I work full time and am lucky to be able to work from home two afternoons a week. My schedule is pretty odd at times and I have an odd assortment of childcare, but we are making it work. Honestly, it’s kind of crazy and I think that the constant day-to-day changes makes life a little harder than it needs to be, but it’s what we have to do.
Monday:
6:00 am: Wake up. Nurse Little Bug. Get bottles ready for Little Bug. Head to work.
6:30 am: Start work.
8:30 am: Babysitter arrives and Mr. Cereal goes to work.
12:30 pm: Home for lunch. Nurse Little Bug, get LeLe some lunch. I stay home for about an hour and a half until Mr. Cereal gets home and takes over.
1:00 pm: Get LeLe into bed for a nap.
2:00 pm: Nurse Little Bug then head back to work. Mr. Cereal stays home with the babies on Monday afternoons.
2:00 pm to 4:30 pm: Work
4:30 pm: Head home from work. Nurse Little Bug.
5:00 pm: Dinner
7:00 pm: Bedtime routine starts for kids. We do a shower or bath every night for LeLe and a shower every other night for Little Bug. I usually nurse Little Bug while in the shower with him.
7:45 pm: Kids in bed, Mr. Cereal and I alternate who showers with the kids each night, so whoever didn’t do showers or baths with them that night gets to shower after the kids are in bed.
8:00 pm: Little Bug is usually asleep, LeLe gets to watch one episode of Little Einstein, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, or Sesame Street.
8:30 pm: LeLe goes to sleep (usually) and Mr. Cereal and I watch one of our tv programs. I use this time to multi-task as well and either stuff diapers, pack the bags for the next day, or get some work done that I didn’t finish during the day. I will start using this time for homework when my school gets a little more involved.
12:00 am: Nurse Little Bug
3:00 am: Nurse Little Bug
5:00 am: Nurse Little Bug
Tuesday:
6:00 am: Wake up, nurse Little Bug, etc.
6:30 am: Get bags into car, get kids up and dressed.
6:45 am: Get kids into car, head to my parents’ house.
7:15 am: Drop kids off, kisses, head to work.
7:30 am to 11:30 am: Work
11:30 am: Go to parents’ house to pick up kids
12:15 pm: Home, unload kids, get LeLe into bed for nap, get lunch for myself and get computer set up to work. Nurse Little Bug.
12:30 pm to 4:30 pm: Work at home. This is tough sometimes because the kids are often up and crazy during this time, but we have a pretty good routine going right now, so I usually only have to take quick breaks to tend to them and then I can keep working.
4:30 pm: Mr. Cereal gets home. I usually work for a little longer to make up for the time lost from tending to the kids.
5:00 pm: Dinner/ evening routine – see above
Wednesday:
6:00 am: Wake up, nurse Little Bug, etc.
6:30 am: Get kids up and dressed.
6:45 am: Get LeLe breakfast
7:00 am: Mr. Cereal’s mom arrives — she babysits on Wednesdays
7:15 am to 11:30 am: Work
11:30 am: Go home for lunch, nurse Little Bug
12:30 to 4:30 pm: Back to work
4:45 pm: Get home from work
5:00 pm: Dinner/ evening routine – see above
Thursday:
6:00 am: Wake up, nurse Little Bug, etc.
6:30 am: Get kids up and dressed.
6:45 am: Get LeLe breakfast
7:00 am: Babysitter arrives
7:15 am to 11:30 am: Work
11:30 am: Go home for lunch, nurse Little Bug
12:30 to 4:30 pm: Work
4:45 pm: Get home from work
5:00 pm: Dinner/ evening routine – see above
Friday:
6:00 am: Wake up, nurse Little Bug, etc.
6:30 am: Get bags into car, get kids up and dressed.
6:45 am: Get kids into car, head to my parents’ house.
7:15 am: Drop kids off, kisses, head to work.
7:30 am to 11:30 am: Work
11:30 am: Go to parents’ house for lunch, nurse Little Bug.
12:30 pm to 4:30 pm: Work.
4:30 pm: Go to parents’ house to pick up kids.
5:00 pm: Dinner/ evening routine- see above
As you can see, the schedule is a jumble of childcare and a lot of driving here and there, but it allows me to nurse Little Bug everyday at lunchtime, which means one less pumping session for me. I am super lucky that my mother in law drives two hours each way to babysit on Wednesdays. The best part about that is that she was the one who initiated this arrangement, and I know how much she appreciates having time with the kids. My plan for school is to do homework on the weekends and in the hour of free time I have during the evenings. I have also been given permission to do some homework during work hours if I have no other pressing tasks. Basically, I am really fortunate to be able to make a schedule that works while still getting a lot of time with my children.
Does anyone else have a hodgepodge of childcare?
clementine / 928 posts
Wow impressive! It’s great that both sets of grandparents get to have time with the kids every week and that you get to see them during the work day! I’m pregnant with our first and with me working overnights with odd days off during the week and DH being a teacher, I can see our childcare being just as interesting!
guest
Wow, that’s a lot to juggle. I think the travel back and forth during the day for lunch and nursing would get really hard – guessing you don’t live too far from work though! Until about 6 months ago we had 1child with a nanny and 1 in daycare, and on separate days my MIL took them. Now we have them both at daycare which makes it a little easier though my MIL watches them on separate days still, so twice a week we have kids going in opposite directions…but it’s wonderful time for each of them with Grandma!
nectarine / 2951 posts
We do! DS goes to daycare Monday and Thursday. Daddy watches him on Tuesday, my mom watches him on Wednesday, and my husband’s mom or dad watch him on Friday. I have Summers off, but he still goes to school mon and thurs. we are so grateful for all our help especially since my parents live 45 min away and my in laws live 2 hours away.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
How do you get home, nurse a baby and get dinner on the table in 30 minutes????
We had to do that for a few months and it was literally crockpot meals everynight and I wasn’t sleeping till like 11 the night before!
blogger / kiwi / 626 posts
@regberadaisy: I do serious meal prep on Sunday nights and I try to make every two days have similar ingredient meals. Some nights we just have sandwiches and soup or a quiche I cooked over the weekend. It’s a lot of planning ahead.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
How do you wake up, nurse a baby, get bottles ready, get yourself ready, and get to work all in 30 minutes?? Is your work literally next door??
blogger / kiwi / 626 posts
@Adira: I pack all bags, fill bottles, etc the night before. In the morning, I just have to take the bottles out of the fridge to let them get to room temperature. Little Bug only takes about 7 minutes to nurse and I am not a makeup/fancy pants person. My work is about 5 minutes away from my house. I really try to have things ready the night before to make my mornings a little easier. Some days I am early, some days I am late. This is just an example of my standard schedule, nothing is written in stone.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@Mrs. Cereal: I’m just jealous! When I was nursing, I’d get up around 5:00 in order to nurse, get ready, and be at work by 7:00! It was a 30-40 minute drive though.
blogger / kiwi / 626 posts
@Adira: Sorry, didn’t mean to get short. It’s been a long day already here… But yeah, I am lucky to live so close to work. Its the only way I can swing the nursing at lunch, etc. Plus, as I said, I dress like a 12 year old boy, jeans a t-shirt so getting out the door is pretty quick. I kind of love Mondays because I get to get up and go immediately, it’s almost like a break.
guest
My comment as well – how on earth do you get yourself ready for work, baby nursed and ready, milk set, bags packed, breakfast eaten, get out the door, drive and arrive at work in 30 minutes. Impressive! It takes me 2 hours (and I don’t shower!)
guest
What an amazing MIL! 2 hours each way?! That sounds like something my MIL would do. She once offered to drive 7 hours each way for a few hour casual Saturday visit. We told her her time was worth more than that. Book a flight.