Mommy CEO - What You're Worth Part II

For a woman, giving birth is a major life changing event. In addition to having to wobble around on water balloon ankles for 10 months and watching your body do the "exorcist", being a working mom only adds to your challenges. 6 weeks in and you're shoving your baby into the arms of a stranger so you can clock in and sit behind a desk for eight plus hours...

Option one, you get 6 weeks of paid time off for maternity leave, but wait...you have to use up all of your sick and vacation days first (we know when you get back you may still feel like your uterus is falling out, but hey you can sit the whole day and work)...feel free to stay off longer if you like, we'll even give you up to three months off! But get this, we're not going to pay you for that. We know you just had a baby, and the costs of raising a child and childcare is likely to be double your salary, but hey if you want to spend more time with the little person over there who relies on you to live, then by all means exercise your options...

This is what most working moms in 2011 are left with. Most of whom are surprised and caught off guard with their employers work/life and maternity policy, because it's not something they thought about when accepting the position. I sure didn't. After having my little one, I was back to work when he was only 6 weeks old. In addition to being a new mom who was nervous about everything, I had to stomach the anxiety of leaving my 6 week old with strangers for 8-10 hrs a day, while I went back to work. Luckily I had family that helped me out and kept him so the blow wouldn't be as hard. But as the days and weeks back at work went on. I got more and more angry about the blatant insensitivity my employer had for working mothers. Not only is the maternity leave package unacceptable, but there are no work-life incentives, or child care support on site. There are no salary kick backs to help out with costs associated for childcare and most departments offer no flexibility with work schedules. The typical distribution of time for a working mom is that we our children will spend up to 12 hours/day in childcare and 8 hours sleeping at night, that leaves us with a whopping 4 hours a day to indulge in the joys of motherhood!

Option two...because we love options, is to leave your job and career and become a stay at home mom. This would be great, right. Screw the four years in undergrad, 3 yrs in grad school, countless jobs and internships and hours you put in to get where you are, oh and let;s not forget the hundred/thousands of dollars in school loans you've accumulated exercising your right to an education. Let's not forget to mention if you opt for this option you may as well sell the home you live in, because you won't be able to afford in, and yeah trade your car in too while you're at it. With this option you are not only diminishing the quality of life for you and your child, but you are selling yourself and your child short and not leading by example showing your child that hard work can reap some rewards. Look on the bright side, with this option, you will be eligible for a link card, WIC and hey probably even section 8! If you are one of those mothers that have the option and luxury to be a Stay at Home mom and not have to sacrifice financially then you are one of the blessed ones. The time mothers get to bond with their child is precious. I often get depressed when I have to rush in one or two coos and tickles to my baby in the morning as we're rushing out the door. To only have those few seconds to see him smile is unfair.

So, now what. I ask myself what do I need to do to change my situation? I can bitch and moan about it and miss 125,896 more hours of smiling with my little one, or develop a plan to improve my situation. If you're like me, a working mom and you NEED more smiles and time with you baby, here are some things I came up with:

- Meet with your boss and have him acknowledge the addition to your family and life. No need to go into detail or get too personal, but propose to him that you'd like him/her to consider some work-life balance options given your new 'situation". Perhaps you'd like to work from home one day a week, or work a shorter week with longer hours, or when you have to work weekends to be able to take a day off during the week in its place. Whatever you feel like is going to make your situation better. Give your boss some time to think about it, make sure you also give them more than one option so they don't feel trapped, one may work better for the organization than the other. If you don't get a response in a few weeks, then revisit it with them. If you don't get through to them present your case to your HR department with a plan on how your proposal will enable you to continue to provide the level of service expected.

- Find another gig! Research companies that have good work-life balance options and apply.

- Become a mommy CEO! What better time than now to become your own boss, set your own work-life balances! dust that business plan off and submit it, what's the worse that can happen. Being your own boss will enable you to create your own schedule and spend as much time with your child as you like!

Being a mommy CEO or working mommy is not easy, and being a Single working mommy is even more difficult. do you all know how incredible women are? Carrying a child, giving birth, and working 40 plus hours a week and raising a child on her own...that's invaluable and should not be taken for granted. It's hard! Ask them! It is the twenty first century and more women are still forging ahead in their careers and playing the role of Superwoman with smiles on their faces. You can indeed be a CEO and a phenomenal money, you just have to demand the means to be providing with the resources and flexibility to do so!

It's Saturday morning and my 6th day at work, as I sit here and write this I am thinking of all of the other things I could be doing....with my little silly billy. But instead I'm sitting in my office, behind the desk working overtime and not getting paid for it because I'm on salary...No worries,I did not come this far to be complacent, I will find a way to make things work for me and my little one....as we mommies always do - making a way out of no way, right?