Full time working moms

[aquacharly]

I am a full-time businesswoman. 
3 very young kids.  My husband lives with us 24/7, he is not abroad. 
Yes, I get tired like all moms.  I always want to have more sleep, and alone-time too like other moms. 

How do I manage it all?
7 house staff, 4 family drivers, lots of house services outsourced, a lawyer  & accountant on retainer to take care of family/personal requirements. Plus, my organized systems.

I am not perfect, but I am satisfied that I do my best. 
Daily Must:  Breakfast with each kid (& hubby), even if not altogether kasi some kids leave early. 
Daily Routine:  All kids go to spend the rest of their day after school/nursery at the family room we maintain in our head office,  which is like a self-contained well-equipped studio unit. 
Daily Must:   Family Dinner, together. 
Weekend Must:  Sunday together, whether by ourselves or with others, basta together kami.
Vacations as a family, a requirement too.  We travel overseas at least 3x a year with the kids. Now that they are over 2yo - no yaya travels with us.  Lol, we sure get to know each other during these trips.

We believe, it is not the quantity but the quality of time, and high quality of life.
I don't like household chores. I don't like the repetitive mundane requirements of daily living.
I do not feel these the best  expressions of love and nurturing now.
Maybe, when my kids go off to college abroad -- yes, I will most probably do housekeeping, grocery, laundry, errands & whatever while I visit them --  and feel in my heart that these mundane tasks best express my love & nurturing.  But here, in the Phils., now -- pass ako sa mga ganyan.

[[-c-h-a-]]

TS, I'm also based overseas so no yaya or maid but my Mum stays with us when she's here in Australia; working full time (but compressed hours so my fridays are free. Mondays to Thursdays 7:30 to 4:30pm)

daughter is 2 yrs old, goes to ELC 2x a week... the days she's not in ELC, mum ko looks after her. Fridays, I'm home

my work is super duper flexible... my schedule is 7:30am to 4:30pm but really, I don't come in until 8:30am (so I get to drop her off) and I sometimes leave at 3pm so I can go to her ELC earlier and we can play together. I can leave by 12noon and my boss doesn't care. I'm quite efficient at work and usually I finish everything naman in the morning. If not, I can still go home early and work from home.

my boss is amazing... hands down the best boss ever. So he makes my life easier chores, everything's scheduled in advance... meals are planned a week in advanced too

weekends, we absolutely have to spend it with her. hindi pwdeng hindi... so we go out, go to the mall, go for a walk, eat... ganyan

[cheezecake]

ang mahirap maging ganito...yun lang masasabi ko

[belle_v2g]

I am a full time working mum too, so is my hubby. We are based overseas. Our son was only 4 when he first came here. I work in the morning, although nurse, i get the princess hours. 6:30am to 3pm shift or 7am to 3:30pm. sometimes 8:30 to 5pm. basta no night shifts. Hubby works permanently in the afternoon starting 1pm to 9pm. Since our son is at prep na, he starts at 9am so hubby is the one who brings him to school tapos i pick him up in the afternoon, 3:15 out nila. Sakto sa out ko. Minsan if im still at work, nasa after school care sya.
Early in the morning, I prepare baon, this is the food i cooked the night before. I prepare narin his uniform para ready na lahat for my hubby kasi sya ang nagaayos sa son namin. Ganito kami the whole week. Sa gabi ako nagluluto lagi. Good for next day's meal. weekends (saturday) housework. Sunday naman church day and pasyal plus groceries. Ang boring diba haha!!

[preggygielian]

Full time working mom here pero super lapit lang ng bahay sa office (mga 8 mins walk) kaya nakakauwi ako for lunch to eat and then nurse my 6 month old baby.

I pump 2x a day sa office and I'm so glad everyone has been supportive sa pagiging new mom ko -- at lalo na ang breastfeeding mom! Here in HK sobrang konti lang ang nagbbreastfeed kaya ang pag-understand sa situation ay iba. All my officemates have transitioned their babies to formula milk before they go back to work (after their maternity leave). Kaya tuwang tuwa ako na very supportive sila and have never asked me to stop at i-formula ang anak ko.

Pagkatapos ng work, namamalengke pa ako tapos pagkauwi, padede ako agad habang nagpprep ng lulutuin ko yung helper namin. Ayun after ko magpadede luto na ako then dinner na kami tapos back to my son ulit after dinner for another feeding session then bath time na then feeding tapos sleeping time na niya.

Nakakapagod at kahit papano super lessen na ang time with my husband kasi super hands on wife ako dati. Buti understanding naman asawa ko na kahit maliit na bagay na pagprepare ng baon eh siya na nagpprepare ng baon niya na walang tampo. Nakakapagod pero alam kong this is the time na dapat madaming time spent sa anak. Very lucky lang din be able to stay so close to the office.

[mommy_kimie]

pa-join po I'm a full time working mom too. Our son is 7 months old. Hubby is working full time too. My mom takes care of our son kaso hindi niya feel mag-stay for good sa bahay namin ni hubby. So ang set-up namin, kapag off lang namin napupuntahan si LO Pero minsan naman samin sila ng ilang weeks tapos sa mom ko ulit.

[MrsDairo]

joining here ako weekly ko rin lang nakikita ang anak.. SUper nakakalungkot ang ganitong set up.. Minsan iniisip ko mag stop kaso di naman pwede.. Kaya super sinusulit ko yung time namin together

[skela96c]

Still about a month til i go back to work pero iniisip ko na how we'll manage. We don't have yaya yet so I'm still praying na may mahire na soonest.  Husband and I work fulltime though medyo flexi time naman. Quitting work is not an option.

Plan B is that we go back to live with my mom para may mag alaga kay 2mo old baby. She will not be the one na mag alaga as in alaga kay baby (she's 70) pero we can have stay out yaya sa neighborhood namin dati na kakilala ko din naman. I can't "import" my mom naman to our house kasi she refuses to leave her house. At hindi din pwede lumayo ang possible yaya sa bahay nila dahil kailangan uwian sya. Catch is super layo at traffic ng bahay namin.  But hey beggars can't be choosers.

[fionaapple]

I'm a full time working lawyer.recently, i got promoted so my workload became heavier.

I'm fully committed to guiding my  2 yr old son and has even started planning, preparing and mapping out my individualized preschool curriculum that I will personally implement on top of his regular preschool curricula.

This means that I have lesser time for myself and lesser sleep.

^sis helencons, fulltime working lawyer din. not yet a mom. but our baby will be born this April-May 2016. already looking for a yaya. hay naku. di ko pa alam pano gagawin. pareho kami nagwowork ng husband ko. since i am an only child, we decided to get ask my mom to live with us. pero bata pa siya, 58 years old lang. still an active lawyer herself. my MIL, also a 58-year old, is a businesswoman naman. both excited maging lola, pero parehong wala pang time mag-alaga. did you work while your child was still an infant?

[MrsDairo]

mga sis kung kukuha kayo ng yaya dont forget na ipa x ray ninyo ahl, Iyan ang pagkakamali ko nung kumuha ako ng yaya.. Nag ka Primary complex ang baby ko.. Tapos 6 months pa lang siya noon

[FayeP]

full-time working mom to two young boys, one 4 y.o and one 9 mos. old...buti na lang may hubby na katuwang...

nagpapabreastfeed ako sa 9mos., night shift ako sa work at wala kami yaya or family member na pwede makatulong sa pag-aalaga, nagstart na din mag school un panganay ko...

so far namamanage naman namin, galing din ng asawa ko eh, luto-laba-alaga sa gabi sa mga bata, siya...ako tagalinis house at taga-hatid/sundo sa bata sa eskwela...

since night shift ako, sa morning bago ako umuwi, namamalengke na ko kung may kelangan bilhin...every Sunday namamalengke din ng majority kelangan namin si hubby...we live in Sta Maria and my office is in the Ortigas area...

pagod na ako hahaa, less sleep, kasi I get to sleep mga around 1PM pa to 6PM kasi I have to leave early mga two hours at least ang travel time...minsan naiisip ko din na bumalik na lang kaya dito sa Manila tumira pero sayang tong house na to...

[The Lioness]

Funny how there are still a lot of sexists out there who thinks women are the weaker sex. They have no idea what we were automatically signed up for. At and mga stories na nabasa ko dito ay sobrang nakaka inspire.

I'm a full-time working mom to an 11-month old baby boy. I work from 10pm - 7am, Mon-Fri. I usually get home around 8 or 8:30. 3 times a week dumadaan ako sa Farmer's wet market to buy fresh fish and veggies kasi as much as possible, fresh ang iluluto ko for my son's food. So pagdating sa bahay, maglilinis (and most of the time wash dishes pa), prepare food for everybody, feed my son, bathe him, playtime, do the laundry (3 times a week), playtime until he sleeps. 2pm na ako nakakatulog. I do want it sana na kapag nakatulog ang anak ko, saka na din ako matutulog kasi tinatabi ko sya sakin. But if he's still awake and I'm super sleepy na, sinasabi ko na lang sa yaya na itabi sakin kapag tulog na. I'll wake up at 7pm. Prepare stuff for him and get ready for work.

All these might sound like petty house stuff but what they might not know is how much we lack sleep, and for 11 months with this routine 6 times a week (since yaya has her day off and saturday is my time for my son), we are tired. We are really really tired. (At hello, nanganak tayo.) Sometimes, when I'm home, I don't even get to comb my hair (would just put it up in a bun), would go a day without shower because you'd rather take a nap than take a shower. With all your hormones and period messing up with your emotions, you get so insecure with the smallest details thinking ang pangit pangit mo na.

I guess my husband realized this. He tells me I'm still pretty in my "mommy figure", with hair like that, dressed in pajamas and loose shirts, doing all these keeping-the-house-thing I don't even like doing.

Cheers to all full-time working moms out there! There's no greater love and sacrifice than a mother's to her child.

[JAZRINA]

Full time working mom to a 3 month-old baby boy. I'm just lucky that my parents can still look after him while i'm at work. Ayoko rin kasi na yaya lang tapos walang kamag-anak na titingin kasi naisip ko minsan nga ako parang nauubos pasensya ko sa kanya. May pagka-iyakin kasi. Sobrang nakakapagod kasi exclusively breastfeeding pa kami. Until now halos 4 hours lang tulog ko. So sa weekend, hinahaan ako ng parents ko matulog for additional 2 hours.. haha..

Nakakapagod maging full time working mom pero tingin ko nakakapagod din kung full time mom lang din na sya lahat sa bahay pati alaga ng baby.

But I'm not complaining. I love being a mom and I love working.  sa van na lang ako bumabawi ng sleep. hehe

[lilyscapes]

some working sisses here are still lucky, you get to see your kids everyday. ako i'm having a hard time with our set up, my husband and i only get to see our son during weekends & holidays. nasa province pa with the lola, like 3 hours away from manila so imagine the stress.

but the reward is, we can give him his "luho" like parties, saved a lot for his tuition fee and even bought his future condo. some may raise their eyebrows on me because i'm not an everyday hands-on mom but i will resign eventually when he starts schooling.

[hyder0926]

i'm a full time employee and a mommy to my 5yo boy..

i work to augment our family income because we cannot live on a single income. i experienced being jobless for 7mos while my son was only 3yrs old, and i had that precious 7 mos to be a full time hands on mom to my son. my work hrs are longer, i clock in at 815am and clock out at 615pm. get home by 645pm and eat dinner afterwards. 7 to 8pm is our study time. i get to tutor my son even if he has a day time tutor. i dedicate my weekends with just bonding with him. i cook and play with him and take him out on dates and errands.

i am blessed to have a full time yaya whom we trust. and she loves my son. i know my son is well taken cared of by our yaya because my yaya loves him.

[blackrainbow]

Im a full time working mom with a 2.8 year old daughter.

Its challenging 'cause Im also a solo parent(will even get more challenging once she started entering school). Still very thankful though even cant afford to get a yaya kasi my mom is there to watch over my kid when im working. We are also far from relatives since I started working here in Manila. Not financially stable but nakakaraos din need talaga mag work to support my child. More power sa mga super moms out there

[lovely_carrot]

^ naku sis yan din ang drama ng buhay ko hehe..

I'm a single mom for 8 years now. For the past few years as in paycheck to paycheck lang ako. Its a big help that my mom is there to look after my daughter at least no need na magpasweldo ng yaya plus iba yung peace of mind. Back then di ko talaga mabigyan ng pera mama ko nahihiya na nga ako sa kanya pero she understood kasi single mom din sya. Pasalamat ko nalang din at di sakitin yung anak ko.

Last year nagdecide ako mag abroad, ayoko talaga nung una kasi OFW mama ko pero naisip ko din nakakapanlumo for me yung buhay na "sakto" lang, walang ipon, kapit sa credit card for necessities. I wanted more. So ayun kaka apply online, sinuwerte din na makapagabroad.

Now, money wise I don't worry much. Mabayaran ko lang loan ko I'm super luwag na para makaipon for my daughter's college fund, nabibigyan ko na din mama ko ng allowance nya. We are living more comfortable lives pero yun nga lang sacrifice na malayo sa family. Ganun talaga!

Anyway, Happy International Women's day! 

[katrinac]

Full time working mom too, night shift, no yaya, plus may online shop. Swerte na makatulog ng 2-3 hours per day, pero okay lang basta para sa family. Yun nga lang, there are really a lot of times na super na guiguilty ako kasi feeling ko i don't have time for my family

[momentum]

full time working single mom here too. may naiipon naman pero gusto ko sana more growth..kaya nagbalak ako lumipat ng ibang account sa work kaso hinaharang kami. sayang kasi ang laki pa naman magbigay ng salary adjustment/yearly increase yung account na yun, makakaipon pa sana ako

kaya ako eto, naghahanap hanap ng online sideline, hindi pa ako sinuswerte.

sis lovely_carrot and blackrainbow and swerte ninyo at hindi ninyo kelangan ng yaya kasi mama ninyo ang nag-aalaga sa kids ninyo. si mama kasi is not the domesticated, maalaga sa kid type. she is a single mom kasi ever since 6 months ako and sanay magtrabaho at ipaubaya sa lolo and lola ko kaming magkakapatid..until now na 60+ na siya ganun parin siya, she still rather work (mostly at home) than just make pahinga, wala rin kasi siya masyadong naipon dahil 3 kaming magkakapatid na binuhay niya nuon. konting mata mata lang ng yaya at anak ko yung support niya sa akin sa aspect na ito, and making me stay rent-free sa house (pero share kami sa bills and food)

I'd rather work from home nalang sana to get rid of the yaya na, tutal malaki laki narin naman anak ko, turning 7yo, kaso naman walang HMO. yun din kasi tulong ko kay mama, yung magka HMO sya para sa mga checkups to maintain her health since hindi rin naman niya kakayanin magbayad palagi for checkups and procedures. tsaka laking tulong din kasi ng HMO sa anak natin. hay buhay

[blackrainbow]

@lovely_carrot sis bilib ako sayu kasi nagpursigi ka mag abroad. ako kahit gusto ko man di ko kaya na magkalayo kami ng anak ko saka gusto ko talaga andito ako habang lumalaki siya. kaya tiistiis lang muna sa sapat na kita. Sana sa future magkaroon din ako ng lakas ng loob mag abroad when the time comes.

@momentum I think nasa same field tayu ng work sis. hehe. samin naman nag request ako ng morning shift talaga para naaalagaan ko anak ko kasi pag night shift halos wala kaming interaction kasi tulog ako sa umaga.bet ko nga din sana yang online sideline kaso wala akong PC at internet connection kaya kailangan din mamuhunan. and also sis kuha ka din solo parent ID kung wala ka pa para you have additional 7 days paid leave. Maganda yun lalo na in case of emergency.