It was back in 2008 that I found myself, at the age of 47—a published writer, former spokesperson for TV and radio, once well-known in my field—mopping up splattered spaghetti sauce from the kitchen floor and catching watermelon pop-ups,  while two small children took their best shot at killing each other from across the kitchen table.

As far as the business world was concerned, I’d hopped a flying egg-beater to Outer Mongolia and was forgotten with crushing ease and rapidity.

What had happened to my life?

Back to work today…those first sleepless nights when your baby arrives pass so slowly, and then you blink and it’s three months later. Coincidentally we are ready to launch the Cribsters.com website just as our own Cribster starts daycare.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, the focal point for so many of our stresses as working parents this year, has upped her company’s paid parental leave offerings. That’s great news for new moms- and dads-to-be at her company.

Indeed, during an interview on Good Morning America (which is a major content partner with Yahoo), More editor in chief Lesley Jane Seymour predicted that parents would be running to apply for jobs now at the ailing tech company because of this change.

Really?

Are you as annoyed by the so-called mommy wars as I am?

The press, and some mom bloggers, hated Marissa Mayer for her “tough” work-at-work policy.  They scoffed at Sheryl Sandberg's “class-biased” call to lean in to your ambition.  

Every time the press discusses Ms. Mayer or Ms. Sandberg they are compelled to include a conversation about class or feminism.

I often think about issues related to women in business.  However, the proverbial glass ceiling has been on my brain more than usual during the past few weeks.  When I graduated from college in the early 1990’s, there was talk about shattering the glass ceiling.  What’s amazing to me is the number of advancements that have been made since 1990.  Think about it!  Since then, the internet was created, the Human Genome Project was completed and the first cloned sheep (Dolly) was born.  Yet, during the same time the percentage of women CEOs in Fortune 500 companies

Regardless of how much you like your career and working or how much you want to stay home, most women struggle with their decision. After you do make the decision to work – despite your confidence level – you face every mom’s guilt that stems from the conversations in your own head and from what others say around you.

As a professional, when I got pregnant I realized for the first time that this playing field we call life isn't equal after all. It was a nasty lesson to learn - especially when all I wanted to do was be psyched about being a new mom. Instead I found myself having to combat the perception that I would be less committed to my career and my clients and in fact lots of folks wondered if I'd throw in the towel altogether and stay home after the baby was born. Weird, huh?

By now you have heard about Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s new book Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.  Love or hate the book, it is wonderful we have a national dialogue about working women!  Rather than focusing on leaning in for the duration of my 700 or so words here, I’d like to stress the importance of leaning on.

When returning to work, in addition to finding the right JOB, it is important to seek the right COMPANY.  And that means ensuring a cultural fit.  A cultural fit means both you and your company share the same values.  This could include career advancement, challenging work, flexible work arrangements, community involvement, etc.

The minute you find out you’re pregnant, most women smile, get excited, share the news with their partners and then think about when to tell people and who to tell first. Some women wait until eight weeks or 12 or 18 and usually close family members and friends are the first to hear the news. Women usually want to wait for a few reasons. Some are superstitious and others want to make sure they have a healthy pregnancy.