Being a Working Mom is no easy task. Whether you work because you really enjoy it or because you have to, it takes some balance, planning and lots of help along the way. Here are some things I did when I was going back to Work after my baby.
*Hire a Childcare Giver/Day Care Provider Plan, plan, plan even though it’s not something you want to plan for. If you know that you cannot survive on one income then you will have to go back to work. Shop around for the perfect caregiver WAY before you give birth. I started my search for both kids when I was around 6 mths pregnant. You will need time to find the right person. If you are getting a nanny, ask friends for referrals. Planning for child care takes a long time. You want to have everything set up to make the transition easier.
*Stock your Freezer! Take an afternoon or a few evenings and make a few easy meals to have on hand for those first few weeks back at work. You will be SO exhausted and having a meal that’s easy to pop in the oven will save you lots of time and sanity. Check out these great ideas from other Moms!
*Hire a Cleaning Person! Yes, I said it. Hire a cleaning service the first week you go back to work. You will be so happy you did and then you can spend all your time snuggling with your baby when you get home.
*Talk to your Work/Boss: I have several Mommy friends that were able to work from home for a few weeks or work mornings to help ease back into working full time. You never know until you ask. Have a game plan and a reason why you need this. Hopefully, you are in a career that’s flexible. Unfortunately, teaching is not. I had to go straight back to the classroom and I missed my baby so badly!
*Get A Support Group! You will need friends and family to help you through this difficult time. My mom was wonderful and came to watch my daughter my first week back teaching. It made it so much easier and I didn’t have to worry, even though I did anyway. Maybe you have a neighbor that will be there for you or a close friend. You will need some friends! There are lots of working Mom support groups online!
*Learn to Say “NO!!” to things. You will be so busy when work starts back up. You have to learn that you cannot do it all. Just say No to things and spend your time with that sweet baby. Try not to feel guilty about it either.
*Create an Evening Routine This is so important for everyone involved in this work-balance-life. Julie has some great tips on creating an evening routine and getting yourself in order! She even provides a handy checklist.
If you know a new Mommy going back to work then make some time to show this new working Mom you are there for them. When I started teaching after having my daughter I had so many teacher friends make me dinner, or just come in to give me hugs. It made me cry more sometimes but I felt loved. I’m really trying to stay positive about working, even though I’d rather be with my kids. Come read about My Advantages to being a Working Mom! Working Moms, we’re in this together!
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Hi Shannon, the tip of saying No to things really works wonders! As a woman we tend to say yes to too many things and overbook ourselves. Once I became pregnant with my second baby it became much easier to say no. I knew my special 1:1 time with my toddler was coming to an end and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with her. And now with two, it’s even easier to say No. 🙂 Mostly because two little ones keep me busy enough! Thanks for the great tips.
Oh, I so wish I could hire a cleaning person 🙂 Glad to be in the blog hop with you! Great ideas here. 🙂
I try and get one every few months so it ends up being about 4X a year. I sell my kids old clothes and toys and save that $ for a cleaning day!!
So, is it in bad taste to hire a cleaning person if you don’t have kids? I keep begging the husband but he doesn’t think we need it. But dusting and all of that stuff? Ain’t nobody got time for that! And even if we do have time, we don’t want to when there’s jobs and websites and all this other stuff to do all the time!
Of course not!! A cleaning person is needed on all ends- kids or no kids! I try and get one every few months. It’s so worth it!!
Another tip when starting with a new daycare- try to have your baby attend daycare before you go back to work, for a couple of hours at a time in the beginning. It really helps not only you but the baby adjust to being away from each other. Also, it is a great time for the provider to ask questions when she knows that she can ask you questions without disturbing you at work. (I was a daycare provider for 7 years)
Very true Tina, that is great advice! I always had mine go back a few days before to get adjusted!
Yes, say NO! And oh what I would give to hire someone to clean – just for one week. That would be so nice.
I wish I could have the cleaning service more too! A few times a year does help out!!
Super helpful tips. It’s so difficult to balance sometimes but some of these can definitely help.
It is hard! I take it one day at a time!
The one thing I miss about working is hiring a cleaning person. Absolutely essential. I was lucky to be able to work 3 days a week from home and went in early so that I could be off in time to pick my kids up from school. I worked full time for about 12 years and finally decided to stay home.
These are great tips. Thanks for sharing with Small Victories Sunday Linkup. Pinning to our linkup board and hope you found some great posts to visit this week!
That’s nice that you had an option to stay home. You know then how hard it is to balance work and a family! Not easy!