Every working away from the home mom should have a complete arsenal of supplies and resources to help her get through the day and be prepared for whatever life throw at her. If you are considering going back to work after having your baby or if you are a working mom right now, consider doing your best to have the following things in place. It may make balancing home and work just a bit easier.
Respite day care
If your baby become ill, which can happen quite frequently in the winter, especially the first three years of life, your day care or baby sitter may not be willing to take your baby for the day. If you can’t easily take off of work, having respite care can be wonderful. Respite day care can be anything from a friend or relative to a respite daycare service. Your current daycare may have a list of these services that are available in your area. You’ll need to set up everything in advance of a sick day and expect to pay more for this service.
Breast pump
Breast is still best, especially in the first six months of life. Pack a good quality breastpump with ice packs to ensure that you can provide breastmilk even when you go back to work.
Easy meals
Having easy meals on hand is a must for the working mom. This could be anything from a collection of quick recipes, to crockpot recipes to a freezer full of different dinners. After a long day away from your baby, do you really want to go out to eat?
The option to telecommute
Talk to your company about telecommuting options. You may be able to work from home when your baby is ill, when the day care closes because of the weather or just to spend some time with your baby. Working at home with a baby is harder than it might seem, so make sure that you can be flexible about hours, making up time during naps, at night or early in the morning.
Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans.
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