Today marks exactly one month since I've been back at work and a full time working mother. It's amazing how fast the past month has gone by and that I have an almost 3 month old child.
As if taking care of a new baby wasn't exhausting enough throw in working full time and I'm surprised I'm able to function properly. I basically am going non stop from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed and then again once or twice in the middle of the night. It's hard and tiring but it needs to be done...at least until we win the lottery...which unfortunately we did not win last night.
It has gotten easier leaving Hunter at daycare, I only cried the first day, though the mornings are when he's all happy, smiley and snuggly so that makes it tough. But we're now into a routine and I always feel more comfortable once I have a routine. He seems to be enjoying daycare and doing well there and it's nice for me to get a bit of a break and be around adults during the day as well as have a reason to actually shower and put on makeup and feel like a human again.
On Monday I got to work from home. My boss is experimenting with allowing us to telework and for now we each get one day a month to work from home. I'm hoping this will go well so we can do it more often. I still took Hunter to daycare or I wouldn't have been able to get anything done. In between checking/responding to work emails I was able to actually get stuff done around the house like putting away the laundry that has been piling up and sorting through Hunter's clothes and putting away the stuff he's already outgrown *tear*
My normal day consists of the following:
6-6:45am-- wake-up/shower/get dressed
6:45-7:30-- wake up Hunter, nurse him, snuggle him and get him dressed, sometimes I have to change his diaper twice, once when I first wake him up and then again before we leave. He likes to have a butt explosian right after I get him dressed, go figure. (sometimes these two items get switched if he wakes up on his own first)
7:30-7:45 -- load up the car and leave for daycare
8am -- drop Hunter off at daycare
8-9am -- drive to work...Yes I have an hour long commute...yes it sucks
9-5pm -- earn the big bucks HA! **I typically pump 3 times while at work and that's the milk Hunter takes to daycare the next day**
3-4pm -- Kristian picks up Hunter from daycare
5-6pm -- drive home
6-7pm -- this changes depending on Hunter's mood, sometimes I will nurse him as soon as I get home unless Kristian has recently fed him a bottle. Now that it's warmer and staying light outside later I plan to start taking Hunter on stroller walks to help me get some exercise while Kristian makes dinner. We did this yesterday and it was great.
7-7:30pm -- eat dinner
7:30pm-8:30pm --play with Hunter while catching up on the DVR
8:30pm -- bathtime
9-9:30pm -- bottlefeed, change and put Hunter to bed (sometimes I do it, sometimes Kristian does it)
9:30-10pm -- Pump and finish getting ready for bed
10-10:30pm -- go to bed
Middle of the night -- Hunter USUALLY gets up once around 2-3am and I will change him and nurse him back to sleep. Sometimes he'll wake up around 1am and then again around 4am. If he wakes up twice then Kristian will change him the second time.
As you can see from this schedule there is no time for me to nap or really anytime to just relax. I'm usually on baby duty when I get home since Kristian has him from the time he picks him up from daycare until I get home but there are nights when I need a break and I put him on baby duty for an hour so I can get some shit done around the house.
It's hard and exhausting and most days I feel like a walking zombie but it's amazing how quickly you learn to function on only a few consecutive hours of sleep. I know being a stay at home mom is also incredibly hard, I got a taste of that for 6 weeks so I can't really say if one is easier or not. In my perfect world I think I would only work 2-3 days a week. That way I could still have the adult interaction and baby break but also have more time with Hunter. Maybe one day I'll be able to do that.
I'm interested to hear what other working mothers schedules are like during the day. Feel free to share.
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10 comments:
Wow, you are amazing, girl, and I have so much respect for all the moms out there, both working and stay-at-home. You're right that they both have their challenges. I have no idea what our financial and career situation will be when we decide to have our first kid, but it really helps to read different perspectives like yours and get a feel for what to expect.
I know I'm incredibly lucky that I don't have to go back to work until my girl is a year old. I couldn't imagine being back at work when she was three months old - she was still a pretty big handful then. These days, she's much easier. I admire you so much for being able to do it all without going crazy. Hopefully the working from home thing works out. With your long commute it would probably take a lot of stress off you at times.
Wow, you are so busy! You are a great mom, and I really respect you for working while managing so much! Go girl!
This was really fascinating to me! It simultaneously makes me want a baby RIGHT NOW and also terrifies me for how I'll find a way to handle it all! :)
I'm interested to see how it changes as Hunter grows, too.
I'm glad to hear daycare is working out so well.
Also, how's work? Do you find your tiredness is an issue or do you still rock it?
You're amazing. :)
This was a great post! Thank you for sharing your schedule with us (and finding time to blog!) We have no idea what we'll be able to do with my current work schedule when we have our first child, but I know it will be a complicated journey.
Mine is similar to yours.. except I formula feed and not breastfeed. My daughter will be 7 weeks tomorrow, but I have been back at work for 4 weeks. We could not afford another month off. She goes to a nanny as opposed to daycare. But I agree, work gives me a reason to shower.. haha!
I dont know how any of us do it. I mean, its insane right? But you are rockin his working mommy thing!
THANK YOU sooo much for posting this! I have been wondering how it's all going to work (time-wise) when the little one comes and I have to go back to work. It looks like my schedule is pretty similar to yours, so I appreciate having a starting point. You've been bookmarked for later! =)
My oh my, that schedule looks familiar. Except we get up somewhere between 5:15 amd 5:45 becuase I have to be to work by 7:30!
That was similar to my schedule. I have a very very short commute (a long day is maybe 45 minutes and a typical day is 20 minutes). So, I did get the joy of going home for lunch to nurse. That said, because I didn't pump at work and only fed her at lunch, my milk supply was pretty pathetic and was never strong to begin with.
I totally have Mommy Amnesia and don't remember how hard it was. I never felt like it was difficult. It just was. I know that it's quite easy now (and easier because I don't get up at night so Rob gets up between 1 and 5 times a night with her). I need my sleep.
It's all about quality time, and I don't see any negative effects with working full time. We just try to do a lot on the weekends and make an effort to do as much as we can.
I can't believe he's 3 months already. He looks like he's grown so much in the last week along from your pictures.
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