Working Mom Wednesday

[dogmama22]

I think we've only had one check in for this before, but why not have another?

How long have you been back to work?
What's the best part about working?
What's the worst?
How is your childcare arrangement going?
Anything else to share?

[jessila]

How long have you been back to work? This is week 5.

What's the best part about working? Feeling more like myself by being back at work.

What's the worst? Leaving O and missing so much sweet time with him. PUMPING. Commuting. Having to put up with the bs that is public schools, teaching on a cart 2.5 days a week, paperwork, and grading. I don't really have any good friends at either of my schools so pumping makes it much more lonely because I'm always sequestered away during lunch when I could be making friends.

How is your childcare arrangement going? Great. My mom is watching him at my house. She starts dinner for me, cleans my house, does laundry, and love my little man all day long.

Anything else to share? I also feel like I'm not doing as great a job as a teacher because of fatigue and mommy-brain. I've also found that meal planning saves my marriage and sanity

[billyhorrible]

How long have you been back to work? A month and a half
What's the best part about working?The paycheck
What's the worst? Everything else
How is your childcare arrangement going? It has its ups and downs. He's so happy there, and loves being around other people, but I do struggle with the overfeeding. DH and my mom have been watching BH the past 2 days, and as expected he goes through less bottles with them than at daycare.

[alayne926]

How long have you been back to work?
Almost 7 weeks
What's the best part about working?
Finally getting a paycheck again. Feeling more like myself
What's the worst?
Not seeing the kids as much, feeling like I can't get everything done.
How is your childcare arrangement going?
It's good....I worry that she's not getting a whole lot of one on one time with the teachers, but overall, we are happy with the situation.
Anything else to share? I will say, this time around, it's much easier to jump back into the swing of things with work and managing everything around the house. DH has been a much bigger help at home this time, so that's been great.

[mrsdee1982]

How long have you been back to work? Since September 1st
What's the best part about working? It allows us to not be homeless
What's the worst? Being away from my family. Traffic. Sleep deprivation.
How is your childcare arrangement going? Really good. We're so lucky in that area. I'm home with her Friday-Sunday. My husband is home with her Tuesday-Wednesday. She goes to my best friends house Mondays and Thursdays.
Anything else to share? I just found out that my annual business trip is being extended by 3 days. :/ At least it's not until June, but still. Now instead of being gone for 10 days, I'll have to be gone for 13 days.

[Widget123]

How long have you been back to work? 2 months
What's the best part about working? It's exciting for me. The little things keep me very entertained.
What's the worst? DH has another business trip next week. The weeks that he is gone are the worst in that I can hardly get anything accomplished at work because I come late and leave early then I still have so much to do that I still end up staying up late trying to get it all done.
How is your childcare arrangement going? Good. I'm easily more excited for "Spirit Week" next week than the kids are.
Anything else to share? Everyone says that you will become a different worker when you are a mom. But for me, becoming a mom made me become a better worker, including more efficient as @kej0004 pointed out. A lot of to do lists and prioritization!

[dmoney]

How long have you been back to work? Since August 17th So 10.5 weeks now
What's the best part about working? Having adult conversation every day
What's the worst? Not getting to snuggle with my DD as much as I would like. She is asleep 99% of the time when I leave for work in the morning. Makes me miss her so much. Half of the time I want to go in pick her up give her a big hug and a kiss, but I dont want to wake her either.
How is your childcare arrangement going? Its good Since DH is currently unemployeed he is home with DD most of the time. in order to not loose our spot at Day care she is there 2 half days a week and with my MIL 1 full day a week which DH use to go on Job interviews and to get errands done.
Anything else to share? Some days I hate coming into work, but at the same time I know I need to for Health Care and for my own mental health.

[bookninja]

How long have you been back to work?
3 weeks full time, I was 2 days a week for a month before that.
What's the best part about working? I like my job, and my coworkers, and it's been nice to have adult conversation.
What's the worst?
Pumping, finding time to pump, and stressing about not pumping enough.
How is your childcare arrangement going?
Good. She's with grandparents, and they all seem to be having fun. Also, no childcare costs. Although, I'm pretty sure she watches a lot of tv on the two mornings FIL has her. He also can't hardly believe he can't give her water, and my dad wants to give her juice... What's up with granddads and wanting to give extra stuff? Must have been what was done when they had kids...
Anything else to share?
I'm exhausted most nights, and I really need to start working out (I still have 100% of the baby weight!) but I don't know how to squeeze it in. I'm already waking up at 5:15... Sigh.
Edit: removed quote box

[baytosa2013]

How long have you been back to work? 11 weeks already geez

What's the best part about working? The income and other people I suppose

What's the worst? Being away from C all day and feeling like I'm missing out on so much

How is your childcare arrangement going? Daycare has been the saving grace...seriously if I didn't feel good about them I would have found a way to quit and stay home. She loves all the attention there and she's learning stuff. I really like her one teacher and she is partial to my kid. Plus she lives around the corner from me so I now have a babysitter for date nights!

Anything else to share? I waffle back and forth between wanting to be a producing worker type and wanting to be with my baby all day. I know that I'd want to go back after she hit school age. i just can't help feeling like I'm missing her growing up already. I'm pushing to pay off alot of stuff in the next year because I think I will be ready for baby 2 by then.

[dogmama22]

How long have you been back to work? Since the first week of October so 4? Weeks
What's the best part about working? I like spending time with my co-workers and the paycheck. Just coming back to visit made me feel out of the loop on the real social environment here.
What's the worst?
Not being able to do all of the fun things with Z and other moms that we used to do. I never feel like there are enough hours in the day for everything that needs done and my house is a disaster.
How is your childcare arrangement going?
Pretty good. He comes to the preschool with me and is in the room across the hall. I can peer through the window and see what he's up to. They asked for me to come back so I also negotiated being able to feed him instead of needing to pump. It's nice to have time to see him during the day, but it makes me feel a little guilty being out of the classroom. I'm also trying to let some things go that just aren't how *I* would do them.
Anything else to share?
Not today

[trixi282]

How long have you been back to work?  Quite awhile... but in the office "full" time about 6 weeks or so...

What's the best part about working?  Getting back to feeling like I'm accomplishing something and being productive.

What's the worst?  scheduling appointments and trying to balance getting enough hours in each week; and feeling like we don't have very much 'family time'.  Since I didn't get a whole lot of actual maternity leave, I just hate that I had to come back "so soon".

How is your childcare arrangement going?  So far, pretty good.  The center she's at is amazing and they've taken on her feeding tube with grace, it's seriously great, I love them.  It's nice that H and I have been able to divide our week so the girls only have to go 3 days.

Anything else to share?  The first few weeks were the hardest since we had just barely brought her home from the NICU and I had to go back to the office... it's been hard transitioning back to the office when I was still so new to begin with.  But I'm hoping that changes soon.

[gilder40]

Oct 21, 2015 6:48:57 GMT -5 budders said:

I like this!

How long have you been back to work?
-eight weeks
What's the best part about working?
-my students
-some of my colleagues
What's the worst?
-being away from the baby
-sleep deprivation
-dealing with constant bullshit because I work in a public school
-pumping
-The rest of my colleagues and the administration
How is your childcare arrangement going?
-Amazing. I think about the baby a lot during the day, but I have never once worried about him or felt concerned about where he was. We picked the perfect day care for him.
Anything else to share?
-While I struggle with being away from V to be at work, I think the hardest part for me is that I feel like I'm not as good at my job as I was before him. Between the sleep deprivation, mommy brain, and the fact that my priorities have shifted, it's frustrating to me that I don't feel as on top of things as I used to. I forget about conversations that I had with people, I don't take care of things in as timely a manner as I used to, and in general I just feel like I'm a little foggier than I was before. I think that the people I work with and understand for the most part, and that no one is really judging me for it, but it's frustrating to me personally.

budders, you took the words right out of my mouth. Everything you said rings true for me as well. Thank you for expressing it in such an eloquent way. Words are difficult for me nowadays lol.

Oh, I've been back at work since August 14th....so going on 10 weeks?

[stinybean]

Thanks dogmama22. This is a great idea.

How long have you been back to work? Almost 2 full months

What's the best part about working?
Most of my colleagues are great.

What's the worst?
1. My class
2. My administration
3. Everything else, too

How is your childcare arrangement going?
Great DH is a SAHD. He is doing great with J. I'm totally jealous of him and the relationship they have. J looks at daddy with this glow that she doesn't look at me with. And now I'm getting emotional.... moving on.

Anything else to share? I really wish that I could get it together to be the teacher I was a few years ago. I feel like everything sucks, except when I have J in my arms.

[carolyngrace]

How long have you been back to work? A couple months. I only work 2 days/week.

What's the best part about working? I LOVE my job. I do therapy with kids an it's super rewarding every day. I've been doing it long enough that I'm confident in what i do.

What's the worst? I miss DB so much. I couldn't have imagined how much i would miss him! Also - PUMPING. It's of the devil. I always forget parts, and we just had to start supplementing formula because I can't pump enough.

How is your childcare arrangement going? Overall great. I've chilled out with the other mom who watches him 1 day. She does things different, but it's one day, so whatever. And grandma has him the other day, which is awesome.

Anything else to share? Part time work is a tough balance. I always feel like I should be doing more work, but I also want to be with DB. And if I miss hours I don't get paid, so it's pressure.

[kemdupuis]

How long have you been back to work? This is my fourth week

What's the best part about working? My students, feeling challenged, the camaraderie I feel with my colleagues, using my brain for something other than remembering when B nursed last, getting to make music every day and hopefully helping to nurture a love of the arts in others

What's the worst? Missing B, feeling exhausted, feeling like I can't stay on top of my normal chores like I used to, the guilt I carry for not being a stay at home. Pumping blows hard.

How is your childcare arrangement going? It's going well. Our in-home provider just has B 90% of the time. She has a few other toddlers that she watches sporadically, but I know he is getting lots of attention and is well cared for.

Anything else to share? I don't think so!!

[holliberry28]

How long have you been back to work? Since September 30th.

What's the best part about working? Feeling stimulated mentally. Interacting with my colleagues and being able to have some quiet alone time during lunch.

What's the worst? Only getting to see M for about 2 hours after work before bedtime. And, sometimes feeling like I'm too sleep deprived to process and provide guidance to various problems that pop up at work. Wanting to fall asleep at my desk by 3:30.

How is your childcare arrangement going? Good! Im very lucky to have my MIL come and stay with him all day. Just wish she did some of the things I asked her to do sometimes...

[tjanca22]

How long have you been back to work? About a month and a half.

What's the best part about working? Having adult conversation, getting to eat lunch with two hands and at my own pace. I really like my job and feel that I'be become a better worker in the sense that I'm more organized and efficient at getting my work done.

What's the worst? - Getting up in the morning. I swtiched to a four-10 hour day scheudle, so getting to work by 6 each morning is tough.

How is your childcare arrangement going? I'm thankful each day that we found the person that we did. She is awesome about sending us pictures of what E is doing throughout the day and giving us quick little updates. She has become a good friend since we've started with her. BUT... as great as she is, I'm still glad that I get unlimited snuggle time Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays!

Anything else to share? I just interviewed last week for a different position at our company. It would would be a very good move for me, career wise, with more pay, but not as much flexability. I really want the job, but there's this tiny part of me that hopes I don't get it because it means I may not always be able to work my new schedule. The money would be such a huge help to us to start putting a lot more towards savings/retirement and remodeling. Ugh, adult decisions are tough.

[Deleted]

Oct 21, 2015 6:40:07 GMT -5 dogmama22 said:

I think we've only had one check in for this before, but why not have another?

How long have you been back to work?
What's the best part about working?
What's the worst?
How is your childcare arrangement going?
Anything else to share?

Started back to work this week. So this is day 4

The best part about being back to work is the pay check. other then that I wish I was back home.

The worst part is missing hanging out with both my kids every day and spending more quality time with them outside the house.

Child care is going well. We have a nanny that works in our house from 8-530. Then DH watches the kids until I get home at 6 or 630. I'm going through a phase where I am super jealous of her because of how much time she spends with them.

Anything else to share? Being back at work blows.

[Deleted]

How long have you been back to work? - Since the end of July

What's the best part about working? - It's easier than being at home. And quieter.

What's the worst? - Being away from baby on my long court days and only getting a couple of hours with him in the evening.

How is your childcare arrangement going? - It's hard. I work from home when I'm not in court or at meetings and it's becoming impossible. DH and I work different shifts so we don't have to put P in day care but if I'm at home during the day DH tends to just decide I'm available to take care of the baby, even if I tell him I need desk time. Yesterday I needed the whole day to finish and file an appeal before midnight and DH took his damn sweet time getting up in the morning, took over an hour in the bathroom between whatever it is men do in there and showering, took the dog for long, leisurely walk. He knew I had a deadline and was confused as to why I was about to blow a gasket by 11 am when I hasn't gotten anything done. This isn't working, but I also don't want to spend $600-800 a month on a separate office that I have to go to, just for the 10-15 or so hours a week I do desk work. We have an artist's studio in the back yard that is currently his man cave, at it helps makes our marriage work for him to have that space to himself, but I'm starting to think he needs to suck it up and let me have it for my office so I can physically separate myself from the house to get things done.

Anything else to share? - I've rambled on enough here.

[seannemairi]

I've been back to work only for 2 weeks, but my supply is already dwindling. I pump twice during the day and I was able to get 8 oz a day up until yesterday. Now I can barely get 5-6. I'm not ready to be done yet!!

[seannemairi]

Oct 22, 2015 14:33:27 GMT -5 budders said:

Oct 22, 2015 14:30:14 GMT -5 seannemairi said:

I've been back to work only for 2 weeks, but my supply is already dwindling. I pump twice during the day and I was able to get 8 oz a day up until yesterday. Now I can barely get 5-6. I'm not ready to be done yet!!

Oh no! Are you drinking a lot of water, and can you add another pumping session?

I probably can, it's pretty lax around here. The only think is if I've started in something I have to finish it before I go pump and sometimes a certain project can take a long time so it's hard. I could definitely drink more water though, does that help a lot?

[Widget123]

Oct 22, 2015 14:55:16 GMT -5 budders said:

Oct 22, 2015 14:50:19 GMT -5 seannemairi said:

I probably can, it's pretty lax around here. The only think is if I've started in something I have to finish it before I go pump and sometimes a certain project can take a long time so it's hard. I could definitely drink more water though, does that help a lot?

I can't speak personally to whether it actually makes a difference, because I drink a ton of water at work and my pumping supply is pretty consistent; I tend to drink less at home, but I almost never pump at home unless I happen to have been out somewhere which is very rare. I do know that some women do find that it helps, and it's a pretty easy thing to try.

And Gatorade.  And make sure you try to eat enough. 

[billyhorrible]

Oct 22, 2015 14:50:19 GMT -5 seannemairi said:

Oct 22, 2015 14:33:27 GMT -5 budders said:

Oh no! Are you drinking a lot of water, and can you add another pumping session?

I probably can, it's pretty lax around here. The only think is if I've started in something I have to finish it before I go pump and sometimes a certain project can take a long time so it's hard. I could definitely drink more water though, does that help a lot?

Water and calories are the big ones. I notice a big difference when I'm busy and don't drink as much.

I also start my day with a cup of lactation tea and fennugreek if I'm in the office.

[dogmama22]

Oct 22, 2015 14:50:19 GMT -5 seannemairi said:

Oct 22, 2015 14:33:27 GMT -5 budders said:

Oh no! Are you drinking a lot of water, and can you add another pumping session?

I probably can, it's pretty lax around here. The only think is if I've started in something I have to finish it before I go pump and sometimes a certain project can take a long time so it's hard. I could definitely drink more water though, does that help a lot?

It makes a huge difference for me. I would also check your flange size. I went to a returning to work/ pumping class and found out I had the wrong size from the hospital. Since I was swollen from delivery, I had a larger size than I needed. You don't want any areola down in the smaller section of the flange. Smelling something of LO's helps me too.

[seannemairi]

Oct 23, 2015 21:21:16 GMT -5 dogmama22 said:

Oct 22, 2015 14:50:19 GMT -5 seannemairi said:

I probably can, it's pretty lax around here. The only think is if I've started in something I have to finish it before I go pump and sometimes a certain project can take a long time so it's hard. I could definitely drink more water though, does that help a lot?

It makes a huge difference for me. I would also check your flange size. I went to a returning to work/ pumping class and found out I had the wrong size from the hospital. Since I was swollen from delivery, I had a larger size than I needed. You don't want any areola down in the smaller section of the flange. Smelling something of LO's helps me too.

Thank you! I'll check the flange and try that!