SAHM Tips?

ana8284

Hello all! As some of you know we have been chosen as the adoptive parents of a baby due in November! While of course a lot could change, if all goes well, we will finally be moms in just a few months!

So both my wife and I primarily work from home and hope to have minimal daycare needs. I have conference calls periodically that I lead and so we are trying to figure out what happens when my wife is away from home and baby unexpectedly has a cranky day etc. Obviously meeting heavy days we will need to find other means but how do you all that work from home handle the unexpected times? Most of my calls are 30 minutes or less and generally I only have 2 or so a day but they are spread out.

Any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks!

b&kmakebabies

I think I'd be stressed if my work was unpredictable! Otherwise I'd schedule around naps but that's not a guarantee. Babies can go from 0 to 60 in a literal second lol! I will say I've done a phone interview driving the baby around by myself. He always falls asleep in the car! Maybe a neighbor can pitch in and help? You could offer like $5 a call? Or do another favor in exchange?

b&kmakebabies

Also I'm so excited for you guys!

kelleymel

Sign up for a Monthers day out program. It's for occasional drop ins. That way you can drop off the baby for the conference calls and other work meetings and pick it back up when you're done. Plus, having a break is nice

old mama

I have been caring for my newborn granddaughter round the clock. You can't plan anything around a newborn. Her sleep and even feeding patterns are erratic. She is slowly starting to get over it but had colic and would scream and could not be comforted during the day. If my oldest daughter is home to hold her for me I get some housework or meal cooked otherwise whatever I can do with one hand is all I get done. I can't imagine doing business on the phone with a newborn. Do you have an elderly friendly neighbor who would love to have some cuddle time that might be able to help you out? Having a daycare provider/housecleaner who comes to your home during business hrs. might be a solution. You still would be home with your baby but could step into an office to do business when you need to.

melandfo

I work from home full time and my plan was to do so while also caring for my newborn. That did not last a whole day!! Even at 2 months I could not get anything done! I had my mom come over that week and my wife became a stay at home mom the following Monday. It was so much harder!! Maybe find an in home nanny?

JandRVA

Honestly, I think it will depend on your child. Every kid is so different. My wife and I decided that I would be a SAHM for R and that my wife would work from home a couple of days a week to help out. It's actually pretty difficult since my wife has to be on the phone quite a lot during the day and our daughter turned out to be a pretty terrible napper once she got past the newborn stage. My wife usually tries to schedule her calls for immediately after feeding time since that is the time we're usually guaranteed about 20-30 minutes of quiet. And even on her most cranky days, we found that if one of us straps R to our chest in a baby carrier, she almost always settles down quickly (and my wife has even done that during conference calls).

Ladywithsodomojo

I'm not sure this is possible, but if you could stagger your work day with your wife's it may be more doable. For example, she works 6-2, you work 12-8. Therefore, you only need care 2 hours a day and once they get older (12-18mos) that's prime nap time.
Finding PT care is hard though and most nannies will want a minimum of 3-4 hours. A drop-in care place may make more sense, or a neighbor you can swap with.