Transitioning into the working parent life is difficult and hectic. You need support from people around you and it puts a strain on your family’s situation. Here are some ways to lessen the stress and manage the work and home life balance.
- Preparation: A huge part of taking care of a child is responsibility and being prepared is being responsible. Plan out your childcare and nanny services early if outside help is part of your plan. Parents should look for good and reliable nannies way before going back to work so they have time to build trust and familiarity. Also, have back up plans such as back up nannies, help from family, help from your partner. Being prepared will help ease the stress.
- Work Arrangements: Communicate with your boss to see when you could work from home. Perhaps when the baby is sick or the nanny is suddenly unavailable. Prior communication with your boss is your best bet at a last resort plan when other plans have fallen through. Communicate your needs so you do not burn out at work and at home. Understand that you may need shorter hours, no evenings, or flexible work schedule and communicate those needs.
- Simplify Chores: Share household responsibilities with your partner and split the chores. Household responsibilities aren’t always split 50/50 and that’s okay if you and your partner have agreed on it beforehand. Adding a new member of the family into the mix makes the list of responsibilities longer though so make sure you and your partner are coordinated and on the same page. If the responsibilities are too much, maybe it’s time to look for outside help. A cleaning service could come once a week. Meal preparation everyday is very time consuming so meal prep beforehand all at once on a weekend.
- Acceptance: Look, some days you just can’t do everything. Prioritize what is the most important work to you and accomplish those tasks first. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished in a day. Don’t beat yourself up for not being able to spend that much time with your family or at work. Trust others to complete the work and enjoy spending time at family activities.