To give hope to those new working moms – when I wrote this, I was only a few days into it & SO OVERWHELMED.  I thought we would NEVER survive that grueling schedule.  When people told me it would get better, I didn’t believe them.  So let me eat my words, be cliche, & tell you it DOES GET BETTER.  It gets easier, it becomes routine, & you start finding happiness in the smaller moments.  & as you get the routine down, you start finding time here & there that you were wasting & it stops sucking.  Promise.

The clock still rings at 5:45 am.  We still snuggle & make-out.  We drag out of bed around 6am & get ready.  Harrison plays on the bed while we talk to him, sing, & be silly.  He has finally gotten used to seeing Momma in curlers!

Then we all pile into the Sub.  Yep, we’ve started carpooling.  We started because of my anxiety meds, which make me incredibly loopy, but found that not only does it save gas, money, & Mother Earth, it gives us time as a family.  Finding that missing time, remember?  Harrison usually naps, so I sit up front with Nate & we drink our coffee, listen to music, etc.

Nate drops me off at my parents, aka Harrison’s current daycare.  I eat breakfast, play with Harrison.  What’s nice about writing this all out is it helps me see HOW MUCH time I really do get to spend with Harrison.  Or at least how much time I’ve MADE to see him.  It’s easy to get wrapped up in “woe is me, I never see my child,” but when I see it on paper (like now), we do get quality time in small spurts, like every other working family.  (by the way, if you are feeling this way, write it down…I promise, you’ll feel better!)

and then I work.

Sometimes my clients are hilarious.  Sometimes they get the side-eye when they ask me why I “don’t want to be home with my baby.”  But I do love what I do & now that I’m getting back in the swing of things, I’m re-learning what it is to love my job every day.  Sometimes I eat lunch at my desk.  On nice days, I’ve started bringing my sneakers & getting out for a walk to burn off some anxiety & get some exercise.

Hawt, right?  Coolness is my middle name.  I ride in the back with Harrison on the way home, which is (usually) a blast.

The one bad thing about carpooling?  It doesn’t get us home until after 6pm. We usually get a few minutes to play on the mat, but bedtime routine starts strictly at 6:20.  Sir Harrison is a DICTATOR about his schedule & starts hollering for his oatmeal.  To the high chair!  He makes a HUGE mess, which is absolutely endearing at this stage in the game (remind me of that in 6 months, mmkay?).

Bath time!  Obviously, this is a very neglected child that needs to bond with his mother more.  He ADORES bath time – usually a good 15 minutes while we laugh, play with squirt toys…oh yeah, & clean him.

After bath, Harrison puts up a good fight.  Yep, it takes two of us to dress a screaming baby.

This is usually the hardest part for me.  The screaming literally sets my skin on fire.  Some nights, I can totally handle it.  Some nights, I’m overwhelmed.  This night, I handled it:

& I’m getting better at it every time, slowly but surely.  He’s usually in bed by 7:15pm.  Which is kind of sad, but I refuse to have an overly-tired child.  Then I toss in a load of laundry while Harrison settles in for the night & Nate starts dinner.

I do a lot of laundry. It’s what happens when you have a kid with reflux. (Nate went through 5 shirts last Sunday alone)  So while that’s spinning, we hop downstairs to make dinner.  This night was a calzone, made with ::gasp:: homemade pizza dough made by yours truly!  SuperMom moment!  I’ll curtsy later.  (actually, this is dough I made while pregnant & froze)

So while dinner bakes, we tag team to wash bottles, dishes, set up coffee (necessity!) for the next morning, & basically tidy up.  I love going to bed with a clean kitchen & honestly, it’s part of me keeping sanity.  If I’m paying $100 every other week for housekeepers, THEN BY GOD, I am keeping the house clean in between!  & by 8pm, we’re usually done eating & ready to do our own thing.

Nate plays on his golf message boards, I blog.  Or Twitter.  Or answer emails.  Sometimes I curl up on the couch with him & play “Words With Friends” on my iTouch & Twitter from there.  Currently we’re kinda missing television, so we’re going through all our movies & shows on DVD just to have background noise.  Lame.  By 9pm, we’re showering & climbing in bed.  Sometimes we do the maritals (sorry, no pictures), sometimes we read, sometimes we just go to bed if it’s a really long day.

So new working moms, take heart.  It WILL fall into place.  Your family will not be neglected.  You CAN balance both.  & you will make it.  Some days because you’re totally confident, well-dressed, & ready to take on the world & kick it’s ass as a working mom in a SuperMom cape.  Other days, because you barely sludge out of bed because it’s what your family needs from you.  BUT YOU DO IT.  & that’s the best part.