enjoy this time they say
you can't get it back, unlike the 4am
emails that will always be there!
Chick gave birth calmly and
peacefully at home to a
beautiful baby girl, Milla Isaacs
on May the 5th. Congratulations
Em and Rowan!
offers to help, smile and accept their offer
it's not a sign of weakness on your behalf.
arrives, allocate time to `baby only days'.
This may mean meditating on the type of
birth experience you want, shopping for
essential items, practising pre-natal yoga,
reading books, watching positive birth
videos switch off the phone and laptop!
Honour this and treat yourself to time
alone, and time spent on pampering a
facial, massage or pedicure can do the
world of good to keep you relaxed.
your needs and be fi rm with what you're
hoping to achieve.
the birth. While only 5% of babies arrive on
their due dates, it's a blessing to be able to
prepare for this change and give yourself
the space to do all you'd like before the
little bundle arrives.