What is your daily schedule like?

sapphirebride06 · June 2013

For mobile users: What is your daily schedule like?

I currently WFH so I drop off kids at daycare at about 8:45 - before 8:30 we have to pay for early care so we don't do that yet. DS #1 will start kinder in August so I will have to drop him off by 8 and will do early care for DS #2 and he can be dropped off as early as 7. I am interviewing and looking for a different job now and I'm assuming it will be an 8-5 position.

I am trying to plan our routine/schedule to see what is feasible and I cannot really count on DH because his job (we currently work together) is changing and they are starting to require travel Monday - Friday - at least four nights away. So I'm assuming he cannot help at all.

This is what I have so far - leave home at 7am - be at daycare for DS #2 drop off at 7:20. Leave there 7:25 and be at DS #1 school at 7:35 - 7:40. I would then have 20 minutes to get to work somewhere by 8. The jobs I am looking at are about 15 minutes from DS #1's kinder so that would work and the traffic in those areas isn't terrible so that shouldn't affect the commute. So if I get off at 5 I have about 20 minutes drive to get to DS #2's daycare because he has to be picked up by 5:30 and then get to DS #1's school by 6. He will be in an after school program that stays until 6pm. I'd actually have to drive by his school to get DS #2 so if I have time I will grab him but I don't know how close I will be cutting it.

We wouldn't get home until probably 6 every night, so I'd have dinner prepped as much as possible and hopefully we could eat by 6:30 but with everything starting earlier we would have to go to bed earlier so I'd barely see the kids before bedtime it seems. I think DS #2 will have to be in bed before 8 to get up around 6am for kinder since we have to leave by 7. I'm just curious how this schedule in my head compares to real life. Thanks and sorry this is long I'm just a type a planner and want to have plans in place!!!

AZ123 · June 2013

My only thing to add is to go to some of the pre-K socials and see if there's anyone in your neighborhood whom you could befriend who could drive your LO to kindergarten if you're ever in a bind. Or, someone to share carpool with. That's what I'm doing to lessen the stress of getting out of the door two days per week.

christinak22 · June 2013

We have to leave at 7:15 to get the kids to the babysitter, then drive an hour to work (work together) and take them straight out of bed if they're still asleep. This will have to change when DD goes to PreK in the fall!

We get home around 5:30, DH makes dinner while I pick up the kids and he (ideally) has dinner ready when we're home by 6:15, but it's usually more like 6:45. DS goes to bed by 7:30 and DD by 8:00.

I don't feel like we don't get any time together--we play for a while each night and DH hangs out with DD if she's up early in the morning. We make sure to do exciting things on the weekends, too.

mexicolombiana · June 2013

My schedule is pretty good right now, mostly because we have a nanny so there is no daycare drop off or pickup. I admit that much of the reason we have a nanny come to our house is to make our lives easier in the mornings and evenings and to maximize the time we have with our kids and our sleep. We pay more $ for this luxury.

If I had to take kids to daycare my life would probably sound much like yours OP and right now I don't want to get up that early and do all that dropping off and picking up. When kids starts real school we'll have to deal with that, but schools around us start at like 8:30 or 9 so it will be still later on.

DH and I get up around 7 or 7:30 even. Kids might be asleep still, might not. We alternate showering and getting ready. I hardly dress my kids in the morning. I definitely don't feed them breakfast- no time for that. I barely shower and get dressed and I'm out the door by 8:15.

We usually bring the girls downstairs in their PJs and start getting them dressed when the nanny walks in, then we let her takeover and DH and I gather up our stuff and leave. This has been a great set up because I don't care if my kids are dressed or fed since the nanny can take care of all this morning stuff.

We then come home right before 6. Evenings are a bit chaotic because we suck at meal prep so we kind of figure out dinner on a whim- we do a lot of picking up food at nearby Italian restaurants and a lot of grilling out in the summers.

The toddler starts pre-k in Sept. from 9-11:30 and I start work at 9 so I won't be able to drop her off, the nanny will do this too.

Later on when she starts kindergarten I'll have to figure out what to do but we'll figure it out!

sapphirebride06 · June 2013

DS #2 will have breakfast at school I think - I need to clarify but I don't know details since we don't do early care at this time. DS #1 will eat at home, and I don't think the morning will be an issue actually it is the evening. I have an hour in the morning to do drop off and pick up and get to work, but in the evening I have 30 minutes to get to DS #2 and his is the farthest, but closes the earliest. I am also worried about dinner but I figure since DS #1 is in karate two days a week, those will be the drive-thru or hot dog dinner nights. And since DS will be in kinder he will have to be up and dressed - that is the easy part actually. He dawdles some in the morning so he needs to get up by 6:15 at the latest if I need to leave at 7 because he takes a bit longer to wake up.

We talked about hiring a nanny to do pick up but I don't want to spend the money if I don't have to. I'm hoping the company is flexible and I can do a short lunch at my desk/office and then can leave a few minutes early. Even leaving by 4:45 would make a huge difference in our evening.

I shower at night so the morning is a bit easier and I pick out clothes for the boys and myself the night before as well. I also do lunch prep and breakfast prep as much as possible so the mornings are typically easier than evenings it seems but I think that is because it is hectic coming home doing dinner, unloading from the day, etc. We will hire a house cleaner too so that won't be an issue and I do laundry every day so that it doesn't add up. As long as my wardrobe is easy to mix and match that is another bonus so I am shooting for that as well.

DCMerged · June 2013

Well, as of late my 11-month old has had insanely early wake-ups (I'm talking as early as 4:30 a.m.!) so since I am still nursing him in the MOTN, my dear sweet husband gets up with him then and lets me sleep in until 7:00 a.m. So, I'll start there...

7:00 a.m. Wake up, nurse DS

7:30 a.m. Eat breakfast together (and by that I mean I suck down coffee while feeding DS pieces of toast while runs around the living room)

7:45 a.m. I throw on some make up so I don't look dead and do something with my hair

8:00 a.m. Make DS's lunch, bottles, and pack my pump parts and lunch

8:15 a.m. Nurse DS again to top him off and then get dressed in work clothes

8:30 a.m. Nanny arrives, leave for work

5:30 p.m. My DH relieves the Nanny

5:45 p.m. I get home and nurse DS

6:15 p.m. Make and eat dinner

6:45 p.m. Take a walk if the weather is nice or play in our playroom

7:25 p.m. Bath time

7:40 p.m. In DS's room, get jammies on, read books

7:55 p.m. Nurse DS to sleep

8:15 p.m. Shower, wash bottles, etc. and do some prep for the next day

8:45 p.m. Pass out

LoCarb · June 2013

Sounds like you have a good schedule. I drop off both kids at 6:30 am with a snack usually fruit to tie them over until 8:30 am breakfast. You may want to add time dropping off LO in DC. You'll have to get two kids out of the car and put one back into the car heading to Kindy. Also, I find a lot of teachers like to chat early in the a.m. when they're not as busy. Occasionally, I will have a tough drop off and one or both kids will be crying and that ties me up too.

ccam · June 2013

This is my daily schedule, or at least how it should be...

5am: Alarm goes off - DH and I are both up to get ourselves ready for work.

5:30-6:00am: DS wakes up somewhere during this time, if not, we have to go wake him up which stinks but rarely happens. I take longer to get ready than DH so he usually is on baby duty and gets DS fed and changed.

6:15-6:30am: We're all out the door. DH drops DS down the road at daycare since his commute is much shorter than mine. I'm straight off to work.

7am - 3:30pm: My work day

4:15pm: I pick up DS from daycare and usually go straight home to play.

5:00pm: DS is starving so we do dinner. Right now, he does leftovers from our dinner the night before since there is no way we're all ready to eat by then. DH usually walks in the door while DS is having dinner.

5:30 - 6/6:30pm - More playtime with DH while I clean up his dinner mess and start our dinner.

6/6:30pm - Bedtime routine and DS is out before 7.

7pm - bed - "Our time" - we finish dinner, eat, prep for the next day, fold laundry, pay bills, etc. Sit down and watch a little tv together, have a glass of wine and ready for bed by 9. Yes, I get into bed by 9!

ashcody2 · June 2013

My hours are 8-5, work is 15 minutes from our house and DC is 20 minutes from our house. Distance is the same from DC to work.

Wake up: 6 am - that leaves me an hr. and 20 mins. to get myself & LO ready

Leave house @ 7:20 - that puts me at DC by 7:35ish

I usually get to work with 5-10 mins. to spare depending on how much I visit with DC provider.

Get home around 5:20 - I don't do P/U's though since my fiance is off @ 4:00 and LO is in bed by 7:00.

sapphirebride06 · June 2013

ClaryPax:
Wake up 6:30, leave house at 7:30. Drop off at 7:45, arrive work at 8:30. Leave work at 4:30 arrive to daycare a limitless after 5, and home at 5:15 to 5:30. Is there any way to find both a daycare that does before and after car and will transport your oldest to school? Or hire a nanny. DH has traveled for work, and it's really hard. I have a half hour lunch which is a bit short, but I love that extra half hour in the evenings. Maybe they'll let you take a shorter lunch? Don't be afraid to flex time or use PTO if your sanity is going.

I don't mind the options for pick up - I have heard wonderful things for the after school program that my oldest will be in and I love the daycare the baby is at so I don't want to change. There is one that would allow for both kids starting when the little one is 18 months but it would require my oldest to ride the bus to that daycare and neither H nor myself want that. There are too many situations where too many kids are only watched by a bus driver that is focused (or should be) on driving and isn't focused on the kids. So that isn't an option really.

I would love a short lunch hour actually, I could take my lunch and save money and time. I'm all on board for that because it isn't close enough for me to run any errands anyway so that wouldn't be something I need to do. H thinks he won't have to travel as much as he is right now but we want to assume the worst just for planning sake.

sapphirebride06 · June 2013

AZ123:
My only thing to add is to go to some of the pre-K socials and see if there's anyone in your neighborhood whom you could befriend who could drive your LO to kindergarten if you're ever in a bind. Or, someone to share carpool with. That's what I'm doing to lessen the stress of getting out of the door two days per week.

Because DS needs a carseat and I still want him in a 5 point harness I don't know how this would work. Dropping off my oldest would be easy, it's the baby that is farther away and in the opposite direction but I won't switch his daycare, I will just work around it. We love his daycare and want to keep him there. The pick up is what I am more worried about, drop off I think will work fine.

mexicolombiana · June 2013

DCMerged:
Well, as of late my 11-month old has had insanely early wake-ups (I'm talking as early as 4:30 a.m.!) so since I am still nursing him in the MOTN, my dear sweet husband gets up with him then and lets me sleep in until 7:00 a.m. So, I'll start there...
7:00 a.m. Wake up, nurse DS

7:30 a.m. Eat breakfast together (and by that I mean I suck down coffee while feeding DS pieces of toast while runs around the living room)

7:45 a.m. I throw on some make up so I don't look dead and do something with my hair
8:00 a.m. Make DS's lunch, bottles, and pack my pump parts and lunch
8:15 a.m. Nurse DS again to top him off and then get dressed in work clothes
8:30 a.m. Nanny arrives, leave for work
5:30 p.m. My DH relieves the Nanny
5:45 p.m. I get home and nurse DS
6:15 p.m. Make and eat dinner
6:45 p.m. Take a walk if the weather is nice or play in our playroom
7:25 p.m. Bath time
7:40 p.m. In DS's room, get jammies on, read books
7:55 p.m. Nurse DS to sleep
8:15 p.m. Shower, wash bottles, etc. and do some prep for the next day
8:45 p.m. Pass out

When I was pumping at work this was pretty much my schedule! Except I went to bed later.

Stella2008 · June 2013

Summer so far has been a bit out of wack, but DD is starting at school summer camp next week where the schedule will be back to pretty much normal.

6:15am: I get up, shower, and then wake DH up to shower while I get dressed and dry my hair.

7:00am: Get the kids up--each take one to dress, and I do both girls hair.

7:20am: grab breakfast (usually squeezy applesauce, fruit, and some kind of pastry) and eat on the go (DD#2 eats breakfast at daycare)--I'll usually pull something out to thaw for dinner or throw something in the crock pot during this time too

7:30am: DH leaves with DD#2 and drops her off down the street at the in home daycare, and then heads to work (he's usually in by 8:15am--we live in a big city and he drives downtown)

7:45am: I leave with DD#2 and drop her off at school (less than 5 min away) on the way to my train

8:00: train to work

8:25: arrive at work

4:35: leave work

5:15: pick up DD#2 from day care, circle back and then pick up DD#1 from school (she HATES being picked up early and would prefer to be the last kid there)

5:30: arrive home

5:30-6:15: make dinner, DD sets table, and we are usually sitting down to eat at 6:15 with DH typically gets home from work. Since dinner usually involves minimal work and is cooking for 20-35 minutes, this is also my time to play with the kids, just us.

6:45: play outside with the kids, go for a run, go to the park, or just hang out as a family

7:30: if it is bath night, bath for both girls, otherwise DD#2 goes to bed

8:00-8:15: DD#1 bed time. DH cleans up from dinner, and it's my turn to relax.

8:45: DH and me time. Will usually straighten up the house a bit, pay bills, do a load of laundry, etc.

10:00-11:00am: Bed.

Lanajax319 · June 2013

I'm still wondering how this is going to work. Our current, prebaby schedule is pretty wild.
Up at 9:30 or so.
Housework and breakfast watch a little TV together etc from that time until 12:30 or so when dh and I leave for work.
Work from around 1to 9:30 or 10pm.
Come home, eat dinner, laundry, etc.
Bed around 12:30 or 1am.

No clue how to change it yet. Anyone work anything similar?

BabyNewbury2012 · June 2013

I work Monday thru Thursday, 10 hour days! My husband works Monday thru Friday, 10-12 hour days and also 5-10 hours on Saturday when needed (which is a lot lately).

Workdays:

4am-My wake up, get dressed, feed our furbabies, pack up lunch

5am-Out the door

5:30am-Start Work Day

6:45am-Hubby wakes and showers

7:00-7:45am-Hubby gets our daughter up and dressed and gives her breakfast, brushes her teeth, plays with her, packs up bag and leaves for daycare

8:30-9:00am-Hubby drops our daughter off to Daycare

9:00-9:30am-Hubby starts work

4:00pm-I Pick up daughter from Daycare

4:15pm-Give her snack and milk (I rush to prepare dinner and get it cooking)

4:45-5:30pm-Play with her

5:30pm-Feed Puppy dogs and we eat

6:00pm-play and Bath

6:30pm- Take her and our dogs for a walk (daughter has her milk then)

7:00-7:15pm-Brush Teeth, story and In bed

7:30-Ellipitcal for me then shower

8:30-Clean up dishes, unpack bags and get lunches prepared for the following day.

8:30-9:00-Hubby gets home, eats, helps tidy up

10:00-To bed

I too am a planner and try to keep things the same each day. My advice is to have every meal planned for each day. I even plan snacks. That way when Im packing lunch I just have to look in my notebook. Also if you don't work on weekends, use Saturday or sunday to prepare things that can be prepared ahead of time. It can be tough but you will get it done

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