You planned to go back to work after you had your baby. But now you’re staring down the end of your maternity leave and you’re torn. You don’t want to leave your new baby, but you don’t want to lose your job, either. Here are ways to negotiate a work from home agreement with your boss.

Give advanced notice. Your boss is expecting you to come back after your maternity leave, so don’t spring the news on her the night before you’re supposed to be back in the office. Call her at least a week or two before in advance and let her know what’s going on. That way, she won’t be caught off-guard, and you’ll both have time to figure out your new work arrangement without creating a disruption in the office’s workflow.

Do your research. Ask around to see if other employees have successfully negotiated a flexible schedule. Find out how they did it to ensure your own success when you meet with your boss. Then go over every aspect of your current position and determine what parts of your job can be done remotely. Create a list of your job duties with those responsibilities highlighted so your boss can review it along with you.

Hold your emotions. Sure, you love your baby, but you don’t want to be known as a blubbering basket case. While it may soften some bosses, big tears and dramatics can irritate others. So when you meet with your boss (and yes, you should have this meeting in person, not over the phone), don’t use your tears as a bargaining chip. Instead, stay calm and try to be as professional as possible during your meeting. Even if she empathizes with your situation, your boss is still ultimately responsible for keeping the company afloat and will need your help in doing so.  

Offer options. If you’ve always worked in the office, it can be a tricky (and traumatic) transition for your department if you’re suddenly MIA and working from home full-time. Even if that’s your ultimate goal, be prepared to negotiate—and above all, be flexible. You may have to work a couple of days a week in the office, but be allowed to telecommute the other days. Negotiations are rarely all-or-nothing, so have several back-up plans at the ready in case your boss shoots down some of your ideas.

Offer accessibility. One of the biggest (and irrational) fears of some bosses who have telecommuting employees is that they won’t be able to find them when they need them—or won’t know what they’re doing. So remove any doubt from your boss’ head. Once you start to work from home, keep your calendar available for all to see, and update your boss if you need to take your baby to a mid-morning doctor’s appointment. Meeting your deadlines and responding promptly to emails will also show to your coworkers—and your boss—that you are actually working from home.

Getting a flexible schedule after your maternity leave is easier than you might think. Be professional—and prepared—and you can keep your job and score a better worklife balance, too.

Jennifer Parris writes about career topics for FlexJobs.com. Working Mother Media and FlexJobs have partnered to help workingmother.com readers find flexible work solutions – such as telecommuting, freelance, part-time and flexible schedule jobs –  for themselves. Learn more here.