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Tell me about working from home....

sept9thbridesept9thbride
in Success after IF

My boss has already told me that they will set me up at home when the baby comes in case the baby is sick, etc. and if I want to work from home a little bit. I'm thinking of doing it for about 4 months once I go back - work 3 days in the office and 2 days from home. Then, once the baby is 6 months, I'll go back to full time in the office (but maybe adjust my hours a little).

For those who work at home, is it feasible to work from home the first few months? I'm thinking that once the baby is about 6 months and starts to try to crawl and move around a lot more, I won't get any work done, but in the beginning when they are napping a lot and in their swing and not playing all that much, it may be doable. I know I'll have to take breaks for feedings/changings and stuff, but that's ok.

Please give me any feedback you have :)

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Re: Tell me about working from home....

  • MonkeysGirl05MonkeysGirl05
    I work from home, but I don't have my baby yet. I don't think I'd get much done if I had a newborn at home and I had to work. If you had someone come and babysit when you were working, that might work. Think of all the disruptions you'd have if you had to care for your baby while trying to work.
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  • hlsgradhlsgrad
    if your job requires concentration for more than 20 seconds at a time you will need a babysitter or mother's helper. I work from home (i am working from home today) but i have my mom watching DD, there is NO way i would do my job effectively if I was her only caregiver. when DH works from home, same thing, we have someone watching her. i still enjoy WFH because i can avoid the commute and instead of chit chatting with colleagues at work here and there, i can sneak out and catch a few minutes with my baby.
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  • KatietwinKatietwin member

    I agree with PP - although, it depend on what you do and how much interface you are required to have with co-workers and/or clients. ?I work from home, and would likely not be able to conduct myself proficiently unless I had a helper once a baby is here. ?Even getting a dog last year was a big distraction until he settled in and we learned our routine with eachother. :)

    ?

    I am debating what I will do once July comes - although I am a field employee, and have a home office, it is exactly that - an office, and a busy one most of the time. ?I am very into work while "on" during my hours - and also have a tendency to work 24/7 since I can't just leave the office parking lot and leave work at work.?

    ?

    There are huge benefits to the freedom associated with working from a home office, but it requires more than the average amount of work ethic and discipline - it's not for everyone. ?If you are the type that will be easily drawn to other parts of your life (which you can no longer filter out when you're at home) - then it may not be a good long-term solution for you. ?But...if emotionally, going PT to the office makes you feel you can stay balanced - give it a try...it might just be harder to give up at 6 mos. than you think! ?;)

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  • Mr.&MrsSMr.&MrsS
    I work from home 2 days week. 1 day DS is in day care and 1 day he is home with me. The plan was to have him home with me both days, but it was just too much...on him and me. Babies need a lot of attention and I did not want hom lacking that 3 days a week (DH works from home with DS 1 day a week as well). So right now DS is home with either me or DH 2 days a week (DH on Mondays and me on Fridays) and at day care the other 3 days. I will tell you it was easier when he was smaller because he wasnt mobile. Before he was content to sit and play in his bouncy or playmat, or saucer or swing. Now he crawls all over the house and is into everything. But no matter what stage he is in, it is stressful having baby at home and trying to work. I dont know if you work will know your baby is with you or not...but I am NOT supposed to have DS with me (a stipulation of working from home was that I was supposed to have day care) so when I get a phone call it is hard to keep DS quiet. And we have instant messaging at my work, so if someone instant messages me and I dont get back to them in a timley manor they know I am not at my desk (which cant happen a lot because you can only explain away so much). It works for us because we dont want DS in day care 5 days a week, and it seems like a good balance for him...but it is stressful!! So be prepared for that. But it is doable.
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  • TheShellSeekerTheShellSeeker member

    I work from home 3 days a week and go into the office 2 days a week.  We do not use daycare.  To be honest, it's hard.  Be prepared to only do work and care for the baby for most of the day (no housework or other distractions).  On a typical day, I'll start around 6:30am and stop around 6pm in order to do stuff like feed the dogs, maybe make dinner, etc.  Then, later on in the evening, I'll start working again.  It's not unusual for me to be working at 11pm since I haven't gotten enough done during the day.  If your DH can come home and watch DS in the evening, you can get some of your work done then.  Just be prepared for alot of interruptions during the day and long stretches that you will be caring for your child.  It can be done, though.  It's exhausting and it's hard but you do what you gotta do. 

    Make use of things like bouncy chairs, swings, activity mats - things your child can do while you are working.  Sometimes I have DS on my lap while I write out stuff and today I actually typed one handed on the laptop while DS napped in my other arm.  Awkward,  yes.

    For us, DS is a preemie with a heart condition so daycare is out of the question during RSV season.  We have no family nearby so we have changed our work schedules to keep DS at home.  Fortunately, both DH and I work for companies that let us do that. If it's possible to do work on the weekend to make up for the lack of work during the week, do that, too. 

    It's not easy but it can be done.

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  • howleyshellhowleyshell member

    Another "you'll need daycare" vote.

    The alternative is that if you don't have to be available at certain times or be on the phone without a baby in the background you COULD do it without daycare but you'll seriously be working way more than that 8 hour window you'll expect to.

    When I was working without daycare I was scrambling to get some work in during naps, nursing, etc.  It almost always ended up that I was leaving DH alone with the baby in order to finish up work once he was home.

    I also ended up working more weekends than I expected.

    We ended up doing more "tag team" parenting.  We were never together with DS.  One of us or the other was watching him while the other was working.  We decided that wasn't what we wanted and made some adjustments.

     

    Our IF journey: 1 m/c, 1 IVF with only 3 eggs retrieved yielding Dylan and a lost twin, 1 shocker unmedicated BFP resulting in Jace, 3 more unmedicated pregnancies ending in more losses.
    Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.
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