How this working mum is coping without her village during the coronavirus pandemic – ABC News

Six months after her son Benedict was born, Skye was looking forward to getting back to work.

Needless to say, the pandemic has thrown the project manager's best-laid plans into a spin but true to form, Skye and husband Jonathan have found a unique way to manage life.

We've been following Skye's journey into motherhood since she wrote to us about her parenting fears.

Last time we spoke, the 37-year-old Sydneysider was finding her feet after "baby blues", and going into work with her husband at the family business, Benny in tow, for a sense of normalcy.

A key part of what helped make motherhood work for Skye was her "village". As for so many new mums, social distancing has taken that away.

We spoke to Skye about working and caring for Benny (now eight months old) full time, and how the pandemic has changed their life.

She's one of many people ABC Life heard from during our series on being childfree by choice. And now she's a new mum, we're checking back in.

When Skye returned to work full time earlier in the year, child care for Benny was shared between her sister-in-law, parents and a nanny.

"It was working out really well.

"I did feel a bit weird [going back to work] because it felt like starting out again."

One of Skye's fears when we spoke to her before she gave birth was falling behind in the industry.

But she's really enjoying being back.

"It's something that's for me."

She also worried about the "crushing expectations" from society for mothers to be superheros.

Losing her village with social distancing has really put that to the test.

"That was a bit rough. The sister-in-law has to stay away and I can't be with my mum and dad.

"I remember being on the phone to my mum the night before and I was about to break out in tears."

The first day of working from home with Benny, Skye says she "cracked it".

"I was doing everything the caregiving, the cleaning, the laundry. It amplified those gender-specific tasks I had been trying to avoid [when becoming a mum]."

Her and Jonathan switched up the arrangement to instead share the family business office (which is currently empty), each having half a day there, while the other cares for Benny at home, doing as much work as they can.

"It's more about time management. I do some work while Benny is asleep at night," Skye says.

Skye is enjoying Benny more than ever as he becomes more interactive.

"Looking after him is actually quite fun, he's doing more wonderful things."

And while she describes her time with him sometimes like "looking after a drunk friend", it's the bonding time she loves the most.

"When I have him in my arms, it's a feeling of 'it's not about me, it's about him'. And that is a nice feeling."

She's also really loved seeing how much happiness Benny has brought other loved ones.

"Watching Mum and Dad be grandparents is amazing, and watching Jon's sister be an aunty, that's incredible.

"I would have missed that if he wasn't around."

The coronavirus crisis and climate change have left Skye feeling anxious about Benny's future.

"I'm definitely very sad about what sort of world I'm leaving to him," she says.

"There have been moments I've felt angry or depressed."

On the upside, she's loving their time together.

"Being able to adjust working flexibility and getting this time to reconnect that is a positive.

"I'm actually enjoying the time I'm getting with the little fella, which I wouldn't have gotten without the pandemic."

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How this working mum is coping without her village during the coronavirus pandemic - ABC News

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