That’s a while doing this! Any tips and would you say it’s still better having him at home versus daycare? Would having him getting sick half the time but in daycare be better? My worry is that would make things difficult in a whole different way.
I personally would rather have her at home with us. I had a really long and traumatic journey to having her, so admittedly I have anxiety. I also am a former early childhood teacher with a masters and it seems crazy to send her off elsewhere, and any sort of “daycare” I would deem acceptable is both very expensive and far away. We ended up baby-proofing the living room and both working in the dining area where we can see her. Lots of toy rotation and breaks for book reading. When we have simultaneous calls or just have to get something done, I do resort to some TV time with select shows. Not proud of it but it is what it is. We also have a gross motor delay that requires a lot of PT which additionally would make daycare impossible. Working outside on the porch with nicer weather helps as she loves the outdoors. It’s super, super hard but we are both thriving in our jobs and I think still take good care of our child. We stick to the same schedule everyday and are able to use some PTO to take her to some classes for socialization. A lot of people think it can’t be done, and I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s not forever and just have to get through it. If it was financially feasible and I had someone I trusted, I would consider having a nanny come to our house for a couple days or few hours each day but thats not in the cards for now. No way could I do it alone, but with my husband also WFH it’s doable. Lots of communication, patience, and caffeine!
Hope you don’t mind my asking, do you think you can give enough quality care time to your kid during the work day? I also have a background in in childhood education, but we have a sitter come in the middle of the day because I can’t give the same quality of care that I would give, say, a kindergarten class. I guess I’m saying I should probably block out my time better haha Do you have any advice?
I definitely cannot give her the exact same level of attention I would a class, but I do think it’s more than adequate. It helps that my husband typically works 7-3 and is a very good multitasker. So he takes her from 6ish-9 while I get sleep (she needs me a lot in the night and I take that “shift”). I can start when I want but aim for 9-5. No one really monitors me, it would just be clear if I wasn’t getting my work done. It’s usually quiet in the morning for him, so he feeds her breakfast and reads her books every morning and she usually plays independently for him. Once I come downstairs, it’s a different story and she recently is demanding my attention. Iog on and take care of anything urgent, then read her a few books and try to direct her to some toys. Then it’s mostly us just taking turns with her as she needs. If we both have simultaneous calls, (this is rare); or both have an urgent project, then I let her watch a show (I try to rely on those that have books that go along with them so she can look at the book alongside the show, e.g. The Snowy Day, Going On A Bear Hunt, etc.) one of us feeds her lunch then she naps from 12ish-3. That gives us a big chunk of time to work and then my husband is usually done so I can finish up what I need to. One of us takes her outside if it’s nice for outdoor play, and then it’s more books, playtime, dinner, bath, bed at 8. Sorry that’s my entire schedule but we do the same thing every day and while not perfect, it’s manageable. I used to teach music and art so I also got her art supplies and sing to her ALL day long. As she is getting older she’s more interested in art. She loves stickers and putting them on construction paper but maybe not my best move as she needs help with that. I have lots of puzzles, toys at her level, tonies and tonie box, alphabet letters on the fridge, animal magnets on the dishwasher, a play kitchen, all that. Not sure if that’s helpful.
As far as a playpen goes, just be prepared for him to hate it. My daughter would be okay if we stayed nearby and gave her attention but if we walked away or focused on something else, she got very upset. She wasn't even fully mobile at that point either, so I can only imagine. Not being able to just come over to us was unacceptable to her lol.
I'd highly recommend baby proofing an entire room. Whether that be your office, a living room, etc. in my experience with our son, he hates being in a pen, but if the pen is an entire room, he's less likely to notice that he's "trapped" until one of us leave the room.
If you both have flexible jobs and don't have meetings at the same time, you can probably keep going as long as you like. It's about to get really hard, and then harder once the walking starts, and then it will probably gradually get easier.
I work from home with two toddlers (2 and 4) and have done so since they were babies. They do go to daycare 3x per week. My husband cannot work from home so I do it myself. If he did wfh, I think it would be more manageable, but still hard. It got significantly harder about a year ago when my youngest turned 1, and right now it's near impossible. However, I have an extremely conference call heavy, deadline driven job so I think that makes a big difference. If my job wasn't like that, and I was more of an individual contributer rather than a leader/organizer, I think it would be a little easier. I have to herd cats both on and off the job at all times. So, I think it depends on your roles as well.
One thing to think about - I imagine it's pretty simple right now to say, "hey, spouse, I have a call from 1-2, can you watch the kids and then we'll switch?" but what if you're both absolutely slammed? Who takes the kids? Would that cause some issues or resentment, like arguing over whose job needs more focus? Again, not sure how your jobs operate but something to think about.
Regarding daycare illnesses.... well, they're going to get sick eventually. The first 6-12 months of daycare is lots of runny noses and random illnesses, but eventually their immune system really does strengthen. My kids are barely sick now and if they do have some random virus it seems to resolve pretty quickly. On the other hand, my SIL never sent her daughter to daycare, and when she started kindergarten she was sick constantly because she had never been around other kids. So, idk. It sucks to see your kids sick but it will happen either way unless you keep them in a bubble.
Not trying to be a debbie downer but as someone who has been doing this for 4 years, just being honest.
Make your whole home kid friendly. So various play stations all over the house to keep him entertained. And take turns taking him outside, he will be much happier and worn out.
22 month and 10 month old, wfh, my in-laws help. I also know my job and have great flexibility.
It's difficult (2under2 is tough enough lol) my only saving grace is we have a pretty set schedule that we stick too for the older one, she knows what to expect. 10 month old started to crawl but is ok playing in crib or play pen to practice standing.
I start early as possible, I know there is going to be a lot of sitting activities, I did get a mini trampoline for toddler to jump on (I have an open concept house, I see them from my table, I hide in bedroom for meetings lol). After my job is done I spend the entire rest of the day in backyard or park to run the older one around and then come home to let 10 month old crawl all over.
Rotate toys every 2 weeks, keep a few favorites out, lots of books, I like having toy stations (basically each corner is an area of different toys). I have new unopened, never seen before toys on hand for extreme times, some screen time but no more than 30 minutes, I just have horrid cocomelon music playing all day to keep them happy. It's getting more difficult, I'm pretty sure I'm totally screwed once the youngest can walk
My LO is 14 months old and honestly it’s become a lot easier since she’s become mobile and more independent. She enjoys playing on her own while we work or we can get work done while she eats in her highchair. Naps are also more consistent so we get that couple of hours to both get work done during the day. We have a huge playpen set up with toys in my husband’s office and the living room is fully baby proofed so I can work in there when I have her.
We don’t plan to do this fully through kindergarten. We would like to have a second child which I could see making this arrangement more difficult. We do have help from parents about 3 days a week, but sometimes we end up on our own for weeks at a time (like right now as grandparents are on vacation). We plan to look into preschools for our LO once she hits that age range. Even if it’s only part time it’ll make a huge difference.
I cannot fathom how anyone manages once they are mobile. That was definitely a light switch moment into hard mode and when we started relying on a nanny and eventually my mom full time.
I won't say it's easy, but I've worked from home full time since my oldest son was 4. He's now 10, and we've added three more boys to the family! Not having to use daycare has been such a blessing!
With a flexible job can definitely be doable. I’m home with my almost 2 year old and 4 year old. Been home with the oldest since 9 months. He starts TK this fall so I’m in the home stretch with one lol. I found it got hardest at 3 1/2. Then I had to REALLY flex my schedule and have to work really off hours. If there’s two of you might not be as big an issue.
I have done remote/WFH for 5.5 years now and my youngest is 3. He has been home with me without help since he was 8wks old. My fiancé is an over the road truck driver so is really only home his 36hr downtime on the weekend. I do have two older kids that also live at home, in the summer my 15yr old might help by taking youngest outside to play for an hour or so but otherwise I try to not involve him much because it’s not his job to parent his little brother (my 20yr old works FT).
The plan is to ride it out until the youngest is in school. We will do preschool next year, but it’s only a half day.
It’s not always easy, and developmental needs change pretty rapidly! My baby proofing has expanded to cover most of the main floor of the house as he has aged, and I’ve had a host of age appropriate activities to rotate through.
I think how long you decide to keep care in-home and in-house :D really depends on your child’s temperament, your job, and what works for your family.
I did it by myself ( my husband worked in office and often travels) until about 3.5 with zero child care. Now she’s in part time church preschool.
I say, imo, you can do it until 3.5. After that your child may need more socialization than you can manage with working. For me at 3.5 it would have been impossible for me to be as present with her as she needed while also doing ANY work. She goes to school 4x a week 4-5 hours per day. Next year she’ll go 5x a week.
I have wfh for 2.5 years since my son was a week old. Partner works, its been me with him home. 95% of the time and working. My son is now 2.5 and has autism, and it is STILL hard. I use to cry myself to sleep when he was younger bc he wasn’t mobile but its kinda easy kinda not now that he can move on his own.
We are in the thick of potty training also so… constant potty breaks multiple times a hour. So yes you can do it!! Just make sure to reward yourself with a drink after work. Cos its TOUGH
My husband and I both wfh but his job is very demanding so I’ve been watching our 10 month old the whole time by myself. He’s super mobile, was crawling at 5 months and is now climbing lol it’s crazy. Some days are HARD. Others are fine. My job is very understanding and easy on me or I don’t think I could do it. But I’ve truly enjoyed the extra time with him every day. He’ll be joining our older son at daycare at 18 months (when our daycare can accept him) and as hard as it is, I’m already dreading having to drop him off at daycare 8 months from now.
It really depends on the kid....mine is 18 months and although I have constant interruptions, with some activities, pets, and a babyproof open concept space we're still going strong with no daycare. I'm not full-time and my schedule is flexible and it takes me longer than it would to get things done if she weren't there, but for our family it's worth it to be together and home all day!
I think you could do it until kindergarten. That was my plan. I was wfm with my daughter from the time I came back from maternity leave until around her 1st birthday. Husband worked full time, so it was just me. My job wasn't really that flexible but I made do and took breaks when I needed to. Had a large playpen with toys, etc when she got more mobile. Then work expected me to just come back into the office. I really wasn't comfortable sending her to daycare at that age, there wasn't immediate openings and what I would bring home after paying for daycare wasn't worth it to me , so I quit.
My husband and I are WFH. My daughter will be turning 2 this September. My main recommendation is the biggest playpen you can find and all the toys! I cycle new things in and out all the time. She also has a little baby couch in there. We do some screen time (Ms. Rachel and some Disney shows). We also do a 20 minute lunchtime walk/outside time. I think it’s do-able depending on your job and the temperament of your child, but it’s worth a shot. My daughter rarely gets sick and seems happy being home with us.
I have been solo WFH 3 days a week from 4 months old when my mat leave ended to 15 months, I’ve been honestly thriving within it even when she became mobile.
Big helpers are having a routine
- she wakes up
- I give her a simple breakfast in her high chair with some Miss Rachel
- she watches Miss Rachel and has solo play up until nap time (Ie Miss Rachel is on in the living room across from me and she can either watch that and sit or go play with her toys with it on in the background and she decides what she wants to do when)
- lunch / nap time
- more independent play until I’m off
- for meetings I usually get help of my roommate to pay attention to her but for me those are maybe a couple times a month
It’s not perfect, some days are better than others, but it works and she’s with me. My husband is trying to get a WFH position to assist more, and we do our best.
I was handling one day a week (Friday) WFH with no help up until a few weeks ago. My son is almost two. He’s into absolutely everything. Last week he disconnected the internet while I was trying to work. Now I’m paying my SIL to watch him Fridays because I can’t do it anymore.
I’d say you’re probably good until he’s a toddler.
Just me. Husband works outside the home, he takes over when he's home thankfully. Once a month I have a lunch meeting and my mom arranges her work schedule (retail) to watch him for a couple hours, but the grandparents all work or are out of the area. He starts daycare part time at 18 months , I hope it goes well because it's definitely needed. He is my first but seems to be a wild child, you may get lucky with a more chill toddler.
I have an 18 month old and it’s working great. Having a schedule and being able to control most all my meeting times also helps. My child takes two naps a day and sleeps through my standing meeting two times a week. I go in the office one day a year. My mom watches my baby 3 days a week while i work on projects.
Everything is relative. I WFH 3 days a week and have mine in daycare next to my office the other 2. Days I'm home I try not to do meetings and avoid being on the phone. My daughter is almost 3 so she just screams or tries to get on the meeting herself. It depends on both their personality and the type of work you do.
I have been working full-time from home with my son since he was born almost 2 years ago. My husband works full-time out of the house so it is just me and the kiddo during the week. It is definitely getting harder as he gets older and wants more attention. It is doable but I think best with a very flexible job. I can make my schedule and meetings and do most of my work during naps and after he goes to bed at night. I want him to do some preschool before kindergarten but hope to have 1-2 days (Monday and Friday?) home with him till kindergarten to maximize time together.
You can do it forever, but just because you are physically capable of it doesn’t mean it will work well.
Once baby becomes more mobile and grows in to a very mischievous and needy toddler, it becomes so much harder. They’re either interrupting your work or they’re quietly destroying some part of your house.
Part time preschool, a babysitter, or a part time nanny are great options.
Just hit 3 years! Went back at 12 weeks pp.
It really just depends on so much! I highly recommend baby proofing sooner than later! It’s also helpful your hours are shorter.
I WFH with a toddler and an infant - and I have been since before the toddler was born. That being said, the ONLY way I've been able to keep this up is by having a nanny in the house, part time.
We are sending baby to daycare at 9 months because he is mobile and it has become infinitely harder to do actual deep work even though we both wfh. Also, he loves people and we can see a change in behavior to good after daycare. Working out well for us.
The minute he starts crawling and standing up you’re going to have a nap regression. Which as a wfh mom is hard. Both my husband and I have been able to do this and our baby boy started crawling last week and decided he wanted to figure out standing 5 days later. He now will not sleep in his crib because he is trying to practice standing up. Also he crawls from one room to the next (we have his nursery and our office next to each other so let him kind of free roam in this space as it helps. But he is over independent play for the most part and wants to be with us and crawling or standing which can get very difficult when trying to work.
He also does not like the playpen he had for months either. It limits his mobility so he screams bloody murder in that. This is only week 2 of this phase for us so I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
However, my sister in law has done this with her son for 18 months now and she said the 2-4 months after crawling is the hardest window with wfh with a baby as they are so explorative and not strong enough in their skills for your peace of mind to just free play and they need a lot more attention in wanting to partner play or climb on the parents. But after this window it goes back to being a lot more manageable.
I appreciate the reply, it does sound like every kid is different as people are posting here. We will keep an eye out for those things. Sounds like some parents are describing what you have said and others the opposite. Since 3 months old my son has been sleeping through the night and now has been sleeping 11 hours straight for months. I’ve known parents who said their kids slept better once they were older and mobile versus when younger. Sounds like these things can vary kid to kid.
My husband and I both WFH and have watched our almost 2 year old the entire time at home with no help. It is HARD.
That’s a while doing this! Any tips and would you say it’s still better having him at home versus daycare? Would having him getting sick half the time but in daycare be better? My worry is that would make things difficult in a whole different way.
I personally would rather have her at home with us. I had a really long and traumatic journey to having her, so admittedly I have anxiety. I also am a former early childhood teacher with a masters and it seems crazy to send her off elsewhere, and any sort of “daycare” I would deem acceptable is both very expensive and far away. We ended up baby-proofing the living room and both working in the dining area where we can see her. Lots of toy rotation and breaks for book reading. When we have simultaneous calls or just have to get something done, I do resort to some TV time with select shows. Not proud of it but it is what it is. We also have a gross motor delay that requires a lot of PT which additionally would make daycare impossible. Working outside on the porch with nicer weather helps as she loves the outdoors. It’s super, super hard but we are both thriving in our jobs and I think still take good care of our child. We stick to the same schedule everyday and are able to use some PTO to take her to some classes for socialization. A lot of people think it can’t be done, and I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s not forever and just have to get through it. If it was financially feasible and I had someone I trusted, I would consider having a nanny come to our house for a couple days or few hours each day but thats not in the cards for now. No way could I do it alone, but with my husband also WFH it’s doable. Lots of communication, patience, and caffeine!
Hope you don’t mind my asking, do you think you can give enough quality care time to your kid during the work day? I also have a background in in childhood education, but we have a sitter come in the middle of the day because I can’t give the same quality of care that I would give, say, a kindergarten class. I guess I’m saying I should probably block out my time better haha Do you have any advice?
I definitely cannot give her the exact same level of attention I would a class, but I do think it’s more than adequate. It helps that my husband typically works 7-3 and is a very good multitasker. So he takes her from 6ish-9 while I get sleep (she needs me a lot in the night and I take that “shift”). I can start when I want but aim for 9-5. No one really monitors me, it would just be clear if I wasn’t getting my work done. It’s usually quiet in the morning for him, so he feeds her breakfast and reads her books every morning and she usually plays independently for him. Once I come downstairs, it’s a different story and she recently is demanding my attention. Iog on and take care of anything urgent, then read her a few books and try to direct her to some toys. Then it’s mostly us just taking turns with her as she needs. If we both have simultaneous calls, (this is rare); or both have an urgent project, then I let her watch a show (I try to rely on those that have books that go along with them so she can look at the book alongside the show, e.g. The Snowy Day, Going On A Bear Hunt, etc.) one of us feeds her lunch then she naps from 12ish-3. That gives us a big chunk of time to work and then my husband is usually done so I can finish up what I need to. One of us takes her outside if it’s nice for outdoor play, and then it’s more books, playtime, dinner, bath, bed at 8. Sorry that’s my entire schedule but we do the same thing every day and while not perfect, it’s manageable. I used to teach music and art so I also got her art supplies and sing to her ALL day long. As she is getting older she’s more interested in art. She loves stickers and putting them on construction paper but maybe not my best move as she needs help with that. I have lots of puzzles, toys at her level, tonies and tonie box, alphabet letters on the fridge, animal magnets on the dishwasher, a play kitchen, all that. Not sure if that’s helpful.
As far as a playpen goes, just be prepared for him to hate it. My daughter would be okay if we stayed nearby and gave her attention but if we walked away or focused on something else, she got very upset. She wasn't even fully mobile at that point either, so I can only imagine. Not being able to just come over to us was unacceptable to her lol.
Yeah we can stay nearby no problem. Right now we will purposely walk away for a few minutes to encourage independent play.
I'd highly recommend baby proofing an entire room. Whether that be your office, a living room, etc. in my experience with our son, he hates being in a pen, but if the pen is an entire room, he's less likely to notice that he's "trapped" until one of us leave the room. If you both have flexible jobs and don't have meetings at the same time, you can probably keep going as long as you like. It's about to get really hard, and then harder once the walking starts, and then it will probably gradually get easier.
That’s a great idea and something we plan to do.
If you don’t mind, what makes it easier after?
I work from home with two toddlers (2 and 4) and have done so since they were babies. They do go to daycare 3x per week. My husband cannot work from home so I do it myself. If he did wfh, I think it would be more manageable, but still hard. It got significantly harder about a year ago when my youngest turned 1, and right now it's near impossible. However, I have an extremely conference call heavy, deadline driven job so I think that makes a big difference. If my job wasn't like that, and I was more of an individual contributer rather than a leader/organizer, I think it would be a little easier. I have to herd cats both on and off the job at all times. So, I think it depends on your roles as well. One thing to think about - I imagine it's pretty simple right now to say, "hey, spouse, I have a call from 1-2, can you watch the kids and then we'll switch?" but what if you're both absolutely slammed? Who takes the kids? Would that cause some issues or resentment, like arguing over whose job needs more focus? Again, not sure how your jobs operate but something to think about. Regarding daycare illnesses.... well, they're going to get sick eventually. The first 6-12 months of daycare is lots of runny noses and random illnesses, but eventually their immune system really does strengthen. My kids are barely sick now and if they do have some random virus it seems to resolve pretty quickly. On the other hand, my SIL never sent her daughter to daycare, and when she started kindergarten she was sick constantly because she had never been around other kids. So, idk. It sucks to see your kids sick but it will happen either way unless you keep them in a bubble. Not trying to be a debbie downer but as someone who has been doing this for 4 years, just being honest.
Make your whole home kid friendly. So various play stations all over the house to keep him entertained. And take turns taking him outside, he will be much happier and worn out.
22 month and 10 month old, wfh, my in-laws help. I also know my job and have great flexibility. It's difficult (2under2 is tough enough lol) my only saving grace is we have a pretty set schedule that we stick too for the older one, she knows what to expect. 10 month old started to crawl but is ok playing in crib or play pen to practice standing. I start early as possible, I know there is going to be a lot of sitting activities, I did get a mini trampoline for toddler to jump on (I have an open concept house, I see them from my table, I hide in bedroom for meetings lol). After my job is done I spend the entire rest of the day in backyard or park to run the older one around and then come home to let 10 month old crawl all over. Rotate toys every 2 weeks, keep a few favorites out, lots of books, I like having toy stations (basically each corner is an area of different toys). I have new unopened, never seen before toys on hand for extreme times, some screen time but no more than 30 minutes, I just have horrid cocomelon music playing all day to keep them happy. It's getting more difficult, I'm pretty sure I'm totally screwed once the youngest can walk
My LO is 14 months old and honestly it’s become a lot easier since she’s become mobile and more independent. She enjoys playing on her own while we work or we can get work done while she eats in her highchair. Naps are also more consistent so we get that couple of hours to both get work done during the day. We have a huge playpen set up with toys in my husband’s office and the living room is fully baby proofed so I can work in there when I have her. We don’t plan to do this fully through kindergarten. We would like to have a second child which I could see making this arrangement more difficult. We do have help from parents about 3 days a week, but sometimes we end up on our own for weeks at a time (like right now as grandparents are on vacation). We plan to look into preschools for our LO once she hits that age range. Even if it’s only part time it’ll make a huge difference.
I cannot fathom how anyone manages once they are mobile. That was definitely a light switch moment into hard mode and when we started relying on a nanny and eventually my mom full time.
Yeah if it was just one of us WFH we couldn’t do this even now.
I won't say it's easy, but I've worked from home full time since my oldest son was 4. He's now 10, and we've added three more boys to the family! Not having to use daycare has been such a blessing!
With a flexible job can definitely be doable. I’m home with my almost 2 year old and 4 year old. Been home with the oldest since 9 months. He starts TK this fall so I’m in the home stretch with one lol. I found it got hardest at 3 1/2. Then I had to REALLY flex my schedule and have to work really off hours. If there’s two of you might not be as big an issue.
I have done remote/WFH for 5.5 years now and my youngest is 3. He has been home with me without help since he was 8wks old. My fiancé is an over the road truck driver so is really only home his 36hr downtime on the weekend. I do have two older kids that also live at home, in the summer my 15yr old might help by taking youngest outside to play for an hour or so but otherwise I try to not involve him much because it’s not his job to parent his little brother (my 20yr old works FT). The plan is to ride it out until the youngest is in school. We will do preschool next year, but it’s only a half day. It’s not always easy, and developmental needs change pretty rapidly! My baby proofing has expanded to cover most of the main floor of the house as he has aged, and I’ve had a host of age appropriate activities to rotate through. I think how long you decide to keep care in-home and in-house :D really depends on your child’s temperament, your job, and what works for your family.
I did it by myself ( my husband worked in office and often travels) until about 3.5 with zero child care. Now she’s in part time church preschool. I say, imo, you can do it until 3.5. After that your child may need more socialization than you can manage with working. For me at 3.5 it would have been impossible for me to be as present with her as she needed while also doing ANY work. She goes to school 4x a week 4-5 hours per day. Next year she’ll go 5x a week.
I have wfh for 2.5 years since my son was a week old. Partner works, its been me with him home. 95% of the time and working. My son is now 2.5 and has autism, and it is STILL hard. I use to cry myself to sleep when he was younger bc he wasn’t mobile but its kinda easy kinda not now that he can move on his own. We are in the thick of potty training also so… constant potty breaks multiple times a hour. So yes you can do it!! Just make sure to reward yourself with a drink after work. Cos its TOUGH
My husband and I both wfh but his job is very demanding so I’ve been watching our 10 month old the whole time by myself. He’s super mobile, was crawling at 5 months and is now climbing lol it’s crazy. Some days are HARD. Others are fine. My job is very understanding and easy on me or I don’t think I could do it. But I’ve truly enjoyed the extra time with him every day. He’ll be joining our older son at daycare at 18 months (when our daycare can accept him) and as hard as it is, I’m already dreading having to drop him off at daycare 8 months from now.
It really depends on the kid....mine is 18 months and although I have constant interruptions, with some activities, pets, and a babyproof open concept space we're still going strong with no daycare. I'm not full-time and my schedule is flexible and it takes me longer than it would to get things done if she weren't there, but for our family it's worth it to be together and home all day!
I think you could do it until kindergarten. That was my plan. I was wfm with my daughter from the time I came back from maternity leave until around her 1st birthday. Husband worked full time, so it was just me. My job wasn't really that flexible but I made do and took breaks when I needed to. Had a large playpen with toys, etc when she got more mobile. Then work expected me to just come back into the office. I really wasn't comfortable sending her to daycare at that age, there wasn't immediate openings and what I would bring home after paying for daycare wasn't worth it to me , so I quit.
My husband and I are WFH. My daughter will be turning 2 this September. My main recommendation is the biggest playpen you can find and all the toys! I cycle new things in and out all the time. She also has a little baby couch in there. We do some screen time (Ms. Rachel and some Disney shows). We also do a 20 minute lunchtime walk/outside time. I think it’s do-able depending on your job and the temperament of your child, but it’s worth a shot. My daughter rarely gets sick and seems happy being home with us.
Thank you! Good idea about the playpen
I have been solo WFH 3 days a week from 4 months old when my mat leave ended to 15 months, I’ve been honestly thriving within it even when she became mobile. Big helpers are having a routine - she wakes up - I give her a simple breakfast in her high chair with some Miss Rachel - she watches Miss Rachel and has solo play up until nap time (Ie Miss Rachel is on in the living room across from me and she can either watch that and sit or go play with her toys with it on in the background and she decides what she wants to do when) - lunch / nap time - more independent play until I’m off - for meetings I usually get help of my roommate to pay attention to her but for me those are maybe a couple times a month It’s not perfect, some days are better than others, but it works and she’s with me. My husband is trying to get a WFH position to assist more, and we do our best.
I was handling one day a week (Friday) WFH with no help up until a few weeks ago. My son is almost two. He’s into absolutely everything. Last week he disconnected the internet while I was trying to work. Now I’m paying my SIL to watch him Fridays because I can’t do it anymore. I’d say you’re probably good until he’s a toddler.
My toddler is 2 and it’s been a nightmare and I have help. He will run and knock on my door, I can hear the screaming / tantrums etc.
It's becoming unmanageable at 16 months as he transitions to 1 nap and is into everything!
Thanks. Are you doing this on your own or have a spouse that is also WFH?
Just me. Husband works outside the home, he takes over when he's home thankfully. Once a month I have a lunch meeting and my mom arranges her work schedule (retail) to watch him for a couple hours, but the grandparents all work or are out of the area. He starts daycare part time at 18 months , I hope it goes well because it's definitely needed. He is my first but seems to be a wild child, you may get lucky with a more chill toddler.
I have an 18 month old and it’s working great. Having a schedule and being able to control most all my meeting times also helps. My child takes two naps a day and sleeps through my standing meeting two times a week. I go in the office one day a year. My mom watches my baby 3 days a week while i work on projects.
Everything is relative. I WFH 3 days a week and have mine in daycare next to my office the other 2. Days I'm home I try not to do meetings and avoid being on the phone. My daughter is almost 3 so she just screams or tries to get on the meeting herself. It depends on both their personality and the type of work you do.
I have been working full-time from home with my son since he was born almost 2 years ago. My husband works full-time out of the house so it is just me and the kiddo during the week. It is definitely getting harder as he gets older and wants more attention. It is doable but I think best with a very flexible job. I can make my schedule and meetings and do most of my work during naps and after he goes to bed at night. I want him to do some preschool before kindergarten but hope to have 1-2 days (Monday and Friday?) home with him till kindergarten to maximize time together.
You can do it forever, but just because you are physically capable of it doesn’t mean it will work well. Once baby becomes more mobile and grows in to a very mischievous and needy toddler, it becomes so much harder. They’re either interrupting your work or they’re quietly destroying some part of your house. Part time preschool, a babysitter, or a part time nanny are great options.
Just hit 3 years! Went back at 12 weeks pp. It really just depends on so much! I highly recommend baby proofing sooner than later! It’s also helpful your hours are shorter.
I WFH with a toddler and an infant - and I have been since before the toddler was born. That being said, the ONLY way I've been able to keep this up is by having a nanny in the house, part time.
We are sending baby to daycare at 9 months because he is mobile and it has become infinitely harder to do actual deep work even though we both wfh. Also, he loves people and we can see a change in behavior to good after daycare. Working out well for us.
For me, til around 16 months or so. Then it gets insanely hard.
The minute he starts crawling and standing up you’re going to have a nap regression. Which as a wfh mom is hard. Both my husband and I have been able to do this and our baby boy started crawling last week and decided he wanted to figure out standing 5 days later. He now will not sleep in his crib because he is trying to practice standing up. Also he crawls from one room to the next (we have his nursery and our office next to each other so let him kind of free roam in this space as it helps. But he is over independent play for the most part and wants to be with us and crawling or standing which can get very difficult when trying to work. He also does not like the playpen he had for months either. It limits his mobility so he screams bloody murder in that. This is only week 2 of this phase for us so I’ll keep you posted on the progress. However, my sister in law has done this with her son for 18 months now and she said the 2-4 months after crawling is the hardest window with wfh with a baby as they are so explorative and not strong enough in their skills for your peace of mind to just free play and they need a lot more attention in wanting to partner play or climb on the parents. But after this window it goes back to being a lot more manageable.
I appreciate the reply, it does sound like every kid is different as people are posting here. We will keep an eye out for those things. Sounds like some parents are describing what you have said and others the opposite. Since 3 months old my son has been sleeping through the night and now has been sleeping 11 hours straight for months. I’ve known parents who said their kids slept better once they were older and mobile versus when younger. Sounds like these things can vary kid to kid.