4 Things That Make Life as a Working Mom Easier
I will admit, the first few weeks back to work after Maternity Leave had me emotional and feeling lost in the sauce. Waking up was hard after bodying the night feeds and waking up early, I didn’t want to leave my baby, and I had anxiety about having to retell the story of her miraculous conception and early arrival dozens of times. While I haven’t found a solution for the last one, the others I have been getting gradually better at with time and working out a consistent routine. I think more than any one of the specific tips I am going to share, that is the most important concept… consistency, whatever it is, no matter the day, consistency.
Create a Routine That Works for YOU
Here’s a peek at what works for us:
4:45a - Mom wakes up to pump and get her coffee
5:10a - Baby wakes, gets a diaper and clothes change if needed → bottle time
5:20a - Snuggles until mom decides to get off the couch and get ready → baby in the Graco Swing
6:00a-6:15a - Out the door
6:30a - Sitter Dropoff
+++ MOM AND DAD GO TO WORK +++
3:30p - Sitter pick up/errands
4:30p - Tummy time at home
5:30p - Evening bottle
6:00p - Pump and make dinner
8:30p - Bathtime for Baby
9:00p - Bedtime bottle
9:30 - Baby to bed with Dad, Mom washes bottles and gets a shower
10:00p - Last pump for the day, bed for Mom
By Dad taking the baby to bed with him, it allows for me to get done what I need to do while also honoring the fact that I am a night owl. I appreciate so much the short window of time I get in the evening alone just to do what I need to do and to watch a little TV/scroll TikTok. This is what helps to make life sustainable for us while also being fully present when we are at home with the baby.
Wake Up 20 Minutes Before Everyone Else
This might only work for me becuase I require only about 5 hours of sleep to function, but try waking up just a bit before baby. For me, this is as soon as my alarm goes off at 5am or if my body wakes me up slightly before the alarm. I exclusively pump and know that as soon as she wakes, she will want a bottle, so to prevent engorgement, I get up to pump and have my coffee before she gets up. This helps me to be caffeinated before having to actually get the day started.
Keep an Extra Set of Baby Supplies at the Sitter’s House
My mom always said, “Prior Planning Prevents Poor Perfomance,” and I really took that to heart. One of my fears with working and being away from Delmari is that she will run out of milk at the sitter’s house. Since she is bottle-fed breast milk, there wouldn’t be a quick solution with me working an hour away. Being super busy in the morning trying to her both of us ready to leave, I know my mom-brain is bound to forget something so I have created a failsafe for when I enevitably do. Have a bag that you leave at the sitter’s house and replentish when needed (So if you forget to put something in the diaper bag, baby won’t be without and you won’t be late for work having to circle back to the house).
What I leave at the sitter’s house:
Diapers
Wipes
Binky
Burp Cloth
Sleeper
3-4 Bags of Milk for the freezer
Make a Baby Playlist for Car Rides
Everyone’s heard of Pavlov’s Dog, but what about his baby? I took the concept of audio stimulation connected with and action and added it to a portion of our routine so that the timing of events could be flexible, but the systems would be memorable.
For instance, I have a playlist for Tummy Time (signaling it’s time to play and work her little legs and brain), one for Bathtime (it’s time to wind down, and a warm bottle and bed is next), and recently, I have started adding a carride playlist so she can differentiate when we are going somewhere together and when she is getting dropped off at the sitter’s house. When we are going somewhere together, I play my music playlist and when we are going to the sitter, I play her instrumental Modern Classical Music (like piano pop or Daniel D. etc).
After I drop her off and I am headed to work, I put on my podcasts and use the hour commute as my “me time.” This is also helpful to reset after my work day when I am on my way to pick her up.
