Tips for Easing Back into Work After Maternity Leave and Startup Rebranding Challenges

Cameron Lund (Olshansky) · 2026-03-09T18:15:06.327Z

Hi everyone! So I feel like I've been MIA in the CMA community and the professional world in general - but I've been on maternity leave! Kind of off topic from customer marketing, but any tips from this lovely community on how to ease back in? In the last 3 months, my small startup completely rebranded with a new name, strategy, team, etc. and I feel so overwhelmed! Would love to hear from other moms how you navigated coming back - DM me or let's start a thread here? Can't wait to reconnect here!

12 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

Amanda Schulte
·
·
Congrats!! Take it one day at a time. Give yourself grace, it's hard. After each of my kids it took me a good few months to find my grove again. Especially in startups when things move so quickly. And you're so tired. You got this!
Erin Koerpel
·
·
Congratulations Cameron! I recommend: prioritizing your physical and mental health and your sleep. Aim to be a B or B- employee, rather than your A+ self....all of the extra credit will still be there when you're ready.
💯2
👆2
Perri Chaikof
·
·
congratulations!
1.
definitely adjust your expectations of yourself, give yourself some time to ramp back up - it takes time to reintegrate for sure
2.
when i came back from mat leave, i asked to go through onboarding as if i were a net new employee. scrappy start-ups change so quickly, going through onboarding as if you were a net new employee will give you a chance to reorient yourself and also potentially uncover some opportunities for your team to improve that process since you have some additional context backing you up
👍1
Anna Scarbrough
·
·
❤️ Thank you for starting this conversation. I'm easing back in from maternity leave myself and have returned to so much change. So just here to say you're not alone in how you're feeling. I'm right there with you!
♥️1
Cameron Lund (Olshansky)
·
·
I love all of this advice. Thank you all so much. Moms really are the best!!! It's crazy how much my brain doesn't feel like my own anymore, so I'll definitely need to level set on what that looks like for me in the workplace. I love the idea of being a B or B- employee. As much as I want to give my all, I physically and mentally don't think I can right now! It will definitely be a lesson for me in giving myself more grace too. Everything just feels so new to me right now.
🫶1
Christine Newman
·
·
Definitely give yourself grace and don’t be hard on yourself if you feel like you aren’t giving anyone your best at times (and take the advice to just aim for B/B-). My son is almost 5 and I still haven’t completely mastered the whole working mom thing—guilt is just a part of it (or it is for me at least). If I’m being completely honest, I was a mess the first few months coming back and I was just up front about that with my boss (thankfully also a mom and understanding). I did what I could, generally kept the wheels from completely falling off, but that was about it. I was probably squarely at C level for me. I had 14 weeks, so slightly more than three months, but that is not long enough for maternity leave. Your body/mind aren’t yet completely back to normal, your baby is changing and growing every day, and it’s also just exhausting to be a parent of an infant. There’s a reason why many countries give 6-12+ months for mat leave.
Cameron Lund (Olshansky)
·
·
The guilt is so so real. I'm really struggling with it. I don't know if it's helpful or hard to hear that it doesn't get better after 5 years, haha. I also had 14 weeks and it just wasn't enough time - for so many reasons. Thanks for all the support today, it's nice if anything to not feel as alone on a tough day like today
Christine Newman
·
·
The former CEO of Pepsi has some great interviews where she talks about how it’s impossible to do it all. Obviously she has access to resources to help her juggle it more than the average working mom, but I appreciate her honesty. https://youtu.be/rpOsdGSUp2U?si=Ec5zAVGDHR1XJ-PG https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDFSTgKJOQj/?igsh=bnpuYTFtZjZhYXIz
Christine Newman
·
·
Also, you won’t feel exactly as you do today forever. The challenges evolve, like in preschool trying to stay on top of all the theme days and doing at-home craft projects they tell you about two days before they are due. 😵‍💫
Cameron Lund (Olshansky)
·
·
Thank you for these!! And yes, I'm trusting that every moment in motherhood is fleeting and temporary. Trying to soak it all in
❤️4
Melissa Meyer
·
·
I was VERY fortunate to have 12 months off but the mom guilt still persists. It will feel weird and unnatural for a little while but then one day that feeling just changes. I won't say it goes away but it just become ok if that makes sense. I found a bit of solace in doing something I was familiar with vs all new things being a first-time mom. Thanks for starting this thread; its what makes this community oh so special 🤗
❤️2
Mere Crandell
·
·
Wanted to drop by and add something I wish someone would have told me when I was going through it a few years ago. If all this feels overwhelming, that’s because it is. If it all feels unnatural, that’s because it is. You are navigating something right now that we are not meant to navigate as mothers. You will only have so much time and energy to give every day and that’s 100% okay (that whole thing about not having the same brain you had is so real, btw!!) Just take it feeding by feeding and meeting by meeting, and try to remember that it’s just a moment in time. Congratulations and really hope this helps, even a little!! ❤️
❤️5

Amanda Schulte
·
·
Congrats!! Take it one day at a time. Give yourself grace, it's hard. After each of my kids it took me a good few months to find my grove again. Especially in startups when things move so quickly. And you're so tired. You got this!
Erin Koerpel
·
·
Congratulations Cameron! I recommend: prioritizing your physical and mental health and your sleep. Aim to be a B or B- employee, rather than your A+ self....all of the extra credit will still be there when you're ready.
💯2
👆2
Perri Chaikof
·
·
congratulations!
1.
definitely adjust your expectations of yourself, give yourself some time to ramp back up - it takes time to reintegrate for sure
2.
when i came back from mat leave, i asked to go through onboarding as if i were a net new employee. scrappy start-ups change so quickly, going through onboarding as if you were a net new employee will give you a chance to reorient yourself and also potentially uncover some opportunities for your team to improve that process since you have some additional context backing you up
👍1
Anna Scarbrough
·
·
❤️ Thank you for starting this conversation. I'm easing back in from maternity leave myself and have returned to so much change. So just here to say you're not alone in how you're feeling. I'm right there with you!
♥️1
Cameron Lund (Olshansky)
·
·
I love all of this advice. Thank you all so much. Moms really are the best!!! It's crazy how much my brain doesn't feel like my own anymore, so I'll definitely need to level set on what that looks like for me in the workplace. I love the idea of being a B or B- employee. As much as I want to give my all, I physically and mentally don't think I can right now! It will definitely be a lesson for me in giving myself more grace too. Everything just feels so new to me right now.
🫶1
Christine Newman
·
·
Definitely give yourself grace and don’t be hard on yourself if you feel like you aren’t giving anyone your best at times (and take the advice to just aim for B/B-). My son is almost 5 and I still haven’t completely mastered the whole working mom thing—guilt is just a part of it (or it is for me at least). If I’m being completely honest, I was a mess the first few months coming back and I was just up front about that with my boss (thankfully also a mom and understanding). I did what I could, generally kept the wheels from completely falling off, but that was about it. I was probably squarely at C level for me. I had 14 weeks, so slightly more than three months, but that is not long enough for maternity leave. Your body/mind aren’t yet completely back to normal, your baby is changing and growing every day, and it’s also just exhausting to be a parent of an infant. There’s a reason why many countries give 6-12+ months for mat leave.
Cameron Lund (Olshansky)
·
·
The guilt is so so real. I'm really struggling with it. I don't know if it's helpful or hard to hear that it doesn't get better after 5 years, haha. I also had 14 weeks and it just wasn't enough time - for so many reasons. Thanks for all the support today, it's nice if anything to not feel as alone on a tough day like today
Christine Newman
·
·
The former CEO of Pepsi has some great interviews where she talks about how it’s impossible to do it all. Obviously she has access to resources to help her juggle it more than the average working mom, but I appreciate her honesty. https://youtu.be/rpOsdGSUp2U?si=Ec5zAVGDHR1XJ-PG https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDFSTgKJOQj/?igsh=bnpuYTFtZjZhYXIz
Christine Newman
·
·
Also, you won’t feel exactly as you do today forever. The challenges evolve, like in preschool trying to stay on top of all the theme days and doing at-home craft projects they tell you about two days before they are due. 😵‍💫
Cameron Lund (Olshansky)
·
·
Thank you for these!! And yes, I'm trusting that every moment in motherhood is fleeting and temporary. Trying to soak it all in
❤️4
Melissa Meyer
·
·
I was VERY fortunate to have 12 months off but the mom guilt still persists. It will feel weird and unnatural for a little while but then one day that feeling just changes. I won't say it goes away but it just become ok if that makes sense. I found a bit of solace in doing something I was familiar with vs all new things being a first-time mom. Thanks for starting this thread; its what makes this community oh so special 🤗
❤️2
Mere Crandell
·
·
Wanted to drop by and add something I wish someone would have told me when I was going through it a few years ago. If all this feels overwhelming, that’s because it is. If it all feels unnatural, that’s because it is. You are navigating something right now that we are not meant to navigate as mothers. You will only have so much time and energy to give every day and that’s 100% okay (that whole thing about not having the same brain you had is so real, btw!!) Just take it feeding by feeding and meeting by meeting, and try to remember that it’s just a moment in time. Congratulations and really hope this helps, even a little!! ❤️
❤️5