Why this could be the ideal time and making it work

It’s not uncommon for students and new graduates who are passionate about private practice or practice ownership to ask me about timelines. A related question I’m often asked is, “when is the right time to start a family?” For myself, it was when I opened my cold-start practice. (No, this isn’t a typo.) Specifically, I signed the lease to start building my cold-start practice two weeks before finding out I was pregnant. At the risk of oversharing, I’ll tell you that my husband and I had been trying to have a baby for a while, and I was tired of putting my professional goals on hold. So, I went for it. All in. And, consequently, I opened the doors to my new practice while I was seven months pregnant.

Here, I explain why this was an ideal time and the key to making it work.

Why

Cold-start practices don’t see 18 or more patients per day, so there is time for new parenting responsibilities, such as pumping, as well as mid-day visits with a new baby. Now that my practice is running at full capacity, I don’t think having a child at this stage of my professional life would allow for that. Additionally, finding a part-time fill-in OD in North Carolina is pretty much tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. (North Carolina needs more optometrists all-around, by the way, if you’re interested!)

Key to making it work

Admittedly, the timing of my pregnancy and opening of my cold-start practice facilitated starting a family, but there were still times I had to remind myself to balance both realistically. I’m a workaholic (simply because I love what I do) and a perfectionist, so, naturally, I wanted to make sure everything was the best it could be at the practice and at home as a mom. (I could list for hours all the research I conducted on homemade baby food, sleep-training techniques, and more.) My focus on perfection ultimately hurt my ability to truly enjoy being a new mom and relish the success of my new practice.

Taking a step back to remember what was truly important (hint: it’s not the homemade baby food!) helped me find joy and balance in being an optometrist and a mom. Additionally, leaning on my husband helped too: He decided to take a step back from his career to stay home, which created much less mom guilt.

It’s possible

So, can you start a new career and a family around the same time? I am proof that you can, though I also acknowledge that everyone’s situation is different, as are their methods of making it work. There isn’t a right or wrong, better or worse way of going about it. What I can say is I wouldn’t change my simultaneous journey to optometry and motherhood for anything. OM

DR. O’BRIEN is the owner and optometrist at Denver Eye Care & Eyewear Gallery in Denver, NC. She is heavily involved with student programming through private practice clubs and the Vision Source NEXT program, and works with iCare Advisors as a consultant to help others pursue their cold-start private practice dreams.