When you find out that a new arrival is on the way, there is little to match that feeling of ecstasy or exuberance that your whole family will share with you. This is one of the most momentous times of your family life and for an expectant mother can be simply amazing.

You will be so ready to tell your acquaintances and friends the good news and they will share with you a great feeling of anticipation as the big day approaches.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the whole World would be happy for you and while this is largely the case, sometimes you may encounter an element of negativity.

While your boss might be a relatively happy person normally, he or she may be particularly concerned about the business operation and may not be as enthusiastic as you might think. In fact, in this case the business may come squarely in first place and you may have to be particularly persuasive if you are considering flexible working hours for your busy times ahead.

If your boss is something of a dinosaur when it comes to flexibility in these situations, then you will have to be creative if not very persuasive.

If you have a friend and co-worker who has been in your position before, now is the time to have a down-to-earth chat and to see whether she was able to achieve any two-way communication with the boss and how she handled the situation. Now is the time to do a lot of research and to find what solutions could be available to you, according to other friends or acquaintances in other professions or industries.

This is the time to be very creative and forward thinking and consider telecommuting or working from home. The good news is that this is becoming more and more of a trend as companies seek to save overheads. If the type of work that you do can be handled in this way, this may well be an option for you.

Above all else, you must first decide what would be the absolutely ideal situation for you. Be sure of what you are doing, as after all, remember that you must be careful what you wish for!

Look for an ideal scenario and come up with options for less-than-perfect deals. Look at your home commitments first before asking for something you might not be able to accommodate.

You should always be careful when you are discussing options with colleagues and you might have to exercise some strategy. In a situation where you collectively share the workload in your office, see how you could come up with a more flexible schedule by dividing up the work creatively. You must be more than willing to pull your weight, of course, and before you consider approaching others or your boss with the idea, be fully confident that it will be a win/win/win position for everybody.

Some of us have jobs that expect us to complete certain tasks as part of a “job and finish” approach, regardless of the time that it takes and as part of your new schedule idea, contemplate whether you will be able to achieve this goal during your personal time.

The more you can show your boss that you would be equally as productive, if not more productive by working a flexible schedule, the more the dinosaur is likely to stop chewing the vegetation and listen to you!

In most situations, online life coaching can be another excellent source of research for you. Luckily, coaching for women can generally help by suggesting various options for a variety of situations. In this day and age, professional coaching is not just for sports players or executives any more!

Amanda Alexander is the Director of Coaching Mums and a widely renowned ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums across the globe who long for more time, balance and fulfilment in their busy lives. Download our free eBook especially for working mums with 5 easy ways to achieve balance.