Getting back to work

Are any of you working moms that had to go back to work after having twins?
I'm preparing to go back in 3 more weeks. My boys will be 8 weeks. I'm really dreading it. I love being home with them, suprisingly enough because these guys are hard work, but sadly we are definately a 2 income household and I just don't have a choice, especially since I have the higher income.
Was it hard to adjust to going back? Did you have any stratagies for managing the evenings? Do the babies adjust okay? I have other kids who have all done great with having working parents. I've just never had two at one time before. Then there is the issue of expense. Two babies in full time daycare is pretty pricey. Ugg.

 

There are lots of working moms on this site. I am sure they will chime in a put your concerns at ease. I hope you have a smooth transition back to your job. :hug:

 

I'm in the same situation! My boys are 12 weeks (2 weeks adjusted) and I will be going back to work in less than two. I dread it! I would give almost anything to stay home, but I'm the one who carries the insurance. My other two children are 4 and 2 so I am definitely with you on the daycare costs!! Good luck

 

Good luck with the transition. :hug:

 

I had to go back when the boys were 5 weeks old. I make a LOT more than DH (who still makes enough that it doesn't make sense to be a SAHD) and I carry the insurance.

I won't lie: it is tough. At first it was almost a relief to go to work; the babies were so hard for me to deal with. But sleep deprivation, pumping, and worry made it hard to function at work. But as the boys started sleeping better at night, work got easier and it was just a mad scramble to get home and breastfeed, care for them and still get something to eat myself!

You are right that the evenings are the challenge. Plan on picking up takeout or doing frozen dinners for a while. I couldn't even think about cooking.

The babies adjusted just fine. There were some wild evenings of cluster feeds when I got home for a while, but they mostly slept during the newborn period and weren't really aware.

As the boys have gotten older it has gotten MUCH easier! They are on a good routine, and as they've started finger foods, evenings are much more relaxed since they can eat with us. Now the hardest part about working is missing them; they've become so much fun to be with!

My advice is to keep things in perspective. The babies will be very needy when you get home, but things get easier and easier as they get older. If you have a daycare that you trust, then you know they are in good hands. I have my nanny text me or send me pictures during the day to keep me connected to how they're doing. Don't know if this is an option with daycare, but it's an idea.

Congratulations on your boys! They and you will do just fine!!

 

Good luck, I'm sure it will be a difficult adjustment but I hope it all goes smoothly!

 

working mom here. yes you'll adjust, i promise. yes it gets easier, but in my opinion it never gets easy. it's really going to depend on how comfortable you are with the idea of being a working mom. i have friends who thrive now, although i don't think it's ever easy for anyone in the beginning. for me it's been a source of internal conflict from the beginning.

for the evenings i will say this: make peace with the fact that they need sleep. for many working parents the impulse is to want to have some time to play with them in the evening because you don't get to see them all day. but we've found it's much healthier for them if we roll straight into our bedtime routine because by 6:30 they're definitely ready to go down for the night. they don't benefit if we keep them up just so we can spend some time together. we compensate by adjusting our morning schedule to have as much time together as possible. bedtime is precious, though, so we guard it.

my other suggestion that i give to friends in this situation is to build time in your schedule so that you can spend as much time as you want getting them settled at daycare. like, don't let mornings get so hectic that you're having to race to daycare, toss them at a careworker, and run to the car. i give myself 20-30 minutes to get them settled, hold them and play with them for a while, and make sure i've given them as many kisses as i need to get through my day. we certainly could spend those 20 or 30 minutes at home but i think the transition is easier on them if the start of their day at daycare is relaxed and not rushed.

but that's just us.

 

Thank you so much for the reassurance. We actually have found a great daycare, so that makes it a little easier. I know I will miss them horribly. We are actually already on the frozen dinners and I don't forsee that changing for a while We've had to switch totally to formula, so I won't have to worry about pumping at work like I did with my daughter. I don't mean for that to sound like a good thing. I went through a grieving process when I was unsuccessful at nursing my boys, I still well up with tears sometimes. But the bright side to bottle feeding has been more help from my husband and better sleep at night, which I think will help when I do get back to work.

 

Great advice, thanks so much. Those are things I really hadn't considered but I will definately take it to heart.