Working at Home
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Working at Home
Feb 2004
For the past 2 years, my husband has had his own company that's
office is on our property. Our house is small, so when he
comes in, we are all in the same area. I'd like suggestions on
working out
a schedule or system that works for both of us. It seems we
are still
struggling with the idea of separate time.
I am a stay-at-home-Mom,but hate that term, as I'm certainly
not at home all the time! I do,however, want to have some times
at home that I can count on that are all-mine or mine with the
kids. I am more productive that way too.
We've tried figuring out certain hours that he can't come in,
but so often there are exceptions. And when the time is up, I
know it bothers him/ is a hassel to have to call just to use
the bathroom. And my kids have ever-changing schedules, so
what works Monday, doesn't work Tuesday, or what works for one
month doesn't work the next. And having hours that he can't
come in is just so negative. Plus, he's doing what would
normally be considered 3 jobs at work,typical for starting your
own company, so he's already maxed.
The home-office idea turned out to be necessary longer than he
thought. He does plan to get regular office space eventually,
so short of installing a porta potty and creating a
kitchenette, any ideas?
I know in my gut that we need more boundaries between work &
home, but I don't know how to put it in place.
Also, he could use a male support group, of men working from
home, &/or other men who are entrepreneurs.
His job is very solitary, and he could use some others to
meet with, face to face and share their ups & downs. I know
it's nice for me that I get to see a lot of other Moms at the
schools and around town. Thanks for any ideas!
Need space
I don't know what your husband does, but could he do at least
part of his work at a cafe or at the library? Many cafes offer
wireless connections to the internet if that's what he needs.
anon
I'm not getting what the problem is there. It sounds like you
don't want to see your husband at all during the day, which
sounds like a burden on both of you. To be gentle about it, I'd
suggest you reconsider your motivation and find something that
really works for both of you. I understand the desire for space
and privacy, but telling your husband that he can't come in to
use the bathroom seems extreme. And if you're going to disallow
him use of the house or bathroom, then you should make it
regular and predictable for him too. What's the real issue
here? Quite frankly, I would love it if my husband worked at
home and wanted to stop by and say hello. Most work at home
folks work IN the home, so would have more boundary issues than
you have. I'm guessing there's something else at! issue. (Is he
sloppy? are you embarrassed about your activities? do you have
other conflicts?) Most of us don't have full opportunities to
stay at home, go out when we want to, schedule lots of things
with the kids, AND demand full privacy whenever we want. Maybe
you should plan more time away from home with the kids so you
can get your privacy, then schedule an hour or two on a regular
basis, or schedule it at the beginning of the week, so you can
have some privacy. good luck
Jan 2005
We're thinking of hiring a babysitter to care for our 3 month old
one day a week so I can work at home that day. I don't see much
on the Network about this set-up. What I'm wondering about mostly
is cost and the best place to find someone. It would seem to me
that if I'm home and the baby will be brought to me for
breastfeeding, the cost shouldn't be as much as for an in-home
nanny. My understanding is that nannies are paid minimum $10 or
$12 to care for one baby, so how much should the babysitter be?
Or is there not really a distinction? Should I look for a Cal
student who might be enticed by being able to do homework while
the baby sleeps and/or while I breastfeed? I know Bananas is
great for nannies; are they the best place to advertise for
student babysitters too? Thanks.
There is no cost savings when a baby is brought to the mother for
breastfeeding. You must pay for the entire time, beginning to
end, that you are reserving a person's time - it is no benefit to
the caregiver to bring the child to you. You cannot dock pay for
this - you are suggesting a situation like... I'll pay you for 45
minutes of this hour and 15 minutes you can sit here and do what
you like, with no pay. It seems unlikely you'd find someone
willing to go along with this arrangement. HOWEVER, you can offer
slightly less per hour to end up paying exactly what you really
want to pay, and then everyone feels like they got a decent deal.
Also, just so you're aware, nannies have the freedom to do as
they wish, on the clock, when babies are sleeping anyway, so
that's not a perk. It is true some nannies also handle a small
bit of child-related household help, so if you want your day
nanny/babysitter to handle some of the baby-only laundry on
his/her workday, most caregivers are willing to do this. This
might be a way for it to be more reasonable for you, since you
appear to be looking for a cost-savings. This way, at least you
end up with more free time each week.
All that said, yes, you can pay less to a student or a very young
caregiver with little experience. Sometimes you can find a
non-English speaker for less money. Someone with poor English is
a good deal at this age, where the baby doesn't need to learn
language skills as much as s/he needs to feel loved and cared for.
Best of luck finding a good, fair match.
I work at home too. I actually don't believe it's that much
easier for the babysitter when I'm there so I didn't pay less
than when I was out of the house. I've used students
occasionally, but found that a long-term relationship was better
for my children. You want someone who's able to handle the small
things and let you work. Once your child is mobile, they will be
knocking on your office door; hire someone who can distract,
entertain, and keep them happy.
Ann
I don't see the difference between having a nanny when you're at
home and having one when you're not. I work at home, and I paid
standard nanny rates for my son's nanny when he had one.
nelly
I freelance and work from home. What I found as I looked for babysitters is that
most didn't have a different pay structure for a mom who was home. Except for the
breastfeeding (which now that my son is 9+ months is not nearly what it was when I
first hired her) she is primarily responsible for my son's time, needs, and wants. I
definitely don't feel she is doing any less since I am nearby - it's my choice whether
I will go upstairs and have a 15 minute visit with him, and I consider that my bonus.
Interestingly, I have been looking for a NIGHTTIME babysitter for my son, who is
asleep no later than 7pm on any given night and stays asleep. Everytime I contact a
sitter from BPN about sitting at night, they ask for $12-$14 an hour (I pay my siitter
$13 during the day). When I express that the baby is asleep, you can do homework,
eat, watch movies, talk on the phone, etc, they basically tell me no way. I am fine
with paying $13/hour for someone to interact with my son, but that's a little more
than I can stomach for the nighttime scene. Good Luck
anon
Sorry -- the price is the same whether you are there or not. As
long as you want the person to actually care for your child
while you work -- it doesn't really matter to them whether you
are there. The nursing thing is nice but doesn't really change
the job for the nanny. If anything, man! y nannies find it MORE
difficuult to take care of a child with mom in the house. Be
careful to set up a clear pattern in which the NANNY is the
caretaker during the time she is there and if your child
understands that and s/he is a good nanny, this will work great.
anon
Regarding your question of whether you should be able to pay
less because you are breastfeeding, my opinion is no. (I am a
mother of a 16 mo. old and have an in-house sitter/nanny
twice/week.) While the sitter may not be feeding, she is still
at your house and therefore at your service--i.e., it is not
her time. You need to pay for that time, regardless of whether
that person is doing homework or whatever. Who wants to sit at
someone else's house to do their own work? They are there for
your convenience, regardless of whether the baby is napping or
breastfeeding. As for resources, you should post your need in
the BPN Childcare newsletter. As for cost, you might expect to
pay a tad less for a once/week babysitter than an everyday
nanny, but not much. You probably would get the best deal from
a college student or teenager. Best wishes.
Tracy
I had a babysitter while working at home and paid her $10 per
hour (her hourly wage). While I was breastfeeding she would sit
and talk with me or read a book. It worked out well. I have a
friend who works from home and she hired a UC Berkeley student
to care for her child. (She found the sitter by placing an ad
on CraigsList). This arrangement has worked out very well for
her, as she has a flexible work schedule. One thing to consider
when hiring a student is that their class schedule typically
changes each semester/quarter. The going rate for one baby is
bet! ween $10-15 per hour for one child. My philosophy is that if
I pay closer to $15 per hour I expect the person to do more
(e.g., light housework) when my child is sleeping.
Good luck!
Anonymous
May 2002
Does anyone have positive experiences with home-base companies?
My family and I will be moving to southern California next month
and I will be at home with our 1 year old son. I would like to
supplement our income by working from home, however I have not
found anything that doesn't require selling something. I would
love to hear people's experience/advice on this subject.
There are a lot of "Work at Home" telephone pole posters
around - these are all apparently soliciting people to sell HerbalLife
per a recent article I saw. See also the Federal Trade Commission's
page about Work at Home scams here:
www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/homewrk.htm
The Work at Home Mom site seems designed to help moms find
legitimate jobs they can do at home. Take a look:
http://www.wahm.com/
(Note: I don't work at home and I haven't actually used this
site, but it looks like a decent place to start your research.
Offers bulletin boards where you can talk to other WAHMoms,
e-mail newsletters, etc. Seems to be run by a mom.)
Dana
I have no personal experience with this, but I do have a couple
of friends who have worked at home as Medical
Transcriptionists. It requires some training (community
colleges seem to give the necessary courses) and you may have to
buy your own transcribing equipment (basically a fancy tape
recorder), so there's investment involved, and you have to scare
up doctors to work for (the job basically involves making a
written copy of the taped recorded messages doctors make about
patients so that the paperwork can be put in the doctor's
file.) The people I've known who've done it said it was
reasonably profitable for them once they got started, and did
let them work at home. Again, I have no personal experience, so
I can't really vouch for this one way or another, but it could
be worth looking in to. I think you could find info by googling
on the term ''medical transcription.''
elise
Boy, I have been in the same boat as you! My mom told be about Dr.
Laura's web site. As controversial as she may be, she has a whole
section devoted to work-at-home parents full of ideas and
contacts, not scams, and ways of figuring out what would be the
best job for you. I will soon begin the process of publishing the
first edition of ''Moms Inc. Business Directory of Work-at-Home
Parents'' for the east bay, due out this fall. It is a great way to
get the word out about your at-home business and looking at it
could give you some new ideas such as, flower arranging, language
instruction, accounting, bookkeeping, legal work, massage etc.
etc. You might want to check out if there is one like that in the
area in which you will be living, or you could start one!
Liza
If you are organized and good on the computer, you might want to
look into becoming a virtual assistant. This is a growing field
of folks who provide support staff services from their
homes(primarily for small business people who need a little bit
of help but don't need a body in the office fulltime). All tasks
are assigned and accomplished via a combo of computer, fax,
telephone and snail mail. I think there is a national
organization of virtual assistants; you could probably find more
info by doing a little search on google or something.
Janet
I have been working part time as an online reader to grade the
essays of California High School students exit exams. If you
have previous teaching experience this might be an option since
you can do this at home. ETS will open applications for CAHSEE
readers this fall (see the ETS website for details-the same
website for GRE and GMAT exams).
Alice
2001
We're first time parents and our son is due in March. We're trying to
figure out our work options. One option is for each of us to work at
home one day per week. How realistic is it to think we can get work
done from home with a newborn around?
Lisa
I'm self-employed and I worked at home when both of my children were
newborns--up until they were three months, when they went into
part-time childcare. Whether or not you can do the same depends a lot
on how well the baby sleeps, which varies from newborn to newborn. But
I managed to get in about four hours a day during their naps and I
felt really good about being able to continue working while being home
with my little ones. I do know, however, that some parents don't like
working during those early months because they want to be able to
relax (or even sleep!) while the babies are snoozing.
Susan
Forget about the diapers and the 2:00 feedings! For me, trying to
balance working from home and watching my child at the same time was
the most difficult part of raising a baby so far. This is a really
tricky thing to forecast before your child is born. I have a job
where my office is in my home and I go out to see clients a few days a
week in their offices. I took off four months after my child was born
and planned to work from home largely when I returned. I had heard
that newborns sleep up to 14 hours a day and envisioned myself working
happily and productively at home, occasionally beaming down lovingly
at the infant asleep in a basket next to my desk. The reality was
that even as a newborn, my son slept great at night but only took two
30-45-minute naps during the day for the first year of his life. And
he wanted to nurse every two hours because he doubled his size in the
first four months of his life, and kept growing at a similar rate. I
needed to be on the phone with clients and although keeping my son in
the room with me was ok in terms of his safety and mobility as a
newborn, it wasn't always feasible to have a professional conversation
even when he was sleeping, because newborns can be fitful sleepers and
wake up howling from gas pains or bad dreams etc. This dramatic
interruption happened enough times to be very embarrassing and
disruptive for me, even though the clients were very understanding.
(Of course, my friend has a baby who slept 4-6 hours during the day
and was on a more regular 4 hour feeding schedule, so it wouldn't have
been a problem for her.) Between nursing and crying getting my work
done was incredibly difficult and very stressful, even though I am
largely self-directed and no one was putting any outside pressure on
me about my performance.
My employers and my family were very flexible and understanding. I
went from full to part time, reshuffling my responsibilites from five
days a week into three days a week, and my husband (opposed to
daycare) was able to actually take our son into work with him two days
a week (he works for a family business) from about 4 mos of age until
about 7 months. Once my son could crawl though, there was no keeping
him at the office in an exersaucer or a playpen. It just was not
enough stimulation for him and he became very difficult in that
setting. Again, different children have different temperaments; some
children love their playpens, and my son IS extremely active. For the
past nine months I have been fortunate enough to have my sister take
care of my son on a part time basis, with her own daughter who is a
year and a half older. My son has loved being around his cousin and
learned a lot from her and has clearly not suffered being away from me
part time. However, I still need more hours in the home office and it
has become more and more of a struggle for me to work at all when he
is here as he has become more active and able to get himself into
situations where he can get hurt if he is not constantly and closely
supervised. Having an infant or toddler around means a high
probability of being constantly interrupted, as you probably know if
you have ever even tried to have a phone conversation with a person
with a small child. The sort of work that you do will determine if
this will work for you or not. I have a lot of freedom in my job and
with my company, but it has even been too much for me, and I am
leaving the workforce at the end of this year after struggling through
for 16 months, because my sister is going back to school.
One really good alternative that I have heard from other moms who work
at home is to hire someone to watch your child for you in another part
of your home while you are there. That way you can check in/nurse,
etc. easily, but have someone else to take the pressure off of you
when you need to focus. You don't want to add the emotional fuel of
work related frustration and stress to the already potent combo of
post-natal hormones and sleep deprivation. A few women I know have a
helper or nanny come in just mornings so they can do what they really
need to accomplish without interruptions, and then they take over in
the afternoons. A lot of tasks can be done with your infant, such as
errands to Fed Ex, Office Depot, bank etc etc. I loved my job and I
love being with my son, so I managed to get through it for a long
time, and I don't really regret the extra energy it required of me.
The time when you have your child before they go to school etc is
short and very finite, so if you can be flexible and have both at no
cost to your child and a manageable cost to yourself, it is definitely
worth trying as many ideas as you can come up with. Good luck! I
hope you get a "sleeper!"
cheryl
This is very hard to do, because newborns need constant care. It's very
hard to focus on a task when you are constantly being interrupted to care
for an infant. The only way to have any hope of success is to have someone
be a designated sitter and that person does only child care, nothing else,
for the duration. Jennifer
whether you can realistically expect to work at home depends on both you and
the newborn, and the nature of your work. When my baby was two months old,
I did manage to do a fair amount of work at home. But I had a single defined
project (writing an appellate brief on one case, where most of the research
was supplied to me by someone else), and a very mellow baby who took long
naps, and I was very motivated to do it (unusual for me - normally I'm very
distractable). And - I only did it for one month! Can you handle
distractions - change a diaper, nurse, walk around for twenty minutes, and
then go right back to work where you left off? Can you ignore the
temptation to take a nap or clean the kitchen if your baby naps for four
hours? Can your work accommodate being squeezed into whatever time you
have
available? And - the great unknown - will your baby take naps, by him or
herself, or will you have the kind of baby who takes 20 minute naps, wants
to be held and cries a lot otherwise? My advice is, give it a try, but don't
count on it (i.e., have a backup plan if it doesn't work out).
Fran
You ask how realistic it is to work at home with a newborn? Depends
on many things: when you plan to start back to work, what kind of
work you do, and what temperament your child has, to name a few.
First off, don't expect to do much of anything during at least the
first 4-6 weeks of your baby's life. You'll be desperately short of
sleep and your head will be spinning with all the adjustments you
need to make.
After that, IF your baby has a good temperament (sleeps easily, no
colic), you may be able to work for short stretches at a time,
interrupted by a lot of feeding and diaper changing sessions. From
the time my son (who is very good-natured) was about 6 weeks to the
time he was 3 months, I was able to answer emails, prepare conference
presentations, and other computer-related things with him on a
nursing pillow in my lap, or for short stretches in a gymini or under
a mobile on the floor of my office, and while he slept.
He's now 5 months, and it's getting harder. My husband is working at
home one day, and I'm working at home (part time) 2 days a week, but
we don't always get much done. The baby's sleeping less, and he's
more demanding when he's awake (he very much wants to play
interactively, he's reaching out for the keyboard when he's in my
lap, etc.). It may get easier when he's older -- he's at a very
frustrating phase of development, where he can't quite sit up
independently or crawl, but he's aware that these are possibilities,
and trying very hard to make them happen, without a lot of success
(and with a lot of frustrated wailing).
We're continuing as is for now, but I'm thinking of hiring a mother's
helper -- a teenage babysitter to come and entertain the baby for a
few hours in the afternoon/early evening of my days at home, to
enable me to get a bit more done.
One other thing: I wouldn't have missed my days at home with him for
the world, even if my work productivity has suffered a bit.
Good luck!
Karen
I did that a few days a week, until we had full-time childcare for my son
around the age of 4 months. Unless we had a babysitter during the time I was
working, I could not get an honest day's work done. But my son was a
cat-napper: he never took long naps so I never had a long period without
interruptions. You might try it out with your baby while on maternity leave
and see how it goes.
Fran
Depends on the baby, depends on what kind of work you do...
I'm a grad student. I had a baby who needed to be held or in the
sling most of the time. She hardly ever lay down for naps. I could
read and (to a lesser extent) work on the computer, but talking on
the phone would often wake her. She also didn't nap for long
stretches, so I had to work sporadically, because she wasn't content
to be still when she was awake. But I could sometimes nurse and read
at the same time too...
Hope that helps.
Ilana
It was my fantasy to work at home, with my newborn at my side in a basket.
It lasted 2 weeks (until she was 4 weeks old). The baby, who was not a
difficult infant, moved alot, wanted cuddles (or maybe I wanted to offer
them), and her schedule and my exhaustion made it too hard to pay attention
to work and baby.
In retrospect, I wish I hadn't tried to work when my baby was so little, and
had enjoyed more of the baby time and sleep time when it was available.
I'd recommend planning for some time, at least, when someone else can watch
the baby (even if she's sleeping), so you can focus a bit and do some work.
Good luck.
My baby is seven months old and I am now working fulltime, 2-3 days
from home, but I have a babysitter here on those days. For the first
three months after he was born, I had planned to reduce my work
schedule to 10 hours a week, thinking I could do a subset of my work,
such as answering email and fixing small bugs. I am a computer
programmer for a research project, so all my work can be done at home
and there is not much pressure with deadlines and releases as with an
industry job. So I thought 10 hours would be just enough to keep the
basics running for my job, and that I could easily fit it in when the
baby was sleeping. This was my third child so I figured I knew what I
was doing. Ha. It turned out that I was only able to get about 4
hours a week of work done. (But I am very efficient so it may have
seemed like 10 hrs/wk to my boss!) It was mostly at night when my
husband was home and the baby went to bed for his first stretch of
nighttime sleep. I soon realized I needed a babysitter even for short
tasks like reading email everday.
I have a very mellow baby, but those early days were filled with long
stretches of feeding and rocking him, and many short naps. It was too
hard to start working on a problem, get interrupted, and try to pick
it back up hours (or days) later. Even if my Mom came over and I had
an hour or two at a time, I found I was very low on energy from waking
up too early and staying up too late and didn't have the focus or the
desire to work on the computer. I also found that I was using spare
time during the day to be with friends and family, in person and on the
phone, partly sharing the happiness of the new baby but also because I
was feeling lonely being at home all day without adult company.
I know it can be done because a couple we know who are both engineers
are each working half time at home in shifts and doing it without a
babysitter. But in my case, it did not work out at all!
Ginger
With my baby it was absolutely impossible. I know it is hard to imagine, and I
don't want to make it sound like you won't be able to do things that are
important to you. It all depends on what your baby is like. My little guy was
colicky into his fourth month, which meant we were constantly walking,
bouncing, driving, and rocking him. He didn't sleep much, not nearly average.
Many days one half-hour nap was all he slept, and boy, I tried to sleep then
too. If I got my teeth brushed once a day, it was an accomplishment.
Kim
I did freelance writing at home for a number of
months, five of those months after my baby was born.
Before he was born, I mistakenly thought I could
continue work without a hitch. You didn't say what
kind of work you and your husband would be doing at
home, but one day out of the week sounds more doable
than trying to work full time. My work had deadlines,
so I managed to have my mom stay with us for the two
weeks I had a lot of work. When my mom couldn't stay
with us and I tried to do the work anyway, it was
really tough. I had to be on the phone a lot,
interviewing people, and had to schedule them while my
son took his nap in his swing. At one point, I even
did a phone interview while nursing (when I knew he'd
be quiet). Otherwise, I did a lot of reading and
writing while he was nursing and sleeping, and at some
point managed to work on the computer while he slept
in a baby sling. When my mom could no longer help us
out and I still tried to work at home and take care of
him, I nearly lost my mind. We finally did the
sensible thing and found a day care provider. One
final note, when I could hear him cry and my mom try
to comfort him downstairs, it was extremely difficult
to concentrate on my interviews and writing. Many days
I couldn't get any work done when it was just me and
my son, and I had to stay up late to catch up. It's a
reality check, but I hope you and your husband are
able to do it.
Patty
I worked part of the time at home when I went back to my job when my son was
6 months old. What worked for me was having my 13-year-old cousin watch my
child while I was in the other room 2-to 3 hours per day. That way I had
dedicated time to make phone calls and do other tasks uninterrupted. (Nap
time gives you time, too, but they're not predictable.) It worked for me
because 1) I could do a lot of work by email ; 2) my job is quantifiable, so
I could show that I was keeping up with the work load; 3) I have a great
boss; 4) I could do work after hours after my son was asleep for the night.
So, it can be realistic depending on the type of work that you do. If it is
a lot of phone calling, forget it. But if you can be interrupted a lot and
can finish up after hours, it can work.
Helena
This may not help you much, but in my experience, it all depends
on the baby. We have three kids, and I tried working from home
when each of them was a newborn. It worked beautifully with one,
but not well with the other two. It was, I think, a matter of
individual temperament and sleep habits and not a function of birth
order or my attitude or experience as a parent. It just so happened
that my third baby slept many more hours a day than his older siblings,
so I was able work effectively at home just as long as the older
ones were at school or child care.
Ricki
I had fantasies of working at home with my newborn. I quickly found
that they were just that, fantasies. Taking care of a newborn is
indeed a full time job. The lovelies need to be fed, rocked, or
changed, seemingly every 15 minutes. And when they do sleep, you'll
probably need to too. If misfortune has frowned on you and you are
already an insomniac, you could possibly work at three hour stretches
at night. It is also conceivable that if fortune smiles ever-so
broadly on you and gives you a rare easy-going low maintenance baby,
you could begin getting very minimal amounts of work done at 2 months.
But when I consider the 20 babies in my mother's groups, I notice very
few (1) who would afford you the time to even finish a phone
conversation in the early months. My mother's groups agreed that if
the newborn's primary caretaker got time to brush his/her teeth that
was indeed a very good day! Our culture perpetuates a burden on
parents when we maintain the myth that they can work and caretake at
the same moment. My advice is to go slow on yourself and your babe,
especially early on... if you have a day off work to be with him/her,
do just that, be with him/her. Cuddle and coo but don't push a
cursor. (What kind of work do you do? Loosely scheduled errands and
lunches are all that might be possible.) If you must work while at
home, you will most likely need a second person to help care for the
babe--a grandparent or part time sitter. Of course as they grow, you
do gain minimal time and personal freedom, especially if you actively
teach them age-apropriate independence each step of the way. But
still, until they are at least 8 months old, I wouldn't encourage you
to even consider the ability to get serious work done. Newborns are
helpless--you are their hands, legs, mirror, etc., etc.-- until they
have basic motor control it's not nice to divide your time. Remember
that many animals rely on others in their pack to hunt for them and
their babes until the babes are old enough to at least play at hunting
themselves. I do, however, strongly believe that resuming some kind
of work as soon as you can (hopefully after at least 2 months w/ the
child) is very good for your self esteem. It is also excellent that
you and your spouse are planning on sharing as much as you can. FYI,
my child is 16 months old. I am only now able to complete a project
in his presence and it takes much more multitasking than I've ever
imagined possible. Enjoy you new little one! Donna
I work at home, and started up again 8 days after my son's birth. In
general, the first 3 months are the easiest, because your baby will sleep
many hours. After that, I found it necessary to have a nanny at home to
play with the baby. I have had great luck finding good nannies, and
appreciate having their help with household tasks while the baby naps.
During the first three months, I could work with the baby in a sling, but I
must admit that it was difficult to get much done with nursing and diaper
changes when the baby was awake. Some babies will hand out in a car seat or
something when they are very young. Mine wouldn't -- my husband was also at
home for the first few months, and were able to trade off many duties. Good
luck to you!
--Elisabeth
Working at home is a great option for new parents, **IF** you have
childcare in your home while you are working. It's not clear from your
post, but I'm afraid you may be considering working from home one day
a week so that you can care for your son at the same time. If that's
the case, I'd have to say that you are nurturing a total fantasy!
Working at home works beautifully if the following circumstances are met:
a) Someone other than the working parent is on duty as a childcare provider
b) Your home offers a private workspace, with a door that shuts securely
c) The working parent can get used to not dashing out of the workspace to see
what's
going on any time his or her child cries.
That said, I work at home three days a week, and my husband
telecommutes from home on the other two days. During my three
workdays, we have a sitter; on my husbands two at-home workdays, I
take care of our daughter. Since my husband and I each have our shared
office to ourselves on our at-home work days, we can be very
productive. If you're nursing your newborn, working from home will be
heaven compared to dashing to the company bathroom to pump every few
hours.
Darcy
this page was last updated: Oct 29, 2005
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