Staying On Top of The Game: A day in the life of a working mom

At 5am I lie in bed and usually ask myself the question “Did I get enough sleep to get through the day?” Don’t know why I ask myself this, I really don’t have a choice because at that moment I need to get moving and quick or else everything else will fall out of place and I need to stay on top of My Game.

Kayla and Avon are usually fast asleep during these early hours of the morning. Thank goodness for this because btw 5am and 6am I know it is the only time in the whole of my day where time is really of the essence. Any glitch will slow me down and I can’t afford that…I gotta stay on top of my game.

I swiftly sneak out of bed and set up my express pump machine and hope the sound doesn’t wake anyone. Within 10 minutes I can manage to express 100mls of milk and sterilise and pack up everything for the next shift. I clean up and dress up with, cloths I have chosen from the night before, at this hour I have no time for picking and choosing what to wear. I stare at myself in the mirror try my best to look as awake as possible with the least amount of effort. Blush and brush is as simple as I get. Saturdays are my maintenance days and if I haven’t done my nails (that’s just file and paint FYI), hair (blow dry or Afro) and face (pluck and scrub) then you can consider it not being done at all that week……I gotta stay on top of my game.

5:50am I dash into the kitchen drink my barley green and put the food for the day in my bag. I make sure Kayla’s bag is ready and stocked coz I know Daddy has enough on his plate when he is getting her ready to go to the day mom. Once I am all ready I sneak back into the bedroom to give my goodbye kisses. I don’t dare touch Kayla just incase she sense I am leaving but I stare down at her and wish her a blessed day. 6am I am on the road from Johannesburg to Pretoria which is a 45 minute drive. Every traffic light, traffic jam slow truck or crazy taxi that gets in my way can slow me down and I can’t afford that….I gotta stay on top of my game.

20 minutes into my drive I am in Midrand which means my radio is in range for 103 FM Impact radio which is a contemporary Christian music channel. Ironically at this time I will get graced by God’s Sunrise Romance moment. It is when I really experience God’s presence – flying on the highway you just look up and see beams of sun just blasting behind a set of clouds. Every moment is so unique and so blessed, so delicate and so intimate. It usually brings me to tears because He always reminds me….You are forgiven now remember I keep you on top of My Game.

By 7am I have had breakfast, read my word for the day and am ready for all the GIS and remote sensing tasks for the day. From that moment till the time I have to go home it is go-go-go. Download this, create that, map this, milk express these, eat this not that, check on Kayla, call this person, ask everyone “what’s for lunch,” source that data, attend this meeting, fax these documents….God help me I need you in this Game.

At 4pm I am like a switch that gets turned off work mode and on to home mode. I don’t want to be a second late with my time with Kayla. I get into that car and drive like my child depends on it. I begin to realise why people have road rage. ….they have children to go home to and the last place they wanna be is stuck in traffic…. God my patience is running thin help me….I gotta stay on top of Your Game

5pm I waltz into the day Mom’s house as peaceful as a working mother can be after a hard days work, an hour in traffic and fully loaded breasts. Then I just see Kayla’s smile towards me and her excited kicking legs and I turn into a marshmallow all sweet and soft on the inside. I start talking baby and playing baby……I am living for these few couple of hours I spend with her and she knows it because her sleep time curfew has been extended just so I can be with her more…..Lord I love this part of Your Game.

At 8pm we have had dinner and Kayla should be fast asleep. I get my last moments of one on one hubby time before I get into organise mode for the next day. Everything needs to be pre-decided – cloths, food, dinner, nappies, milk you name it. 10pm I am shattered my prayers drift into a sleep….Dear God give me strength and patience ….I need you in this Game….zzzzzzzzzz

That is the day in the life of a working mom….. and someone asked me when do I get time to blog? My answer is when God tells me its time….its 5am on a Saturday morning……I am still in the GAME.

Letters to Kayla: Mommy is going back to work

Dear Kayla

Today you are going to wake up in a strangers house with different smells and sounds, and you will probably wonder “where is Mommy?” You may want to cry because it is different and just doesn’t make sense that I am not there to smile down at you as you grace the world with your wakeful smile. But I hope this letter somehow reaches you before you wake up because I need to try and explain the reason for this situation and maybe it will help mommy stop crying.

I love you so much Kayla, I loved you even before I laid eyes on you, but love isn’t only about holding you 247 it is also about making smart decisions about your future. My decision to go back to work is only one of the many love decisions your dad and I will make. We realised that financially we would not be able to provide for you best if I didn’t go to work. We would like you to go to good schools and live with us in a house not in a flat 3 stories above ground. And for all this to be possible mommy has to work too. Trust me Kayla I have looked into many different options…from starting my own business to working half days….but because my job is far half days won’t work and we need to save money if we want our business to work.

On Monday I took you to see some crèches in the neighbourhood. They were all clean and very dynamic but I felt like you were still too young to be going to a crèche. The ratios were 1:5….which means one helper to 5 kids. I felt that you were to young for this…not even Auntie Nyemu was 1:5….at your age…she was 1:4 and that was with Mom. Dad and I prayed about our decision for about a week and God has blessed us with a Day Mom. She is a wonderful Christian and someone who we trust and have known for 2 years. She has a child of her own who is almost a year who you can be friends with. I really believe she will meet your needs better than any crèche around here. And well today is our trial day to see if it will work when mommy goes to work in 2 weeks time.

 So hang in there my Angle. Soon this bed and home that you wake up in will be familiar to you and you will be excited to spend time there. Daddy will drop you off and mommy will pick you up and the routine will be normal for you. I will look forward and cherish every moment I share with you and will continue to love you more and more each day.

Love always,

Mommy

>>>>>>> So I went to pick Kayla up from her day mom and Kayla didn't even look like she missed me.....I greated her while she was in the day moms hands and she just looked up at me contently.....maybe thats a good thing. I probably cried more than she did that day. GOSH I don't want to go back to work.

The Weight Factor After Pregnancy

I always wondered what it would be like to try loose your pregnancy fat. My first month after Kayla was born was fantastic, I couldn’t believe how much I was loosing and so quickly too. But this third month after Kayla’s delivery has been quite a stagnant one….weight wise. I have been stuck with 5kgs of extra weight that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon.


The original rapid weight loss was due to the breastfeeding. I was told that breastfeeding would help shed the pregnancy fat but I didn’t really believe it till it happened. After Kayla was born I was eating more than I had ever eaten during my pregnancy. I felt like a bottomless pit because I would eat and eat and still feel hungry. I was also eating things I never used to crave – from Chelsea bunns to crackers to chips. Anything what was wheat like and processed, I was bound to love. I must admit it was fun while it lasted but the weight shedding came to a stand still.

I figured I should start running to help encourage the weight loss but it all seems like such an effort. Every day it is the same story…. “ I promise I will go for a run first thing tomorrow morning!” But just like any morning with Kayla….I wake up totally finished and I am too hungry to even think of going for a run. Even though I know I haven’t lost weight over night….I still hop on the scale before I pour myself a big bowl of cereal with my cup of hot tea. As I hop off the scale I stand and look at my naked body and wonder where the extra 5kgs could be distributed. Then I comfort myself by saying “2kgs are in the boobs and the other 3kgs must be in my extremely huge afro. Coz you know your hair has grown quite a bit Kanya.”

Truthfully speaking the 5kgs is stuck between my shoulders and my hips. Nothing fits me anymore…those pants that used to be too big for me when I wasn’t pregnant….are now barely zipping closed. There have been a number of occasions where I have gotten stuck in old summer dresses and had to get Avon to pull them off of me. ….extremely embarrassing I tell you!!

Strangely enough my mind refuses to believe I am bigger than I was before. I went shopping for cloths once and almost everything I tried on was too small for me. I was actually embarrassed with myself when I saw my hips squished into a pair of shorts that were obviously not my size. When I went back to the racks to see the size up it just looked massive. The whole experience scared me and I have not been shopping since.

I don’t know what my problem is really coz it isn’t like I don’t like how I look and my husband actually prefers it. I guess I am just scared that when baby number two and three come I will have to add another 5 kgs for each child. That would mean I would be 15 kgs more than what I was before babies. That’s like the size of 3 Kaylas….Eek. I have this scary vision of me looking back at my wedding photos and my children saying “Mommy that doesn’t even look like you!” YIKES I better getta moving! Tomorrow I promise I will run .