Essential Boundaries for the EXPECTING Work from Home Mom

Ok, remember Rihanna during the halftime show of the Super Bowl this year?

Her high-energy performance, marketing her own brand, a baby backstage, pregnant with her 2nd…?! Can we all say Feminine Goddess?

But while watching her perform I couldn’t help thinking WOW! How is this even possible? I don’t know about you, but I didn’t even want to leave my bed during my 2nd trimester, let alone perform in front of MILLIONS of people. While yeah, it was undeniably amazing, it also is not every woman’s reality.  

It’s easy to head into pregnancy thinking you’ll be a Ri-Ri. Doing it all, feeling great, looking amazing. But reality is, pregnancy can really knock you on your ass and quite frankly every woman and every pregnancy is so different! And in order to keep you and your baby safe and healthy, it's a super important time to listen to your body and set boundaries when needed, And that INCLUDES when you are a Work from Home Mom (or an Expecting WFHM).

So how do we set boundaries knowing our time is limited before the baby arrives? Follow these 5 simple steps!

Step 1: ACCEPTANCE

Before putting boundaries in place, you need to ACCEPT your reality. 

So what if sweatpants and potato chips speak to you more than the cute maternity clothes and a healthy salad during pregnancy. Accept it for what it is! And then adapt. This most definitely can be easier said than done, ESPECIALLY when it comes to work. 

Don’t go into it thinking that it’s going to be rainbows and butterflies NOR that it is going to be 9 months of pure hell. Limit your expectations and really just let the pregnancy flow. And most importantly listen to your body! If you're tired, rest. If you’re hungry, eat. If you feel like puking your brains out all day, stay in bed! Most importantly don’t beat yourself up. Just accept that this is your current situation and it won’t be forever. 

And if you are working from home, use it to your benefit! Stay in those sweats. Snack between business calls. Take your power nap in the comfort of your own bed! There are definitely some pros to working from home, especially while pregnant. So take advantage of your situation and make your pregnancy as comfortable as possible!

Step 2: ADAPT

Now that you’ve accepted that pregnancy is different for EVERYONE, it’s time to understand your pregnancy. When are you most likely to feel sick? When do you want to nap? What is causing you stress OR discomfort? 

And now, adapt. One super powerful way to set boundaries is through our schedules!  And many times as a WFHM, we have control over our schedules!  Do you have morning sickness every morning? Push your client appointments to 10am. Do you feel super sluggish mid-afternoon? Allow yourself a 3pm break to have a 30 minute power nap or a walk around the block to wake you up a bit.

Just by changing your daily routine to adjust to your new situation can be a major help! And lucky for many of us who work from home, we have the opportunity to create our own schedule.

Step 3: SPREAD OUT YOUR WORKLOAD

Ok, so you’ve adapted your daily schedule but now you need to analyze your weekly schedule. Take a few minutes on Monday morning to review your week. Do you have a super full Tuesday but a relatively laid-back Thursday? Switch some appointments around to make your week easier on you. 

This can apply to your long-term projects as well. Planning is key to knocking things off your pre-maternity leave checklist. Early on, sit down and look at your projects over the next year and really begin to prioritize. What can you start on now? Which will be the most time consuming? Break them down into smaller tasks and create deadlines/checklists. BUT REMEMBER- always give yourself grace. 

Arranging both your daily and weekly schedule might seem like common sense, but let’s get real… Us moms try to do it all! Typically at the expense of no one else but ourselves.  But doing it all, ESPECIALLY during pregnancy is not only exhausting, but also could be dangerous for both you and baby. Nobody will have a stress free pregnancy, but the less stress the better! And properly managing your schedule is a great way to limit stress.

Step 4: DELEGATE

This is the time to delegate tasks! It is especially important during pregnancy, because it’s a great way to prepare your team for your maternity leave. Start training and delegating during the 1st trimester so everyone is already into the swing of things come baby time. 

Are you flying solo? Well, maybe now is the time to hire a temporary virtual assistant. Share some of your workload now and keep your business operating after the baby arrives. 

Step 5: LEARN TO SAY NO 

Ok, read this aloud: NO! Now repeat it out loud 10 times and really let it set in. Is it hard to say? Quite frankly, yes. But now is the time to learn to say no. In the beginning when you were growing your business, maybe everything was a YES! But now you’re growing a baby…. So learn to say NO to your clients and YES to your well-being. If no seems too harsh for you, just remember, you can say no in many ways. 

Let’s say a new client reaches out, looking for your services. You kindly answer, “Thanks so much for reaching out! I would love to work with you, but at this time, I am not accepting new clients. I will most definitely reach out to you in the future when the situation changes.” Easy, right? Will you lose this client? Possibly. But it is better to lose a client by saying “no” rather than not being able to give the client the proper service due to being overworked and stressed during pregnancy. 

Another thing to note, you do not have to tell them WHY. If you feel comfortable stating you are not accepting new clients because you are preparing for maternity leave, go for it! But if you would rather keep your pregnancy on the down-low, that’s completely fine as well. 

MOST IMPORTANTLY, ONCE YOUR BOUNDARIES ARE IN PLACE STICK TO THEM!

For many of us, we feel the urge to overcompensate during pregnancy rather than listen to our body and put appropriate boundaries into place. The countdown before maternity leave begins and we try to do ALL THE THINGS to prepare us for the day our baby arrives. But there’s no better time than during pregnancy to set healthy boundaries!  

As a WFHM, you have a few advantages when it comes to putting those boundaries into place and sticking to them. So manage your schedules, delegate tasks, and learn to say NO! And most importantly… take time to listen to your body and enjoy your pregnancy!