Juggling Being a Mum and Working...

[MucozadeOnLucozade]

I was a stay at home mum, but when my son started school I got bored so decided to become self employed. However, I am forever having to re-juggle and re-schedule work around child being sick, child's school striking and everything else. It is making me very stressed out and I feel bad for being in this situation.

Does anyone else get super stressed with it all?

yes! It’s very hard with unplanned absences when of course there’s no childcare support available.

Does your job mean you have to take the whole day off when your child is unexpectedly off school? Sometimes you can just roll with the punches and get ahead on admin and housework so then you can make up work time on other days. But if you have to be in a specific place for work at a specific time, or with clients/customers, then of course that’s no help.

It does get easier - in Year 6 your kids will be so much more independent and in year 7 onwards it’s just a doddle working alongside parenting. Hold on through these difficult early years, it will be ok

I think the frequent illness is the most stressful part of being a parent. My DH and I are at breaking point with trying to juggle nursery illness when we have no family locally to call on in emergencies.

It's the main reason our DC (18 months old) probably won't be getting a sibling.

Thank you for the replies. It's good to know when it'll be easier, I will just try and hold on with the part time work until then. I might try and cut back work a bit more too.

Yep. Me!!

this week has been a shocker.

DH dropped on me that he was out for dinner two nights. And he also couldn’t do his usual pick up on weds. So I had to ask dm nicely if she’d do it (she did - and fed me and the kids both days DH was out!). But I missed a paid for class on weds evening.

then ds came down with tonsilitis. So no school for him weds or today (he’s going back tomorrow).

so stressful this week!

And yet once again, a day to catch up on admin and child off school sick again!!

Yes it is a stress, but DH takes on half of it and we both deliberately have flexible jobs.

We alternate days for WFH and that tends to be the person who will sort the kids out and rearrange stuff if they’re off