Hello!

After working at home without children for almost 11 years and having the most ridiculous amount of business freedom one could ask for (and naturally didn’t realise until it was all gone) 9 months ago I added a baby to the mix.

FINALLY the ultimate test to income flexibility was here – working around children (or in my case child) so I could still be home for the mile stones and earn an income for my family.

I had the freedom to earn an income at home, around naps and snacks that so many mums are desperate for. I didn’t have to worry about bubs missing me at childcare, catching every disease known to mankind or trying to convince myself the childcare fees deducted from my pay was still worth working.

But this is what they didn’t tell you…..

They didn’t tell you not to be lured in by the sleeping 6 weeks newborn stage like I was. Its easy to work around a newborn. They eat and then sleep. You work. You have a fridge filled with donated food and people offering to clean your house because they are excited to be around your baby so no chores need to be addressed.  Even with night feeds (which I did 100% of) I still got a lot of work done during the day.

Working from home with a baby is easy! <——naive!

Until your bubs decides that they don’t like to sleep anymore. Then this shit gets a whole harder. They didn’t tell you that you will feel guilty as you constantly check your phone, tablet and or laptop for client work, messages, trying to book appointments and more whilst your baby eats, plays and tries to get your attention. That you would feel guilty for not giving THEM more undivided attention, but you have to make the most of the time when they are not screaming.

They didn’t tell you that you may have a baby that rarely sleeps.

So any work planned during “nap time” – such as being on the phone has gone out the window. However if some magical alignment of the moon and stars and planets with the right temperature, ambient light and sounds falls into place whilst you jiggle your baby and they fall asleep – the first thing you will WANT to do is SLEEP yourself. The only thing you can do is quickly try and squeeze 45min of work done before the screeching commences.

Although you already knew that your “work” day wasn’t going to end at 5pm like other working mums, what they didn’t tell you was that YOUR work day will likely end at 11pm.

Or midnight. Only to start again at 4am when baby decided they were feeling fresh as a daisy and ready to get up. By the way, “work” doesn’t include chores.

They didn’t tell you that shit that used to take you 10min, now takes you 5 hours.

That you may burst into tears when the printer is out of paper, the computer freezes or the dog barfs all over your carpet (as that’s just another freaking thing to do when you’re trying to send this report out!)

They didn’t tell you that you WILL have to let him or her cry for a few minuets whilst you try and send that email. The crying gets louder. The email is taking longer to send.  God your computer is a piece of crap.

They DID tell me that I wouldn’t want to work as much anymore. That my previous business focus would shift to being a mum. Nah – just think I will keep working on being the multitasking, streamlining, automating, efficiency master of the universe….no way am I giving up earning money from the couch!

Do you work from home? SHARE with us in the comments below.

Main image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • Im so thankful that when my children were little I was able to stay home and look after them. We lived on my husbands wage and we cut corners but it was worth it.

    Reply

  • Yes, I work from home but, fortunately, I don’t have children to tend for too – I would think it would be incredibly hard.

    Reply

  • I’ve started working from home, I love it but grateful that my husband is home to take care of the kids so I don’t need to worry.

    Reply

  • Working from home with a 3 year old was doable at one day a week. Increased to 3 days a week and my productivity has taken a nosedive

    Reply

  • I’m thankful that I have teenagers now that I have to work from home as I imagine it would be much harder with little ones. Although I didn’t think I would enjoy working from home, I have now settled into it and am enjoying it but it has taken some time

    Reply

  • I do not envy those who are currently doing this with a baby or toddler, would be very taxing indeed.

    Reply

  • It’s hard working from home with a little baby thankfully I don’t

    Reply

  • I’d hate to imagine what it would be like to be one of those mums who have to now work from home with small kids… doesn’t sound like an easy task

    Reply

  • Yes, it can be incredibly hard to manage the conflicts.

    Reply

  • yes i work from home. kids are all different yet trainable like for them to play on their own so parents can focus on work. i remember a cousin has been working from home full time but i still do not quite understand why she sends her kids to daycare even amidst the pandemic, telling me that they cant have the kids at home while working as her boss is too strict????!!!

    Reply

  • I am working from home most of the time due to Covid-19. Thankfully this was not when my child was a baby. My husband always works from home, we have school desks set up in his office and there is a couch and tv in my temp office so lunch and reading and art are done with me and maths english and other lessons with hubby outdoor sport with me. But thank goodness not when they were really young as it would have been 10 times harder, at least the kids can read and be entertained or follow school work with only minimal assistance

    Reply

  • on the flip side I am now working from home due to COVID19 – thankful that I can but even older kids can make it exhausting working from home – I think the trick is to try and remain flexible – get up earlier and get some work done before they wake up, then try to do stuff with them straight after your work day finishes to they don’t feel isolated from you while your home trying to work. – hard act to balance though with work deadlines and emails that never end!

    Reply

  • Time is not the same when there is a baby in the mix

    Reply

  • Yep this is all true!

    Reply

  • I worked from home prior to my son’s birth, right up to when he went to school and beyond. And, yes, he was a baby who didn’t believe in sleeping because he didn’t want to miss out on anything. He’d also wake numerous times during the night. So working at home was exhausting and at times I felt it would be so good to have a job where I could leave for the day and return at night. But, we got through it and the positives really outweighed the negatives.

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join