I am a working mom of 16 mo. A software engineer & looking to switch to different engg role. Have to prepare for full day tech interviews. Im really struggling to find time to study with a toddler at home. Weekday mornings and evenings chores (daycare pick up/drop off, prep meals, pack lunch, give bath etc) along with full time job leaves no time during the week. Weekends are even busier since daycare is closed. Im so exhausted from all these chores that whatever time I get, I want to rest up.

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I didn’t see this in your post. Are you a single mom? It seems like u are doing everything yourself. If not, then SO need to step up and discuss with him your professional goals that you want to achieve. He needs to do his part esp this move is important to you. If u don’t have support system then it’s a different story. It gets physically easier overtime. I have three children under five. I felt it started getting easier physically when my eldest turned 4. So if this move is really important to you, I would get the help i can now coz it’s not going to be easier at 2. Not yet.

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I recently did this with 2 kids - (1yo and 9 yo). I used to do lot of meal prep in the weekend, so that after work dinner and kitchen is closed early and I make little one sleep around 7:30 pm and then I used to study for interviews till 1:00 am. My husband come back from work 10:00 pm and then he used to take care of little one till midnight. Also I tried to spend at least 4/5 hours in the weekends. Make the max use of nap hours to study, that’s very peaceful. Planning is key here. Make a list of items u want to finish by a given week and stick to it. When interviews are close by I applied 2/3 days leave to focus 100% on them. Also if u don’t clear one interview don’t get demotivated and keep trying you will definitely get through it! It 50% luck and 50% hard work. Good Luck 👍

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When I was looking for a new job and prepping for technical interviews, my husband would take the parenting lead for an afternoon and I’d shut myself away to study. If you have a partner, they need to step up and give you time away, take on more chores, or let you get more rest.

I also divided the studying into 1 hour chunks where I would focus on one topic or problem set. This allowed me to step away during less-busy work days to fit some time in. Even small progress is better than no progress.

... That being said, I still didn’t have the energy or brain space to tackle a new job until my kid was 2 and sleeping more reliably.

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I interviewed for a new job with a 3 month old. I hired a night nanny for a few nights so I could get some reliable sleep on the days before interviews, and had my husband step up to watch the baby so I could study and interview etc. It was hard - I made myself sick with stress - but necessary.

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Besides , constant teething/growth spurts randomly cause sleepless nights. I also worry about the possibility of such nights right before interview days. Any words of wisdom from other working moms who have been in a similar boat? Do you suggest hiring a nanny for weekends? Or Should I postpone this move/interview process to another time say when the kid is 2-2.5 years old ? Does it get better with time? Or is right now as good a time as any other since it never gets easier with kids? Any other solutions? I am just stuck and not really able to make any progress with interview prep. I do try to spend time every now and then but nothing that would prep me up for these big beasts. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. Please help!!!

Thanks everyone for the inputs.

Oh no , my husband is supportive - we currently do 50/50 distribution of baby chores, but house chores kinda fall on me. I think I will definitely work with him to at least do 50/50 on house chores too.
His full time job is quite demanding too, so he can step up and take a little more baby tasks only for a while I guess. I know how taxing baby chores get on a daily basis so it might be a little unfair for me to be expecting that for a few months , not just a few weeks.
We will probably hire a nanny for a few hours over the weekends too. That should definitely help. As some one has pointed out cooking over the weekends- We can certainly do that for a few weeks/months until my interviews/ work situation is sorted out.
Plus I really need to buck up and start spending time in the PM hours. Maybe fuel myself with some coffee or tea in the evening and get going. Little one sleeps by 730 pm, so plenty of time in the evening. It’s just that I get very tired but that’s where coffee should help :-)
Thanks everyone for all the positivity and encouragement! I got this!

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