On a random snow day when my son was 4 months old, we took a picture of him sleeping in my lap, pacifier in his mouth, as I try to get through my workday, typing away on my computer. While he is the one in the frame, if you could pan up to see my face, it would be an expression of a person silently hoping he would just stay asleep for a few minutes more so I could finish what I was writing at the time. And this just on a random snow day, I didn’t even work from home much. But I can remember very well what it was like to work while attending to a baby at the same time.
Three years later, I chose to freelance and work from home full time. At the time, my newborn daughter was 6 months old. While my parents helped out to some degree, and my son was in daycare, there was still plenty of work to do between answering emails, making calls, and meeting deadlines. All the while the baby was there with me.
I recognize that others are dealing with the same predicament and plenty of parents are juggling working from home with babies under the age of 1. If you are navigating these challenging waters as well, here are a few helpful go-to tips.
Work While The Baby Naps
A young child, particularly under the age of one, is likely to take multiple naps per day. For my daughter, it was usually one nap in the morning and another in the afternoon. That is the time when I buckled down to focus on my most pressing work tasks.
When the baby sleeps, dive deep into your work. A mom of two from Maryland, Jessica S. said that her baby would sleep for 20-minute intervals in her crib, or 40 if she snuggled up against her leg. Laying next to the baby and waving a toy over her head for a bit until she fell asleep worked best when her baby was between 3 and 7 months old.
Work After Naps And Meals (When Baby Is The Calmest)
Working during naps is an important time to capitalize on, but it is likely not going to be enough. Babies tend to be the calmest when they are awake, right after waking up or right after eating, so that is a good additional time to get work done. At these times, the baby is most content on its own, so it’s easier to have a little more time dedicated to working. This is when the baby is happiest to independently play with toys and entertain him or herself for some period of time, so use this time wisely.
Use Your Baby Carrier
Don’t underestimate the efficacy of a baby carrier. Wearing a baby in a Bjorn or Ergo, if you can work standing up, allows you to sway them gently back and forth, while you type. The motion and the proximity to the familiar feel and scent of a parent are comforting for the baby and could lead to lengthy naps, which affords that parent more productive work time.
If your baby is not big into the carrier, many parents use a doc-a-tot docking station. These can often vibrate to soothe the baby (though it does have the opposite effect on some) and can be lightly bounced up and down to help the baby sleep. Attaching toys over the top can keep the kid entertained for a time too.
Try Working Different Hours
If you have the option of flexing your hours, as long as the work gets done, most employers may be fine with that, or if you are a freelancer, you can work on spacing the work throughout the day. The baby will have you tired enough to go to sleep early in the evening, so you will feel more refreshed when you wake up early in the morning. This is actually a perfect time to get some work hours into your day, while the baby is still asleep. Most parents working from home who utilize this strategy continue to do so when their kids are older.
If you do not feel like you are a morning person and cannot handle a 5 a.m. multi-hour work session, or the baby has kept you up at night, there’s always evening hours. It might not be ideal, but when push comes to shove you at least have the option of catching up on work after the baby goes to sleep for the night. Keep in mind that babies tend to get to bed very early, so you won’t need to stay up till midnight to get your work done.
Of course, there are times when you cannot choose more flexible hours and you have to have a set schedule. Being at home makes it a little bit tougher to disconnect from work.
Take Breaks
If you are flexible with when you can take a break, you should do so when the baby needs it. You will still get your hours in during the day, but pushing the baby around the block during a break in a stroller can go a long way to calming any fussiness. Reading to a baby can help him or her to calm down, and even go to sleep. If you are able to devote the time to help a child stay content or go to sleep, you will be able to buy yourself some much-needed work opportunities.