I am a full-time working mom. While pregnant with my first child, my husband and I weighed our options and decided that it made the most sense for me to continue working once the baby was born. Two years and another baby later, we were once again making tough decisions when it came to parenting and our finances.
As my second maternity leave drew near, I was approached by my employer to entertain the idea of me working from home. This concept, sounded too good to be true. I’d get to stay home with my kids and still be contributing to my family financially? How would this all work? Could I still be a good employee and be a good mom at the same time? I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to at least try it and see how things went.
Let me preface this by saying that not all types of work can be done from home. Obviously. I’m very lucky to work for a small insurance marketing company where I run our licensing department, help with marketing efforts and manage our social media accounts – all of which can be done from a computer with an internet connection and email account. I don’t have to be on the phone for extended periods of time (and someone always starts crying the minute the phone rings…), and I don’t need to be physically present for meetings (hello, sweatpants!). The nature of my job is one of the main reasons this new arrangement was even possible and for that I’m thankful. But if you find yourself in a similar position where working from home might be an option, here’s how we’re making it work for us and a few things I’ve learned along the way.
- Get up before they do. This is the hardest thing for me to do but I never regret waking up, changing out of my pajamas into more acceptable daytime sweats and a clean t-shirt and brewing a cup of coffee before the kids wake up. If I’m lucky, I might even get a little bit of work done before they need to be fed, diapered and entertained.
Keep the kids busy. A sleepy newborn is a piece of cake – if they’re not eating or pooping, they’re sleeping for the most part. A wild toddler is another story. One of my main concerns about becoming a work-at-home mom was making sure my oldest daughter wasn’t getting cheated. Yes, she’d be home with me but we were also taking her out of daycare, away from daily social interaction with kids her own age and non-stop activity. My mom, the former teacher that she is, brought us so many great activities to keep Gracyn engaged. Shapes, colors, letters, magnets – you name it. Every morning, I pull out a few different things for us to do together or things that she can play with while I work nearby. We turn the TV off after breakfast, turn on some music and spend our days playing and having fun. And bonus, she might even learn a few things along the way.
- Keep expectations low. And take one day at a time. Moms can tell pretty early on if you’re going to have one of those days. A day with a whiny toddler and a baby that wants to be held all. day. long. On days like this, I have no problem watching Frozen for the 5,000th time if that’s what it takes to keep everyone semi-happy and sane. I might be putting in some working hours later that night, but that’s OK, too. Some days, the kids don’t even get out of their pajamas and the other day, my oldest refused to wear pants. Some days, we’re hanging on by a thread but I’m pretty sure moms everywhere have these types of days, no matter what their working mom/stay-at-home mom status may be.
- Nap time is the best time. It’s hard to get work done when a two-year-old needs and wants (and deserves) your undivided attention and they don’t quite understand the concept of not yelling in mommy’s ear when she needs to pick up the phone. If I need to make phone calls, I try to schedule them during nap time when all is quiet and peaceful. I am a machine during nap time – cranking out projects, tasks, calls and emails over the course of those two – three if I’m really, really lucky – glorious hours.
There are some obvious cons to working from home on a full-time basis. The main one being that we are homebound. A lot. I do have some flexibility as far as my hours go but for the most part, we’re home during the day. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss interacting with other adults during the day. Luckily my kids are cute and my coworkers are only a phone call away if I need to talk to someone with a full vocabulary.
It’s hard but it is definitely worth it. Without the cost of daycare, we’ve already seen the drastic difference it makes in our monthly budget. We’re able to actually put some money into savings every week, which is something we weren’t able to do before. We’ll have a little cushion should the car break down or the house needs an emergent repair.
I love being home with my girls and in order for this arrangement to work, it had to work for everyone involved – me, my family, and my employer. I had to feel like I was able to be a good mom while at home and still be a good employee and get my work done. My patience has been tested and my time-management skills have been perfected, but most days I feel like I’m able to accomplish both.
And on the days I don’t feel so confident? Fake it ’til you make it. Tomorrow’s another day and this too shall pass.
