No. 57. Day in the life of a working mom

What our day looks like working from home full-time with a one year old

I’ve been wanting to do a post like this for a while because I love seeing day in the life posts from other women, especially working moms, but it is so hard to do because as a mom, every day is different. 

Before we start, here is some context for our family and work situation: My husband and I both work from home full-time, although my husband does travel for work approximately 25% of the time (usually day trips and occasional overnights). Our jobs are somewhat flexible in working hours if needed, but generally we try to stick to a 8-5 / 9-6 schedule as much as possible since we both are on calls and in meetings a lot. 

We have a one year old son. Our child care has shifted from month to month, but most weeks, we have someone come to our house to watch Levi 25-30 hours a week. Right now, while our nanny is in school, her schedule is noon to 5:00 pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on Tuesday and Thursday. 

If our nanny is out sick or needs time off, that makes things tricky for us - we don’t have any family nearby and go to a small church, so our options for backup childcare are extremely limited.

So, on days when we don’t have childcare, we really lean into our flexible schedules to take turns watching Levi around our scheduled calls and still get our work done. On those days, a 9-5 work day does not happen, so we’ll catch up on work after Levi goes to sleep in the evening. 

6:00 to 8:00 AM: Wake up and morning routine

I would love to be the kind of mom that wakes up before her kids, but most days, I get up when Levi wakes up. For the first 7-8 months, Levi was waking up to eat every 2-4 hours (on a good night!), so I was so sleep deprived that waking up before him just was not happening.

Now that he’s a bit older and sleeping through the night more often (usually with one night feed), I want to try to have a more consistent wake up time before Levi gets up for the day. But, for now, Levi is my alarm clock, usually between 6:30 and 7:15 AM. 

I take a few minutes to get ready for the day before we get Levi out of bed. Either my husband or I will go get Levi out of his PJ’s, change his diaper, and get him ready for the day. He usually asks to nurse and read at least one book before we head downstairs.

We’ll then make coffee and breakfast (usually oatmeal and fruit for Levi and I since my husband eats later in the morning). We’ll try to read our Bibles while Levi plays.

Wednesday is my weekday laundry day, so I’ll throw a load in before heading upstairs to work. 

8:00 to 9:00 AM: Start the work day

I usually start my workday by going through my inbox and catching up on news. Levi hangs out with us in our office or next door in his nursery until the nanny arrives.

If my husband has early calls (my team is mostly in CST so I rarely have calls before 10:00 AM EST), I’ll take Levi and hang out with him downstairs or go outside. 

9:00 to 10:00: Emails, news & work

I spend a lot of time in my inbox and reading the news. Part of my job is tracking developments in tax policy, so I read dozens of newsletters and news sites daily.

Each morning, I also go through my weekly to-do list and pick the top three things I need to get done that day. I write down my daily tasks in my planner (including personal to-do’s like cleaning tasks or phone calls to make). 

If this is a day when the nanny doesn’t get here till noon, I’ll take Levi and clean or go on a walk outside to fill the half hour or an hour before or after his nap if he doesn’t want to play in the office while we work. 

10:00 to 11:30 AM: Levi’s first nap

Levi takes his first nap about three hours after he wakes up, so he usually goes down between 10:00 and 11:00 AM. His nap is usually around an hour. 

11:00 AM to 12:30 PM: Work and meetings

I try to start on my top three priorities for the day when our nanny gets here and takes Levi (or when he goes down for his first nap, whichever is earlier). Some days, I have morning calls, but usually mornings are my focused work time. 

12:30 PM: Lunch

My husband or I will go down and make lunch for us and Levi, depending on who is more free. For example, if my husband has a call, I’m on lunch duty, and if I was with Levi and started my work day later, then my husband will make lunch. We usually eat at our desks and work through lunch. 

12:30 to 2:00 / 2:30 PM: More meetings and work

My meetings / calls are usually in the afternoon, but I try to have a few afternoons a week where I limit calls so that I can focus on getting work done. 

When Levi was younger, he nursed every 2-3 hours during the day, so I’d take breaks every 2-3 hours to feed Levi. Now, he nurses about every 4 hours. This is one of the biggest reasons we got in-home childcare versus putting Levi in daycare, and I enjoy these little breaks because it gives me a chance to step away from my computer and spend time with Levi.

2:00 / 2:30 PM: Levi’s second nap

Our nanny usually puts Levi down for a nap, but some days, he only wants me, so I’ll go nurse him to sleep if he fights his nap time.

2:00 to 4:00 / 5:30 PM: Finishing up the work day

I generally wrap up my work day by 5:30 if possible, especially on days when we have childcare. On days when the nanny leaves at 4, my husband usually hangs out with Levi while I finish up work since I often take the morning “shift” with Levi on days when the nanny gets here later. 

5:00 to 7:00 PM: Dinner and family time

After we wrap up our work day, we focus on family time. We play with Levi, go outside, visit a park or go on a walk. I may do some small cleaning tasks.

My husband usually cooks dinner while I entertain Levi, but on nights when I cook, Levi will hang out with my husband. We try to eat dinner with Levi most nights. 

6:30 to 7:30 PM: Bedtime routine with Levi

We start our bedtime routine with Levi between 6:30 and 6:50, depending on when he wakes up from his second nap. My husband gives Levi a bath, reads a book with him before bed, gets his PJs on and gets him ready for bed.

While they’re doing the bedtime routine, I’ll wash the dishes and tidy up the kitchen and living room. Then I go upstairs to nurse Levi, pray over him and put him in his crib. He’s usually asleep between 7:15 and 7:30 PM. 

7:30 PM: Work out, read, or catch up on work / personal projects

In January, my husband and I started working out together for 30 minutes 3-4 times per week after Levi goes to sleep. We do weights and/or a workout video in the garage, and it has been a game changer for my anxiety and mental health (and I physically just feel better!). 

If it’s a rest day, my husband and I either watch TV together, talk, read, or work on our separate personal projects in the evening. This is usually when I work on my blog and newsletter (and on weekends!). This is also a time slot to catch up on work if needed.

9:30 to 10:30 PM: Wind down and bedtime 

We try to wrap up our day by 9:00 / 9:30 PM. We’ll put away the screens and unwind with a book, drink tea, get ready for bed, pray together, and then talk until we realize it’s late and we should go to sleep.  

So, that’s the general rhythm of our day. Of course, sick kids, childcare, appointments, travel and other things can shift things around, but it is definitely easier to have somewhat of a schedule now that Levi is closer to a year old than when he was an infant. 

It is a privilege and a blessing to be able to work from home and to be able to afford childcare - we spend a lot of time together as a family and we love it!

Note, we fit in a lot of our chores, errands, and social engagements into the weekend - that’s just what works for us in this season. 

Questions about any of this?

What else would you like to know about what daily life is like as a working mom? 

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