Mummascribbles – Working mums – Mum Work Repeat – Mummascribbles

As a working mum, some days I find it extremely difficult while on others it’s nice to be able to sit and have a hot cup of tea without having to wipe a nose or change a nappy! I know there are a heck of a lot of working mums out there, some love it, some hate it, others are somewhere in the middle. I thought it would be interesting to see exactly how others feel about being a working mum and maybe we can all learn a little something about dealing with that dreaded mummy guilt!

This week we have Mum Work Repeat answering all those working mummy questions.

Tell me a little bit about who is in your family
It’s just the two of us! The mighty munchkin is now 3.5 years old and we’ve been on our own since he was 5 months old. 

What age were your children when you returned to work? 
He was one year and one day when I started back!

Did you return to a job away from the home or within the home?
Returned to work away from home, living the dream commuting into London.

Did you choose to return or did your circumstances force you back? 
I’d say it was a mixture. Circumstances meant I had to go back, as it was just the two of us, I had a mortgage to pay etc. However even if my partner and I had still been together, I would have returned back to work. Part time would have been ideal. Hat’s off to all of the SAHM and SAHD’s but I don’t think I could have done it full time, I did genuinely miss working.

Did you return to work full or part time? 
Full time

What childcare do you have in place and how did you go about choosing it?  
Nursery. I’d visited a few of the nurseries in the local area and it was the manager I warmed to, she was very “mumsy” whereby the others had all been very young girls. 

What do you find the most difficult about being a working mum? 
Feeling like I never do a good job at either!

How do you deal with the working mummy guilt? 
I think in some ways I deal with this by knowing I’m in survival mode. My son’s Dad isn’t very reliable, maintenance payments are hit and miss, so I know I have to do it, to put a roof over our heads and food in our tummies. Don’t get me wrong, every now and then I do still get mummy guilt (more when I have to work an evening) but I try to push it aside and think I’m doing this to have the money, to take him away and have the money in our pockets to do nice things and live in a nice area, so he will end up in a good school.

How did you feel when it was time to go back to work?
Apprehensive and sad! On my first day, I asked everyone not to mention him, otherwise I would have broken down in tears. By Day 2, I was fine! It reminded me who I was pre having him and I actually knew more about this than my other role as a parent!

Is your work/life balance what you want it to be or would you rather work less or more? 
I would love to do a 4 day week, to bring a bit more balance however my job wouldn’t allow for this. I work long hours, adding in the commute, with occasional evenings too. I recently arranged for one day a week to work from home, which then gives us one day, midweek, that we can have a slower start to the day and have breakfast together. As the saying goes, it’s the small things that count!

What advice would you give to a mummy heading back to work? 
Know that the first day/week are going to be tough but it does get better and brings a bit of “you” back. You will also really appreciate your time off with your little one or one’s and you will try to make every moment count with them when you are together. 

Thanks so much for taking part in this – it so interesting to see the views of working from a single parent. I take my hat off to you and all other single parents because honestly, I don’t know how you do it. I am so pleased that you recently got your one day working from home, I know just what a difference that can make to how much easier the morning and evening can be. It sounds like you have everything well and truly sorted and you are absolutely doing the best you can and a brilliant job at that. 

Along with the blog, Mum Work Repeat, you can also find her at Twitter and Instagram.