This mommy is about to disrupt things once again, but this time, it’s my sleep routine. #RIP
ICYMI: I’m due with baby boy #2 this month. And though this may be my second pregnancy, it’s my first time navigating maternity leave while self-employed.
I had a crappy experience with maternity leave in a corporate environment right before the pandemic, then was welcomed back with a layoff just 5 weeks into my return. This ordeal left a bitter taste in my mouth for how companies and in-house teams handle all aspects of parental leave, and I’m not alone in that.
Exhibit A:
This time around, I’m looking forward to the flexibility of deciding my own leave time, level of disengagement, and slow ramp-up back to client work. But before I share a bit more about my plan for maternity leave, I’ll let you hear nuggets of wisdom from an actual parental-leave expert.
Parental leave: What the expert says
I spoke with co-founder and CEO Allison Whalen of Parentaly, a company focused on improving the parental leave experience for expectant parents and employers, about the most important considerations for parental leave planning. Parentaly is also my client, so I was thrilled for the chance to apply their work to my content.
Here’s what I asked Allison and her advice for parents when it comes to 1) flexibility and expectations, and 2) advice for self-employed workers (like me!):
Q: How do you feel parents can balance flexibility during leave while effectively managing expectations (of team/clients/stakeholders)?
Allison: “The key to flexibility is smart planning and proper expectation-setting. There are a few recommendations that we give to everyone:
Set expectations that you will be completely off the radar for at least 6-8 weeks postpartum.
Decide in advance what ‘topics’ actually constitute an emergency where your teammates can contact you after that initial period.
If you truly want to do some work while on parental leave, be thoughtful about how you structure that work and what others expect of you. Ideally, no one expects anything of you, but you have the freedom to opt-in to some work if you want to in the moment.
There is a huge difference between telling a client now that you will do something for them two months postpartum vs. realizing one month in that you actually feel great and would love to start doing a tiny bit of work in a month. We always encourage people to delay those decisions until they're actually in the moment and can make an informed decision.
Parents having their second or third child tend to have a better sense of what they will and will not want, but you really never know until you have the baby and know how you feel.
Try as best as you can to prioritize yourself in this experience, not your clients or coworkers. Everyone always overestimates how much their company needs them when in reality, people figure things out in your absence.
Remember: it's better for your team and clients to expect you to be OOO and plan accordingly than for you to promise to do something and then have to back out. So set the expectations early and often that you will not be working, and then if you realize you want to do work while on parental leave, you can figure that out at that time.”
Q: What's one piece of advice that stuck out to you when you were prepping/on leave when self-employed?
Allison: “I was told to be honest with my clients about my pregnancy and goals for parental leave because most people really do want to support new parents. If clients know your due date, they will respect your time and not ask for things nearly as much as if you try to hide these details.
A good OOO auto-reply is also helpful; share that you are on parental leave, when you plan to start working again, and how you will respond (if at all) until that date.”
Amazing stuff from Allison, right?!
Part of my work with Parentaly is writing the stories of parents who have navigated parental leave in companies like Google, Apple, Target, startups, and more.
Many of these Parent Profiles shed light on how much paid leave time, flexibility, and boundaries really matter. Whether you’re an expecting parent or are in management, there is a lot to learn from these stories (they’re easily skimmable, too).
BTS: how I’m planning for my self-employed maternity leave
I’m thankful for amazing clients, a helpful network, and a supportive husband that make this time off possible on my terms. Here’s how I’ve set myself up for a fulfilling maternity leave as a self-employed business owner.
Second trimester:
🤰I told my clients about my pregnancy with plenty of time to plan (mid-second trimester). All of them were excited and supportive (luv ya).
🗨️ I asked advice from smart people in my network who have done this before (like fellow veteran freelancing parents Kat Boogaard and Jessica Jonas). I’ve also learned so much from writing the Parentaly profiles.
🤱 I reflected on what I wanted out of my leave time and how long I wanted to take off. For me, I knew I wanted at least 2 months of no expectations.
Third trimester:
⚠️ I created a waiting list on my site’s inbound lead form with a set expectation that I will get in touch in the late spring.
✂️ I slimmed my client workload for the two months before my due date to give myself time to rest, plan for my business and post-leave return, and allow for flexibility if the baby makes an early debut.
📧 I sent clients an email with general expectations about my leave with the following details:
Maternity leave start date
Projects wrap-up date
Plan to be completely offline for 8 weeks
When to expect a check-in from me
CTA: ask for anything needed from me beforehand
Thanks for the support! 💋
I didn’t give any other specific expectations. I don’t know how long I need to heal, bond with the baby, and take a break from work (yes, it’s a privilege to be able to do this!)
When I return:
I have exciting things in store when I’m back in action (like a rebrand for my business 👀). Besides my own launch, I’m planning to contact current clients and new leads on my waiting list with expectations for my capacity, project focuses, and my latest rates.
Hint: I will be focusing more on parent-positive brands. Want to work with me later this year? Get on my waitlist here.
What was your parental leave like? I love hearing your stories or sharing advice from my own experiences. Hit me up in the comments or Twitter DMs.
Featured “disrupting” content
As a Wordle fan and victim to childcare closures, this made me LOL.
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