Yesterday there was a post asking if anyone is “not dying”. I had mentioned I was not dying but it was downvoted and uncommented on so I deleted it. The top comment said “we’re all dying”. That’s not true!

So let’s add some positivity for potential working moms who visit this sub - who else is enjoying their time as a parent? Who isn’t drowning? I think we can all admit this is one of the hardest things we’ve ever done (raising kids). But, for me, it’s still an overall very positive experience.

The top comment also said “no one’s doing it well” but I actually think I’m doing a pretty good job! Maybe bc I have my own mother to compare to which makes anyone seem great at parenting lol. But parenting (after the first year) is one of the only things to feel like I’m doing it okay!

The thing that really bothered me tho was that a comment on the top comment said that anyone saying they’re not dying is “being dishonest”. Is it really that hard to think some of us aren’t dying?

Just for fun, what's the smallest consistent way you stick it to the patriarchy?

I have a work one and a mom one. My work one is that whenever I'm emailing a man and a woman, I always say the woman's name first in the salutation.

My personal one, to support future working parents, is that my young son and I do a sweep of the apartment to tidy before bedtime, and I don't tell him what to pick up. I just say, "Hmm, does it look clean in here? Does anything else need to be put away?" and he notices what's out of place, then puts it away. This is all part of my dastardly plot to spare his future spouse the classic, "But you didn't TELL ME doing the dishes meant pots and pans too!"

I work in a Prosecutor's office and one of our lawyers has a jury trial this week she cannot miss. She also has an 18 month old with sniffles and had to have him with her. So she brought him in and when she got called to court we just all came together to watch him. Just a full office of prosecutors and paralegals entertaining a toddler while his mom is in court and it's incredibly nice. Not one person is giving her shit or making her feel bad or unprofessional. Its just great to see.

I need to vent about this whole “power pause” narrative that’s been circulating, from Neha Ruch. She claims a "power pause" is a deliberate, strategic career break taken by parents—often mothers—to focus on family life without abandoning professional ambition. She's written a book, created a community and I've seen her do multiple interviews. I admit I was intrigued and loved the idea of a "power pause" and wanted to buy her book. However, when I looked into her, I felt sick to my stomach. I will not be buying her book.

First off, this lady lives in a 2500 sq ft apartment on the Upper West Side- I looked into this and found she bought it for $5 MILLION dollars back in 2018. https://www.domino.com/content/upper-west-side-family-apartment-neha-ruch/

How do I know for $5 mill? Because I am a crazy person and did my research- it's out there.

This is right around the time she leaves her corporate career- which by the way, is mediocre at best. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nehaleelaruch/details/experience/

Do you think someone who has two years of experience after her MBA can have the funds to buy a $5 million house on her own? No WAY.

Which led me to look into her husband who definitely has money. He sold his company, now owns his own VC firm- you get it. And call me crazy but I also looked into her father who is also worth MILLIONS. He is a partner at a VC firm and was the CEO of a company that got acquired by Sterling Commerce, which is now part of IBM.

So my point is, why take advice from someone who clearly did not have to think through finances when deciding to leave her corporate role? Wouldn't you rather take advice from someone who is self-made and worked hard to be able to take such a pause?

I'm surprised more people aren't picking up on this, honestly. This is literally like taking advice from a real housewife- I may be exaggerating, but you get my point.

1. Have a mom/MIL that you, your spouse, and toddler all love, let's call her "Grandma"
2. Have Grandma stay with you, handle 100% of daycare pick up and drop off, and also have her run errands for you while she has time* during the day.

*****For this hack to work, it is imperative that Grandma has literally no other obligations and can devote 100% of her time to you and your family.

1. Have Grandma prepare your meals, grocery shop, prepare homemade healthy snacks for the toddler. Bonus if your Grandma also cleans, folds your laundry, and basically handles all household chores so you can actually play and spend quality time with your toddler.

2. Have Grandma can handle bedtime by herself, so you and your spouse can go on long, uninterrupted dinners and other date nights.

3. Ensure Grandma vehemently refuses all monetary compensation, aside from the occasional meal or cocktail on a nice patio somewhere.

In case it wasn't obvious, this is not a serious post. My mom, who lives out of state (and does have a life lol), is a saint and volunteered to come stay 2 weeks (we paid for her flight) and help out, as my husband and I both have demanding, in-office jobs and life has been throwing a lot at us lately. It just makes me realize that she is essentially functioning as a third parent, which is what is making things easier. So, "how to have it all" you may ask? YOU CAN'T. That's the point. The amount of duties we are expected to handle as working parents isn't compatible with 2 people. This is just a silly post as I am so grateful for my mom and I realize a lot of people don't even get this temporary help. Happy Monday, fellow moms, don't forget to put together your kiddos Easter basket and bring snacks and pre-filled eggs to school this week!

EDIT: Loved all your responses. Give your moms/MIL/people a hug and tell them that you loved them. For those of you without a support system, you're doing great.

I posted this about 2h ago. It totally blew up.

https://www.reddit.com/r/workingmoms/s/ovW2Gqwvel

I spoke to my husband. He was watching tv at the time. I bought a piece of paper and pen with me and made a chart of our daily schedule like we wake up at 7:15 to get ready. Toddler sleeps at 8:30.

There was normal volume conversation

until I mapped out, “you have 8.25 hours of free time in the day, you don’t think you can make dinner for us? I know Reddit sports is very important to you.” /sarcasm

Oh my gosh. He flipped.

He yelled at me, “FUCK YOU. I made all the MONEY here. I DESERVE THIS. This home, everything”

I started crying right there. I told him that I thought we were equals; he knows I come from a financially abusive family growing up. I cried and went away.

Fifteen minutes later, he says I’m sorry.

I told him, “now I can’t unhear it. What happens if I really did stay-at-home? I know we will have an argument one day. On that day, you will yell at me and say that I relied on you financially to live.

I’ve had a shitty two years at my current job. Tonight, just shows that I’m glad that I stuck with my shitty employment situation.

Even though my employment is shitty, you yelling at me that I relied on you is MORE shitty. Even if we reached our number, I still need to keep working.”

He said nothing and walked away.

Wikipedia on this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Myth_of_the_First_Three_Years

The author, John Bruer, is a legit researcher on education. I looked through his CV and one of his other interests in promoting the representation of women in STEM. It's not hard to see why reading his book.

The book really describes infant determinism (=the idea that the experiences in infant hood, locks in a person's lifelong cognitive, social and emotional development) as what it is: a myth. It is a myth rooted in class (originated when middle-class stay-at-home moms first became a thing in urban England and Netherlands), bad interpretations of science and psychology (including attachment theory), and well-meaning-but-potentially-very-harmful attempts of policymakers to reduce inequity in educational attainments.

He carefully goes into the neuroscience to offer a much richer and more hopeful image: our brains are capable of learning childhood, adolescence, and even adulthood. The so-called "critical period" only seems to apply to very foundational neurological circuits (like aspects of vision), AND these circuits WILL form properly so long as child is healthy (take your kid to the pediatrician visits so they can be screened for vision and hearing!) and not locked in a box or subject to Romanian orphanage conditions.

Even attachment that is such a buzz-word: he went into the original studies and actually described what it is--just a description of three different type of a child's responses to the mother at a set age. Furthermore, he describes the part that is always missed: attachments are dynamic over time; they CHANGE when circumstances change. This is so commonsensical and yet we talk about mother-infant attachment as though it's some primordial things that transcends time and space. No it doesn't. It is something that can be nurtured and fostered THROUGHOUT LIFE.

He also touched on the social studies and reiterated what needs to be reiterated: In most studies, what affects a child's cognitive, social and emotional development is not the hours spent in childcare, the quality of childcare (as long as it is, again, not Romanian orphanage conditions, which no licensed childcare facility is), whether it follows Montessori or Emillio-Reggio or Waldorf philosophies: it is a family's socioeconomic status and MATERNAL mental well-being.

I find the book so important because the myth of infant determinism can be so pernicious. At a time when a woman is most emotionally and hormonally unstable and not herself, as postpartum tends to be, the myth whispers in their ears that the child is only young once, that babyhood/toddlerhood is so precious.

The book doesn't come out and say this, but the message is clear: Focus on what is actually important. If your family's long-term socioeconomic status and your own mental health and wellbeing are ENHANCED by exiting the workforce and staying at home, go ahead and do that--great idea. However, if these are better achieved by working, then you should go to work happy and proud. Your child(ren) will be better for it.

ETA: A few grammatical errors. A paragraph about attachment.

Required caveat: this is not to make anyone feel bad or suggest that there is a right way to have kids / create balance.

I have a close friend who lives on our street. Our kids are similar in age and everyone gets along, so we hang out with her family frequently. She is a SAHM, and has been since her oldest (now 9) was a toddler. She is awesome - super smart, does so much for her kids, but since she doesn't work, she takes on pretty much all of the household / childcare responsibilities. She and her husband have worked out a system that works for them, and everyone seems happy with it.

But her youngest is about to start kindergarten and that was the moment when both she and her husband assumed she'd go back to work. And hearing her talk about what she's going to do, how she will navigate school schedules, the kind of part-time work that she can get versus work that actually pays well...she's starting to really question how this is going to work. Thinking through this with her just makes me really happy that I never stopped working and just made it work as I went. Because it seems really daunting to jump back into the workforce with all the challenges created by school schedules, and navigating the balance of household work after nearly a decade of it just being one person's job, in addition to the fact that she doesn't think she can go back to what she was doing so is basically looking at an entry level job and isn't sure that the pay will actually make any of this worth it.

There's not really a point to this post, I guess I just wanted to say that being a working mom was SO HARD when my kids were babies and toddlers. But now that they're both in school, I'm grateful that I kept going. In case anyone needed to hear that today...there it is.

I took almost the whole year off to be with my now 22 month baby and through the year I made a small list of things to read for when I return to work, about why being a working mom is so great.

I’ll be starting a new job next week and thought I’ll share some of the points (some may be a bit specific to my situation). Hope you resonate and please add more!

1. You’ve picked incredible childcare for your child and all that’s done is add more lovely people to love and take care of him.

2. Nobody will ever replace you.

3. Your baby needs a big life as they grow, and you working can make that happen! Think school, college, weddings, vacations!

4. You should never have to think twice about spending money on kiddo!

5. Heck, you shouldn’t have to think twice about spending money on YOURSELF.

6. Kids experience time differently, especially when they’re little; and won’t feel your absence the way you feel it.

7. You can make the time you DO spend with him equal to as if you spent the whole day with him, in terms of high quality engagement and love.

8. Eventually he’ll grow older and have his own friends and you’ll be so happy you have a thriving career for you! He’ll be happy for you too!

9. When you have unlimited free time you actually feel a bit guilty knowing you could be out there working to give him the better life. Who knew right?

10. Life is unpredictable and the financial stability, and not relying on anyone else, is always a good idea.

I’ve just added 10 for now but please add on more mamas! And we can save this thread for those down days ♥️ happy new years in advance and you’re all doing great!

My entire life as a working mom, I've had at least a one-hour commute to work (one way). I finally hit a turning point this summer. We sold our house and moved closer to my job. Now I work and live in the same town. My toddler goes to daycare in town and my daughter's school is just a town or two over. My quality of life has skyrocketed and I'm just so grateful. My self-care has increased. I'm a better mom because I'm not so burned out all of the time and my daughter is able to enjoy living closer to her friends.

I still have some guilt about moving my kids from a house with a yard to an apartment, but I was drowning and I could barely enjoy the outdoor space we had because I was so tired and burned out. Life finally feels manageable. I don't have that tight feeling in my chest anymore. Im not rushing all of the time. I'm able to enjoy the weekends and not feel overwhelmed by the thought of going out because I have a load of chores to take care of when I get back. I can have brunch with friends on a Sunday morning and it's no big deal. I can't believe my life 🥲. I don't think I've ever felt this free since having children.

Selling our home was such a scary decision and I'm still grieving my old house in many ways. But I'm also enjoying my new life, and freedom. This group has been such a support for me over the years. I guess I just wanted to share. Thanks for reading. 🩷

I'm not a morning person, never have been. The idea of waking up early to exercise always sounded like actual torture to me. But I've been doing it for 3 months now and as much as I hate admitting this, it's the only time that consistently works.

I tried lunch breaks but work always bled into that time. I tried after work but by the time I got home and dealt with dinner and kids and homework I was too mentally fried to even think about working out. Weekends were filled with errands and family stuff and trips and I'd tell myself I'd work out but never did.

So I started setting my alarm for 5:30am, I get up before my husband and kids are awake, I do 30 minutes of something, shower, and then start my actual day. Do I love it? Absolutely not, I still hit snooze sometimes and skip days, but I've worked out more in the past 3 months than I did in the entire year before.

The weird part is I actually have more energy during the day when I do it, even though I'm technically more tired from waking up earlier. I think it's because I'm not carrying around the guilt of skipping exercise all day, I already did it so I can focus on everything else.

I go to bed earlier now which means less netflix but honestly I feel better overall. I'm not saying everyone should work out at 5:30am, I'm just saying if you keep failing to exercise at other times maybe you need to try the time slot you've been avoiding. For me that was early morning and I had to accept that even though I hate it.

So as everyone here, I guess, I feel a bit guilty about the long hours my 6-month-old baby spends in daycare every day. My partner drops him off every morning at around 9 am and I pick him up at 5.30 pm. Whenever I arrive and the teacher opens the door, I always see him playing with toys or crawling around the room towards other babies (he doesn't properly crawl yet, but he does the military crawling like a reptile on the floor and he gets very far very fast). There's usually one or two crying babies in the room, but it's never mine. So I thought well, at least it looks like he enjoys it. At the same time, I knew there was a possibility that it all was wishful thinking and by coincidence he was just happy the moment I arrived.

Anyway, today I went to pick him up as always, we said goodbye to the teacher and we took the elevator down. Then I realised I had forgotten my bag upstairs on the changing table and we took the elevator back up. When baby realised we were going back to his room, he started kicking and screaming with joy. You should have seen how happy he was, he kept making happy baby noises in excitement. I swear my heart feels so relieved.

Recently I was asked, “What hobbies do you have?” …I have none. Like, none right now. I do my work, tend to my kids, husband and I divide up our chores, and day is over. I drink a glass of wine and doom scroll on nights where I don’t have to do bedtime (husband and I alternate). Is that a hobby?

I feel this way because my interests before kids centered around things that seemingly feel very hard to do with kids. I also still have high levels of mom guilt, so babysitter is not always the answer.

My outlet has always been friends. Hanging out, going out, late night dinner parties, drinking wine, conversing. While my friends and I were all on the same page before, it’s just different now. Some have older kids. Some don’t have any kids at all. I can’t do away weekends anymore. I travel for work frequently, so the guilt is real that I don’t want to do them.

So, I want to find a new hobby. Something I can pick up, set down whenever I want. Something interesting. Not exercising. Not reading. Crafts?

What are your interesting hobbies that maybe you found unexpectedly good? All ideas welcome. Or ideas on how to go about finding one, welcome. I’m lost.

P.S. I don’t have depression or mental health issues. The guilt thing is not severe. I think I want to replace doom scroll with something else and haven’t been able to find that something.

You can read prior posts to see I had stepped up after my team of 4 was reduced to just me.

It’s been 2 weeks and I’ve seen all I needed to see. They continued piling work on me, not listening, and offered exactly $0 in compensation increase.

I gave my notice. The workload was unrealistic. They acted shocked and when I started going through the transition list with them they are now going to hire 3 people to replace me. A critical project has been placed on hold.

I’ve decided to (temporarily) step away from the work force until my kids are in school. Goodbye working moms, you were a great community and helped me through some tough years.

I’ve flaired it as a success because ultimately I stood up for myself and stuck to my boundaries.

I came back to work a few months ago after maternity leave (hello sleep deprivation and calendar chaos with a baby and a threenager), and I’ve been using AI tools - ChaGPG, DeepSeek, copilot, and others- to help bridge the gap—and honestly, it’s been a game-changer.

Returning after baby#2 has been harder than I expected, I was overconfident since I know now how to do the parenting part more or less, but I didn’t realize what would hit me hard is the working mom with two little ones part.

I was worried I’d be playing catch-up forever, I’m in a leadership role and all my peers are single men and women with no kids and are always on top of their game, productive, and sharp. I just couldn’t keep up.

Thankfully I work 2-3 days from the office and the rest from home. But needed help catching up without burning out. So started experimenting with some AI tools and it’s been a huge help; like having an assistant at all times. The tools help me summarize meetings I missed or had to half-attend (thanks, baby blowouts), drafting emails and reports when my brain is still foggy at 6am, turning notes into polished decks or updates way faster than before. Even summarizes long documents and is helping me relearn some systems/processes I was rusty on.

Not saying AI can hold a bottle or do daycare drop-offs… but it’s helping me stay in the game with a little less burnout and to show up sharper, faster, and more present for both my team and my kids.

Definitely give it a try!

EDIT:

I also forgot to mention that I’ve used ChatGPT for meal planning and script drafting for handling some tough parenting moments and it was seriously mind blowing how good it is.

EDIT2:

Love the debate and dialogue. Don’t love the personal attacks - some very uncivil- and judgement. Working moms are judged if they can’t keep up and they’re judged if they finally find a way to keep up (by other working moms no less). So you do you.

Lots of valid points made regarding the various implications of using AI.

Regarding the environmental impact of AI tools, I work in sustainability and assure you AI is the least of our problems and is actually becoming more and more energy efficient. Fossil fuels, excessive consumption, and unsustainable farming and agriculture account for over 85% of global emissions. A study published in Nature just a few weeks ago links over 50% of global emissions to 36 fossil fuels companies, many based in the US. (Here if of interest: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08751-3). AI accounts for less than 4% of emissions and it will go down over time.

I work part time, have one child (19m) and have a lot of privileges but I constantly feel overwhelmed (also have ADHD). Do you guys do one load of laundry a day, only do instant cart, have a set weekly menu ect? Tell me how to streamline my life so I can enjoy it, a little bit more. I have read all the life hack articles (thanks ADHD) but nothing seems to stick.

My husband works evenings so I am alone with LO pretty frequently. He is willing to help when he can but I think I need to give him more guidance on how he can make things easier for us.

Back in October my son's daycare have me a two weeks notice that she was removing my 2.5 year old for being "too sensitive." I am also a full time federal employee and was 8 months pregnant at the time. It felt like between all of the garbage happening to federal employees, it was a terrible time to have a second baby. And that my daycare made me feel like my son was a terrible child. I was really depressed for a few weeks.

Well I am happy to say that everything turned around for the better. My son is in an early preschool program and loves it. He is so excited every day and never wants to leave. They said he is a happy and easy toddler and don't understand the issues his last place had. Also I have birth to a beautiful baby girl on December 15th and have 4 months fully paid maternity leave that has been amazing.

Just wanted to share a happy update!

What do you guys spend money on to make your life easier/better? Working is part of my identity and I love my job. My husband and I are also in the very fortunate position to be saving a ton already for retirement and 529 accounts for our 2 kids (3.5F and 2 months M). What are some ways to spend extra cash to make life easier/more enjoyable?

Things we already do:

Cleaner every other week

Paid someone to do mulch delivery/spreading

Paid for our pool opening/closing

Planning to take 2 nice vacations this year

I don't really have a set budget but maybe something in the range of $500-$1000/month? Or once time purchases ~$5000?

What can we afford to let our lifestyle inflate that has been "worth it" for you?

Posting in working moms bc you guys are my people. If you don’t have a sense of humor, please don’t continue reading and thanks for stopping by!

Ok, so I want to know your best mom hack/mom fib and I want to tell you mine.

I told my kid the candy up front at the grocery store/target/pharmacy is for dogs. Now every time we go in, I remind her “it’s for dogs” and she goes “I know mommy, it’s always for dogs” - she’s 3. We’re on vacation today so new state/new environment but wow I felt like a standup comedian with the amount of people laughing in line and the guy behind me saying “that’s genius”.

Alright - give me your best ones moms!!!

My little guy is 15 weeks old. I’ve been back at work full-time for a few weeks now and I’m barely able to pump enough for the next day. 😓 My husband has gotten really good at paced feeding and rationing, but it’s been rough.

I truly love my job and they’ve gone above and beyond to be supportive of me as a first time mom— my boobs, on the other hand, seem to be content with doing the bare minimum.

I opened up to a mom friend and mentioned I was mentally struggling with my supply and worrying about my baby getting enough. She offered to bring me some of her freezer stash to ease some of my anxieties.

I literally burst into tears when she showed up the next day with 130+ ounces… literally 130 OUNCES! 😭

Just wanted to celebrate with a group of woman I knew would understand. 🥹 Grateful for supportive friends on this journey of figuring out how the heck to be a working mama.

——————

EDIT: a lot of people are mentioning formula being a great option in the comments… I couldn’t agree more!

How wonderful to live in a day and age where mamas have options from breastfeeding to formula to combo feeding! (I also wanna note that lactation consultants are a great resource for moms with a desire to breastfeed!)

✨Every mom deserves to be supported and empowered in her feeding decisions! ✨

I am in my "fuck you" at work era.

My entire career, pre-kids, I'd allowed toxic colleagues, employers, and clients to take advangtage of me. Whether it was giving up vacations to work on a deadline, staying late to work on a task because of an incompetent/lazy colleague or colleagues taking credit for my work and ideas - I was too afraid to stand up for myself

I've had male colleagues rudely interrupt me, talk over me, talk at me or mansplain the fuck out of something within my areas of expertise. I've had male clients, when younger, make inappropriate comments and I had to giggle even though I was uncomfortable.

People at work constantly crossed my boundaries and I was disregarded when I spoke up. Because "it was a joke" or "I needed to be a team player."

Then I became a mom and just like that, I snapped out of my timidness and need to make myself small at work to avoid confrontation or awkwardness. I no longer felt like I had to apologize for standing up for myself and setting boundaries. In fact, I had this feral need and built up rage to make up for all the years I had to put up with toxicity.

Maybe it's the hormones, the lingering PPD, the sleep deprivation, perpetual exhaustion, being a mom to two kids under five or a combination of all of the above but THIS mama ain't putting up with no one's buuuulll shit no more.

Sarcastically asking me in a meeting to call you stupid when I was just repreating what you said in an email, Gary? No. I'll just call you a poor communicator and tell you come prepared to my meetings, my guy.

Shitting on me while on a team call about the budget because I should've done that yesterday but I was busy putting out project fires, Barb? Don't be mad when I point out that I sent you four emails for numbers the week before with read receipts and ask if I should copy your manager next time for a timely response.

And to the male intern who kept rudely talking over me during a report read out, even when I politely asked - I finally put my hand in your face and sternly told you I was not done speaking and for you to wait your turn. Because who...the fuck do you think you are, kid?

I am done being expected to play nice or be polite when others are disrespectful. I will not allow toxic colleagues to cross my boundaries without being called out. And I will professionally give them the energy they give me and not apologize or step down.

To my fellow working mamas - I hope you can do the same. We've worked so hard in our careers to get to where we are today and we are allowed to demand respect in the workplace.

UPDATE: I love reading through the comments! So happy to see many working mamas out there that are doing the same everyday!

And to those who aren't there yet or need the need the reminder: you are essential to the success of your employer, your work is valuable and if someone is unhappy with you protecting your boundaries at work: fuck 'em.

Also, there is nothing more satisfying than signing off on a response to a colleague's rude email with "Thanks." Or "Happy to clarify further over a call." That "." is chef's kiss - especially in "reply all" messages.

This is not an ad or a bot. I am a cheap and stubborn mom who is here to admit that I was wrong!

I am generally not a very spendy person. I tend to agonize over large purchases and resist consumerism when I can. But HECK you guys, we splurged on a robot vacuum a week ago and I cannot express how satisfying it’s been.

I’ve seen mixed results in reviews online but our house is like the perfect scenario with:

-single story

-hard floors

-minimal stuff and furniture with taller legs

Now before bed, we load the dishwasher while the robot vacuums and mops the house and wake up with floors clean like a fancy hotel. I would say I got an hour of my time back but let’s be honest, I was NOT cleaning the floors every day- we were just living in a grungy house lol.

After being a sahm for two years, struggling to find a job for a year and a half, I FINALLY got an incredible job offer and am going to have my first 40 hr/week 9-5 job with a paycheck. I’m over the moon with excitement but also slightly panicking about how much harder everything is going to become.

Almost every single week since my younger daughter was born (she just turned two, my older one is 13) my mother in law has driven 1.5 hrs each way at least once a week to help care for her. Whatever we’ve needed, no judgements, no passive aggressive comments, nothing. She’s a recently retired doctor who has thrown herself wholeheartedly into being an active grandma.

We’re doing two full days of nanny care at our home and three full days of daycare to cover the workweek. My husband works from home and will take on more responsibility with both kids (and he already does a lot!) while I start work 3 days a week in the office (1hr commute).

My mother in law asked me if she could still come once a week on Mondays to pick up my toddler from daycare a few hours early and spend time with her at our home until I get back from work at 6:15. She also offered to bring a home cooked dinner every Monday, and to try to make enough so we can stretch it to TWO nights of dinners.

Y’all. This is true wealth. I’m not religious but the only word I am thinking of to describe this feeling is BLESSED.

With all the recent news and chaos the world’s been experiencing lately, I just want to open a small thread to help each other ease the mental load a little.

Being a mom already means carrying so much. Sometimes it just feels like a lot.

So I wanted to open a small, positive thread where we can share the little things that are helping lighten the mental load.

I’ll go first. Getting things out of my head and into one shared place has helped me feel less like the only memory holder at home. And I’ve also been doing 30 minutes on the treadmill indoors. No phone, just music and my own thoughts. It’s simple, but it helps me reset.

What’s one small habit or routine that’s helping you breathe a little easier right now?

Let’s keep this thread positive. 💛

I just accepted an offer for a new job that will take me from full time WFH to full time in office. I have had 2 babies in my WFH time and got rid of a large majority of my “work” clothes. New place is between business casual and business formal. I’d like to get some higher quality pieces. I am also pretty petite so bonus points for dedicated petite lines too.

Anyone have any recs?