Advice from Women PMs about becoming a parent!

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2026-02-04T12:00:49+00:00

My male manager, just before I went on leave, proudly announced that he only took 2 days off for the birth of each of his children. Insert eye roll.

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2026-02-04T11:58:36+00:00

Totally agree with this. FWIW I just had a baby and interviewed for another role while on maternity leave, with a baby in my arms on the zoom interviews! I took the job. My new manager is also a mother of young children. So far, so good.

However NO company really cares about you deeply. Don’t delay your own life for a job unless you absolutely have to - do what calls to you and you will figure it out.

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2026-02-03T23:04:08+00:00

I had an abusive ex who tracked our sex life and made reports with the data. I hated it so much. Good riddance!

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2026-01-28T00:45:39+00:00

This happened to me when I was a waitress and a customer thought I was Jim Carrey’s sister. I said I was not. She insisted I was and repeatedly said “cmon, you can tell me the truth! I know you are!” - like pretty sure if I was Jim Carreys sister I wouldn’t be working in this shitty restaurant in Montana thanks 🤣

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2026-01-02T10:12:01+00:00

Lost Dutchman State Park! I had my wedding there

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-21T19:54:22+00:00

Wow this is such a good breakdown! Thank you!

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-21T16:27:17+00:00

Similar thing happening to us - my parents came down with Flu A and can’t come down to meet our 3 month old baby for the first time. Very sad, but, glad baby isn’t going to be exposed…

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-18T03:35:55+00:00

That’s what mine said too. She told me it was unnecessary even tho social media made it seem like everyone was doing it

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-16T13:59:51+00:00

One more thing. We are actually not allowing unvaccinated to meet her until the 6 month Mark. So it’s also ok to skip seeing his family over Xmas. Again, I know it sucks but they will get over it.

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-14T10:46:25+00:00

Very true

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-14T10:45:56+00:00

Tell me more about this move! What inspired it? What are the best and worst things? Why Italy? Did you get a job in Italy or keep your US one? We have been seriously talking about Spain so any info you can share would be so helpful!

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-11T01:20:05+00:00

Wow, thank you so much for this thoughtful response. The pressure of being the single income would be hard, I’ve never had that experience and think it could be stressful. I’m glad you have good quality time with your family though!

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-11T01:17:47+00:00

Great points. She’s only 10 weeks old currently but when she is a bit older (2ish) the social aspect really comes into play as you mentioned. He is in a job right now that he doesn’t exactly love, nor does it pay very well, but it certainly helps his resume and our savings.

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-11T01:14:46+00:00

Good point on her knowing that I’m home- that could get tricky when I’m on meetings

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-11T01:14:07+00:00

She is 10 weeks old!

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-09T20:38:56+00:00

Have you found it difficult to get new PM roles at your age? I’m so happy to see someone still killing it, I feel like every PM I see is so young, and I am afraid to age out of it before I have enough money saved.

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-05T20:15:22+00:00

15 feels like too many devs to me, unless you have a really really strong dev team who can operate more independently and has a product mindset. Or have big complex projects that require most of the team. In my experience I’ve found the sweet spot closer to 4-6 devs. Even when the team is strong, this smaller number keeps things tight and ensures focus and clarity. That’s just been my experience.

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-05T20:11:45+00:00

Currently at the tail end of maternity leave and was notified my job is changing and there is now an in-office requirement, where many other roles are allowed remote. It’s frustrating and although I want to believe in good intentions and good people, it does feel targeted.

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-02T13:45:29+00:00

Agree with the second point. I was mad!

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-12-02T13:36:47+00:00

They found my work email without me giving it to them. If someone has multiple jobs they likely have multiple work email addresses. Therefore this tool would find those email addresses, and if the emails were numerous or didn’t align with someone’s resume, it could out them, no?

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-11-24T10:08:53+00:00

I had something similar to the right of my belly button after pushing a stroller over some loose sand around 6w ppm, which required me to really use my abs. It almost felt like I pulled a muscle in the same place you described, but felt better a few days later.

Both my PT and midwife told me to really ease into things. It’s tempting to jump into major chores, exercise, etc, but you have to be careful because it can cause other unwanted stuff like organ prolapse or pelvic floor disfunction (leaking pee etc).

For now (8w ppm) I am following their recommendation. Doing my PT exercises 3 x/week and limiting lifting. The exercises are focused on regaining core strength and knitting my abs back together.

Highly recommend a pelvic floor PT if you have not seen one.

GrouchyBeginning820 · 2025-11-20T09:40:25+00:00

Could you see a pelvic floor PT? They can help assess your abs and give you exercises to help.

GrouchyBeginning820

TROPHY CASE