What I Learned on Maternity Leave

My husband and I welcomed a little girl into the world over the holidays and it’s been a whirlwind since. I’ve learned to swaddle, what her cries mean (mostly) and a few things that will help me back on the job

When you fail, stay focused 

Failing fast with a newborn is not a choice especially for a first-time mom. When you fail it’s easy to get stuck, so you have to continue to work the problem and get some outside perspective.

What works today won’t work for long 

What calmed her one week didn’t work the next. Customers aren’t any different, their expectations change and you need to keep up with them.

Prioritizing ruthlessly is a must

Driving my husband to the metro each morning would put her to sleep for a good hour and a half to two hours. Her morning nap is the most reliable one of the day so I made sure to tackle the “must do” tasks of the day then. “Should do” tasks would go in the next nap if possible and “nice to have” tasks after that. Only a few tasks would fit in each nap so I had to be choosy.

It’s no different than planning a development effort, there are a lot of things the team wants to to but you have to prioritize ruthlessly based on the business objectives you want to achieve.

There is an app for everything 

How did people raise children before smartphones? I can track feeds and diapers, play white noise, video chat with far away relatives and make myself crazy with advice from the internet.

My family, friends  and co-workers are awesome

This one I knew, but it was definitely confirmed. I’m one lucky mom.

Image: Part of the Ed Emberley inspired mural I painted for our nursery