FTM going back to work any Advice?

Question

Hi all,
Please share any words of wisdom, tips, advice or encouragement that you have about going back to work as a first time mom. I will be working a new job and we recently moved to a new state. My child is breastfeed, he’ll be six months when I start and will be eating baby foods more often by the time childcare starts. 
Particularly if you can any advice on how to get it all done: preparing food for baby, dinner for husband, scheduling everything and anything in between please share. 
Thanks 💕💕

Answer

Following! I’m a second time mom who works full time and I still haven’t got my shit together lol. I do have one bit of advice, that is make sure you talk with your employer about having a place to pump and the times you are needing to pump clearly set.

Answer

Don't expect to have everything figured out one Day 1. Give yourself some time and flexibility in figuring out the routine that works for you. It may take some trial and error, but that's alright.
Make your bottles, lunches, etc the night before.
Have your husband/partner help with cleaning bottles and pump parts(when I was still nursing, I would come home from work and nurse our daughter while my husband cleaned the bottles and pp parts from the day).
Keep an extra set of pump parts and milk bags at the office.
Give your husband/partner equal share of the housework (we actually hires a housekeeper to come every two weeks when I went back to work--money well spent)
On the weekends, make casseroles or Crock-Pot meals to have for dinner on those nights during the week that you really don't want to cook.
Good luck, mama. You've got this.

Answer

I bought a bunch of fruits and veggies and puréed everything and put them into pouches so I could freeze them. Made a month supply at a time and would spoon feed her until she learned to eat from the pouch. 
Packing your bag the night before is a must. 
Hand pump in my purse and I kept one at work. I traveled to meetings for work so it was a lifesaver.
I did general clean up everyday but picked two days a week I would spend more time and mop and what not. 
Don’t be afraid to ask hubby for help. Mine really surprised me and stepped up.

Answer

Sorry this will be random:
-stay busy at work! It’ll make missing baby less painful.
-if you’re pumping at work, make sure you’re relaxed and watch videos of your baby to help
-keep your pump parts in the fridge so you don’t have to wash them until you get home. Have multiple sets of pump parts
-pack all your bags the night before, if you can, put them in the car as well the night before. Have your husband help with packing bags too, less work for you.
-have husband help with pump parts/bottle washing. 
-if your pump schedule allows, and you have a long commute, pump while driving. This saved me TONS of time at home and didn’t take time away from my baby.
-make next day bottles the night before (I kept 12 Dr Brown bottles rotating in the fridge) I exclusively pumped and bottle fed my baby. 
Thats all I can think of now :) good luck!! 💕

Answer

I prepare food for baby when he’s sleeping at night or when making dinner for us. I make things like proteins and pancakes in bulk and rely on the freezer. Other fruits and stuff I just cut up into quick finger foods or purées and keep in the fridge (most things are good for 2-3 days). When baby was on purées I made 3-4 different bases and just mixed different things together so he wouldn’t always be eating the same thing. Or even just a simple mash like bananas and peanut butter would suffice. But most importantly, let him have a pouch/jar once in a while and just give yourself a break when you need it. 
Bottles can be thrown in the dishwasher so I’d do that sometimes or handwash them if I felt up to it. 
Also pizza/takeout night once a week was always nice. 
Definitely talk to the husband about how you guys can better share the housework. If it all falls on you you’ll be completely exhausted. 
Going back to work is tough. It gets easier in some ways but in other ways it never does. Good luck to you!!

Answer

OH. And always carry a manual hand pump with you when you’re away from the baby in case something happens to your electric or you’re not near an outlet (I got the Spectra S1 that’s rechargeable that doesn’t require a outlet). My manual hand pump saved me so many times!

Answer

Mamas! Thank you so much. Your wisdom had been incredibly helpful! I’ve been using your tips and while I still feel like I have 64748493993 things to do. At least I’m on time for the most part and getting into a good schedule. Again thank you. 💕💜♥️🖤

FTM going back to work any Advice?

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