First week back at work after paternity leave - I miss my daughter so much

Dec 261 min read

Took 2 weeks off when our daughter was born in March. Got back to the office yesterday after finishing my parental leave and man... the office feels so empty and pointless now. I kept checking my phone to see updates/photos from my wife. She sent me a video of Ellie (that's our daughter, 8 weeks old) smiling and I just sat at my desk for like 10 minutes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be back with adults and doing actual work again, but the mental shift is weird. Anyone else feel this? My coworkers keep asking how fatherhood is and I don't even know what to say. How do you all balance this feeling?

4 comments344 views

Comments(4)

CCliff B.RegularDec 27

Dude that feeling is real. The first week back was the hardest for me. Two things that helped: (1) I set a rule that I'd check a photo of my daughter once at lunch and once mid-afternoon - gave me something to look forward to instead of just constant phone checking, and (2) my wife and I started doing a 6pm pickup/cuddle routine where I literally just held her for 15 minutes before dinner. Made the in-between hours feel less pointless.

WWade T.New DadDec 27

this hits so hard. The "pointless office" feeling is real when you've just spent two weeks with a newborn. It gets better around week 3-4 when you find a new rhythm, but those first couple weeks are rough. Hang in there.

AAllen K.RegularDec 28

The phone checking thing is so real. I was doing it every 5 minutes the first week back. Pro tip: stop. It makes it worse. But also it's completely normal - you're not weird for missing her.

BBen D.RegularDec 29

March baby gang. I remember coming back in early June and just... the fluorescent lights felt wrong. Everything felt wrong. Two months in now though and I've found a balance. You will too. The intensity of that feeling does fade, even though the missing her doesn't.