by Parenting isn’t easy by any means.
New parents often find themselves exhausted and running out of steam after they attempt to live their everyday lives, keep their homes in order, perform well at work, and raise their children all at once.
For Melody Jett Blackwell, this is something difficult to balance.
That’s why after her maternity leave, she was granted permission to work from home so she could care for her daughter, Nora-Jo.
Still, Melody knew it wouldn’t be long before returning to work in person became a reality.
The good news is that Melody’s boss agreed to let her bring her little baby into work with her when the time came, since she was still breastfeeding.
She would also be allowed to take extra breaks to care for her baby.
Eventually, Maryland Farms Chiropractic, which is where Melody works, had busy days that needed her labor.
So when she headed back to her workplace, her daughter was in tow, and she could multitask, completing her daily work while also ensuring her child was well-looked after.
In a rare moment of quiet and peace, Melody sat down in an office chair to catch her breath and gently cradled Nora-Jo, placing the newborn baby over her stomach and softly bonding with her.
Her boss walked in on the scene, and what she did next completely changed Melody’s tired mood!
Melody’s boss snapped a picture of the two enjoying their relaxing, sweet familial moment.
With Melody’s consent, her boss decided to share the picture on the business’ page on Facebook.
They just thought it was a cute, loving picture that would be enjoyed by their followers and was just nice to share.
They had no idea how much it was going to blow up!
The caption on the photo highlighted the difficulty of being both a parent and a full-time worker, offering a refreshingly honest look into the life of a mother.
Something many people manage to make look “easy” while struggling through tiredness and commitments every day.
The caption asked followers to share the image and spread awareness to businesses of all kinds that working parents can be allowed to do both at once, instead of sacrificing their new children to their jobs or vice versa.
Finally, the caption finished by asking other working mothers to share pictures of themselves and their children at work with the hashtag #WorkinMamas.
Melody’s boss’ goal was to start a conversation regarding babies and young children being allowed in the workplace, and she succeeded at a larger scale than expected.
It wasn’t long before the post by the Brentwood, Tennessee business gained traction and attention from countless people across the platform.
Working mothers were chiming in from all around the world.
Melody and her boss know that not all work environments are suitable for this kind of initiative, but where it can be done, it’s not a bad idea to offer that flexibility.
It can help ease daycare costs and allows parents to continue to work at offices instead of at home – all good things, in Melody’s opinion, and completely possible!
