My personal story...

This week we celebrate the World Breastfeeding Week. I have been trying to balance breastfeeding and working on my projects for a few months now. Here, I want to share my very personal story about "work-milk-balance" and what I have learned so far, hoping to give strength to other women who are currently struggling with the balance. You are not alone!

YOU DEFINE WHAT IS THE RIGHT BALANCE FOR YOU.

I always knew that I wanted to combine care work with my professional work and personal development. This was never up for discussion. Although many (!) people - who obviously know me better ;) - told me "oh, you will not want to go back to work once you have your baby". I think it is a very personal topic. Everyone is different and that is totally ok. I enjoy my work even though I had a baby.

If you want to breastfeed, that's ok.

If you do not want to breastfeed, that's ok.

If you want to breastfeed and work, that's ok.

Whatever your choice is, that's ok. And if you change your mind, that's also ok.

IT IS CHALLENGING...

Babies go through their growth spurts, have their ups and downs. Every day can be different. Some days I struggled a lot and some days I was extremely productive. Sometimes I doubted that I would be able to complete any of my projects. I learned not to expect anything and not to define any specific goals for each single day. I struggled with being interrupted multiple times, what's very time-consuming.

Especially in the beginning, I was breastfeeding a lot. So I decided to try working on my laptop and breastfeeding at the same time. The baby on one pillow and the laptop on the other. It worked! I am sure there will be some critics in the comments section throwing tomatoes in my direction. I am just describing what worked for us.

I am also very lucky to have an extremely supportive partner on my side, going with me though all the ups and downs.

...BUT YOU CAN MAKE IT WORK.

At the end of my pregnancy and right after giving birth, I committed myself to a few projects. This was my personal and conscious decision.

This is not the typical linkedin "I'm thrilled to report..." phrase. I AM REALLY PROUD that I have managed to accomplish a few projects while literally breastfeeding. So far I have:

- finished my rather intensive coaching training at the Kingmakers Poland Academy. Thank you Tomasz Sławiński and Katarzyna Mętlak for being so inclusive! Thank you to all the participants for being so understanding and supportive! I remember how shocked Tomek was when we had our first coaching call not even 24h after I gave birth. ;)

- completed a book chapter for Hanser Verlag . Thank you Bernd Preuschoff & Prof. Dr. Michael Lang for inviting me to this project. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts on digital transformation. Btw, the book is now available. Follow the link if you are curious.

- prepared and delivered a TEDx talk @ TEDxESMTBerlin on leadership and change management just three months after giving birth. The talk was very much inspired by the growth spurts and care work. If you are interested, please follow the link. Thank you Benedetta Mariani , Michael Knoer , Christian Daniel Flossbach Lucas , Andrea Rocco , Massimiliano Franco for inviting me and making this all possible.

All that while literally breastfeeding. Sometimes I still wonder how I did it. ;)

WHY

It is extremely fulfilling for me to have this kind of balance between care work, professional work and personal development. Happy parents, happy baby. Do what makes you happy. I decided to share this very personal story to inspire other women and give them some hope and strength if they are currently struggling with their balance. Whatever balance is right for you.

I am really grateful to see so many women sharing their stories about handling care work and professional work. Many of them inspired me a lot and gave me strength to go through the struggles. I am also more than happy to see initiatives like Unpaid Care Work , spreading the awareness about care work topics.

I would love to hear your stories on how you balance "work&milk". Feel free to share them to inspire others.

Picture: In the picture you can see my favorite, very inspiring and empowering nursing pad from the company moodie GbR (not an ad. I paid for it myself).

#carework #breastfeeding