So I return to work on Monday. I get to do part time for two weeks, so that's a blessing. But I am bummed. I do not want to leave my boy.
Moms that work outside of the home, how do you make it through? Do you feel like you have no time with the kid? Do you feel like you spend all your time at night getting everything ready for the next day?
I am in need of lots of encouragement. I feel like everywhere I look people are stay at home moms. I feel like I am going to miss everything and he will barely know me! I feel like we will have no time with him because we won't get home until basically 5 and he will go to bed so early anyhow. Will it feel like that?? Ugh!!! And the thing is, I have been crunching numbers like crazy, but there is just no way.
I have got to get a better attitude about this and stat! Any advice?
- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone
Sabrina, Man those weeks went by fast! First off - you aren't in this working mom thing alone. I am right there with you! I remember playing the #s crunching game myself the night before I went back to work. I was emotional already and crunching #s only made it that much worse....BUT, good news! If Griffin is anything like Sam, you will still have LOTS of hours with him when you get home. Sam didn't start going to bed easily until he was probably 6 months old. So many nights I had him to hang out with until 9:30 or 10ish. This made me tired the next day but I figured it was worth it since I missed out on so much during the day. Hopefully Griffin's schedule will allow you lots of Mommy/Griffin bonding time when you get home. I definitely recommend getting stuff together at night for the next day....the mornings are such a gamble and you never know what might happen....better to be prepared! I will be praying for you over the next 3 days as you get yourself ready to leave your little man. I'm thankful that you have 2 weeks of half days. Smart to ease back into it! KRISTEN :)
ReplyDeleteSabrina,
ReplyDeleteUnless you work toward an early bedtime, most babies won't go down for the night until 10ish. They still eat, wake, nap until then. Lawson is just now going down at 7/7:30 and staying asleep for the night (until I wake him to dream feed) and he will be 6 months in a week-ish.
And remember, you can decide what your kid's schedule will look like. So yes, it's important to have a consistent bedtime. That does not mean it's important to have a 7:30 bedtime. You set the time and keep it consistent and predictable.
I know I'm not a "working" mom (the Lord has blessed us with a variety of work from home opportunities, but I haven't been back to the official "workplace"), but one thing that comforts me: I sometimes feel guilty over the time I spend "working" at home when my kids are playing around me and striving to get my attention. Hannah is getting SO good at this. I wonder if I'm messing them up by not spending more time with them.
And then I remember:
My mom is a working mom and was a working mom when I was little. My dad worked too. My parents were entrepreneurs and worked ALL THE TIME. Day and night. I went to day care. I went to preschool and public schools.
Yet I have amazing memories with my family. I think my mom is THE BEST. I can't imagine anyone who would support me or love me more than her.
So when I remember that I survived working parents (who worked well over 40 hours a week), it helps me realize that it really is about what you do with your time when you are home with you kids. I know that you will make the most of that time, even as you struggle to balance your role as a wife, as a mom, as keeper of the home, as the one who packs the bags for the next day, etc. It will become the new normal, you will have days off, and, more than anything else I've said, I know that the Lord will sustain your family and lead you through whatever is ahead.
He will know you - you're his mom, kids don't forget. You may miss a little here and there, but it's nothing he won't do again and even better. For me, it's much harder when they get to be 1 plus and especially 2 and cry hysterically when you leave the house saying, I go too!! I go too! Heartbreaking. But you must go, you work for your family. Griffin will understand that later on. It's rough the first few days, but it's great to be excited and see that little face at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteHey Sabrina!
ReplyDeleteI (well Ryne and I both) struggled A LOT with this. I stayed at home with Kaeden for two months so going back to work was tough. He is in daycare for about 9 hours a day. We had the same exact worries that you listed above...but like the other ladies said, he will know you and they usually aren't on a stict sleep schedule until around 6-7 months.
The best part will be picking him up in the afternoon and him recognizing you. He will have the biggest smile on his face! Then it is even more fun when they become mobile! They start crawling and running to you with their arms stretched!
We only get about 2 hours with him each night now days, which is obviously not nearly enough, but we just make sure and try to keep the weekends about us and spend as much time as possible with eachother. He has had almost every sickness a kid can have but is doing great developmentally and socially (one of our worries about sending him to daycare). We are very blessed to have teachers that he LOVES and goes straight to without a fuss when we drop him off.
Dropping Griffin off will get a little easier...you just have to keep yourself busy during the day! I will be thinking about you next week! By the way...he is precious! :) Take care!!
Ladies- I am reading back through all of these memories of the first year, and I just want to say THANK YOU! These comments were soo sooo encouraging to me when I went back to work. Hearing from 3 working out of the home moms helped a ton, and Annie what you said about your parents even though they worked a ton really spoke to my heart.
ReplyDeleteIts been a rough year balancing work and home, but the Lord has sustained me and man its been a good year too!