Question for Working Mom's on Morning Commute?

I chose the earlier schedule.
I'd be up at 5, leave by 6, drop off at daycare at 6:30 and be at work by 7am.
Often I'd run errands at lunch.
Daycare wasn't at work but between home and work and right across the parking lot from the grocery store, so I'd do a little shopping before picking up at daycare at 4pm.
The traffic flow was better earlier and I liked having time at home together in the evenings.

I choose the early route, myself. For traffic reasons, mostly.

You'll adjust to the earlier routine, and after awhile, you won't think anything of it.

i would always choose the earlier schedule, for many of the reasons B already mentioned, but that's me. my son has an 8:00 bedtime too.

i also wanted to say, don't look at this like some horrible thing. it sounds very similar to my own routine. it's what you make of it. if you go into it with an awful attitude that this is a crappy situation and you're "making the best of it *dramatic sigh*" then you will deep down have resentment and no matter what, that attitude will rub off on your kids.

but if you TRULY look at the bright side (this job is supporting your family, ALLOWING you to be able to afford two wonderful children you will be able to feed and clothe, you will have a good chunk of time with each of them, alone, in the car, each day) then you really WILL make the best of it and, not only accept, but maybe even enjoy it. it's your life. enjoy it, because there are so many who would be happy with much less.

it is ALL in your attitude. your "real" attitude, not your "projected" attitude.

I would go the early option because my older child and I are both "early risers" and my infant goes with the flow. I also commute an hour (my husband does drop off/ pick up) and work 8-4. If the offered me the opportunity to do 7-3, I would do it in a heartbeat! Mornings are hectic no matter what- just have everything done the night before to make it a little easier on yourself and wake up at least 20 minutes earlier than you think you need to... everything takes longer early in the morning! You will really appreciate having your evenings as "family time" with the children.

I would also suggest prepping as much as you possibly can for dinner the night before while the cutting board and knives are already out! I look at our menu for the week and if we need chopped onions more than once, I will chop a pile, put them in a ziploc and freeze so that I take what I need each night rather than taking the time to chop. It takes some work and planning, but you can work your weekly meal plans so that it takes less than 30 minutes to get the whole thing on the table!

What time does your child usually wake up? If she wakes up early, then it's perfect for you all. If not, consider changing her diaper, dropping her at daycare with her pj's on her, and let the daycare ladies dress her for the day. They usually feed her breakfast anyway, right?

Talk to your daycare about it and see if they are willing to do this for you. (It shoudn't be a hardship.) This way, your 14 month old gets more sleep (sleeping in the car) and you don't have to get up as early.

I'll add that when I had my house up for sale, I was having to have it show-ready every day. I strapped my kiddies in their carseats in the garage and gave them their breakfast in the car so that I wouldn't have to clean the kitchen before leaving for work. That made it so that we could sleep later and so that I wouldn't run out of time to get the kitchen cleaned every morning. The point is, it's possible for your 14 month old to snack in the car so she won't be starving by the time you get to work, and then eat breakfast when she gets to daycare.

Hope this helps,

Dawn

7-4....I used to work this at a previous job. Always home no later than 5:30. Worked great for us. We are morning people though.

When I had a child care business I often was the one waking the kiddo's up and even bathing them and dressing them for the day. If your child care facility is willing to do some of that morning routine for you then I would suggest the earlier one.

BUT!!!!!

You know that bad weather is coming and you also know how the road crew in your area is. If they get out there at the peak time for the crowd that has to be there at 8am they won't be out in time for you. You'll be driving on roads that have iced over during those hours and your family will not be safe driving an hour at high speeds on the high way.

I would think that some major life changes should be considered. If your income is enough to warrant this commute then it's enough of an income for you and your family to move. Moving at least half way between jobs is better for all of you.

If hubby's job is already an hour the other way and you're in the middle of both jobs then it's time to consider this. Those babies don't need to be on the highway every day for 2 hours, especially with the bad winter coming.

I would think moving to a closer home would be much better for them.

I don't think I would do the early one due to weather and other safety issues.

I think you'll have to go off of what your kids do better with. Can you dress them at night for daycare? I know a lot of people that do this because their kids are not morning people, but they have to be.

The kids can (and I assume will most likey) sleep in the car.

If those were my ONLY options, I'd go with the early one though. While it would be hard in the morning, if you're prepared (clothes, lunches, etc) then it should be kind of easy, and still give you the quality time at night.

Is working through lunch and option so you could do 8-4? Or do you work a compressed schedule and have every other Friday off? Maybe if you do that, you could stop for a while to have the shorter days.

Good luck!

Earlier.
Safer and faster drive home.
The more organized you are with their bags for the day.

Keep lists.

Get organized about dinners. Ask friends and family to help you prepare meals that can be frozen.

I used to make double meals when my neighbors children were young. I could give her one and I keep the other. She would give me money so I could purchase the ingredients. My goal was $10. or less per meal.

Purchase children's CD's and play them , Books on CD are also great.
Of course popular music is great, figure out the best morning stations.

This will become their normal and it will be fine.

Depends on what their normal wake and sleep patterns are (and yours). My kids and I are night owls so we would do the later option but my kids stay up later. If going to bed early works best for them, then do the early schedule.

For me I would do the 7-4. I know mornings suck but leaving so early you will beat morning rush hour and you'll leave before it gets too bad because that can add extra time to your driving and sometimes kids and cars aren't a good combination.

My son wakes up early every day even when I want to sleep so often my day starts when he wakes up and then I get myself ready and off to work I go, that works for us. I've noticed that when I go into work later that I have very little time to spend with him because I have too much of everything else to do-cook, clean, do laundry, wash bottles etc. It's always something.

What you could do is try both schedules-if you are able to and see what works for your family.

I would do the 7-4. I think you'll have less traffic in the morning which means less dangerous road. You'd be home at a decent hour to make dinner and spend time with the kids and maybe have a little of down time for yourself.
I like getting up early because I have almost 2 hours to myself at work and i can get more done. I hated working 9-5 because it meant getting home 6 because I had to pickup my son from the sitters, then make dinner and by the time I cleaned up the kitchen, I had 1/2 hour with my son and then off to bed for both of us. I had no down time at all. Now working 6-2 gives me plenty of extra time to tidy things up and have more time with the kiddo and dinner gets eaten at a decent hour and dishes done and I get some down time. I like getting to work and getting the heck out. My supervisor comes in any time between 6:30-8:00 but with the 2 of us its peacful and I get stuff done.

I vote the morning routine too because I would rather have the time in the evening. I hate feeling rushed through the evening routine and also feeling shorted of my precious time with my family.

My sister in law and her husband commute together with their two children. He drops everyone off at her office which is near the daycare. Then he finishes the drive. Reverse in the evening. Their drive is an hour and half each way so that's a lot of drive time. They get up super early and do their thing. I know they borrow DVDs, books on tape, etc. from the library to keep everyone entertained. She has told us the mornings aren't too bad simply because they keep the kids asleep for the most part. They transport the kiddos to the carseats in PJs. The daycare takes care of dressing them. Good luck.

Absolutely 100% (can't say this strongly enough) the later schedule. No way in the world would I have been able to get my child up and out at 5 am. The 8 week old - yes - you can take her to work still asleep and she can eat and be changed when she wakes. The older child - NEVER would have worked for me. When my son was in daycare, we always picked him up between 6 and 6:30 pm and we were home 15 minutes later. It was not an issue for us.

I always go for the earliest shift possible because I like spending time with my kids. It may be harder to wake them up and stuff but beyond that they don't do much in the morning so not really quality time with the kids. Yeah I lose some sleep but I think they are worth it. :)

I like the earlier option because of traffic and getting home a little earlier. On either end, the later you leave--unless you can do it a couple of hours later--the worse the traffic will be. (Example: I start work at 7:30. If I leave my house at 6:45, I can be there by 7:30. However, if I leave at 7:00, I won't make it until 8:00 or 8:15. Leaving at 7:30 would have me looking at 9:00!)

I'd pick the earlier one, only because some day they will start school and you'll have to go by the earlier option to be able to get them to school on time. So this would only prepare you for that.

Plus, I'd much rather start work earlier then work later in the evening.

I would think parking would be better earlier in the AM vs later too.

I also have to commute a long way, and I hate it.
I'm NOT a morning person, but I actually like getting to work early so I can get off earlier. There are nights I'm glad to stay at work later just to miss rush hour traffic.

I don't envy you juggling two little ones, but you will find your groove and it will work out. I think it's awesome you have daycare at work. I was never that lucky.

Take care of yourself! Let us know when the baby arrives!

I would try for the 7 to 4. You would have to pack stuff the night before but if you get good at it, it would be better in the log run. My daycare is best the first half of the day. The latter half is more babysitting, less activities.

is it possible to try to find solutions to how far the job is? try to find work closer, or, if this is a job you must keep, then maybe try to find a way to move closer to work? it seems either routine would work, everyone would just have to adapt to it. if its the earlier, i hope the kids get a nap time that works around their schedule. the kids would also be going to bed really early, and so would you. it seems either way, you won't have much time with your family because so much time is needed for the commute. i would base the choice off of when traffic is slowest. of course if one routine doesn't work, try the other. hope you find the routine that works!