While many scholars have written about the experience of academic motherhood in higher education, with their research revealing a number of challenges faced by academic mothers, none have presented an in-depth view of the transition of returning to work after maternity leave. For this reason, the authors used a narrative inquiry approach to analyze and interpret the first author's thoughts, feelings, and experiences as she transitioned from maternity leave to full-time academic work as a tenured, associate professor of education at a research university. During that transition, she faced challenges related to the prioritization and fulfillment of her academic work as well as those associated with childcare and household responsibilities. The authors provide suggestions for new, or soon-to-be-new, academic mothers and recommendations for higher education personnel to support new academic mothers who are transitioning to the full-time workforce.