Meal plan and don’t feel guilty!!

Do a cook up on the weekend and freeze for the week. Remember to take out a meal the night before and defrost it in the fridge. I do washing when the kids have gone to bed and hang it out at night. In summer it’s dry by the morning and I fold and put it away as I go. In winter, it takes 2-3 days to dry inside. One day on the weekend, iron all your work clothes for the week and hang them up so they’re ready to go each day.

Make as much time for you and your bub on the weekends as possible, make sure you get woolworths online delivery so you are not spending your time in a super market. freeze some meals so you can relax some nights and just cuddle.

Sit down with hubby and split housework between you. Do it in small snatches of time in the evenings after work and dinner (eg. Vaccum Wednesday, clothes washing Thursday, clean bathroom Friday etc). You’ll find it less overwhelming and more achievable this way without sacrificing your days off to cleaning instead of family time. Don’t sweat it if the house is a little messy, you’ll know by now that kids don’t make a spotless home anyway.

Always plan a menu for the week allowing 1 takeaway a week and start a routine for all that live in the house and don’t feel guilty to ask for help.

First of all, kudos to you for going back full time!
I work 3 days and still try to be as organised as I can, it makes life smoother.
If you don’t already have one, get a slow cooker – it will become your best friend!!! I LOVE mine and use it at least once a week, considering it makes 2-3 adult serves each time, this saves a lot of time with having extra meals in the freezer.
Meal plan & shop according to the meal plan – you could shop via specials but I find I waste money & food that way, planning is much easier.
Get your clothes out the night before – for both you and bubs – and have your bags ready to go before you go to bed.
Don’t stress about the house, as long as it’s not unhygenic, the mess can wait until you have time.
Good luck!!!

I will be in your shoes soon!! So I will be looking to you for guidance.

Best of luck with it all.

I haven’t gone back to work yet but when my husband went back to work after babe 2 was born I”ve figured out that if I plan outfits and pack lunches the night before things run a lot smoother. Maybe order groceries online and if you’re using public transport to get to work use the time effectively – whether its deleting emails, answering messages ect.

Good luck mumma !

Hi, it took us 2 months to adjust when I went back to work – both full time too. I think you need to find the routine that will suit you best. For us, I would cook and freeze for bub on weekends so it’s quite and easy to prepare her dinner after daycare. If you can ask to work one day from home. It’s the day I do the laundry. And if you can get a cleaner – it has a price but it’s bringing peace ! I’m bad at meal plan we tried but ended up being more stressful, so I guess do hat works for you.

Meal prep! Also write shopping lists and a week menu. Things like cheese sandwiches can even be frozen, so prep a whole bunch in advance so there is always a meal on hand if you are running late!

Prepare – prepare lunches and bags the night before, iron clothes etc the night before, make dinners ahead of time and freeze, have a shower or bath with your child, enjoy your time off, have time set aside for family time.

Yes I agree, organisation and planning is the key ! Mealplan & shopping list go hand in hand, cook double or tripple portions and freeze. I wake up early and personally I found it handy to have dinner sorted in the morning, so in the evening it only need baking or heating. Household; sit around the table and divide the tasks. Prepare a bag for daycare / babysitting the evening before, etc.

It would appear this question was posted sometime ago. I always find the key is to be prepared and organised and that way things run well.

Interesting really that we as mums seek help about these things. First and foremost, talk about the challenges you’re about to face to keep the house running with your husband.
Figure out how you will both contribute.
I went back to work 3 days per week 6 years ago after 10 yrs off and having our 4 kids
My tips;
1. Allocate jobs to all family members
2. Meal plan
3. Teach your husband and kids how to cook and iron.
4. Bulk cook 3 x per week
5. Shop once a week
6. Prepare for the next day before bed – all my kids do this and we always make sure the house is tidy befofe bedtime
7. Do a load of washing everyday – hang out at night or use a dryer. Fluff and fold, put away and iron on demand – except school uniforms… a weeks supply gets ironed by the wearer on the weekend.
8. Slow cookers are wonderful
9. Bake double batches of school snacks ie muffins and store in the freezer

I speak from observing my son and partner work full time they share the tasks like cooking and cleaning ,time together.They cook or get takeaway for evening meals. if one cooks the other washes up. They clean together at weekends,usually Saturday morning, may go out together or with their friends, I am telling this to you as it is up to you and your husband have routine, evenings during week for family. Having a routine is important but flexible,so you can both have time for your beautiful son.It is about communication as both of you may not feel well or tired, do not try and do everyting yourself including caring for your son, so it is sharing as babies grow very quickly I know so enjoy your child and husband and ditto.. This is very basic but you and Hubby make the choices. If you can afford a cleaner once a week do it,takes one job you do not have to do,also the takeaway is good all if you can afford it. Wishing you all the best and hoping even if it is only one thing from my answer it is a start. Also check how your friends do it if they have children.Grannies come in handy too. This is me with my older sons new baby, they also have three children and a rabbit..

Yeah, wondering how you went going back to work?

A year on I wonder how you are going. I hope it is all working out for you.

hope you have found that work/life balance

optimise the time that you do have. teach your child to help you pick up the toys etc
get a slow cooker, can prepare meals easily
clean as you go
get lots of storage for clutter to live in
cook a big lot of food when you can and freeze it

remember you aren’t super mum, do what you can do, prepare your meals on the weekend and freeze them so you can just heat up nutritious meals during the week and don’t have the stress of cooking and cleaning, order your shopping online and get it delivered when you are off to save the hassle of going shopping, and if you can afford it if you need to get a cleaner to clean the bathrooms, floors etc all the heavy things you won’t have time to do.