*** Working Mum's Support thread ***

[babyem]

On work days I get to dress LM and take her to nursery.. shes always in bed when I finish x

 

[CARNAT22]

I have been back to work for 5 months and only in the past 2 days has James started getting upset when I leave.

I've never had to really deal with the guilt of leaving him before as he just hasn't been bothered. Now I have to prise a crying child from my leg. It's horrible.

My sister said he was fine within minutes of me going which is reassuring.

In general James has been having a rotten few days though - tantrums about literally everything!

X

 

[NavyLouise]

I have been back to work for 5 months and only in the past 2 days has James started getting upset when I leave.

I've never had to really deal with the guilt of leaving him before as he just hasn't been bothered. Now I have to prise a crying child from my leg. It's horrible.

My sister said he was fine within minutes of me going which is reassuring.

In general James has been having a rotten few days though - tantrums about literally everything!

X

If it helps, Enid did exactly the same. She goes through phases now where she doesn't give a damn when I leave and then suddenly for a week or two will scream the nursery down when I leave. I think it's maybe a clingy phase developmental thing.

It is bloody horrible though x

 

[Heres Hoping]

Hi ladies, im back to work on monday after 9 months off with my little girl and im dreading it :'( I hate my job too which doesn't help. Feel really guilty im only going to see her two hours a night, feel like I cant be a proper mammy to her then iykwim. Im so scared it'll affect our bond not being here. I could literally cry, everyone tells me it'll be fine but I dont believe them, how can it be. Im finding it really hard :'( x

 

[fcroxy]

Hiya ladies,

I'm back to work 30th June, (I think, been putting it off speaking to the manager!) Harper will be almost 7 months, so got about a month left and not looking forward to it.

I work for a small care agency, and tbh it's a rubbish job. I'm hoping to look for another job in a few months.

I suppose I'm lucky as I'll be going back part time and harper will be with either my mum or OH so I don't have to worry about nurseries yet.

I am dreading leaving Harper tho as she seems to be doing new stuff almost daily, I don't want to miss any of her firsts, but I know it needs to be done.

I know once I'm back I'll be fine but the dreaded wait for the return date is horrible! Xx

 

[fcroxy]

Forgot to add, harpers still not sleeping through the night, and I can't see it changing in the next month, I don't know how I'm going to cope with a days work on 3 hours sleep! Let's just hope by some miracle she will start sleeping!

Anyone else's LO's still waking regularly? How Dya find the energy to juggle work, housework, and having a LO with next to no sleep? Suppose I want reassurance it can be done because I'm not feeling very positive about it ATM.. xx

 

[flisstebbs]

Thought this would help:
My second week back to work and Jess already seems to be loving nursery. I've also seen several very positive changes, one being that she is happier playing for 10mins or so without me sitting right next to her. She was initially sleeping better at night too but all the week the dreaded teeth have meant 5 broken hours max for me.

Fcroxy: Its hard doing work on bad sleep, I do 12 hour shifts too, so feel knackered by 5pm, but its definitely no harder than looking after a baby all day on no sleep. Remember your doing an incredibly responsible job looking after your LO on the 3hrs sleep. Also I've found most of my colleagues are cutting me some slack because they know I'm functioning on little sleep.

I do feel guilty, I only see Jess to give her morning bottle and get her dressed before I leave the house and Daddy does nursery drop off and pick up on the 3 days I work. However, I do think there will always be something to be guilty about being a Mummy, and that may just be "is my LO getting enough from just me?". Someone told me once "a placenta comes with guilt". I think this is pretty spot on!

Nat, how are you coping with early pregnancy and working and baby??? I do want 2 at some point but couldn't imagine how to do pregnancy with everything else!!

 

[fcroxy]

Fliss, I suppose I'll get use to no sleep and working, just the thought of it is tiring! Some days I barely have the energy for anything but I'm sure once I get into the swing of it I'll get into a routine, and until then just keep trying to get Harper to sleep through! Xx

 

[CARNAT22]

Re: lack of sleep

I haven't slept more than 4 hours straight since I was about 30 weeks pregnant (so probably since August / September 2012 )

On paper James sleeps through, although the reality is he is a very restless sleeper and has me up several times a night. Most times he won't waken and I am only up for for a minute or so BUT I have very broken and interrupted sleep.

I cope just fine, I suppose I am used to the lack of sleep now?

We are Mummy's - we have to cope

X

 

[tinks77]

Grace is 2.5 and still doesn't sleep through!! For months she was waking for the day between 4:30 - 5:30 and I then had to go and work 9hr days without a lunch break (I chose not to take lunch & finish 30mins earlier)
I hope Luke isn't as bad with sleeping or I'm really screwed when I return to work next time lol

 

[fcroxy]

That is so true about having to cope lol.

I know I'll be fine when it comes to it, and the energy will come from somewhere. But when I have lazy days (like today, OH had Harper all morning and I slept until 12!) I don't know how ill do it xx

 

[openeyes]

Hi ladies, hope you don't mind if I pop in! I used to come on here all the time when I was pregnant, but once Riley was here I didn't have the time. I'm about to start working full time and figured I'd need a bit of support!
Long story short, my OH lost his job in October, I went back to work 2 days a week in January. I've just been made redundant and OH still hasn't found a job, so I've had to find a new job full time.

How do those of you that are full time deal with being away from your lo?

Riley is our first and I just worry that I'm going to go to pieces every time I leave for work.

 

[CARNAT22]

Is your OH having Riley?

That makes it a lost easier, my OH had James for the first few months and then he went to my sister.

To be honest James has only just recently started noticing me leaving - and I have been back FT for 5 month? I just have to put on my 'hard' face and be strong.

My sister texts me within a few minutes and he has always calmed down.

I think as long as they are well cared for and occupied they don't "miss" us in the same way we miss them.

It's hard I won't lie but it's not as bad as I thought it would be

X

 

[CARNAT22]

As pay back for waking him up at 6.30 everyday last week, James had me up at 5.30am today.



X

 

[fcroxy]

Harper has me up every morning between 5-6. This morning though she slept in until 6.35am! It's very unheard of her sleeping past 6am!

I don't mind so much now as I'm use to it and by 8am my housework is done for the day lol.

Going to be strange tomorrow morning as Harper is staying at mums tonight so I can have a full nights sleep. She hasn't stayed away overnight since she was about 7 weeks old, and only then she only stayed out the once xx

 

[Kiagirl]

I'm quite lucky, oh has Lucie 2 days a week and mum has her 2 days so I only have to rush around getting her ready for nursery 1 day but that's bad enough. I feel bad for working ft but needs must. I work in a school atm tho so do get all the hols which is nice

 

[mrssmith2011]

I'm dreading going back to work. My only comfort is that my hubby or parents will be having Joseph so at least I am not worried about nurseries or anything. Just hope I can push my maternity leave until Jan so he will be 11 months when I go back. He's 4 months today I don't know where the time has gone x

 

[Loula]

3 day week this week. Not done one of those for a while x

 

[Jajis]

Urgh me too, today, tomorrow and Friday. And I woke up this morning feeling like crap, but not bad enough to not go in, and now I'm feeling even worse but I really have to go in tomorrow as there's tonnes to do - bloody typical

A was all spotty at the weekend, at first we thought it was the pox so thought OH would have to be off tomorrow and Friday so I could go to work, but it didn't develop into blisters and Mum took him to the GP today and she said it's definitely not, it's just a non-specific viral rash, and that he's fine to go to nursery tomorrow, which is good, but my Mum made it very clear that she didn't think it was a good idea for him to go because he'd had a couple of sad, flopsy moments today and needed cuddles with her.

Aaarrrggghhh mummy guilt is kicking in big time - I really think he'll be fine (Mum and him went to the play park etc. today, so it's not like he was curled up on the sofa all day or anything), and OH will go and pick him up early if they decide he isn't okay, but still, the guilt...

 

[Dotty_woman]

15 months of great skin. Back to work for a week and zits are back. Ffs.