The Mother of All Jobs: How to Have Children and a Career and Stay Sane(ish)

Synopsis

When Christine Armstrong Became A Mother, It Never Occurred To Her That She Would Want To Stop Work Or Even Work Part-time. But The Truth Is, Combining Work And Small Kids Is Hard. From The Broken Breast Pumps On Business Trips, To Hiding Chickenpox From The Nursery, To The Heartbreak When You Come Home And Realise Your Baby Smells Of The Childminder. When Christine Armstrong Tried It, She Found Herself Desolate With Misery. Determined To Make It Work, She Looked For Answers By Interviewing Other Working Mums And Found That She Wasn't Alone. These Are The Stories Of The Women Who Shared Everything (and We Mean, Everything) And What They Want You To Know. Introduction : The Parent Crunch -- Why I've Written This Book -- My Story -- I Love My Job But Is It Time I Settled Down And Thought About Kids? -- Wow, I Feel Like I've Totally Lost Control And Don't Know Who I Am Anymore -- Right, I Need To Get Back To Work -- I've Always Been Able To Cope With Everything, So Why Do My Kids Make Me So Crazy? -- How Come I Feel Lonely Even Though I'm Surrounded By People All The Time? -- Help, I Think I've Done A Crap Job Of Raising My Child -- Alpha/beta, The Pros And Cons Of Dads As Lead Parents -- The Alpha/alpha Couples -- Solo -- Why Does Dealing With School Turn Me Into A Child? -- Help, My Teenager Is Causing Problems -- What Do The Dads Think? -- The Questions People Ask Me -- Conclusions. Christine Armstrong. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.