First time, teacher moms?

[CoralQuail]

Any full time teacher moms? I went back to work in September and it feels impossible!

I can’t see that it will get any better…

I do 4.5 days a week in primary, it’s mental but I’m hanging on for the pension, planning to leave in eight years time once my youngest gets to uni and I don’t need it for the holidays.
cannot wait, I love the job but the hours and emotional toll are relentless

I went back when both of mine were really young
( didn’t get as much mat leave in those days and DH was self employed)
Term time was a bit like swimming in treacle but I did 35 years full time.
You’ll get into your routines. Be kind to yourself.

I do 3 days and that makes it manageable - I also try my best to go in, teach my lessons, and leave but that's easier said than done around mocks time!

How old is your baby? I went back full time when my first was 6 months (had been on supply so no mat pay and needed a permanent job so had to go back in September). I honestly don’t know how I did it, there were times I was so tired I couldn’t remember basic words like ‘book’ and felt I was in a brain fog. The fact I lived 5 minutes from the school, it was an easy school behaviourally (at least compared to some of the really rough schools I had worked in before and even whilst pregnant on supply) definitely helped but mostly I think I just dragged myself through it. It got easier once my son was 2ish and past all the awful bugs he caught when starting off in childcare (and also once covid was being vaccinated against as this was also during Covid times).

with my second child I went back when he was almost a year but I just absolutely drowned for a year, couldn’t hack it and dropped down to 4 days a week. This is the dream really as 30 hours childcare covers almost all his hours (he’s now 34 hours at nursery and as lots of pre-school nurseries take 2 year olds that’s where he is now but he was at a term-time only childminder until then) and I get a day a week with him and a lot less work stress.

if you financially can’t afford to drop a day at work then my top tips would be:

1. don’t sacrifice yourself to work, your child is your priority. can. I used to have 40 minutes after work before I left to get my son and I did printing/lesson plans etc. then left and refused to work at home unless urgent (e.g. mocks). The school didn’t stop working and I had sanity.

2. use your union whenever you feel work is being unreasonable and not allowing work-life balance.

3. have some time for yourself as a buffer after work if you can. If your partner can take your child for 20 minutes when you get in then go rest/shower and chill. If you need to wait until bedtime then make sure you do take time for yourself.

4. routines - I meal plan, order deliveries rather than going to the shops regularly.

5. accept the house goes to pot in term time but may get cleaned/tidied a bit better during holidays.

6. if you have a commute of more than 20 minutes this is probably the icing on the difficult life cake, a job closer to home and your child’s nursery/childcare will make your life immeasurably less stressful if it’s possible.

I cook a big slow cooker of bolognaise and we eat it every weeknight for tea with fresh pasta, pizza every Friday and sandwiches at the weekend
simplify where you can x