A working mom's "rest"room

Contributed by Megan Reddick--Megan is mom of 10 month-old Cade and is expecting her second child in early February. A big concern for new moms is the work/family balance. Megan weighs in with her opinions on this issue.

I’ve been thinking, recently, about the pros and cons to being a working mother. There are the obvious pros: income, adult interaction, money, did I mention, cash? But I have recently realised a hidden pro, one much less talked about than the others. It is the toilet.

When I’m at work I have the luxury of going to the loo when I want. At home, it’s always a race to see how long I can hold it in, as the baby needs tending to, or dinner is at the critical stage of must-be-constantly-stirred. Also, there’s not the pressure of finishing up as quick as I can, before the baby is half-way up the stairs or knee-deep in newspaper. At work, there’s no baby who crawls in to “keep me company”. The toilet paper is never out and it’s often a quiet, zen-like space of porcelain and tile. However, the best thing of all about the workplace bathroom, is that it’s always clean! There are no moulding bath toys, nor hair clogged sinks; no soap scum countertops or dingy towels. Here at work, the bathrooms are cleaned every evening, and perhaps best of all, given the ratio of women to stalls, I get my own.

So, if you’re trying to make the difficult decision of whether to work or stay home with the kids, consider this one of the more weightier pros to the argument.

Calling all "expert" moms and dads

We're hoping for this blog to be a column by several "experienced" guests.

It's great having our questions answered, but we'd like to actually offer advice to expecting parents as well. This is where experienced parents come in.

Have breastfeeding advice? We'd love to share it.
Some great recommendations on ways to calm a fussy baby? Bring 'em on!
Parent of more than one child? How did the older adjust? Any tips to offer parents expecting their second or third or fourth or fifth?

Anything you'd like to share, we'd love to post it for other expecting parents to read.

Please email your thoughts to meredith721@hotmail.com.

Q&A with Expert Mom

For this first Mother Knows Best post, we decided to go to the best "expert" I know-- my mom. We sat down and I asked her some of the burning questions I had been curious about. I found her answers helpful, I hope you do too.

Question: Will I lose the weight?
Answer: Yes, but it will require strict discipline. You need to start an exercise program as soon as the doctor releases you to. You will probably lose an average of 15 pounds by the time you leave the hospital.

Q: How long will it take?
A: A minimum of eight weeks, hopefully not longer than 6 months.

Q: What does the baby feel like?
A: Not much movement that you would notice until the third trimester. And it’s like a pulling inside.

Q: Is it alright that I’m using pregnancy as an excuse not to clean?
A: Not really, until the last few weeks. Then it’s ok.

Q: Will breastfeeding be difficult?
A: As soon as you get close to your due date, you need to increase your liquid intake. This helps your milk come in. (This could be an old wive’s tale, but that’s what they told me after you were born. Which was too late. It took me three days for my milk to start producing.) You will be sore, initially, until you get used to the baby’s sucking.
And you will leak. Your breasts will be full and you will have to milk them or feed the baby. That will happen three to four times a day.

Q: Will I be in pain after delivery?
A: It’s not so much pain, but you will be very sore. Hopefully they still use Sitz baths, which will be soothing and help with the soreness. Of course you probably won’t have one of these at home. So take advantage while you’re in the hospital.
It’s like any surgery or illness. You need to get up and move as soon as you can.