[forshure]

Once upon a time, there was an infant and a WOHM who worked some of her consultant hours from home. The newborn napped peacefully in his fleece pouch when the mom checked her e-mail, revised powerpoint presentations, and composed letters. While the newborn quietly nursed, the mom made calls to colleagues with only the occasional happy murmurings of her DS as background noise.

And, then, to make the situation even easier, there were the naps. During these naps, the WOHM did the work that was hard to do while wearing a baby, tasks like assembling packets to be mailed or writing up big post-it sheets for presentations or reviewing a report---secure in the knowledge that her DS was dozing nearby.

The DS ate, napped, and slept in an unscheduled, but somewhat predictable, rhythm, and the WOHM worked in a similarly semi-scheduled fashion, easily switching between work task and babe in a beautiful harmony...and then her DS started to crawl...and climb...and pull himself up on dangerous furniture items...and resist being slung for hours at a time!

And the WOHM went

:

I truly feel like I have gone from this perfect rhythm---admittedly, not every day was as rosy as I depicted it---to being a total klutz, frantically going from babe to work task and failing at both parenting and work.

DS wants to be in constant motion which is not very compatible with my work tasks, it seems. We have childproofed the home to the best of our ability, but we have hardwood floors, a cranky old cat, and, seemingly, a million ways to get a head klonk. I spend the whole day "spotting him" during these explorations, redirecting him when he crawls toward the kitty litter, etc. While he occasionally will spend a few quiet moments exploring a novel toy---an empty ice cream tub, the telephone---he is soon wanting to move. And, while he still goes for the quiet nursing/napping in the sling, he also has been known to bite mama, complain, and squirm until he's back on the floor, crawling rapidly toward the cat food bowl, a pile of work papers, etc.

I don't want to schedule more of my work hours away from home, but is it possible to get things done with a mobile baby? Is it worse that I'm home but not really PRESENT in the way he needs me to be? Is it possible to be be present and productive? Will I find a new rhythm?

Does anyone have any tips for working from home with a mobile babe?

Sorry for the

. Thanks for listening!

 

[EVC]

As I was reading your post I just kept thinking how much it sounds like my situation (just substitute dog food for kitty litter

)....And then I saw in your siggie that our dc are almost the exact same age. Yup, things have DEFINITELY gotten a lot harder recently.So I have no advice, but am looking forward to what the BTDT mamas have to say....We're going through it too!

:

 

[Caryliz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by forshure Does anyone have any tips for working from home with a mobile babe?

Yes: Get a babysitter!

:

Seriously, that person can be a paid caregiver who comes to the house, or another mama that you swap some hours with or whatever, but I can tell you that once your babe is mobile, you won't get ANYTHING else done. I've been lucky enough to keep my corporate consulting job -- and even to get a promotion! -- while working from home, but I never could have done it without our babysitter. I wouldn't say I get a full uninterrupted 8 hours a day of work done. The sitter is here from 8am to 5pm, and in that time I probably get 7 hours in -- but I love being close enough that I can still nurse DS more or less on demand (there are times I'm on a conference call and the sitter knows she just has to distract DS until I'm done...LOL), to have lunch with him, or just to exclaim in wonder over the latest twig/leaf/stone/shell he brings in for my examination. When I'm on a major deadline the sitter will plan a special excursion/adventure for DS to give me more quiet time to work, and I end up on the computer at 11pm more than I'd like, but I wouldn't trade my situation for anything.

HTH!

Cary

 

[tangozulu]

I have BTDT and like the PP's, I would totally hire a sitter/mother's helper, even if just in the morning if your babe takes a good afternoon nap. Otherwise it is too hard to do either baby or work justice. I did do it one day a week w/out child care with my dd who is now 6, but 4 days a week I was in the office busting my butt so I wouldn't have as much to do on Thursdays. Still, I would log in for a few hours after she went to bed at night. If you are doing it any more than one day a week, I really think you need some kind of help.

Good luck!

 

[Igraine]

My dd is 10 months and a little wild woman, physically! She is such a calm, sweet baby, but she has an agenda! Wiggly, crawling (combat crawl while carrying things!) and creeping on everything (even things that move like me, the dog, her daddy and brother!)

My God it is a struggle sometimes. She now wants everything her brother has and fights to get it. Her brother is 4 and has been used a baby who just adores him, but did not complicate his life too much. Now she is always getting into his stuff, trying to play with his computer (!).... I know all these things are what she should be doing and I am happy she is developing so well. I thought her brother was a busy baby...but now I see she is the champ in that area.

With all these changes come the more frustrating things: her brother has started having "accidents" and gets really upset, so he is regressing and that is so frustrating when he was potty-trained before she was born!

And little miss has started to pinch! Man, those little fingers really hurt.

So.... I can totally empathize with all of the previous posts. My dh is home p/t and my dcs go to daycare 2 times a week. We can afford a babysitter once in a while, but not enough to get the everyday stuff done. My house is trashed most of the time. Both dh and I are just wiped by the end of each day.

I used to get work done in the evening, but now it just does not happen. When I am home I am nursing, chasing, problem-solving, cooking, cleaning, and sometimes sleeping. As insane as it is sometimes.... I really would not change a thing. Except a little more $$$$ would help.

 

[forshure]

Thanks for all the advice and empathy, mamas!

Ideally, I would have a mama's helper while I was working from home. I have a sitter come in when I am working at the office or out in the community. But, I consult for a NPO, part-time, so I am not exactly rolling in the dough. More than half of my hourly wage goes to childcare. The only way that I can swing it financially is by having some work-from-home hours where I don't have to pay anyone else, YKWIM?

But I may be able to coordinate some swapped hours with a local couple I know. That's a good idea.

Also, I may just need to schedule some regular time in the office so that I can get a lot of the hard-to-do-from-home stuff done. (The "busting my butt" suggestion from the PP.) That way, when I'm home, I can do the more flexible stuff. I'm also thinking of shifting my schedule. My personal preference is to sign in from 8-1 but that's when he's the most active---talking, cluster nursing, climbing---so I may just need to follow his lead and work later in the day when he's more inclined to nap, play independently, etc.

 

[EVC]

BTW, October Moms, the October '05 due date club chats here, if you're interested: http://z13.invisionfree.com/October_...amas/index.php