Working from home?

olivj100 · March 2014

My DS is almost 8 weeks old and I go "back" to work on the 17th. I work from home as a sale admin 8:30-5. My son will be staying home with me because with the cost of daycare after what I pay in daycare and insurance I wouldn't make $100. Does anyone work from home with their kids around. If so do you have any advise?

Ridgebackmom · March 2014

I think it's difficult to work from home and watch your baby...obviously you can do it but is that fair for you your baby or your job? I would not tell your co. this idea--they may nix it! Anyway you could pay for a little helper?

Virgo17 · March 2014

The general consensus you will get from moms on this board is that you must have childcare in order to work, whether it be at an office or at home.

Are your hours flexible? Could you get a part-time helper and then work in the evenings when DH is at home?

When my kids were 8 weeks old I felt accomplished if I took a shower and loaded the dishwasher. Getting in a full 8 hours of work while caring for a newborn is next to impossible, IMO.

katwoman08 · March 2014

I definitely would advise against it...especially since your hours are "set." It may be more doable if your hours were flexible. Newborns don't realize 830-5 is mommy's work time. When I worked from home full-time when my son was a newborn I was fortunate enough to have my husband help out as well as family come over during my working hours and help out.

ASmallWonder · March 2014

You may find a way to swing it at first but not for long. Your job is paying you to work and a baby is a full time job all by itself. That baby will become mobile and LOUD. He or she needs stimulation and interaction, which you can't provide if you're working. And if you are providing it, you're not actually working.

ss265 · March 2014

Ditto PP. I work from home one day a week and DS still goes to DC. On the rare occasions when I have had to work while he is home (because of snow days, sick policy at DC etc.), I hardly get anything done.

VOR · March 2014

Does your employer know this is your plan? As siad, you might be able to make it work for a bit, but in the end- i think it's unfair to both your child and your employer. You can't give either 100%.

*sparky* · March 2014

To put into perspective whether this is really feasible or not, why don't you keep track of how much time you spend caring for your LO from 8:30-5:00 tomorrow. Then figure out how much work you can get done during that time even if you are just making sure his very basic needs are met. I just don't know how you will have much time to actually work and since you have set hours I am assuming you are expected to be available and working that whole time.

Some babies are lower maintenance than others but still that is a long time every day to expect your LO to get minimal attention while you are focused on other things. Babies need human interaction, stimulation, to be talked to, etc. in addition to just being fed and changed periodically.

I understand childcare is expensive, but trying to force yourself to work and care for your child at the same time is really doing both of you a huge disservice. You are likely to feel frazzled and exhausted, and your baby is not going to get the level of care that babies need.

dashofreality · March 2014

olivj100 said:

My DS is almost 8 weeks old and I go back to "work" on the 17th. I work from home as a sale admin 8:30-5.

Fixed that for you. I'm sorry but this is really only a temporary solution and not a permanent one. I work from home. I would bet that on an absolutely great day you can get 4 hours of work done during that amount of time. If you are able to flex your hours and willing to work at night you could possibly make it work depending on your job and interaction (it is impossible to take phone calls).

Kids only nap for so long and can only be ignored for so long. I know my employer would not be happy with paying me for 8 hours and me working 1-4 hours.

mommaoftrips · March 2014

As all previous posters have said - the answer is NO!
I work from home, have a nanny and still need to leave my house and go to a coffee shop on some days as I get dragged into the drama.
Please seriously look at alternative options, not fair to your baby or your employer. I know someone who was fired for doing this (employer didn't know). If your employer knows and is okay with this arrangement than by all means try it but I don't think it can work for the longterm. GL

88sharonlee · March 2014

Sorry but I have to agree with all the PP. Working and taking care of your LO are mutually exclusive activities. I wish it wasn't true so I could work from home one day a week!

In order to TRY to be helpful you should provide some additional info so we can understand your situation better:
Does your boss know you are planning to have full baby responsibilities during your work hours?
What is the nature of your work?
Has anyone else on your company ever done this successfully?

Keep on mind, a lot of us work to pay our bills with little or no money left over each month, so saying your paycheck would go fully to pay for daycare I'm like 'yeah so does mine!'

groovygrl · March 2014

I might have missed it but also if you are in sales are you going to be in the phone at all? Big problem w a baby or toddler... Also if you have a significant other the insurance cost should be viewed as shared since technically the other person is benefitting from it and that person had benefits available they could be coming from their paycheck instead if you're trying to calculate the value of your paycheck... And do you get retirement or other benefits that would be considered part of your comp?

Maybride2 · March 2014

So, your baby's father won't pay for daycare or insurance? I'd take his butt to court. No, you can't work from home while taking care of an infant. Like a previous poster suggested, just give it a try tomorrow - pretend to put in a normal day "at the office", putting aside the average time that you're on the phone or computer and unable to tend to your baby. See how long you can manage.

LoCarb · March 2014

It may work in the beginning and prove to be difficult as he becomes mobile. Maybe look into in home day area or Mother's Day out program which may be less expensive then a corporate center.

olivj100 · March 2014

My manager does know he will be home with me. It was her idea to have me work from home with his here so I didn't need to leave my job. I never take phone calls I work directly through emails. My day to day job duties are checking contracts, drafting contracts and proposals. My husband works 6 days a week 14hr days. He pays for all of our bills that's why I have our son on my insurance plus it's a lot better than his. I've looked I too having a baby sitter or nanny come in for a few hours or on days that I know I'm going to be really busy.

skernan · March 2014

Many of my girlfriends and I work from home and get to stay at home with our children. That is the very reason I joined them and started my own business as a Mary Kay consultant. We just work when children are napping or when husbands are home. It's great because you get to choose your hours and how much time you can dedicate on any given day. You can Facebook me if you're interested in learning more. It's Stevie Polnasek. Hope everything works out for you!

ECATX · March 2014

I work from home and had my baby home with me until she was 7 months old. It wasn't impossible, but it was really stressful. I worked while she napped and then at night after she went to bed and on the weekend. I have set hours to be available if anyone needs to get in touch with me, but my work is more project-oriented, which is why I was able to make up time at night and on the weekend. I went back to work when she was 13 weeks, and I was able to get by like that for a while. By the time she was 6 months, though, it started to get a lot more difficult, and I felt like I wasn't giving anyone 100%.

If you could have someone come by to help out a few times a week, that would probably help, but I think in the long-term you'll probably need to find another option.

FemShep · March 2014

skernan said:

Many of my girlfriends and I work from home and get to stay at home with our children. That is the very reason I joined them and started my own business as a Mary Kay consultant. We just work when children are napping or when husbands are home. It's great because you get to choose your hours and how much time you can dedicate on any given day. You can Facebook me if you're interested in learning more. It's (name deleted). Hope everything works out for you!

Two things: Mary Kay is a not exactly a sure way to make money, and in fact the vast majority of women who try it don't make very much (or any) money.

https://www.learnvest.com/2012/08/i-was-a-mary-kay-salesgirl-how-i-barely-broke-even/

https://harpers.org/archive/2012/08/the-pink-pyramid-scheme/

Also, please edit your post and delete your real name. These forums are not at all private or protected, and you should make sure you don't share personally identifiable information.

groovygrl · March 2014

FemShep said:

skernan said:

Many of my girlfriends and I work from home and get to stay at home with our children. That is the very reason I joined them and started my own business as a Mary Kay consultant. We just work when children are napping or when husbands are home. It's great because you get to choose your hours and how much time you can dedicate on any given day. You can Facebook me if you're interested in learning more. It's (name deleted). Hope everything works out for you!

Two things: Mary Kay is a not exactly a sure way to make money, and in fact the vast majority of women who try it don't make very much (or any) money.
https://www.learnvest.com/2012/08/i-was-a-mary-kay-salesgirl-how-i-barely-broke-even/
https://harpers.org/archive/2012/08/the-pink-pyramid-scheme/

Also, please edit your post and delete your real name. These forums are not at all private or protected, and you should make sure you don't share personally identifiable information.

Not to mention you're not going to do too well selling from your home and she said her husband works 6 14 hr days and she will have a baby.
Eye roll to shameless recruitment on a message board.

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