Can You Work From Home With A Baby?


Many working mothers out there who take maternity leave end up wondering whether they should stay at home or just go back to their regular work. Working from home with a baby might sound like an awesome idea, but there are many challenges you will surely face upon doing so. No mother likes to leave her baby for a couple of hours every single day, babies, especially newborn babies require a lot of care and attention. Luckily, there are ways to arrange and get a flexible schedule that will allow you to work from home and take care of your baby as you please. 

Can you work from home with a baby? Yes, you can work from home with a baby, but only if you manage to balance mom, family and work time. Focus on the results, not the hours spent on your work – you will appreciate your own effort more and keep yourself motivated to do even better.

Not every job or employer will allow you to work from home, make sure you have a type of job that allows you to do so, know your own work ethic and try to evaluate your daily tasks that can be done from your home. If you have a project that requires your full attention, it is advised you focus on it during the uninterrupted time. This is important as you will be more productive, motivated and maximize your work results.

You can save a lot of money by working from home with a baby. Not having to pay for childcare will be a huge bonus and of course, being around your baby but still making income and earning all of the benefits is an amazing thing. Once you manage to get a hang of it, working from home with a baby will actually prove to be one of the best decisions you made after giving birth. There are many working mothers out there who even got promoted despite their flexible schedules and work that was done from home around their babies. 

Working From Home With A Baby Is Possible

It is truly wonderful we are living in 2019. and we can afford to work remotely. Back in the days, working remotely was nearly impossible and those who tried were not very successful at all. Working remotely allows us to combine our business life with our personal life altogether, it helps us stay productive, but still much more relaxed considering we do not really have to go anywhere further than our own house. However, having a baby and working from home is nowhere as easy and awesome as it seems. Working from home and having a baby around can be a real motivation killer, it can mess around with our focus and prevent us from being productive – unless we learn how to conquerer it ourselves. 

In order to successfully work from home with a baby, there are many things to pay attention to:

  • Create a daily to-do list
  • Creating a naptime and bedtime schedule and trying to stick to it
  • Balance work, family and you time
  • Be present during your baby and family time
  • Knowing your own limits
  • Accept imperfection of working from home with a baby
  • Create a dedicated working area in the house
  • Learn your own habits – what works and waht doesn’t and schedule around these observations
  • Knowing how to be flexible

Appreciating The Naptimes And Sticking To The Schedule

There are times you will have a demanding project to work on, a project that will require your full attention and focus. This type of work will be tough unless you learn how to take advantage of the naptimes your baby is taking and sticking to your own schedule. Naptimes will often mean an opportunity for productive workflow for you. As soon as your baby falls asleep, get ready to start working on your important assignments that require all of your focus and concentration. There are many work-at-home mothers who make a mistake and end up taking a nap themselves or they simply turn to laundry, dishwashing or other things around the house – do not do this! For work-from-home moms Naptimes are a perfect time for you to do all of the things you need your full focus on. Laundry, dishwashing and cooking are not things that will require all of your focus, therefore, learn to do them some other time. It is very simple, naptime means you doing all of the things you cannot do while your baby is awake. 

Sticking to the schedule you made is also one of the main things to focus on as a mother who works from home. While it might not always be a perfect schedule and you might not always be able to stick to it entirely, it is important to at least try to stick to it as best as you can. 

Separating Bussiness and Mother Roles

Knowing how to separate your mother’s role and your business roles is another important thing for all of you who wish to work from home with a baby. If you cannot keep these two roles separated, you will never feel like you are doing good with any of them. The best thing you can do when it comes to separating these two roles is simply finding your own private office area in the house and try to detach from the rest of the house whenever you work on an assignment. 

A couple of things you can do to successfully separate your mother and business role when you work from home:

  • Close the door
  • Keep the clutter away from your working space
  • Let the daylight in
  • Dress as if you really are working, do not always stay in pajamas
  • Do not let anyone bother you when you work
  • Do not cook and work at the same time
  • Take a shower before starting your work
  • Do not do everything your baby/child wants you to do, you are the parent
  • Know the importance of your work and assignments
  • Find a way to entertain your baby/child

Asking For Help

You might be thinking that you will never need to pay for childcare if you are working from home, but you are wrong. There are days you will simply have no other way to get all of the things done and you will have to look for help in order to have it all done. Asking for assistance is fine and it is nothing to be ashamed of. There are many people, even students out there who will gladly watch your baby two or three days a week if you are under too much pressure yourself. Finding someone who will help you out and look after your baby while you work on an important assignment is something you should do whenever you feel like you will not be able to make it on your own. Hiring someone means you can concentrate on your e-mails, assignments and bring out some of the best business results so far. 

Of course, you do not always have to hire someone to look after your baby while you work. Your partner can also be an amazing support when it comes to this. Your husband can easily take over the baby duty and have you focus on your work if it is needed. 

Accept The Fact That Working From Home With A Baby Is Not Perfect

Maybe you have a perfect schedule and routine, but you must be aware that with a baby, there will be times nothing of it will be perfect. There are days that will seem impossible to go through, days you will doubt your work and even your parenting skills, but do not let it go to your heart. Every work from home mother has these days, you are not alone. The best thing you can do about this is working a lot when things are going your way. Do your assignments whenever you have a chance and do not stop working once you are on a roll. You can do many tasks in a day if you keep on going when you get motivated. Spend your time wisely and cherish the quiet moments you have for your work and concentration. 

Related Questions

How to find a good babysitter? If you want to find a good babysitter that will help you while you work from home, look for someone whom you can trust. Do a background check for the person you wish to hire, check how they work, ask them about their previous experiences and let them know about your baby’s struggles and strengths. It will be useful to let them know about the work you do at home and explain how often you will need their services as well. A good babysitter will know how to interact with children, they will be open for a talk and will always be ready to help out if needed. 

Should I buy a video baby monitor? Video baby monitors are great devices for all of us who stop working right after hearing a slight noise coming from the crib. This type of device will allow you to see your baby on the monitor and help you realize your baby is doing just fine. Sleeping noises and rolling around are not things that should prevent you from your work.

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