i'm sure this won't come as a surprise to many, but having recently returned to work full time i have discovered that juggling a baby (babybabychickens is now a whole 8 months old, and riddled with cold/flu and conjunctivitis) and a job is really quite draining! having taken the day off yesterday (i'm ill, too) i was reminded how difficult it can be to keep a baby entertained all day and how hard i found it being on maternity leave (incidentally, being back at work is fabulous and i'm loving every minute of it). however, much as i love being back at work, i'm now dropping hte baby off before 8.30 and picking her up again at 5, so only seeing her awake for around 3 hours per day, during which time she is dressed, fed twice, bathed, played with, given lots of affection, and got ready for bed. as soon as she's gone to bed i then get everything ready for the next day (nappies washed, food prepared, bag packed, clothes out, breakfast stuff ready...). it's not leaving much time for nice relaxed baby play time, which is a shame, but i need to work (both financially and for my sanity) full time (part time isn't an option due to the nature of my work).

although i'm finding it quite tough working and babying, i have to be honest - it's a whole lot easier than being on maternity leave.


what does everyone else think?

Going back to work full time was the hardest thing, I enjoyed being me again at work but only seeing her for a few hours in the evening was not enough and after her going to bed was house work, getting ready for next day. My OH was helpful by getting meals ready but there is still everything else to do.

I was lucky by my parents having her 3 days so I know she was playing in the garden, being took out and having fun with them so she only had to go to a nursery 2 days.

we've managed to work it so that i work 8-4 and my OH works 5-10. not ideal but but better than the alternative.

trying to juggle everything is always difficult but nothing worth having comes easy

I work part time, and remember hating being back at work.

I'm a paediatric nurse and I remember thinking, why am I here looking after other peoples babies when I should be at home looking after my own.

i had the best job in the world but poor pay so when i had Mo i became full time time and continued to nighschool study for sanity! Luckily thru my job i was already volunteering at another branch-which i continue to do.
Really thought id go back to work when babes was 3m but just couldnt do it-money wise we wouldnt have been that much better off. So i sold my car and got stuck in to being mum!
my heart goes out to people who have to work, it must be hard to drop off and pick up babes - i suppose it makes you super apprecaite the few hrs you do have together

I just remember thinking guilt, guilt, guilt and missing the love of my life for the first year of being back at work, he is 3 now I still miss him and do all i can to skive off and get him early, time with them is never replaceable i think you have to grab every opportunity you have wenever you have it.

I went back full time with my first and it was too much. I was up at 6.30 out of house at 7.30 and not back until 6 at night. I made myself ill and ended up going part time, which was much better. So be really careful! Its so hard. I also went back (admittedly part time) when my second was 5 months, then a month later we moved house at the end of November (yeah foolish I know!). Christmas day, I got the turkey in the oven and then collapsed, literally. I was in bed for a week with exhaustion and a chest infection.

I admit that some people are a lot tougher than me though, so good luck.

I went back to four days, which was what I was working when I left (funding and charities,,,). It's a struggle, and I am one of the few mums in my line of work it seems who go back for more than 3 days a week. I miss my cosycub, and I honestly feel that I should see him more days a week than not...but at the moment it's four (not seeing him much) to three (being with him.) Despite my tough skin and the fact that I know we made the decision we had to make in order to make ends meet, I can be cut deep when people tell me they think five months is very early to start nursery (even then it should have been earlier - I really caused us long-term debt by not going back earlier).
I consider us very lucky because cosycub has his grandparents to go to two days a week, instead of nursery for all four. And I'm the first to admit that I think they get more one to one attention from their grandparents...there is always something that needs to be doing at home, or the shopping, etc by the parents. So at least I know he has a fantastic time with his grandparents, and I know he adores nursery and learns more there than I can teach him alone, so those are bonuses.
Saying all that, I was in nursery five days a week 7 am to 7 pm and I don't honestly believe it did me any lasting harm. I understand that it needed to be that way (and it did, believe me) and I thought it was perfectly normal at the time, was quite happy spenidng time with my friends.
But while it did me no harm, I would like to give cosycub more of me. I can't shake the 'more days than not' thing at all...still, I wouldn't go back to full time Mummy, either. It's not for me, lol.

By the by, babychickens, I found that all the running around like a mad thing organising everything calms down into a routine later, and ends earlier, honest.

Cosywolf, Scoop jr when to nursery 1 session a week aged 6 months even though I didn't start work til he was 11 months, because I wanted him to get used to other children and being with other people.

So long as you're happy with your choice of nursery I think it's great for their development and socialisation.