Last night, I went to my La Leche League monthly meeting and our topic was working and breastfeeding. We talked about our ideal work schedules, daycare, pumping, and maternity leave. I shared that as a working mom, I get very little sleep. I think it's about 5-6 hours per night when I work in the office and on the days that I work from home, I hopefully get an extra hour. I know lots of moms and parents, for that matter, remember their days before children of sleeping 7-8 hours per night...or more! If I'm lucky, I take an afternoon nap on the weekend with Ava. But, I'm not getting enough sleep.I'm curious how other moms do it! So please share your advice and tips. I'd love to hear how other families balance their time.
When I work in the office, I pick the baby up from daycare and we nurse there. Then we get home and she nurses for another hour to reconnect. We have about an hour to play together and eat dinner before we start her bedtime routine. Then I get to shower, make lunches for all of us, clean bottles/pump parts for the next day. After she goes to bed, that's when I have to finish work and respond to emails or if I'm lucky, I can blog about the stuff we're up to or share recipes. There's always laundry to fold or chores around the house that need attention. Sometimes, I want to just sit and relax with Aaron - what a novel thought!
Sleep is ultra important to restore energy, build immunity, and help keep my brain focused for work and family.
My sweet and practical friend, Jill, last night reminded me that I can say no to things. She's right! My goal is push back on extra things. I'm going to swap my book club for my La Leche League leadership application process. I can't read two sets of books in a month. And that might mean less blog posts or fewer activities. But I know I need it! It's my new challenge in mothering.
I think all moms struggle with this. We all wear so many hats and have so many people to care for! I have been living on coffee for most of the last 2 years! I long for the days that my kids will sleep and I can once again be rested. If you find the magic secret, please share it! :)
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the coffee! I feel comforted to know that I'm not alone. :) I agree that moms wear many hats and our roles are rewarding too!
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest thing for me is allowing myself to walk away from work, leave it there whenever possible (which I know isn't always possible), maybe get enough bottles so you only have to wash them every other day (or some system like this) where you can give yourself wiggle room to leave the dishes or leave something to just sit with Aaron which is also important to unwind and then head to bed. We definitely have rewarding roles, but man they're exhausting haha :) I try to stay focused on priorities of what I want to get donea nd trying to learn being okay with some things just not getting done all the time/every night :)
ReplyDeleteOn the weekends my husband and I give each other our own nap time. This allows the other parent some one-on-one time with our daughter and the other gets to catch up on some z's.
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