Working Moms Balancing Act

“Getting ready for the day struggles Im at a loss on how to handle the daily fight with my 4 and a half year old to get ready for the day. Shes not in school yet and I work from home. Shes still asleep when I start work for the day and we usually use my lunch break as our time to get dressed and ready for the day as it is the longest break time in my schedule. Everyday it turns into this play time/game/fight to get it done which stresses me bc i have explained that i only have a little bit of tim”

“My husband travels for work quite a bit in the fall/winter, and it's always been a real challenge trying to juggling work and our two kids when he is gone. Lots of juggling holding a kid while cooking, giving baths, supervising, etc. This year it's been....fun? Almost easy? At ages 6 and 3, it's been great. My husband does all their baths/showers when he is at home, and on Sunday night after my husband left, it dawned on me that my 6yo now showers and gets himself ready for bed total”

“I work full time, my wife is a stay-at-home mom. We have two kids, 8 (3rd grade) and 5 (starting kindergarten next year). The 5 year old stays home most days, but my wife brings him to various ECFE classes and speech therapy and other things during the week. I’m trying to figure out what’s “normal” to expect outside of the time where I’m working. Here’s a general idea of our routine: When we wake up, we each help one of our two boys get ready (making sure they get dressed, brush their teeth, eat”

“I commute, so 2 hours a day in the car with my 5yo. 7mo baby at home. I swear, as soon as I tidy an area and move on to the next, all of the work/cleanup just disappears. I have decluttered and gotten rid of so much, but I am still constantly overwhelmed by all of the stuff. It doesn’t help that the project of turning our loft into 2 bedrooms is held up and all of the crap that should be there is currently displaced. DH helps and cleans a lot, but by the time we are done with work and the kids a”

“Hey all! Sorry this is a bit of a longer post, I just needed to put my thoughts down and I am really looking for some advice so i tried to provide some context. If you read through this and respond I very much appreciate you❤️ I am a FTSAHM to a 6month old baby girl💕 Before I had my baby I was borderline a workaholic, I kept my schedule packed, every hour of every day was filled with ✨Something✨. I have been fortunate to be able to become a SAHM due to my amazing husband 🫶 I am very grateful f”

“Anyone else have this?? Struggling going back October 26 in office submitted by /u/Academic-Repeat5662 [link] [comments]”

“Just venting: I work full time 9-5 and it is so hard finding activities to do with my toddler that fit that schedule. So many classes and activities are during the work day. I wanted to get my daughter involved in gymnastics through the city but of course the class is at 1 pm on a work day. submitted by /u/jtpmhs17 [link] [comments]”

“Hi! Some background- I have been working in a very high travel role for 3 years now. The position is 60% travel in the states, and my work isn’t regionalized with lots of city hopping (ex: I could fly to LGA on a Monday, work all day Tuesday, fly from LGA to MSP Tuesday night, work all day Wednesday, fly MSP to SFO after work on Wednesday, work in SF Thursday and then either catch a red eye back home or travel all day Friday) with a heavy remote workload on days I’m not onsite. I’m about 6 weeks”

“How are working moms making it work? Not currently an issue for me as my only kiddo is 8m/o. But I work in tech and we have a 9/80 schedule so 9hr days is the norm. How are people doing school pickup!? submitted by /u/Choice_Marsupial2243 [link] [comments]”

“Got my first work trip in 2 years on Friday and I'm starting to feel ways about it. Any tips are appreciated. I need to leave right around the time my 2.5yo wakes up, if she wakes up early I could get a hug in, but that's not worth waking her up for? right? like my flight is at 10, she wakes up between 7:45 and 8:15, if I hug her and go outside immediately to catch an uber there will be tears. Dad is the sahp, but it's 4 nights away, and I just, don't feel like I'm leaving hi”

“Hi All, my wife and I have a two year old boy and both work full time. She works from home and I’m in the office 5 days a week. How do you all make priorities and get everything done? I’m out of the house from 7:30am-6pm which leaves me 4-5 hours every night to spend time with the family, take care of bath time (wife does bedtime), do the dishes, exercise, tidy the house, take care of other miscellaneous chores, and hopefully have some time to relax. No matter how hard I work, the house, yard, a”

“Hello Fellow Dads. Not sure what I’m aiming to get advice on here. Maybe just others’ experiences. My wife hates working. She wants to stop. Not change jobs, but just stop. She does 2 days but just dreads it. I feel for her. Thankfully her work isn’t awful, it’s a nice place that has been super flexible with childcare demands. The pay isn’t great but she has that money to do with as she pleases (she’s uses it for herself and the kids, some shopping, holidays) She is sad and snappy around work da”

“Ugh I just need to rant for a sec, is this just me or is anyone else dealing with this lol I get home from work around 5:30 and I'm just DONE. Like completely wiped. The second I walk in the door it's "what's for dinner?" and my brain just completely shuts off. I open the fridge, stare for a minute, and have zero idea what to make. My kids are 4 and 6 and super picky. If I try to make them the same thing as us, guaranteed meltdown. So most nights I'm making two separate”

“First time mome. Returned to work recently and feeling overwhelmed with showing up for work, caring for baby and housework. Husband and I had fights this past week and we’re seeking a therapist to address communication issues. Also seeing IBCLC about pumping concerns and schedule. I feel like I multitask all day every day. I’m feeling burnt out. I pump during the work day which is added stress. My commute is 1 hr each way and it drains me. I can’t pump during my commute either since I use public”

“Just curious. For me, it’s a podcast but sometimes an audiobook for the book club. I no longer have time for with the seven month old baby at home. Since at work, I work at home, I’m mom, the commute truly feels like the last solo time I have right now. I know this moment, too shall pass. It’s just nice to enjoy the hour long drive both ways for now. submitted by /u/Kerfluffle2x4 [link] [comments]”

“Just as the title says- anyone have any tips or advice with how to make the days easier when your spouse travels for work a lot?? I am a first time mom to the most amazing 10 month old and husband is gone for multiple days in a row for work. I used to love when he would have overnight trips- get the bed to myself, watch whatever tv shows I wanted and clean/ do projects around the house. Now I absolutely dread when he leaves. I get super panicky the day before he heads out and generally just take”

“Hello team! I need help with a decision, and a like-minded mom soundboard to help me analyze or address holes in my thought process would be super appreciated. Background: 2 working parents, me in healthcare, him associate attorney, 2 kiddos 3 & 2. I am very lucky to be in a place in my career in healthcare that I requested and have been created a position for me to go PT (2 12 hour shifts per week), but would still require one weekend a month. This is as good as it gets, no more negotiating”

“This is sort of what we do. We started having help 7:30am to do morning routine, pack backpacks, feed kids, bring them to bus, then she tidies and does a load or so of laundry and then does misc errands (ups, dry cleaner, etc)”

“I’m a FTM to a 14 month old boy - me & my husband both work full time. I work 7:30-4:00 M-F. I have to have my guy at my mom’s around 6:45 a.m. everyday cause she watches him while we work. I’m not in a good space mentally or physically. I’m wanting to start eating better & working out. I didn’t work out pre pregnancy but did take frequent walks but now, I’m wanting to dip my toes into low impact strength training. I want to feel empowered, strong, and just good about myself again. My st”

“I WFH and finish around 4pm. My LO’s daycare is around the corner so I pick her up and it’s just me and her from 4pm to 6:45pm, which is when my husband gets home from work. We get home, I play with her or we go for a long walk, then I cook, feed her and myself, bathe her, read to her, then it’s bedtime. She requires a ton of soothing before bed—this in and of itself absolutely depletes me. She is 6 months old. My husband makes great money but I just feel alone in the evening stuff. He cleans un”

“Hey! I’ve returned from work 1.5m ago and still adjusting 😅 I’d say I work at quite a high intensity pace — which helps me get a lot done. But I find I sometimes struggle to mentally switch off after work. Which is hard, because this is my time with bubs — play, bath, bed routine. Any tips for properly switching off? Is it even possible? submitted by /u/Economy_Shape_7067 [link] [comments]”

“Hi dads, looking for a little advice here. My wife recently started job hunting again. Between applications and interviews, she’s been really busy, and I’m at work during the day, so neither of us can really cover childcare on weekdays right now. We’ve been looking for a nanny, but haven’t found the right fit yet, and my wife isn’t totally comfortable rushing it. So my mom has been coming over during the week to help with the baby until we figure something out. We’re really grateful, and I don’t”

“Hello fellow working moms. Came here to find some other ladies in my same situation- my husband and I live out of state from both families, I am the breadwinner and have to work 4 days a week, 10 hours a day. We will be utilizing full-time daycare because my husband also works full time but abnormal hours and generally works a ton in the winter, less in summer. I know 3 other ladies from my home state who have babies around mine's age(7 weeks old at this time) and recently joined a new moms”

“Hi ladies! ❤️ I'm a newly full-time working mom of two young kids (3 and 6), and I'm struggling to find a routine that works. My husband is wonderful. He handles grocery shopping, dinner, dishes, and lunches. I take care of laundry, school/daycare drop-offs and pick-ups, baths, and we both read the kids bedtime stories together. Our kids attend two different schools/daycares, so mornings and evenings feel like a constant rush. By the time we get home, unpack backpacks, do baths, and get”

“Does he help “extra” when home? Does he try to get ahead of any of his “responsibilities” before leaving? I wish mine did. Idk if I’m in lalaland for wishing my would see I’m struggling and help more..?? I will even tell him I’m struggling… and he doesn’t try to help with anything around the house before leaving back out. submitted by /u/Curious_Map4898 [link] [comments]”

“What does your pre and post work routine look like? We have a (freshly) sleep trained toddler and now that I’m not waking up 1-2 times a night, I’d like to be more productive. Just curious what others do before and after work with their toddler. Context, he’s 13 months. My husband leaves for work at 740 and I leave to drop him at day care at 8. We all get home right around 530. submitted by /u/Sad-Soup2 [link] [comments]”

“I am interested in seeing how people manage their day, because as a relatively new mom I am mentally struggling with the task of doing it all. Cooking/cleaning/working out/WORKING/ and childcare. Everytime I seek out a new creator to see how they structure their chores in these “day in the life” videos… inevitably there’s a section on prayer or some other religious (Christian) element. I find it odd because although the United States is so heavily Christian, I’m not used to seeing religion take”

“Hello working moms. Coming here to vent and look for perspective outside of my own. I am a FT working mother with a husband who stays at home. When our daughter was born my husband decided he was going to be a stay at home parent. He’s now been a full time dad for 3.5 years (he quit after my maternity leave) and we have a 4 year old daughter and 2 year old son. Husband is an amazing dad and takes care of the kids’ needs and more. He is incredibly involved, nurturing, engaged, structured, patient”

“How do you all survive the brutal tax season every year? Tips and tricks that worked for you! Edit:Working dads too! 😂 But can we also acknowledge that working moms with young kids are often playing tax know it all + household manager + daycare logistics coordinator + “what are we feeding everyone tonight?” department simultaneously? submitted by /u/shy_n [link] [comments]”

“I moved to a new community a few years ago and a sequence of events have lead me to basically having zero working mom friends I can really confide in or go to for mentorship or professional advice - I have childfree/childless friends, and I have parent friends but the parents either don’t work, they’re coworkers, or we’re not really close enough for me to trust saying a single negative thing about my job (one of the most prominent employers in my town and everyone knows I work there.) Wondering”

“Working moms, how do you handle everything? Between work, school schedules, spending quality time with your kids, sports and activities, cleaning the house, and cooking—it feels like so much. What do you do when your child gets sick and can’t go to school or daycare? Do you call out of work, work from home, or have someone who helps? I really want to work and earn money, but I also want enough time for my child. Please share your routines and honest experiences. How do you make it all work witho”

“I just retuned to work part time after having my baby, he’s now 20 months - in full toddler mode! For those parents who work full time & come home to parent please tell me how you do it?! I’m exhausted with my current schedule so hats off to all those working FT at both! submitted by /u/hibiscusjammin [link] [comments]”

“Hi guys. I'll try to keep it short and sweet, but I really could use some advice. Me and my partner have an 18 month old. I work full time, office based, 9-5 with some flexibility thanks to the company I work for being really understanding that people have lives. When I first started the job, I had to take nearly a week off as my son was in hospital with a bad infection. Since then (6 months or so) there have been a few more occasions where I've had to take work off due to his health. My”

“Sometimes I’m a terrible mom. Who am I kidding, all the time I feel like a bad mom. I left my abusive husband 10 months ago. At the same time I got a promotion to a management position. Juggling the stress of personal life and the new job requirements has been rough, I am the only woman in my position, and probably the only person in my entire organization experiencing abuse. My 8yo daughter has pretty bad ADHD. She’s taking two different prescription medications. My ex refused communal care, gu”

“So I spent the majority of my adult life as a SAHM, but last year with my youngest in school full-time I started back to work. I muddled through but this year I REALLY would like to streamline things to make me feel less overwhelmed. I’m a bit of a scatterbrain in general so it takes very purposeful plans to keep me on task. I’m looking for your best hacks parents, and not just “make lunches the night before” or “spend all day Sunday cooking for the week”, mainly because I don’t want to do eithe”

“Hiya! My wife and daughter are leaving for 2 days and I’m determined to clean my house (especially in preparation of my sister visiting next week). I also have ADHD. THE ASK : How do I do this? I need your best tips for a whole house clean as quickly and efficiently as possible. Stick to just one cleaner? Where do I start? Do I take breaks? Drink 1 White Monster per hour? Is there a pattern? Rooms of focus: living room, dining room, bathroom, kitchen, and my office (with the spare bed). Tools in”

“So this may be a bit out of the scope of this group, but I would like to hear your -positive and negative- experiences of starting with ssri while juggling work and childcare responsibilites. After years of dealing with burnout, anxiety and depression, and trying different therapy options, I've finally decided with my doctor to give sertraline a try. I've been hesitant about trying medication for a long time but I'm so tired of losing my time and energy to my poor mental health and f”

“Curious from other working moms in high stress high level careers how you handle the stress. Hours are ok, but the marathon highly fast paced days with 10+ meetings a day and high stakes stress and responsibilities are overwhelming. I’m curious to hear advice and any tips you have found to calm the nervous system. submitted by /u/Imaginary-Monk-6974 [link] [comments]”

“My current commute is an hour to work and about 1.5 hours home from work. It absolutely crushes my will to live. I've been doing for 8 years. We have 2 small kids, 1yo and 3yo. And right now we live 5 minutes from my inlaws and thay are helpful stopping by and helping out once or twice a week. Its nice. And if we moved i doubt they would come see us more than a few times a year, it will almost certainly be us driving the kids out to see them instead. We have the opportunity to move this comi”

“Any tips/hacks for working parents so that they're organised for meal times, school runs etc. Want to minimise stress as much as possible. submitted by /u/talking-tired [link] [comments]”

“Any tips on how to not completely resent your husband in this season of navigating work and young children? I’m returning to work next month and I’m worried about the mental load that I’m carrying without the burden of work being added to the mix. I have a 4 month old and almost 3 year old. He has yet to help with any overnights and has not taken both children by himself yet. He says he can’t get up in the night and then work during the daytime which I’ve been understanding of but I know when I”

“My husband and I are pretty good about dividing "break" time evenly when our kids are home, but the major exception of course is the extensive and multiple daily poop breaks that the majority of men seem to require. I do not have an equivalent activity. I'm confident this is adding up to at least an additional solid hour of "break time" in a typical day but I'm also absolutely certain he would estimate each of his poop breaks at 5 minutes, so the only way I can think”

“I've gone part-time since having the baby due to childcare so I have one day with baby on weekdays. I love it. This happens to be the same day my husband gets to work from home, though. Baby and I had a hectic morning and this nap was a bit of a struggle - no screaming, just wackiness. My husband tried to come in after I was just about to get baby back in the crib settled and all I did was look at him and say out. A lot of the time, he wants explanations and a long conversation when it's”

“I’m a working mom in India and I’m honestly reaching a point where I don’t know how to manage everything anymore. I want to hear from other moms, especially moms with 5–7 year old kids, about whether this is normal and how you manage it. I work from home mostly, 12–9 PM (Although i have two days as wfo - but i dont go due to my responsibilities towards my daughter). I’ve been working for around 10 years and currently earn around ₹1.8 lakh/month, so quitting my job is not something I can casually”

“Hi everyone! I am going back to work in under a month and I will be doing morning drop-off and my husband will do pick up. I don’t drive and as such, I get around with my daughter on public transit. The question I have is: we live in Ontario, Canada so I’m a bit unsure how I am going to get my 13 month old to daycare once it becomes really snowy and the stroller isn’t going to be easy to use in the snow. We had this problem last winter but I was on maternity leave so we didn’t have to go anywher”

“Idk what the best flair for this is, but I’m curious how other working moms make this work. My husband travels ~60% for work. Some weeks he’ll be home the entire time, some he’ll be gone starting Sunday night coming back Friday, and some he’ll be gone 2-3 days. Our daughter is 3 months and this was the first week where he’s traveled when I’m also back at work and it’s been brutal. She’s still up 3-4x/night and just trying to get all of the house stuff done, walk the dogs, workout, etc. while he’”

Just here to share that you don’t need to fill that tiny bit of capacity you recently regained with another baby. This is a reminder to myself as much as it is…

“Hi everyone! I’ve only found one job in my career that had the flexibility necessary to manage working while having children and that was dialysis. I left that world though and moved to another area of the state where there are no open dialysis positions so that’s not an option for me. I’m wondering if anyone else who has found flexibility in their job can share what they do? I would love to keep my eyes and ears open for opportunities better than the job I am in now, but I keep falling for jobs”

“Hi working moms- This topic could be a bit sensitive but I thought I would ask to gain some insights! If you were to rewind the time back to when you were about to have your child, would you have chosen to be a working mom again? And why or why not? Please also share some tips what worked well and what was hard for you as a working mom. I’ll have my first child soon and I am thinking of going back to my job after my leave ends but I wanted to know what to expect. Thank you! Have a wonderful week”

“I’m an executive level leader in my company with very little division of labor with my partner. I wear the pants leading the household and financially (can you hear the resentment lol?) My 5 year old is starting kindergarten this fall and like every other type-a I’m committed to be as engaged in PTO and school volunteering as possible. And of course the opportunities that seem interesting to me. Anyway to my point: I have an outlook calendar for work and Google Calendar for myself that I sync on”

“I am so fucking grateful I get to be a working mom. I am not forced to stay home by a society that doesn’t think I am capable of contributing in any other ways. I am so glad I have the choice to work, to provide for my family. I am not meant to be a SAHM and I’m so glad I don’t have to be. I feel like so often working mom conversations are full of people working against their will to make ends meet, or talking about mom guilt, and those stories are real and valid, but I’d also love to celebrate”

“I'm interested to know how you organize household responsibility between the working parent and the at home parent? What's reasonable to expect from the working parent? submitted by /u/watchin4rchie [link] [comments]”

“I was stressing moving my shift back to 6 and getting home at 630 cause my one year old kept falling asleep and that meant straight to bed. But turns out we just had to say toodleloo bedtime he now stays up till 8-10 after his car nap, so we now have plenty of time to have dinner do bath and so on. I was so worried that him taking the car nap and then waking up would ruin the evenings. But tbh we just chill in his room with the lights dim till he goes to sleep, which has become alot more indepen”

“My wife is finally going back to work for the first time in 3 years, leaving me to juggle work from home with a 2 year old and (when she gets home from school) a 5 year old. This will be an interesting change, mostly because my wife (despite my best efforts) is viewed by my kids as the primary. So it’ll be interesting working from home like always while having to make sure kids are on and off the bus and dinner is made. Any support or words of encouragement are welcome. Thanks for listening/read”

“Work is getting very intense for my husband and me and we’re trying to figure out the best strategy to get through this with our toddler. submitted by /u/lenoxhill979 [link] [comments]”

“Curious to hear what this is looking like for other working moms right now. Between two full time (and then some) jobs, a toddler, IVF + a current pregnancy, my relationship with my husband has ended up back burnered for a long while and we’re committing to changing that. We miss each other! And we’re trying to find sustainable ways to build our relationship again. Please, if you are not in a phase where this is happening for you, answers like “I don’t date my spouse” aren’t very helpful. This w”

“For context, I switched my work from home days to today and tomorrow because my son started school. We both woke up earlier than usual. SO woke up early this morning and got son dressed, then he took a shower while I gave son breakfast and tried to encourage him to eat. We rode together to drop him off, after which SO played video games while I tried to get work done though my sleep-starved haze. We both picked up son, I was the one encouraging son to eat lunch, then SO told him to lie down befo”

“Hi fellow working moms. I’m just so stressed and need some commiseration. My daughter is 7, diagnosed ADHD and anxiety and has such a hard time in school. We switched schools this year and though I knew it would be hard it’s so much harder than I expected. She exhibits a lot of anger and disrespectful behavior in class and it just feels like she wants everyone to dislike her in a self sabotaging manner. She’s actually quite social and has a ton of friends but something about the classroom activa”

“Hello everyone! need suggestion. Working mom with 2 kids- 9yo and 2 yo. one goes to school and other to day care. Working as research scientist (materials science) from 9-4.30 and 1 day wfh. That one day is not too busy. So usually cook and clean the house. Planning to enroll in online masters in CS. have already applied and session starts in January 2027. Regular to gym 6-7am. Husband is a photographer who works on weekends and evenings. Here is the question- For the course starting in Jan 2027”