The compatibility of work and family during the intensive family phase, i.e., in the first two to three years of a child's life, presents parents in Austria with particular challenges. Societal conditions still suggest that mothers should be the primary caregivers for their children. To explore possible ways of balancing professional and family demands during this early developmental phase of children, Sigrid Kroismayr conducted qualitative interviews with academically educated women living in Vienna who returned to work within a year after giving birth. The study illustrates how these women navigate the balance between work and family in coordination with their partners, professional circumstances, and the caregiving options provided by grandparents or non-family members, as well as the role that broader societal conditions play in this process.