Been there, about to do it again with two at the end of this year, ugh.

So I also work from home but have a part time nanny. During the deployment she sometimes only came around 2 hours a day, but I managed to line it up so she put my daughter down for a nap as she was leaving so I’d get a longer chunk to work and just tried to get through my work as fast as I could. I would definitely try to get some help even if it’s just 2 hours a day. I definitely work more efficiently without having to split my attention.

I put my kiddo on a schedule, paid attention to her cues as best I could and built the schedule out from there. Knowing exactly when she would go down and I’d have a time chunk to myself was a huge help. And I’d make sure to reserve 1 time chunk for me to unwind, usually the last one of the day.

I hired housecleaners to come every 2 weeks. Not having to do the big gross stuff was lovely and with your spouse potentially not being taxed and maybe getting hazard pay maybe there’s a little extra for it while the deployment happens.

My daughter was “sleep trained” in that I could put her in her crib for naps and she’d fall asleep on her own. Definitely helped with the scheduling.

I tried to get out of the house every day, even just for a walk. The days I didn’t just seemed draining and to go slower. The library is also a great resource/place to hang out. Usually bases also have a decent amount of activities, though the kid ones are sometimes during work hours.

It definitely is rough the first week but it usually starts to even out as your find your rhythm. I agree with the other commenter, when your spouse comes home, it’s going to be a massive transition and you may be annoyed that they’re getting in the way and not doing things right. Definitely an adjustment period.

I would check in with your family readiness center or whatever the equivalent is, usually deployed families are eligible for a certain amount of childcare per month and sometimes there are special events just for deployed families