Preparing to go back to work

517butterfly

Where do I start?  I still have another 2-3 weeks before I go back full time but I am starting to work from home some now.  We've got a routine down with me being at home but it will all change once I go back to work.  Any tips on getting a new routine set up so the transition won't be so bad?  TIA!

14years

Do a couple of trial runs, with your daycare or your nanny or sitter. ?Just to get used to it and see how things are going to go. ?It made all the difference in my 1st week back going well.As for general routine stuff, do most all the household stuff on the weekends and make SURE your hubby is involved. ?Make sure you both can do the things to keep the house running. ?Our biggest time saver is shopping on the weekend. ?Both DH and me or one of us goes to?the grocery store on the weekends with a list of everything we need for the week.? We make sure we have 4 dinners on hand for the week.? We have a rotating list of easy dinners that we both can make in 15 minutes or less.? He does most of the cooking while I am putting DS to bed.? Sometimes I make dinner if he is running late and DS is already in bed.? Point is, keep is simple and make sure both of you know what the meal options are.? I would scream if I heard the question "what's for dinner?"?:)Also, I start laundry on Thursday night and it's all done by Sunday night. ?I take three days off a week from laundry.?Your morning routine will just sort of develop, and it will change as your LO gets older. ?Now, DH wakes up DS (because I am usually up with him overnight.) ?We trade him off while we take showers and get ready. ?DH gets him dressed and gets his daycare stuff together.?Your LO will get into a new routine pretty quickly, they are so adaptable. ?You'll have a harder time than she will, but it will be old hat fast!??

Wubster042109

I've been back to work since I was 8 weeks post partum, but my DH lost his job & has been home w/ DD full time.  He accepted a job offer (yay!) and will be starting his new (full time) job next week so we've started prepping for his transition back to full time work.

To prepare he's been getting up at 6 am every morning, showering & dressing just like he'll be doing once he's working again.  This has helped us establish a morning routine around the house (prior to this I was used to getting ready for work w/out interruption while he watched the baby).  Its also helping him readjust to getting up & starting his day earlier.

We hired a family member (SAHM) to provide child care. DH will have a much longer commute than me, so I'll be handling the drop off/pick ups and I need to start planning for the extra time I'll need.  This week
I'll be practicing the drop off & pick up routine a couple of times, which should help me figure that routine out b4 it starts full force next week.

In addition to DD, we also have two dogs that aren't used to be left home all day/every day (before DH was laid off, he worked from home).  We've hired a dog walker to stop by every afternoon to let the dogs out.  This week she'll be doing a few trial runs to get the dogs transitioned to this new routine, as well.