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Working Moms
Christina_Diane
member
FTM going back to work
Christina_Diane
member
in Working Moms
The freak out has officially begun. I go back to work on August 6, and I never in a million years would have guessed that u would be the type who would feel guilty about working, but I'll save the mommy guilt for another post. What I am freaking out abut more is how my morning routine is going to work. I have to be out of the house by 6:20. If possible, I would also like to fit in either walking the dog or doing a quick 20 minutes of cardio before showering. I will also have to either pump both boobs, or nurse LO from one side and pump - this includes washing and reassembling the pump. Thankfully, DH will be sah, so i wont have to get lo ready in the mornings,
If you don't mind, please post a semi detailed timeline of your morning routine. If you have any time saving tricks, please post them too. TIA!
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Re: FTM going back to work
Here's my morning when I was pumping at work...it varies slightly depending on when the babies wake up! Right now they wake up anywhere from 4:30-6am.My H is at home until school starts, too.
Alarm goes off at 5:30am. Make coffee, shower.
Around 6:00 I pump. Finish getting ready. Wash pump parts and pack up pump. Grab lunch or assemble lunch. (I usually just bring yogurt or a salad that I prepped the night before if I had time.) Fill up my coffee thermos.
6:30-6:40 out the door.
If I wanted to work out, I would have to get up at least an hour earlier. Lately, I have been getting up at 5 when one of the babies wakes up to help H feed - with two it's a little different
Boy/girl twins born at 37w1d and 37w2d
I definitely had two sets of pump parts - one for work and one for home. If you're rushing, you could put the home set in the fridge for the day and wash it at night. (You can also don't have to wash a "work" set after every single use during the day to save time there.)
The first month I went back to work, I got up at 5:30 or 5:45 to leave by 7:15. Before having a baby, I needed 50-60 min. to do my preferred morning routine, vs. 1.5 hrs.+ after baby. I spent maybe 15 min. of that 1.5+ hrs. either nursing (in the first month), or getting her bottles ready for the day (after the first month, when she didn't BF before daycare).
Timeline really depends on how long you take to do your regular morning routine solo and what all you fit into your mornings (breakfast? time on hair? makeup?). Breakfast is important to me, but I spend about two minutes on my hair and zero on makeup.
My routine won't help you much, because my situation is too different.
But time-saving tips I've found in the last three weeks:
Extra pump parts - make sure you have extras and that they are washed beforehand. I pump exclusively, so I can't pack up the pump the night before, but if you can, do it. Be sure to put your freezer bags in as soon as you get home, and develop routines like that - milk in the fridge immediately, freezer bags in the freezer, and if you have time then (I don't, and I don't imagine many do), clean the collection bottles/pump parts then so they are ready to go. Or do as we do and do one big bottle/pump parts load a night.
Pack what you can in advance - you take your lunch? Pack it the night before, or put everything in order so you can pack it quickly in the morning. You have a bag of work you've taken home? Pack up before you go to bed.
Lay out what you can - I get my outfit ready to go the night before and hang it on the door. If it needs ironing or something, then it's done then. I don't waste time in the morning trying to decide what to wear or looking for that blue shirt or trying to find my necklace. It's all laid out.
Don't hit snooze - first, while it sucks to get up, the 'extra' time is either already built into your morning or you are running late. Just set your alarm for when you need to leave and go.
Breakfast on the run - if you can eat in your car or when you get to work, awesome. There are plenty of portable, healthy breakfasts you can eat. Don't skip breakfast though!
Pump in the car - perhaps an alternative to pumping with the baby is pumping in the car. I pump on the way home every day, and may also start pumping in the morning, depending on how we swing the new routine when DH goes back to work. I actually find that pump a particularly easy one, since I'm focused on driving.
Gabriel Ross - August 24, 2009 * Vivienne Rose - May 1, 2012
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I do all this, too.
I never got a second set of pump parts, but I would have if I had planned to pump longer. I pumped every 3 hours when I was home, so I would put the parts in the fridge in between because I didn't have time to wash.
Boy/girl twins born at 37w1d and 37w2d
I wake up at 515am and shower and get completely dressed and ready before waking up DS to feed him at 6am. I feed him for 10 min. on each side. Then at 620 I pass him off to DH who burps him and gets him dressed for the day. While DH is doing that I go and get my lunch ready and pack my pump bag. I leave the house at 640. I eat breakfast at work. I like getting all dressed first, so I can spend any extra time I have with my DS. I just have to protect my clothes from spit-ups!
When I come in from work the first thing I do is fill up the sink with hot water and put bottles and pump parts in there to soak. Then I get the milk ready for the next day (thawing some if needed). DS usually takes a nap around 6 pm, so I either nurse right when I get home or when he wakes up. Then he sits in his highchair while we eat dinner. After that we have a very short play time. We only do baths 2x week at 730. Then we read about 3 books and I try to put him down at 8, though some nights it's 830. Then I go back downstairs and wash the bottles and set everything out for the next day. Before getting into bed I set out my outfit too. I usually go to bed at 9 because I am just so tired. (Before baby it was more like 11 pm.)
Another thing that helped me was to take an index card and make a DETAILED list of everything I need to leave the house with including all the things that should be in my pump bag. So I check the list when I pack my pump bag and when I walk out the door so I don't forget anything. That is really helpful when you are tired and in a rush.
DH stayed at home part time with #1. It helped that he usually washed my pump parts and had clean bottles ready for milk when I got home. He also would often make my lunch.
If you are going to pump in the car do a trial run in traffic first! Actually I suggest doing a trial morning all together if you can.
GL! You will have it down and do great, eventually!
Thanks ladies. I usually go to bed around 9 when I work. I will look into extra pump parts, but I have the avent double electric, and they aren't available online. I can't exercise during lunch because I only get 30 minutes, and I will have to pump in that time.
I like the idea of adding in the exercise a week later.