What do your weekday mornings look like?

[infomommax]

@nhope When I was pumping, I pumped on the way to and from work so I could be with baby as soon as I got home. I would sometimes pump as soon as I woke up, then again on the way. You have the same commute I did, so I highly suggest some sort of portable pump.

I couldn’t believe women go back to work even quicker than I did (11 weeks PP).

I personally couldn’t find time to exercise until I was done pumping. Well, I probably could have but I preferred relaxing by the time I was done pumping.

Get literally everything ready the night before. Shit happens in the morning. My make up routine has only ever taken 5 minutes, so I still do that. If baby is holding a bottle themselves by the time you return to work, that will be helpful. I can’t remember now, must have been around 5-6 months though.

I initially worked part time. I know a lot of people who pumped a year. But when I started full time around February (7 months PP) my baby stopped latching at all, and EP became too much with full time. I had to stop pumping at ten months for mental health. Don’t feel guilty if you have to take it back a notch or even quit.

 

[renea]

@nhope Baby wakes me up around 6:30, after which we go downstairs so I can make coffee and breakfast. Baby is 8 months, so we eat together, read a book, then I put on a documentary about something for a few minutes so I can drink my coffee. I have separate items she can play with while I do my makeup (so she doesn't grab mine), we get dressed, collect our things, and we're out between 8 and 9 depending on my day.

Since she falls asleep in the car, I try to time leaving for when she needs to go down for a nap, even if it means leaving early. Sometimes I'll buy a coffee and drive a little more or idle in a parking lot if I'm too early for drop off.

 

[ljvwyk1993]

@nhope We have a 7 month old and he just started daycare a couple weeks ago. I also exclusively pump. Let me tell you, pumping at the office, you are dragging so much crap to the office daily, it's annoying. I WFH 5 days a week (occasionally go into the office once a week if I am looking for some social aspect). Partner works in an office about 25 minutes away 5 days a week.

Nighttime helps us with morning time. LO has a short nighttime routine and is asleep around 7pm (we go up around 6:15-6:30 and he is asleep between 6:45-7pm. He sleeps through the night. I make sure his bottles and any solids are working on are prepped for the next day.

Mornings consist of 1 of 2 possibilities; me working out or me not working out (I work out about 2 days a week).

If I am working out we both get up at 6am so I can pump and partner can shower. I get LO up at 6:30 if they are not already awake, get a little snugging in after diaper change, then hand over to partner who does the bottle feed and some morning time. I leave the house to workout at 6:45 (it is 20 minutes away) and I am back around 8:30am in time to log in, take a quick shower and work. Partner leaves around 7:15 (everyday) and drops off LO at daycare (15 minutes away, and on their way to work), arrives to work by 8am. I have to pick up LO before 5pm with this daycare so I leave work around 4pm to pick up LO and log back in for 30-60 minutes when I get home. I then start dinner and partner gets home before 6pm.

If I am not working out: I get up at 6:30, get LO up and changed, hand off to partner, and then pump. I get a little more snuggles and play time in with LO and then partner takes to daycare drop off while I get an hour of relaxing time at home before I log on at 8:30am. Usually a slow cup of coffee, light cleaning, breakfast.

For you I would ask some questions, what is your daycares hours? Mine is 7-5 so this dictates some things. Is daycare on your way to or from work? Is there high traffic? How many times are you pumping a day? I am down to 4 (wake up, twice during work, once before bed). Your husband WFH, when does he start work? Before or after you, flexible? Pumping is a lot of work, and going into the office is hard. If you two can manage it, and if it was me, and I had to be AT work, 30 minutes away, at 8am, I would want my partner doing drop off and pick up those days if possible. Definitely drop off if possible.

Our 6:30pm-6:30am sleep for LO really works awesome for us in many ways. One of my friends they have a 6pm-5am kid, and they get up early themselves, but UGH I would hate 5am.

I suggest working backwards from 8am and doing what you can the night before on the days you have to go in to the office. (ex. 8am in office, 30 minute drive, leave house 7:30am, assuming you are not doing drop off, pump allot 20-30 minutes so 7am, then if you shower/eat/change/pack/etc, that's easily 45-60 minutes for me if I do ALL those things in the morning, so 6am and that's just the stuff for you, another 30 minutes if you want some time with your kid in the AM). I personally don't wear makeup, I shower at night (unless it's after my morning workout), I prep bottles, and pack bags.

 

[smom2tnb]

@nhope We prep everything the night before. Pack lunches, lay out clothes, shoes, water bottles. When my son was on bottles I’d have all his bottle stuff prepped so the moment he was up I could give him a bottle and leave. I shower at night. And I don’t do makeup or hair. It’s either sleep 15 extra minutes or do my makeup lol.

 

[jilljilljill]

@nhope Office days:
- I wake up at 5:50 and pump for 20 mins
- Husband gets up and washes / dries my pump whilst I shower and get ready
- I leave the house at 6:40 to get the 6:56 train
- Husband gets baby up at 6:45-7 (depending on if she wakes, or needs waking up) and gives her bottle and gets her ready before leaving at 7:45 to be at nursery at 8
- Baby eats brekkie at nursery

WFH days:
- I get up at 6:30 and get anything ready for nursery that we couldn't do the night before (get milk out of fridge, heat up lunch and put in thermos)
- I wake baby up at 6:45-7 and breast feed
- Husband gets her ready for nursery whilst I shower
- I leave at 7:45 and take her to Nursery for 8
- I get home about 8:20 to have breakfast and log onto work to start at 8:30

ETA: baby is 7 months old, and I've been back at work for 2 months. We do as much prep the night before in terms of laying out our outfits, labelling all the bottles of milk that I send her with, packing bags etc

I try to wake her as late as possible, so that she lasts until her first nap at nursery - because at home she would go down for a nap around 8:30-9, but at nursery they're still having breakfast and clearing up etc so can't really get her down for nap until 9:30ish

 

[katrina2017]

@nhope We have one child (19months) and both recently started new jobs so have been working on this balance! Before this we both worked together from home and had a little more flexibility day to day (but a lot less flexibility overall).

We aim to get to school between 8 and 8:30. My office is flexible on start time, so the only rush is myself (though the school asks that we arrive by 9am).

Husband has to be at work by 7am, so he wakes up around 6. I try to get up with him, but sometimes end up sleeping in the toddlers bed if he wakes up in the wee hours. By husband leaves by 6:30 or so, and I hop in the shower. Usually my son wakes up between 6:45 and 7:15. We try to keep it to a 30-45 minute snuggle, breakfast, and get ready routine. Any longer and he usually starts and activity that he’s reluctant to leave.

The key for us has been prepping everything possible the night before. Set your thermoses out, grind your coffee and load the brewer, make your lunches, set out your outfits. I hate rushing in the morning, but our routine feels manageable if I’m prepared.

It was a lot harder when I pumped for him. There was way more cleaning and prepping and making sure I made time to do it throughout the day. I never felt like I really got a handle on that.

 

[tafari]

@nhope TBH, sounds like you and your SO got it all figured out. IMHO the prep work from the previous night seems like a pretty neat idea to save time. Also, alternating b/w dropping off the kids and picking them up should help mix things up. As your kids grow up, even they'll get in on the action and start contributing to the routine. Gluck!