Hi! Congrats!! I just returned from maternity leave in November, and before I left (July 4th) I spent several months creating how-to guides and an extensive spreadsheet on Smartsheets with daily tasks to be completed. I have a part time admin here who was approved for a temporary time increase (16 hours increased to 32 hours while i was out). If you can get a temp hired to cover you, I’d recommend that! You can do similar as me – create how-to guides for each task and then create a calendar with daily tasks that need to be done. Not everything can be done by the temp, so your PD needs to also step up and take on some tasks or be readily available for questions. Attached is an export from Smartsheets as an example – every program is different. My admin changed things around on it and made her own notes, but i wanted her to feel confident and comfortable with what she had to do since a LOT of this she had never seen or heard of before.
The main thing I want to say as a mother to another mother – please don’t stress (easier said than done). You’re time home with your little one is so very, very important and things at work will work themselves out. You, I’m sure, will do everything you can to prepare in advance (just as you are now by posting this question!)
Congrats again and I hope you are doing well!