Week in the Life of a Working Mom: Supervisory IT Specialist in D.C.

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For this week’s installment of our Week in the Life of a Working Mom series, I’m happy to introduce CorporetteMoms reader J, who lives in Maryland with her husband, daughter, and son (who arrived after she originally shared her week with us!) and works as a supervisory IT specialist for the federal government. Our usual caveat applies: Please remember that this is is a real person who has feelings and isn’t gaining anything from this, unlike your usual friendly (soul-deadened, thick-skinned, cold-hearted, money-grubbing) blogger — so please be kind with any comments. Thank you! — Kat

If you’d like to be featured (anonymously or otherwise), please fill out this form! You can see all posts in this series here.

First, Some Basics About This Working Mom…

Name: J
Location: Live in Maryland, work in downtown D.C.
Job: Supervisory IT specialist, federal government
Age: 36
Home Situation: Live in a single-family home outside the Beltway on the Maryland side with husband (public school teacher) and daughter (22 months). I’m also 36 weeks pregnant. [October 2018 update from J: I now have a happy and healthy son who loves his sister very much. She tolerates him! Daycare is now for two. 26k. Ouch.]
Childcare Situation: Daycare 50 hours a week, $13,000/year

A Week in My Life

Sunday

6:00 a.m. Wake up and go to bathroom; grab the cup of milk that I made the night before (literally, it’s pour milk into a sippy cup, but when you’re tired, you do it the night before), bring up to bed and try to sleep more before daughter wakes up.
7:00 a.m. Daughter wakes up; husband changes her diaper and she drinks her milk while we all snuggle in bed.
8:00 a.m. Everyone gets dressed, husband makes coffee, I make daughter breakfast and eat a piece of toast.
9:00–11:00 a.m. While husband and daughter are playing with toys while watching Wimbledon, I’m preparing brunch for six. We switch off halfway through. Since it’s mostly husband’s friends, he’s also on tidy-up duty around the house to make it semi-decent for company.
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Brunch with friends. Daughter eats some fruit and yogurt parfait and drinks more milk.
12:00 p.m. Put daughter down for nap.
12:00–2:00 p.m. Watch movie with friends.
2:00 p.m. Husband gets daughter from nap. The whole group celebrates the fact that she let us know that she pooped.
2:30 p.m. Everyone leaves.
2:30–3:15 p.m. We prep to visit neighbors who are having a get-together. Get the diaper bag ready, bring a dish.
3:15–5:30 p.m. Neighbor get-together. Daughter eats some chili and rice, veggies, two juice boxes, popcorn, and chocolate. Husband and I trade off and follow her and other kids her age around so that they don’t run into each other too many times. She’s also in a jumping on the couch and spinning around stage, so I’m also making sure she’s not falling and hitting her head too many times.
5:30–6:30 p.m. Go back home and try to wind down before nighttime routine starts. Have a small snack since she ate a lot of chili. Still more jumping on the couch and spinning around. Only one fall this time. Lots of hugs after the tears.
6:30–7:30 p.m. Nighttime routine: Husband gives bath while I get milk and toothbrush ready downstairs, then sleep suit and diaper ready upstairs.
We’re also slowly introducing the potty to daughter since several kids in daycare are being potty-trained right now and she’s interested. We celebrate that she uses the potty before bath. After the bath, she drinks her milk while I put lotion on her face and clip her nails. We all read one book, and say no to book number two. Hugs and kisses, and husband brushes teeth and puts daughter to bed.
7:30–9:00 p.m. Eat dinner consisting of brunch leftovers. Wash all the dishes of the day. Tidy up all the toys/books lying around from the day. Prep lunch for daughter (which is more leftovers) for daycare and the milk for the next day. Write check and make sure the diaper bags are ready for daycare. Prep for work.
9:00–10:00 p.m. Lie on the floor in various fetal positions to watch a little television before bed.
10:00 p.m. Prep for bed.
10:30–11:00 p.m. Again, roll around in various fetal positions to find a comfortable position to sleep.

Since J now has two kids, we asked her about the hardest part about that transition:  

(1) Time management. It’s not just getting the milk ready at night; it’s nearly the whole morning routine. Lunch is in bags ready to go, coffee is preset, put bread in toaster so toast is the only thing that needs to be made before daycare. Evening routine is even more routine than you see in the week. Right now son favors Daddy and daughter favors me, so it’s been easier. There have been times when both favor one, and that’s a struggle. (2) Finances. I know my daycare is “cheap” for the DC area, but going from $13k to $26k is hard. We had to look hard at our budget to ensure we continue to meet savings/retirement needs. I had to give up my exercise class and husband had to give up his gym membership. We all now work out at home. Not ideal, but it is what it is. (3) Dishwasher use. I noticed that I talked about washing dishes a lot — I used to find it relaxing! Not anymore, everything goes into the dishwasher and gets cleaned for the next day. Just another thing to not worry about!

Monday

5:45–6:30 a.m. Alarm goes off. Wake up and go to bathroom; grab the cup of milk that I made the night before. Husband is out of town until Tuesday afternoon, so I’m on full morning duty today and tomorrow. I open door to daughter’s bedroom and she’s starting to wake up. I leave the sippy cup in the crib for her to drink while I get ready for work. Once I’m done, I change her diaper and get her ready for daycare.
6:30–7:00 a.m. Daughter plays in her play kitchen while I prep breakfast to eat at daycare and finish lunch prep for everyone.
7:00–7:05 a.m. Drop daughter off at daycare, go to work.
7:05 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Daughter at daycare doing lots of fun stuff like playing with the other kids, going to the park, etc. She gets one nap a day there, usually around noon to 1:00, depending on when they get back from the park for 2–2.5 hours. I’m working from approx. 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Leave promptly at 4:00 p.m. in order to make it back to pick daughter up from daycare.
5:00 p.m. Pick up daughter.
5:05–6:00 p.m. Playtime and dinner prep. Nana (grandmother) is here helping since husband is out, so dinner is nearly ready. It’s so hot right now, it’s all cold foods or stuff you can make in a slow cooker. This time it’s a noodle dish with salad.
6:00–6:45 p.m. Dinnertime. Daughter gobbles up the noodles and eats the carrots and cucumbers in the salad. Watermelon for dessert.
6:45–8:00 p.m. I give daughter a bath and struggle to get her diaper and sleep suit on. After a lot of running around upstairs (“air drying”), we finally get downstairs to drink milk. She drinks her milk while I put lotion on her face. Nana and I are weak, so it’s about five books before bed. Hugs and kisses, and I brush her teeth and put her to bed. Nana is doing dishes while I’m upstairs.
8:00–8:45 p.m. Work out with Nana, which is a video on YouTube. Working out is one of the few ways for my back to feel better during pregnancy.
8:45–10:00 p.m. Tidy up all the toys/books lying around from the day. Prep lunch for daughter for daycare and the milk for the next day. Turn on computer and work for an hour.
10:00 p.m. Prep for bed.
10:30–11:00 p.m. Again, roll around in various fetal positions to find a comfortable position to sleep.

We asked J to tell us more about the help she receives from family: 

Both moms come over regularly! This week happened to be a heavy week for my mom. My husband’s mom doesn’t drive, so when she’s over, she stays with us for at least a week. We’re very lucky that both nanas are retired and healthy, so they’re willing and able to come and help. They’ve been lifesavers after my son was born!

Tuesday

5:45–6:30 a.m. Alarm goes off. Wake up and go to bathroom; grab the cup of milk that I made the night before. I open door to daughter’s bedroom and she’s up and soaking wet. I’m going to blame the watermelon. I change her diaper and put new clothes on. I let her drink her milk in the crib while I get ready for work.
6:30–7:00 a.m. Daughter plays in her play kitchen while I prep breakfast to eat at daycare and finish lunch prep for everyone.
7:00–7:05 a.m. Drop daughter off at daycare, go to work.
7:05 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Daughter at daycare. Work is hellish, so don’t get out of work until 5:00 p.m. Fortunately, husband picked up car from train station and will pick up daughter.
5:00 p.m. Husband picks up daughter.
5:05–6:00 p.m. Husband has playtime with daughter while Nana is doing dinner prep. This time it’s slow cooker chicken with salad.
6:00–6:45 p.m. Dinnertime.
6:30 p.m. I make it back for the end of dinner.
6:45–8:00 p.m. Nighttime routine: Husband gives bath while I get milk and toothbrush ready downstairs, then sleep suit and diaper ready upstairs. We celebrate that she uses the potty before bath. However, we have an accident while I’m trying to stop her from climbing on the crib. Husband gets diaper and sleep suit on while I clean up, disinfect, and change sheets. She drinks her milk downstairs while I put lotion on her face. We all read two books, and say no to book number three. Hugs and kisses, and husband brushes teeth and puts daughter to bed.
8:00–8:45 p.m. Workout video on YouTube with Nana.
8:45–10:00 p.m. Wash dishes of the day. Tidy up all the toys/books lying around from the day. Prep lunch for daughter for daycare and the milk for the next day.
10:00 p.m. Prep for bed.
10:30–11:00 p.m. Again, roll around in various fetal positions to find a comfortable position to sleep.

Wednesday

5:45 a.m. Alarm goes off. Wake up and go to bathroom; grab the cup of milk that I made the night before.
6:00–6:20 a.m. Husband opens door to daughter’s bedroom and she’s starting to wake up. I get ready for work while she’s waking up, while he gets ready for the gym.
6:20–6:30 a.m. Husband gets daughter ready for daycare, while I’m still getting ready for work.
6:30–7:05 a.m. Husband makes coffee and plays with daughter while I make breakfast and finish lunch for everyone and put in correct bags depending on the person. We all eat breakfast.
7:05–7:15 a.m. Drop daughter off at daycare, get dropped off to the train station to go to work, husband goes to the gym.
7:15 a.m.–5 p.m. Daughter at daycare. I’m working from approx. 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m. Husband picks up daughter, then picks me up from the train station. Because it’s the summer, the drop-off and pickup situation is a little different. Husband does both right now. During the school year, we alternate days for drop-off and pickup. Sometimes if something happens and we’re running late, we ask Nana to do pickup
5:00–6:00 p.m. Dinner prep, which is easy because we have so much food from the past two nights that we just cobble together a meal from that. We play together before dinner.
6:00–6:45 p.m. Dinnertime.
6:45–8:00 p.m. Nighttime routine: Husband gives bath while I get milk and toothbrush ready downstairs, then sleep suit and diaper ready upstairs. Putting on the diaper and the sleep suit isn’t too much of a struggle today. She drinks her milk downstairs while I put lotion on her face. We all read two books, and say no to book number three. Hugs and kisses, and husband brushes teeth and puts daughter to bed.
8:00–8:45 p.m. Work out with YouTube.
8:45–10:00 p.m. Put load of laundry in washing machine. Wash dishes of the day. Tidy up all the toys/books lying around from the day. Prep lunch for daughter for daycare and the milk for the next day. Turn on computer and work for an hour.
10:00 p.m. Put laundry in dryer and prep for bed.
10:30–11:00 p.m. Again, roll around in various fetal positions to find a comfortable position to sleep.

We asked J if the amount of time she worked from home this week was typical for her: 

Yes, I usually work from home two times a week. Since I am a supervisor, sometimes I have to go in (in rare cases, in the middle of the day), but I usually can get two days at home. Since becoming a mom, my two days are much more fluid. A lot of federal agencies ask that employee pick their days to telework; I have a flexible telework schedule that allows me to pick any day. So if a child well-check lands on a Tuesday, I can work from home that day. The other change to the work schedule is that if I have to go into work, then they know that I must leave at 4:00 p.m. to make daycare pickup. I can finish up work at night if I need to.

Thursday

5:45 a.m. Alarm goes off. Wake up and go to bathroom; grab the cup of milk that I made the night before.
6:00–6:20 a.m. Husband opens door to daughter’s bedroom and she’s starting to wake up. I get ready for work while she’s waking up, while he gets ready for the gym.
6:20–6:30 a.m. Husband gets daughter ready for daycare, while I’m still getting ready for work.
6:30–7:05 a.m. Husband makes coffee and plays with daughter while I make breakfast and finish lunch for everyone and put in correct bags depending on the person. We all eat breakfast.
7:05–7:15 a.m. Drop daughter off at daycare, get dropped off to the train station to go to work, husband goes to the gym.
7:15 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Daughter at daycare. I’m working from approx. 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m. Husband picks up daughter then picks me up from the train station.
5:00–6:00 p.m. It’s so hot that we go and get shaved ice with sweetened red beans and fruit. Is this the best dinner? No. Is it cold on the hottest day of the year so far? Yes.
6:00–6:45 p.m. Get home and have a snack of veggies to compensate for the “dinner.”
6:45–8:00 p.m. Nighttime routine: Husband gives bath while I get milk and toothbrush ready downstairs, then sleep suit and diaper ready upstairs. Putting on the diaper and the sleepsuit isn’t too much of a struggle today; we think she’s also tired from the heat. She drinks her milk downstairs while I put lotion on her face. We all read two books, and say no to book number three. Hugs and kisses, and husband brushes teeth and puts daughter to bed.
8:00–10:00 p.m. Too exhausted to exercise. Wash dishes of the day. Tidy up all the toys/books lying around from the day. Prep lunch for daughter for daycare and the milk for the next day. Turn on computer and work for an hour.
10:00 p.m. Prep for bed.
10:30–11:00 p.m. Again, roll around in various fetal positions to find a comfortable position to sleep.

Friday

5:45 a.m. Alarm goes off. Wake up and go to bathroom; grab the cup of milk that I made the night before.
6:00–6:20 a.m. Husband opens door to daughter’s bedroom and she’s starting to wake up. We get dressed.
6:20–6:30 a.m. Husband gets daughter ready for daycare. I start working since I’ve got a doctor’s appointment today.
6:30–7:15 a.m. Husband makes coffee and plays with daughter while I make breakfast and finish lunch for daughter. We all eat breakfast.
7:15–7:20 a.m. Drop daughter off at daycare.
7:20 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Daughter at daycare. Today, we head straight to the doctor for my checkup and then head back home, where I work for the rest of the day.
5:00 p.m. Husband picks up daughter.
5:00–6:00 p.m. Dinner prep with Nana, which is grilled pork chops with salad. Husband plays with daughter. I eat a piece of toast because I’m off to my weekly exercise class. (I try to go to a different class every week; this one happens to land on Friday).
6:00–8:30 p.m. Exercise class plus travel time. In the meantime, husband, daughter, and Nana are eating dinner, doing the nighttime routine, and Nana is a superstar for doing the dishes.
8:30–10:30 p.m. Eat dinner. Tidy up all the toys/books lying around from the day. Fold the clothes from laundry two days ago. Prep bag for daycare for following Monday. (Our daycare only provides snacks, so I prep a bag of diapers, wipes, diaper cream, and a fresh blanket on Friday to be ready to go on Monday for the week. I add a half-gallon of milk to the bag Monday morning.)
10:00 p.m. Prep for bed.
10:30–11:00 p.m. Again, roll around in various fetal positions to find a comfortable position to sleep.

Saturday

4:00–5:00 a.m. Wake up and go to bathroom; grab the cup of milk and bring up to bed; try to sleep more before daughter wakes up. That’s a fail because she wakes up. Cry-it-out also fails, so husband changes her diaper and she drinks her milk while we all snuggle in bed. We all fall asleep.
8:00 a.m. Everyone wakes up, gets dressed, husband makes coffee, we make and eat breakfast.
9:00–10:30 a.m. Family playtime while watching Wimbledon.
10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Go food shopping for the week and brunch prep (from the Sunday above). It’s apparent at store #1 that daughter did not eat/drink enough for breakfast because she’s begging for cheese and Cheerios. We open up a package of string cheese and give her one. In the car on the way to store, she chugs a sippy cup of water and eats more Cheerios. At store #2, daughter starts having mini-meltdown, so husband takes her to the car to eat the pizza we ordered for lunch while I finish shopping.
12:30 p.m. Finally get home and put daughter down for nap.
12:30–2:30 p.m. Eat the pizza for lunch and having family nap time.
2:30–4:00 p.m. Husband gets daughter from nap. She drinks milk. Nana has come over and it’s playtime with Nana while husband preps the kiddie pool in the backyard. I’m sanitizing all the breast pump stuff and bottles for baby #2 and doing a final check of the hospital bag.
4:00–5:00 p.m. Pool time. Daughter is more interested in the hose than the pool, but there’s plenty of splashing.
5:00–6:00 p.m. Dinnertime. More leftovers with fruit as dessert. Daughter decides that this is now the time to start throwing food onto the ground.
6:00–7:00 p.m. Nana and husband play with daughter while I’m on cleanup duty. There’s a lot of sticky food on the ground and it takes a few attempts to get the floor clean!
7:00–8:00 p.m. Nighttime routine: Husband gives bath while I get milk and toothbrush ready downstairs, then sleep suit and diaper ready upstairs. We celebrate that she uses the potty before bath. After the bath, she drinks her milk while I put lotion on her face. Three books today, and say no to book four. Hugs and kisses, and husband brushes teeth and puts daughter to bed.
7:30–9:00 p.m. Wash all the dishes of the day. Tidy up all the toys/books lying around from the day. Husband puts away all the pool stuff. Prep milk for the next day.
9:00–10:00 p.m. Lie on the floor in various fetal positions to watch a little television before bed.
10:00 p.m. Prep for bed.
10:30–11:00 p.m. Again, roll around in various fetal positions to find a comfortable position to sleep.

Thanks so much to J for sharing a bit of her life as a working mom! Readers, what’s your biggest takeaway from her week of work as a supervisory IT specialist as well as her general work/life balance?

Stock photo via  Deposit Photos / pressmaster.