How do you handle things at home and work if helper is not around?

[mikelly]

For working woman especially with kids, how do you handle things (home and work) if the helper is not around?

I have been thinking things since my helper is not with us due to family reason. This is not the first time na nawalan kami ng helper and it was very challenging. Hubby and I are working, he is in day job and i am at night. It is a good set-up especially if we dont have a helper but there are times we have to extend at work and that makes conflict in our time at home.

I am thinking to quit my job and have an online work at home just like in outdesk but I also value being in a corporate world as it provides employee benifits that an online job at home cannot offer. that is what i know. also, it is not easy to look for a job nowadays even if you have professional experiences. I honestly dont want to leave being in a corporate world but thinking my kid and home makes me decide to do this. I feel so fed up training new helpers and trying to build trust and all of a sudden they will leave without thinking how difficult I went through just for them to train the right thing at home. I can say we have been a good amo, a considerate one. But i cant and really cannot control things and convince them to stay.

[ritznmore]

If you decide to quit your job, you might regret doing so later on when money is going to be a problem or you don't feel fulfilled enough as a mom.  Even businesswomen have to sacrifice time off of work sometimes, siguro you can ask a non working relative to help out for awhile.

[sistah!]

i am lucky to have a good network, i have my parents to help me watch my kid when i find myself without a yaya (and it has happened a few times already!) and i have to work. we've had to hire "yayas for the day" while waiting for the next one too. of course, i've also had to skip work a couple of times to stay with my kid. my husband has also had to do that.

i suggest you start trying to find a system that will work for your family. kontrata mo na lang muna mga in laws, friends, even trusted neighbors to help you out when you and your hubby cannot be there. ganyan lang din kami. mahirap din kasi mag-quit ng work because like you said, marami talagang benefits ang corporate work. try lang ng try sa yaya and maid. mahirap ang swerte talaga sa kanila. good luck!

[aquacharly]

My sisters bring their kids to  our mom's house, when they have house help problems.
Our old yaya is there to supervise the other helpers of our mom sa pag alaga.

I am just lucky kasi, I can do that too or bring the kids to our office (we have a family room).

But IMO, if talagang  wala ng reliable back-up, a mom must make the right choice: work from home. 

[twelvth_goddess]

My husband and I are both working full time with varying schedules. We've not had a yaya since March, so it's been 5 months.

I'm so over getting upset over yaya issues. I'm actually not actively looking for one anymore, kumbaga, kung may dumating and may mai-refer fine. We get by with help from my mom. My daughter is just turning 4 and she recently started going to school. At first, my goal was to find a replacement before school starts because I couldnt find it in my heart to let my daughter take the school bus alone. Good thing the bus mother is kind and caring naman. Their school also has a very good system when turning over kids to their fetcher. This is our routine:

6am-9am: Work out, cook breakfast, prep school snacks, prep her for school, prep for work
130pm: My daughter comes home from school and my mom looks after her
5pm: My husband comes home from work; he and my daughter will have dinner, he'll give her a bath and prep her things for the following day
9pm: I'll get home from work and I'll check if everything is prepared

Nakakapagod and stressful din pero parang mas ok na saken to kesa may helper nga ko na binabayaran pero wala naman pakinabang. Gagastusan ko na, mabu-bwisit pa ko. The most important thing for me is that one of us is there in the morning and at night to bathe her and spend time with her.

[ana3173]

ako nga sis napilitan akong kumilos kahit ceasarian ako, kailangan eh, matatambakan ako ng gawain, pray ko lagi na wag sana ako mabinat o magkasakit. kailangan tulungan ko si hubby sa pagasikaso sa mga anak namin kahit kapapanganak ko pa lang, time mangement [textspeak!] talaga mahirap pero nakakachallenge din. di all the time may maasahan tayong katulong. kaya yung mga anak ko na malalaki na tinutulungan ako sa gawain bahay nung mawalan kami ng kasama, maganda rin yung ganito para natututo sila sa mga gawaing bahay

[khriseeee]

Freezer meals / delivery
Laundry service
Borrow my mom's maid for 1x a week cleaning

I haven't had both HH and yaya out at the same time so I'm pretty fortunate, however when there's only one around, I either look after my daughter or do the cooking while the one left does cleaning.

If ever both would be gone for an extended period of time - I'll either borrow my mom's maid or send my daughter to my mom.

[paulfranc]

sana may makapag refer dito na pwedeng maglinis sa bahay kahit 2x  a week. parang sa states. cleaning lady kumbaga.

[Angelite]

Sobrang hirap pag walang yaya or maid. Di ko afford mawalan. So I always have 2 parati. Pag umalis yung isa o may emergency at kailangang umuwi at least may isa pa ako. Natutunan ko na ito simula nung nawalan ako ng yaya kaya palaging may extra.

[Project60]

Nako this is super hard pag both parents are working.
Nung nag unexpected vacation yung boy and yaya namin for 2 months feeling ko ma ooverfatigue na ko. hahaha. My partner walang alam sa household chores, so hello.

What we did was pakiusapan yung mommy ko to look after my son while we're at work.. Take note, senior na si mommy so walang clean up syang kayang gawin at may mga business pa sya so pag uwing pag uwi namin aalis na sya.

I felt like giving up that time kasi sobrang pagod pero I read somewhere na whenever you feel na kulang oras mo you have to double your productivity!

so what i did.. gising ako ng 4AM to load the fully automatic washing machine, then mag cook ako (mga simple nalang), then ligo ako pagbaba ko sakto kakatapos lang ng washing machine then sampay na...tapos go to work na ko... pag uwi ko wala ng bihis bihis ng pambahay! hehe luto uli, paliguan baby, play with baby, patulugin baby.. tapos linis ng house, wash dishes na pang whole day... tapos sleep. repeat..

What helped me survive is to divide tasks per day (like ex: monday, tuesday, wednesay - laundry / friday, monday - mop floor, etc) and learned how to let go of nice to haves  (kailangan ba talaga major spotless? minsan okay okay na yung medyo malinis lang ehhehe)

[crookshanks]

It's been more than a month na since I got back to work from my maternity leave and we're still looking for a yaya. yung yaya na nakuha namin after namin maghanap for 2 months eh 2 weeks lang ang itinagal, di na bumalik after ng sumweldo. Yung unang yaya namin dapat na kasama namin nung buntis pa lang ako, 1 month after ko nanganak eh pinauwi na ng nanay nya sa probinsya. Right now nagsu-survive kame sa pag-leave and may times na tinutulungan kame ng kapatid ko. Kaso hangang kelan kame makakapag-leave and di rin ako matutulungan all the time ng kapatid ko. Buti na lang at magkaiba kame ng restday ni hubby at mas minimal ang leaves na kelangan gawin. Nag-offer ng help ang mga inlaws ko kaso super layo ng bahay nila from work.Yung mga house chores, kakayanin pa sana namin ni hubby ng walang katulong, pero need talaga namin is yaya na magbabantay pag nasa work kame pareho. Nakakastress and naffrustrate na ko sa situation. Parang eto yung di ko napaghandaan sa pagkakaron ng baby.

[wandergirl1980]

I've been yaya-less for more than 2 years already and until now struggling pa rin ako when it comess to juggling the household chores and my work. I work from home and most people think it's easier that way. But NO!

My daughter is 6 yrs old medyo dependent pa rin sa akin kasi bata pa rin naman. Pag may school I wake up around 6 to prepare breakfast. Then paliguan ang bata after and prep her for 9 am school.

I start to work around 9:30 am til 11 am. Then cook lunch. By 12:30 dating na anak ko so its lunch time for family. Around 1:30 pa lang ako makakaligo hahaha. Then help my daughter with her homework. By the time it's done I'm mentally exhausted na din hahaha. So I start work around 4 or 5. Then 6:30 dinner after that hilamusan ko na daughter ko. Then around 9 I have to get her sleep na at makakatulog na rin ako sa pagod. The next day ganun ulit.

Depende rin kasi sayo sis. Ako kasi di ko talaga kaya ang less than 7 hrs na sleep either super cranky ako or I can't concntrate sa work.

In just a year I got very exhausted talaga. I lost my passion for writing. I have stopped writing for over a year now kasi hirap na ako mag-compose ng paragraph that makes sense in less time.

I still work (email support). Even my relationship with my hubby got affected. Most of the time I felt negative and toxic. I stopped seeing my friends din.

But of course that's just me...iba-iba naman kasi ang tao sa pag-handle ng stress. Ako kasi poor ako pagdating sa stress management hahaha.

My mom told me she's found a helper for me...crossing my fingers

[wandergirl1980]

And by the way I worked sa office before for more than 7 years then I decided to give it up for my daughter kasi hikain sya at that time. Pag sobrang pagod at pag masama ang luob ko pumapasok pa rin sa isip ko na sana di ko na [textspeak!] give up yung corporate job ko. But when i see my daughter na super close sa akin i feel btter na ulit. So talagang kelangan mo rin pag isipan mabuti before you decide whether to work from home or stay in the corporate world.

Good luck!

[mamichula]

Childcare! That's an option. There's one in Makati we used to bring my son to. Everytime mawawalan ako ng yaya dinadala namin sya dun where he gets to play with other kids all day. I bring him there before work and pick him up after work. Hanggang makakuha kami ng bagong yaya. One month ata kaming ganun. Madami sila dun and the parents of the kids there are also working and walang mga yaya sa bahay.

You have to wake up extra early lang to prepare his baon and clothes. Tapos sila na magpapakain.

[nicoletta]

Good help is hard to get by.

It was so hard for me before kasi yayas would only stay for 2 weeks then they leave.  They would always complain about waking up in the middle of the night to burp my baby, of course this was when he was still a few months old.  Hindi kasi mga totoong experienced yaya.

Anyway, what worked for me was, my mom would help out talaga. She will pick up baby and I will get him in the evening after work.  So far I had the energy naman to continue this up until I found yaya that stayed with us almost 6 months na siya ngayon. Mahaba na yan kasi normally 2 weeks lang talaga.

[AVIDGOLFER]

Tanong ko lang....since mahirap kumuha ng yayas, hindi be pwede pakiusapan ang in-laws or siblings to become temporary yaya or caretaker???