I made a big pitch at work yesterday. The details are still being ironed out, but the purpose was to make adjustments in my current position that would allow me to be spend more time at home with a new baby while maintaining a high level of performance at work.

As with all negotiations, you don't get everything you want, but you learn to give up what's not essential in order to hold onto what is. And I'm still optimistic that my boss and I will agree on an arrangement will work out well for me and for the company.

What I didn't anticipate are the emotions that came with this process. This is the first significant and tangible change I've made in my life to prepare for someone I haven't yet met (with the exception of her little feet inside my body). Sure we have the stroller and all this furniture and I've gained a lot of weight, but this is different. After all these years of b-school and the rat race, to release the reigns of something that I created and own is a bitter pill to swallow. The hubs sweetly reminded me last night that I'm just making some room for my *new* job, which is just as important and will be just as rewarding.

In any case, this experience has taught me that my identity cannot be rooted in what I do professionally, or even who I am as a mom. I hope that as I go down this journey, my self-assurance in that will be stronger.