How I Finally Stopped Feeling Like I Was Drowning as a Working Mom

I underestimated the stress of returning to work post- maternity leave. I opened my eyes many evenings to husband shaking me awake, baby on his hip, saying “you fell asleep in the chair again.” I had just sat down to check my phone. The days of working, maintaining a home, pumping and trying to enjoy every free moment with my son Ryan were catching up to me. I spent time when I was “nap- trapped” reading every tip I could to help simplify life. Here’s what worked for me.

Planning the Week On Sunday

My husband and I take about 20 minutes on Sunday to look at our schedules for the week. We look at our commitments in categories:

Work Commitments: Important meetings, who may need to be at work early, work late, etc.

House-related tasks: Do we have anything being delivered or anything being done at the house we may need to be home for? Is anything in need of maintenance we need to address?

Baby-related commitments: such as doctor appointments

We downloaded a free app called Cozi that lets us share a calendar so nothing gets forgotten. You can add caregivers to the app as well so everyone is on the same page. Cozi also has a shared grocery list so when we realize we need something we can just add it to the list.

I also downloaded the Trello app which allows me to create electronic “bulletin boards” to write things down when they come to my mind, helping reduce the sometimes overwhelming “mental load”. I have a board for house projects that need to be done, one for personal tasks to complete, etc. When I find myself with a block of free time, I can open the boards and pick something instead of wasting time thinking about what to do.

Simplifying Style

Returning to work should be called the “Fifth Trimester”. This is a difficult time for me to decide what to wear, having lost only some of the pregnancy weight. I didn’t want to spend too much money for temporary items, but investing in a couple quality pieces that fit my current body made me feel so much better about myself , at a time when it is not the easiest to feel attractive and confident. I have all the clothes that fit me right now at the front of my closet so I can put together outfits quickly.

I signed up for a few shipments from Stitch Fix. Normally I would prefer going into a store instead of someone shopping for me, but this allowed me to send some information about my sizes and what I was looking for and receive a couple new pieces I loved. The pieces I didn’t want I just put in the enclosed USPS bag and put in my mailbox. (Click here for $25.00 off)

Meal Prepping

We established a weekly menu that stays the same each week. We of course have the flexibility to change things but this makes stocking up on groceries and meal prepping easy and eliminates the decision each night of what is for dinner? While there was a time in our lives we had fun making complicated recipes and new things constantly, this season of our lives, easy wins.

Chicken breasts combined with peanut butter and salsa in the crock pot makes a flavorful thai chicken that is our usual Monday night meal. Bubba burgers can be cooked from frozen in the air fryer. Hard boiled eggs have been amazing for a quick, healthy and filling bite to eat any time of day right out of the fridge . We store our meals in glass containers with lids so leftovers can be easily reheated later , resulting in less dishes.

There are also several items I have on pre-order from Thrive Market that I know we were always running out of — my coconut almond coffee creamer, my son’s snacks, etc. Click here for 40% off your first order.

For especially busy times, we order meals from Factor. They are fresh meals that can be customized to your eating goals. We tried the Keto meals and loved them. They all can be heated up in two minutes so there is no need for grocery shopping, food prepping or clean up. We cannot afford to do them year — round but at about $10 a meal, they are definitely worth it for chaotic times. To try a free box, click here.

House Organizing for Easier Cleaning

Having clear and labeled containers and things categorized make finding things for ourselves or the baby much easier.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing will look different for every family depending on their time, budget, etc. For us, hiring a lawn service and once a month deep cleaning service helped get us a lot of time back at a reasonable cost.

Here is a list of things that you can outsource, many that you may not have even thought of.

Fitting in Exercise

I’ve come to the realization that the only way I can fit in exercise without guilt for missing more time with my son is to exercise WITH him! Of course walks are a great way to get us both outside for sun and fresh air and some movement for me. I talk to him about what we see around us while we walk. On rainy or desperately hot Florida days, we can put on some music he loves and dance around the house; quality time and exercise in one!

Hack to Avoid The Urgent Care

While we love our pediatrician, because of the operating hours, we have found ourselves waiting in the urgent care with a miserable child and many other very sick kids late at night on the weekend thinking, ‘there must be a better way.’ We found that better way with Blueberry Pediatrics. With a promotion they were running, we received a free medical kit and pay $15.00/month for access to virtual appointments 24/7 . We used it the same week we bought it to assess a rash and were so thankful to have it.

Making Play Time Count

We have decided to teach Ryan with many of the Montessori methods but do not have time to make many of the toys/ activities they recommend for different ages. Getting Lovevery Play Kits has been our solution. Every two months we are getting age-appropriate toys that promote development. We hesitated at first because of the price tag but now consider them an investment as I see him every day learning using them, and they have a good re-sell value. [Here is a link for $20 off the play kits.]

While some believe our methods are regimented, they help us cut away the clutter to allow us more quality time as a family having fun. While being a parent may be challenging at times, I am extremely grateful for every single second of it.

Different strategies will work for different families. I hope some of these tips help you. Soon your head will be above water, I promise. Just keep swimming.

Note: I receive no commission/payment for the products I have linked, except a credit from Lovevery /StitchFix/Thrive Market /Factor/Blueberry Pediatrics towards my own purchases.