Getting Ready for Work

When I went back to work, I was so worried about how my morning would go with Ellie and how to work the timing for us. I asked all my mommy friends what they do and have been able to work out a routine that works for us. I’ve been back to work now for just over a month and my routine has worked great so far for us (even with some hiccups) and I thought I’d share what I’m doing with you. Of course, this may not work for everyone, but may give you some ideas on how to make getting ready in the morning a bit easier.

Here are some things to note:
- I am responsible for taking Ellie to Daycare each day (Matt picks her up)
- I’m alone in the mornings, as Matt leaves for work when I’m just getting up

Things I do the night before to make my morning easier:
- Shower
- Pack snacks for my lunch
- Pack Ellie’s daycare bag, all but the milk (toys & extra clothes)
- Pick out what I’m going to wear (even my jewelry) and lay it out ready to go

One of the best pieces of advice I was given was from my sorority big sis who advised me to give myself 2 hours in the morning before I have to leave to get ready. It would give me plenty of time for any baby mishaps whether Ellie woke up too early, had a blowout, whatever, I would have enough time to still fix the issue and get out the door on time. So far that has really worked for us!

Last week when Ellie woke up early we had enough time to read some Dr Seuss before leaving the house
Here’s how my morning typically goes:

• 5am Wakeup call!
• 5-530 Hair/makeup/bathroom break. The quickest I’ve been able to do my hair/makeup is in 18 minutes! I still do a “full face” and haven’t left anything out of my beauty routine. My hair is really easy to maintain and holds a curl well (see my secrets here) so I usually just have to brush it out and sometimes curl the front pieces and around the crown.
• 530-6 I eat breakfast with one hand while I pump one breast at a time using my other hand (I keep one electric pump at home and another at work).
• 6-610 Make my sandwich, pack Ellie’s milk for the day, and put my pump parts together and pack them in my bag (I wash them all each night after work and let them air dry overnight).
• 610-615 Get dressed, but I leave any necklaces and sometimes my shirt off so I can nurse Ellie easier.
• 620-645/650 Wake up Ellie softly, change her diaper, nurse, and snuggle.
• 645/645-7 Take Ellie to Daycare, snuggle a bit more, talk with our daycare provider about her night/day and let her know when she last ate and such.

There have been a few days where Ellie would wake up at 4 or 5am to nurse and kind of throw off my little schedule, but I was still able to nurse her and put her back down and get ready in time. Last week she woke up Thursday and Friday both at 530 bright eyed and bushy tailed so we got to spend a lot of time together before she went to daycare. Some days I’m doing things to the minute and other days I’ll find I have some extra to myself or to wake her up earlier and spend time with her.

Depending on how our night went I like to keep Ellie sleeping for as long as possible, but I try and have her up for the last 20 minutes before I leave giving her enough time to wake up before daycare and it gives us time for any accidents. Sometimes she takes a minute to wake up and then be bright eyed and bushy tailed and then other days it takes her a long time to wake up and she’ll mostly relax or sleep on me for that time.

I'm always looking for ways to get ready quicker or make life simpler. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!