Working Moms
trinny
member
Options
s/o What is your coming home routine?
trinny
member
in Working Moms
Since so many of us find this time of day to be crazy-- just wondering if there are any helpful time savers out there!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: s/o What is your coming home routine?
DS goes to bed at 7, so I don't do anything I don't HAVE to do until after he's in bed. I don't clean or work or anything from 5-7. Sometimes we even wait to eat dinner until after he's in bed.
I do usually get home a little before DH and DS, so I do what I can in that time.
I'm also all about the crockpot and making meals ahead of time whenever possible.
5 'ish - leave work
5:15 'ish - get home and hang out with kids a bit, get changed, clean up a bit
5:45 'ish - get dinner started
6:30 - eat dinner
7 - hang out some more & clean up from dinner
7:30 - baths & other parent finishes cleaning up
8 pm - #1 goes to bed and #2 watches some Elmo to "unwind" (she naps, so she's up later), I prep for the next day and/or work out
9 pm - #2 goes to bed and I relax
10 pm - I go to bed.
We just keep it real simple in the evenings. Heaven help me when we have to do homework at night!
General routine
Get home 5:45
Feed dinner 6:15
Play/read until 7
Bath 7:15
Play/read until 8
Lights out at 8
When I pick up the kids I dont worry about all the bags and stuff. I just make sure I take my cell phone inside with me. I get the bags and anything else I need from the car once the kids are in bed.
I like to cook enough that will last me a few nights so I am not cooking every day after work. I will give DD a small snack and have them watch me while I do anything. If I do have to wash dishes I bring DS in the high chair near the sink and DD is pretty good about sitting on the counter and just talking to me.
I have gotten pretty good at bathing my kids at the same time (DS in the small tub inside the big tub. And DD in the big tub). I take DS out and dry him and put his diaper and PJs on and put him in the bouncy. Then I take DD out. I read her a book or let her play in her room and nurse DS at the same time. I dont worry about the mess or cleaning up until they are both in bed.
I leave work around 4pm, pick up the girls at 4:20pm and home by 4:30pm. Get in comfy clothes and play with the girls until 5pm. Then I start dinner. Since I bake everything. I feed the girls while I wait for the food to cook. 6pm DH and I eat while the girls play. 6:30-6:45pm bathe the girls, give them their night bottle and they go to sleep between 7pm and 7:30pm. Then it is dishes time. I clean, do a load of laundry and watch a show before bed time around 9 - 10pm.
I get home at around 5:45 and get changed. I chat with DH and play with DS and then we eat dinner at around 6:15/6:30. Right after dinner either DH or I will give DS a bath while the other cleans up the kitchen. I always put DS in his pajamas, brush his teeth and brush his hair after his bath. Then we play and he has a bottle while we read. He usually goes to bed between 8-8:30 depending on how he napped during the day. It's usually a pretty low stress time of day for me.
Dh and I take turns getting ds from daycare but my routine is the same regardless of whether or not I pick him up. I leave the office at 5:00 and when I get home, I make sure ds is content first and then I wash all the bottles and pump parts that need to be washed. I also tend to some laundry (whether it be washing or folding... there's always something laundry-related to be done). I try to pump as close to 6:00 as possible but it varies depending on when we eat and if ds needs to be fed, changed, entertained, etc. I always have to wash bottles and pump parts again later on when I have time. When we're all finished eating and I'm done pumping and washing then I prepare ds' bottles for daycare the next day and put them in the fridge.
It really doesn't look like I have a ton to do but taking care of ds in between all of the "must-dos" takes up a lot of time, haha! Then, I take a shower around 9:00 (or try to... sometimes it ends up being around the time when I should be getting to bed) and I take a bath with ds every other night during the week after my shower. I try to get us to bed at about 10:00, which usually works out okay... and I bring bottles of water to bed and pre-measured formula with me to bed in case he wakes up in the night.
Matthew Kevin
7/31/83-7/20/11
Met 1/8/00
Engaged 4/21/06
Married 9/29/07
Two beautiful legacies: Noah Matthew (2 yrs) and Chloe Marcella (8 mos)
Day Three
I get out of work at 4:30 and pick up the girls - we are home at 5:10 PM...then I have about 10 minutes of playtime with whoever is still awake (usually one of them dozes in the car) and then it's time for bottles...DH usually gets home at 5:30 in time to help feed the two of them at the table...if it's bath time we start at 5:45 pm, finishing up by 6:15 pm..then upstairs for a story and bed by 6:30pm...
I don't do anything that is not baby related until they are in bed...then it is time for dinner for dh & I (last night was half a bag of cheetos and steamed broccoli...I must get better at meal planning), a quick pick-up...dishes/bottles...maybe a load of laundry and by then it is 8pm..time for a shower, maybe some tv and my bed...oh how I love the weekend...
I'll answer too...
5:15 leave work to pick up DD
5:45 arrive home, take in milk (leave everything else in car!), get mail, let dog out, play with DD
6:00 DH comes home and I get stuff out of the car while he is greeting then one of us plays with dog and DD while the other makes dinner
6:30 we eat together w/ DD in the highchair. If she's done before us, we usually let her crawl around until we finish
7:00 I do dishes while DH and DD play, I join too when I'm done
7:30 I get DD and start getting her ready for bed, nurse, night night
8:30-10:00 do rest of dishes, make bottles for next day, watch tv, have tea, etc.
10:00 bedtime for mommy!
I get home around 5 and wash up bottles and pump parts, make bottles for next day and start dinner.
DH gets home with the girls anywhere from 5:15-5:30. We play a bit, I nurse DD2, then we eat dinner (DD2 in bouncy seat with us). More playing, then bath every other night around 7. DD1 is in bed between 7:30 and 8. I hold DD2 while I watch some TV. I take her up to bed with me around 9-10 (she is in our room in a bassinet).
It is all good unless DH goes out, then it can be stressful.
I'm lucky because DH and I commute together with DS, so we both get off work around 4:15. He gets the car and picks us up, while I get DS out of daycare. We get home around 5.
I usually get dinner together. I try to do either crockpot, make enough to have leftovers the second night, or something quick and easy. DS either plays with DH, whines until I pick him up, or sometimes is satisfied with either playing in the cabinets or in the kitchen near me with a bowl and spoon that I give him.
We eat between 5:30 and 6, play until 7, then DH gives DS a bath, we both help get his pjs on, and then I read books to him and lay him down.
My only tips are to make dinner as quick and easy as it can be. I'm loving those steamable vegetables--they taste pretty good and they're a lot easier for me than making fresh veggies, especially toward the end of the week.
I get home with DS between 5 and 6 and he is in bed by 7-7:30 so it really bums me out if I am rushing around during that time making dinner, etc.. So what has really helped me in the past few months is to make most of the dinner the night before. I will assemble a casserole and just have to bake it the next night. Or do most of the prep work and then just have actually cook it. And I try to make enough for 2-3 nights.
This approach does wear me out because I have a ton to do after he goes to bed but I love being able to play and chill with him in that couple of hours before bed.