There is nothing easy about going back to work after maternity leave. Even if you love your job, going back to work after being home for months with your baby/children is one of the hardest things to do. I remember before I went back to work with Leilani and Josiah, I cried. Yea, I said it. I cried. I didn't want to go, but I knew that was the sacrifice I had to make in order to contribute to the lifestyle we currently have.Going back to work means time with my husband and children is very limited, especially considering our complex work schedules. This being my third time having to go back to work after maternity leave, I thought I'd share some #momhacks that I adopted over the years to manage me and my family's time:
- Meal Plan & Prep // One of the mistakes we made after having our first child was we did not meal prep. No one wants to come home after a long day at work and try to put a meal together. With Josiah, we started implementing meal prep on the weekends, and we'll be implementing it this go round as well. Take some time over the weekend (and every weekend going forward) to cook two-three meals to last your family during the week. It will free up your weeknights so you can spend it with your family after being at work all day, and it will save you some lunch money as well. We're all about saving a cute coin over here! Eating out is a surefire way to blow your monthly budget.
- Outsource Household Tasks // Outsourcing as many household tasks will be a life saver and one of the biggest mom hacks I can give you. One of the biggest things we've outsourced is grocery shopping. Every Friday night or Saturday morning we'd rally up our gang of kiddos and spend about three hours out the house food shopping. Not anymore! We use Instacart to get our groceries delivered from our favorite grocery stores: Aldi & BJ's. Super easy way to get some of your time back during the week. You can also hire a cleaning service to do a deep clean of your house once a month, drop off and pick up laundry - whatever makes your day to day easier, see if you can outsource it and if its in the budget, take advantage.
- Stick to an Evening Routine // Before Riley was born, we were still putting our two toddlers to sleep. Now that they're falling asleep alone and in their own room (praise the Lord!), sticking to a 9 p.m. bed time is crucial. Hubby and I get home from work at around 6 p.m., giving us plenty of time to spend together as a family. Once its lights out for the kiddos, it's time for hubby and I to spend together. That time together is important - with fiftyleven children like us, life can become about work and just the kids. I don't want us to lose our foundation, so taking that time to spend together is super important.
- Evening Prep // If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. The night before, I make sure to pack lunch for hubby and I. Picking out your outfit for work, workout clothes, and the kids clothes the night before also takes the guesswork out of having to think to much first thing in the morning, especially when you probably haven't gotten much sleep the night before.
- Chores // One thing we don't have a lot of time for is spending an entire day cleaning the house with three small children. An easy mom hack for my fellow busy moms is to try to do a little bit a day, like throwing a load of laundry in the washer one night, cleaning the bathroom another night, tidying up the common areas every night, etc... With both hubby and I working full time, our time with each other is already limited, so doing a little bit every night definitely leaves more time for us to enjoy each other.
- Put Self-Care on your Calendar // Things can get pretty hectic with both hubby and I being back at work. Self-care is the last thing you want to fall to the wayside. It can get pretty hard trying to schedule self-care days given my family only has Saturdays where we're all together, so I like to try to maximize that one day we have together. My husband works Thursday-Sunday, I work Monday-Friday...you see the dilemma? One of the things I like to do is get my nails done, so I've started to schedule my nail appointments during my lunch break at work once a month. That way, mama is still looking cute and put together as she chases after these littles.
- Practice Saying No Without Guilt // Such a simple concept, but in reality can be tough for some people. My time with my family is very limited, so I'm all for setting strict boundaries when necessary.
- Mirror Grace, not perfection // The most important thing to remember is to mirror grace, not perfection. As much as we'd like to be superwoman and have the house looking spotless, dinner and lunches prepped every night, children bathed every night (because let's be honest, my kids don't get a bath every single night. Ain't nobody got time for that).
With anything, what works for us may not work for you, but implementing some of these things into our day to day lives has completely saved my sanity. What are some things you implement into your routine to make your lives easier?
No comments