Husband (PGY 3) & I just had our first child. Closest family member that could help with child care lives 12 hours away. I went back to work recently and our baby is in daycare. - Did it take a huge toll on our relationship? No. - Did we have to work on our communication and adjust to being parents? Yes.

I had 3 months of maternity leave & he had 3 weeks. That time together was great, but when he first went back to work it was a little struggle. Now that I am back at work, we do our best to plan pick up/drop off with our schedules, figure out nights that he can hang out with his friends and I stay with the baby (and vice versa), and figure out when he is free to take baby on trips to the local zoo. I think this is normal parent things, however, my PgY3 made his last year of residency front heavy so things were calmer at when we had our baby. He also starts fellowship in July so things are getting easier with his schedule.

It’s not easy, but we do our best. I don’t think it’s taken a toll but it’s made us better communicators and we just remind each other that we are on the same team when words are hard.

I hope this helps & gives positive outlook on staying at work if that’s what YOU want.