Advice on returning to work after maternity leave

MarceK - posted on 01/02/2011

Kyla W... Good luck to you! I fear the getting things done, too. You are lucky your baby girl is with you! There are good things about babies and kids going to daycare. They learn how to socialize and get along with other kids better. Some kids will end up going to school together. As a kindergarten teacher, I can SOMETIMES tell which kids stayed home and who went to daycare. But, it depends what their family environment was....
I go back and forth with if I want to find a way to stay home or not. I think if my daycare was closer and I felt better about what happened there, I would not hesitate. I like my daycare provider as a person, but there is not much structure to the kids' day. They watch t.v. and run around all day. There is meal and nap time, too. But I would like to see some structure of trying to do small activities. There are other daycare's that do that in my small town, but they are impossible to get into. At this point, my 3 year old likes her daycare provider and is use to it. I don't want her baby brother to go somewhere else....Uhgg.....
I am so stressed with all the decisions I have to make...Although, I know I don't have to make them right now.

I don't sleep well when I am so stressed, so that adds more to the load...
Ok, enough venting.
I am so glad I started using this site. It has helped a ton!!!!!!!!

Kyla - posted on 01/02/2011

I understand what you are going threw. I go back to work tomorrow for the fist time after having my daughter. She is 7 and half months. I get to bring her with me since im working in child care center. And my fear really isn't about her but its more about how im going to get everthing done still and we moved to a new city when my daughter was three months so im starting a new job, so im aso worried about not being good at my job. I hope tuesday goes well for you good luck

Tracey - posted on 01/02/2011

try a poster for your daughter, that has a picture/ photo of the morning schedule. ie: clothes on, shoes on, breakfast, chores(feed cat?),brush teeth, sunscreen / coats etc, get bag, in car. Its a lovely project to make together and helps her gain some skills and responsibility.... PS avoid the T.V!!!!! at least till her jobs are done, You can make it a race between sibling also, winner choosing TV show.

Krista - posted on 01/02/2011

Do as much as you can the night before, I would say. Bathe the kids the night before. Take your long shower the night before, so that in the morning you can just give yourself a quick wipe to the face/pits/privates. Pack their daycare bags the night before and make sure that everything you need is in your purse.

Don't be shy to trade off with your spouse, if he or she is in the picture. The way my husband and I do it is that he's responsible for our son from 6am to 6:30, while I shower, get dressed, etc., and then I'm responsible for our son from 6:30, until 7am which is when we're out the door. And that schedule IS earlier than needed. I'm typically running a half-hour early, so that makes things a lot less stressful, because I know that if Sam is being poky with his breakfast, or if I can't find my keys, there's still plenty of breathing room in the schedule.

MarceK - posted on 01/02/2011

It is too late for trail runs at this point. But at the beginning of my maternity leave, I kept the same schedule with my daughter because she had school. I really did not want to get her so out of wack. But, I hope that it works out with out too many tears. I know I will have some. I hate how my daycare is at least 15 minutes away. I want my kids closer to me.

Barb - posted on 01/02/2011

I agree with Lissa and strongly suggest the trial runs. Even if you don't make it to daycare or to work or even getting up at that ass crack of dawn. Just doing the routine of you get up, get dressed, get ready, breakfast, kids up, dressed, ready, breakfast, and then you can go out the door for a walk or just hit the timer and see how long that took to be able to walk out the door.

I had to go back to work when my baby was 2 months old. It was SOOOO hard. Oh did i missed him. I was breast feeding so i was expressing my milk into bottles for him while i was gone.

Fortunately his daycare was only 5 min from where i worked, so i would go feed him at lunch time while i ate. This helped a lot. It broke the day up into smaller pieces.

Best of luck to you.

MarceK - posted on 01/01/2011

Thank you all for your advice!!! I will get up early...I am thinking 530am. I need to be out of the house by 7am. Breakfast is at daycare, which is about 15 minutes away. My worry is if my 3 year old and baby are both awake. I know that my 3 year old will watch cartoons for awhile...at least she use to. But with baby there, I don't know. I wanted to give it a couple trial runs, but it never worked out with the weather being so bad...
I try to get routines for me and my kids, but then the weekend or a visit to grandma's house comes along and everything is messed up....
I will do my best.
Thank you Kathy H. for the compliment of being a teacher. I love teaching..but being home with my son would be great too. Unfortunately, I didn't win the lottery, so I don't have any options...
I keep crying every time I think of Tuesday and taking them both to daycare...I can't believe the time went by so fast...

Kathy - posted on 01/01/2011

Routine is key here. Make sure lunches and bags are packed the night before. Bedtime is early so everyone is well rested in the morning. Have the day's clothes all set out and ready to go. Keep breakfast simple-variety of favorite cereals. Being a working mother is a good thing-especially if you are a teacher. You have one of the most important roles in childrens' lives outside of their home. Be proud of what you do-at home and at work!

Lissa - posted on 01/01/2011

Have as much as possible ready the night before, I even used to lay the clothes over a chair in the order they would be put on lol. Get up earlier than the children, get ready, make the breakfast put it on the table then wake them up. Always make sure you have plenty of time because if you are running a little late the kids will sense the stress and we all know they are at their most uncooperative when they smell fear :)
Have a few trial run days so you know how long it really takes you to get everyone ready.

Leslie - posted on 01/01/2011

I'm sure you will figure it out. I suggest get their things ready the night before for daycare or relative home. Just get them up early enough where you are not late for work. I go back to work myself and I want to go back. I'm not the type of parent to stay home. I'm a working parent. I miss my job even if I do fast food. Me and my husband work different shift. he is morning and I'm night. on the weekend family members will watch her or spend the night so we get sleep for our shifts. I hope you can figure it out.

Sneaky - posted on 01/01/2011

I cheat - some times I give my girls a bath before bed and dress them in their t-shirts and comfy shorts (or track pants in winter) for them to sleep in. As long as there are no breakfast accidents, it totally eliminated the getting dressed argument in the mornings.

Sapphire - posted on 01/01/2011

Write out a morning routine with times in 10-15 minute increments in 3 columns: you, daughter, son. What should be happening at each time slot in the mornings? Plan on getting up a full 30-45 minutes prior to your kids to get yourself organized, showered, dressed, car packed, etc. Morning routines are challening to start, but it does get easier. Try visiting the Moms who are Teachers board (I'm also a teacher) , as well as Working Moms.