A Day In the Life (and Mind) of a Working Mom

To all the working moms out there, in the middle of your crazy days of balancing work and family, do you ever wonder if anyone else is going through the same thing as you? Here’s a look into a day in my life (and mind) as a working mom. Maybe you can relate!

4:30 AM: My 10-month-old daughter wakes up. I stare at the monitor and pray that she will fall back asleep. Four weeks of early waking is getting long and I’m tired! (She’s teething and I anticipate going through a growth spurt). Maybe my husband will volunteer to get up (although it is my turn to do it). As my daughter stands in her crib and cries, I know there is no way she is going back to sleep. I get up and the day begins.

6:00 AM: My daughter finished her bottle about and hour ago and we’ve been up playing ever since. I’m starving and tired. I need to get her dressed, so her daddy can bring her to daycare. Luckily she gets ready with ease. Twenty minutes later, I put her coat and boots on, tell her I love her, and to have a fun day at daycare. I give her daddy a hug and kiss goodbye. I shower and get ready for work.

7:25 AM: I’m ready for work and grab water and a protein bar and run out the door. I speed to the park n ride, so I can catch the next bus downtown. After I get on the bus, I review my work calendar and start reading through emails on my phone. My day is jam packed. I prep myself mentally that it is going to be a really long day and to stay positive. I already know I need to work late and might miss my daughter’s bedtime. I also start thinking about all the things I need to do in order to plan my daughter’s first birthday party that is coming up in less than two months. I start a “to-do” list on my phone because my mommy brain is in full force lately. I know I’ll never remember anything unless I write it down.

8:15 AM: The bus drops me off downtown and I make a beeline for the coffee shop. I’ll never survive the day without a large latte in hand. I try not to think about being up since 4:30. I think about my daughter and hope she is having a good morning at daycare. I speed walk to make it to my desk by 8:30AM, bypassing about 12 of the slowest walkers ever. The elevator bank in my building is jam packed. I’m annoyed. I finally make it to my desk at 8:32…whew!

11:30 AM: I’ve had a lot of communication and questions today from my business partners. Multiple email and IM updates have been shared throughout the morning. As I am drafting a response to an email, my daughter’s daycare calls. My heart immediately stops (as it always does when they call me at work). As I pick up the phone, I pray that she is OK. Luckily it was just one of her teachers calling to clarify if she is allowed to eat a certain item on their lunch menu (she recently transitioned to solids). I hang up thankful that they called and that it was nothing serious. I get back to finishing my email, hit send, and head out to grab lunch with my team.

2:00 PM: I status with my boss. I’m working towards moving into a new role at work and share my accomplishments over the past few months. This new position would mean no travel away from my family (and the potential raise sure would help pay for daycare!). Speaking of travel, today I find out that I need to go on a work trip in three weeks. I text my husband to let him know he will be on single dad duty when I am out of town. I know he is OK with it, but as usual I feel guilty for leaving.

5:00 PM: I need to work late to wrap up items that are due ASAP tomorrow morning. I didn’t get what I needed to complete this work until the end of the day, which is why I already anticipated working late. I realize I need to run to make the 5:50PM bus; otherwise I am stuck downtown until the next bus comes at 6:30PM. If I miss the 5:50 bus I will miss my daughter’s bedtime. I pack up my laptop and head out. I know I’ll need to log on tonight to finalize a few more things after my daughter goes to bed and even make some work calls once I get home.

6:40 PM: I get home just in time for my daughter’s bedtime. I come in the house to see baby toys all over the living room, baby food on the floor, and formula powder spilt on the counter. I head upstairs to find my daughter and husband cuddling in her rocker. He’s feeding her a bottle and reading her a book as part of her bedtime routine. She stops drinking her bottle to smile at me and my heart melts. I give her a hug and kiss goodnight and change into my PJs. I’m thankful I got to see her before she went to bed.

7:20 PM: My daughter is asleep and I’m sitting at our kitchen island on my laptop trying to wrap up some work. My husband comes down and wants to catch up on our days. I remind him I need to finish up some work, tell him I’m sorry, and head into the den and shut the door, so I can concentrate (feeling guilty I can’t talk to him). I bring my daughter’s monitor with me into the den, so I can watch her sleep.

8:00 PM: I finally emerge from the den, after sending off one last email, and realize I haven’t had dinner yet. Suddenly I’m starving. I make myself a quick microwave meal and inhale it. I debate if I should workout tonight or not. I quickly decide it’s too late and suddenly hit a wall. I pour myself a glass of wine and drowsily watch TV with my husband.

9:30 PM: My husband has fallen asleep on the couch and I wake him up, so we can head upstairs to bed. I lay down and start to quietly pray that my daughter sleeps in tomorrow morning. I glance over at her monitor one last time before I shut my eyes. I start mentally running through my to-do list for the next day and I fall asleep before I even finish…

This was a real day in my life as a working mom. Not all days end in me working until 8:00 at night and I am usually lucky enough to see my child for more than 20 minutes before she goes to bed. Nevertheless, these types of days do happen and they can be hard!

For the working moms who read this, I hope it’s helpful to know that there are other moms out there going through the same thing you are; working hard to provide for your family, following your dreams of having a career, and being the best mom you can be. Does this sound like a day in your life and mind as a working mom?