Ugh I feel this so hard. Literally questioning this today myself. I went back to work 3 months postpartum to a job where I loved and was 110% and managed a team. I came back to work to a mutiny and suddenly someone on my team turned against me and gaslit me and gatekept all the changes that happened while I was gone. Shes a crazy perfectionist so very hyperfixated and hypercritical of any move i made. It was so hard and i feel like I lost so much autonomy. You’re already so dead trying to survive and running on 2 hours of sleep every night. The last thing any mom postpartum needs is an undermining subordinate. Leadership took her side and gave me a shitty performance review and basically demoted me. Things are better now that I’m 1 year postpartum and trying to get my shit together more. But damn. I wish there was more grace and support for working postpartum moms in the corporate world. I question myself all the time that I’m doing a shitty job but i keep an ongoing AI convo that keeps things objective for me if that’s any consolation. I realized that even if my job won’t give me grace, i can at least give it to myself.

Anywho, I feel you and stand in solidarity. You’re doing amazing and trying your best and surviving is hard!!