A day in the life of a new mum building a business
If you’d asked me whether I was thinking of starting another business a year ago, when I was four months pregnant, I would have laughed in your face.
But following a lot of…upheaval at my job, a creative itch that was just begging to be scratched and an idea that I’d been sitting on for a couple of years (literally. The other day I found a note on my phone for pretty much exactly what Quiet Leaders Club is now, from January 2022).
Looking after a baby is no mean feat, but I’m so grateful to have my little girl, and to have a partner who is an amazing dad and also works from home a fair bit.
5am: I’ve recently started setting my alarm for 5am, before the baby or the cat wakes up. Our cat is very old and starts screaming the house down for food at around 6am, which is not my favourite way to be woken, so I’ve started getting up earlier to feed her, let her out and have a little bit of me-time before P wakes up. I also catch up on admin if I have time.
6am: we’re incredibly lucky in that our girl loves sleep as much as we do. She usually wakes up around 6am, so I make her bottle and feed her in our bed (after some cuddles, of course).
7am: I take the baby downstairs for playtime and maybe a book. I make myself a much-needed coffee at this point as well - we splashed out on a fancy coffee machine last Black Friday and it has truly earned its keep in the last six months!
8am: usually P will be getting a little bit tired by this time, so I put her down for a nap and do some work. We’re still at the point where naps could be anywhere between 20 minutes and two hours and the morning nap in particular varies massively, so I try to complete some of the quick tasks on my list.
9:30am: another feed and then we get ready to leave the house. I try to get out of the house at least once a day, whether that’s a walk in the park or a class. This month we’ve been doing whole-brain training with Bright Minds for Kids which has been so fun! I think we’re going to try swimming lessons next.
12pm: by the time we get home, P is ready for another bottle and a nap! This is usually her longest nap, so I get stuck into something a bit more in-depth, like editing the podcast or working on the website. I try to make something quick and healthy for lunch as well, though quite often it ends up being toast and a couple of biscuits.
1:30pm: P will usually wake up around this time so I put her down on her mat and we play with some of her toys. If she’s happy to play by herself, I’ll use this time to tidy up a bit (while keeping careful watch on the baby, of course!) or I’ll grab my laptop and do some work while she plays.
3:30pm: final nap of the day! This is usually a short one, so I plan some Instagram posts and spend some time engaging on Instagram and LinkedIn.
5pm: we’ve just started weaning, so it’s time to try a new food. Today it’s peach, which went down a treat. After that fun and messy experience, I’ll give her a bottle. My partner usually gets home from work around this time as well, so we’ll have some family time before P’s bedtime routine.
6:30pm: bathtime! We try to keep the bedtime routine the same every night and it seems to be going well so far (touch wood).
7pm: P is usually asleep by 7, so this is when we have dinner. Usually whoever isn’t cooking will put P to bed and then we’ll eat dinner together.
8pm: depending on what day it is, we’ll either watch whatever show or film series we’re currently binging (just finished our Game of Thrones rewatch - what a show! Still hate the ending, though) or Shaun will go on his PC while I do some work. Since this time is when I’m least likely to be needed by the baby, it’s when I work on tasks that require a bit of “flow”, like market research or learning something. I try to get to bed early-ish (remember that 5am alarm?) but sometimes I just get hyper-focused and don’t want to stop!
So that’s a day in my life as a new mum/business owner! If you’re also juggling a few balls or are balancing work and parenthood and would like your day in the life to be featured here on the website, get in touch.
