Working from home w/baby - Is it doable?

[Anonymous]

If a daycare center won't allow you to do half-days, perhaps an in home daycare provider would. Or you could find a college student for those half-days. I was so tired myself from doing 24/7 care that I used a lot of the time he slept to sleep myself. I don't think I would've been too productive during those first 6-9 months.

[Anonymous]

I telecommuter full-time, and this absolutely would not have worked for me, but then DC was a terrible sleeper (but great kid!) from day 1.

Like you, I considered cobbling together occasional care with a part-time nanny or a daycare that I could use part-time. What I learned from asking around was this:

* People with part-time nannies seemed to have more nanny turnover than people with full-time nannies. Not sure if this was generalizable or just something specific to the people I know and asked.

* Daycare: paying for part time care - ha! Getting a full-time slot in a good daycare was difficult, getting a part-time slot was not going to happen. I didn't find any daycares that would allow me to pay a part-time rate.

* Nanny share - I didn't look into this too much, but this could be a good option for you.

* Home day care - I didn't look into this, but another friend who telecommutes did, and it worked beautifully for her. She found a provider she liked, and since it was a home day care, the provider could offer flexibility that a day care center could not.

* Au pair: I met another telecommuter who had an au pair, and who was having a great experience.

We went with an au pair. I will not lie, it is not easy to get used to having a new person living in the house (especially when you're getting used to having your small new person in the house!) We had 2 au pairs over 3 years, and the care DC received was stellar. I was around, so I had a good sense of what they did during the day, and I also was around for emergencies. Also, au pairs have IMO more flexibility than the other options, within certain parameters (i.e. no more than 45 hrs per week or 10 hrs per day, etc). For us, it was a great arrangement, but as with all other options there are pros and cons. If you are curious about what it would be like to host an au pair, check out an excellent blog for host parents: aupairmom.com.

And best of luck whatever you decide!

[Anonymous]

My nanny works 4 hours on the one day that I telecommute. The rest of the week she is full time. It has worked fine for me. DD sleeps most of the morning so I use my nanny in the afternoon. Also, my job isn't that demanding so even in the office I'm lucky if I get in 4-6 hours of productive work anyway.

[Anonymous]

I do this now and it works for me.

I work 20 hours a week from home. Do most of my work when DD is napping, but during days when she is not interested in napping I work while she is playing nearby. I only let her occupy herself a a bit each day and at other times we play a lot together. It balances out- she needs time to play alone too...that is an important skill to have. When she becomes more mobile she will just play in her playpen.

That being said, I could not do this 40+ hours a week. It is the part time status that makes this possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do this now and it works for me.

I work 20 hours a week from home. Do most of my work when DD is napping, but during days when she is not interested in napping I work while she is playing nearby. I only let her occupy herself a a bit each day and at other times we play a lot together. It balances out- she needs time to play alone too...that is an important skill to have. When she becomes more mobile she will just play in her playpen.

That being said, I could not do this 40+ hours a week. It is the part time status that makes this possible.

i think this really is baby specific. With my DS#1, no way could I work from home w/o FT childcare. he was extremely demanding. For DS#2& 3 (twins no less) I could count on being able to work 3 hours 9during naps) and probably and additional 2 while they played by themselves.

[Anonymous]

NO.

I Work From Home and have ALWAYS done so since returning to work. I'm a 1099, so I can do as I please and work anywhere between 15-45 hours a week. I have an amazing child who has always been a wonderful napper and not demanding at all. However, due to the unpredictablilty of children and their moods, I pay for FT childcare and use what I need through the week.

Personally having a child home with me all day while working would make me NEITHER a good mother NOR a good worker. It would be unfair to my child and unfair to my client. If the nature of your work was that you were an island and if your day did not impact others, and you were free to conduct most of your work whenever you wanted, sure you could get it done. Freelance editor comes to mind, or even someone who processes payroll, but I think there are very few jobs that could support this kind of arrangement.

[Anonymous]

I work from home full-time and am about to have a baby, and would never consider not having child care. In fact, we will be having child-care out of the house. I would love to be able to see my child whenever I wanted, but I felt it would be too disruptive to me and to the child, too, as he/she gets older and knows I'm here but won't hang out.

My plan is to see how this goes and potentially modify it, but I think working from home and not even having any child care is really unfair to your employer. Unless you're very, very part-time.

[Anonymous]

I have been working from home full-time for 3 years. I could not have done it without help coming into the home.

I did do it when my 2 year old did 1/2 day preschool...in school from 9-1pm and then he came home and napped for 2-2.5 hours. I didn't need additional care.

I now have a 14-month old and have a nanny for the baby since he was 5months old. She doesn't come everyday, but in order to put in a full schedule I need her assistance.

[Anonymous]

For me the answer with 2 kids was yes until about 7-8 months, and by then only with help.