To SAHMs, what is a typical day (if there is such a thing!) home with your

[rorycam]

baby like? I currently work at home doing medical transcription and I am expecting my first child in March. I'm trying to figure out how much work I'll actually be able to do once the baby is here, and if I will need to hire some kind of help at least part-time. I can cut back on my hours some, but we can't afford for me to quit totally, so I'll have to work and I'd like to figure out what kind of schedule I could realistically plan on having. I am not used to being around babies and don't really know how much time is spent sleeping, playing, etcetera, so any information on how a day is spent would be appreciated.

[spu]

Hi there,

I stay at home with my 2 babies and found that I was able to start doing work at home when they were around 4 mos old. I actually did alot of work while they nursed. They'd nurse for 1 hour at that time, and fall asleep for another, so we'd stay put on the sofa with my laptop on the coffee table and I'd be able to get 2 hours+ of work done in a stretch. Mornings were best for me because the babies were well rested and ready for play.

I was never able to work at night after the babies went to bed. Nursing them both makes for a different kind of nighttime routine for me, plus I nurse them to sleep and we sleep in the same bed now, so once 8 pm hits, we're done. Lately, I've been able to sneak out of bed around 10 pm, but most nights I'm asleep too.

Realistically, if you set your expectations too high you'll get frustrated. From talking with my other mom friends who work from home, 4 hours / day seems to be the magic number. If you get a sling, you might even be able to work more since babies love being close to mama like that. Just be careful about getting into the 'gadget' trap where you buy 'things' to take the place of the real you. I have 1 mommy friend that has every possible gadget on the market and she just moves her baby from the swing to the play pen to the johnny jumpup to the rocker to the saucer to the bouncy seat to the video... and wonders why her baby is crabby all the time... If possible, maybe a high school neighbor could come over and play with the baby for a couple of hours while you get some more work done. Some schools even have babysitting programs and can even give references to you for afterschool kids.

There's ways you can be creative about finding time too... perhaps you could do a little work before the baby wakes in the morning, during naptime, and while your husband is home so he can play with the baby or feed him or bath him. It adds up. Just don't expect a big chunk of time all at once, esp. during the first year.

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte + else

http://home.earthlink.net/~sunger1/bash/nonflash/year.html

[kss611]

I work part-time and spend about 14 hours a week in the office and work about 6 hours from home and found it pretty easy to put in the hours that I needed when DD was an infant. She was a good and predictable sleeper, so I was able to get my work done in the mornings while she took her a.m. nap. It was also easy to have her in her swing or exersaucer next to me while I did my work if I needed to get some things done while she was awake. However, I have found it a lot more challenging now that she is older and does not nap as much and now that she is mobile. I also think that it is great if you can get a high school or even college student for a couple of hours because you can be completely focused on your work while someone else is paying special attention to your baby. I try to do everything I need to do during the day, so that my nights are free to spend with DH once he gets home from work.

Karen

Mom to Meredith 6 '02

[AngelaS]

I get up before my girls, so that's when I get a LOT done. Then don't get up until 7 am so I get up at 3:30, 4 or 5 (if I sleep in--LOL). That way I have time to excercise, do some work and get myself ready for my day before they're up and needing me!

[lizajane]

i have a really good sleeper, so i get a lot done at home. BUT when he is going through a phase and doesn't sleep well, i get NOTHING done. because i spend a lot of time trying to get him to sleep, and then i am so frustrated that i want to just SIT while he is asleep. or eat or shower...

but a typical day with an easy baby who sleeps a lot (ds is 6 months):

wake 7am
feed, change, play, eat my breakfast while he plays on the floor or in the bumper jumper, put him down for a nap

9am-11am or 11:30am-
he is sleeping. i am cleaning-
one project per day, usually the cleaning project takes about an hour. then i check email, talk to a friend on the phone, watch a little TV, do a craft project...

11:30 feed, change, play, maybe run one errand (1 hour), some floor play or bumper jumper, maybe a walk with the dogs

1:30-3:00ish (maybe shorter) nap
i don't get a lot done here, usually a craft project or a random cleaning project.

3:00 feed, change, play. he will play on the floor, etc, for about 30-45 minutes at this point. then we TRY for a third nap around 4:30. it is the hardest one. if i don't get him down, then he requires CONSTANT attention. always holding him in my lap singing or talking, sitting on the floor next to the jumper or lying on the floor with the toys, etc.

if there is a third nap 4:30-5:15 who knows what i do, maybe put laundry away. not a good time to really accomplish anything.

if no third nap, we are playing and whining a little until a walk when DH gets home at 5:30ish, and then we start bedtime at 6:00 or 6:30

bedtime-7:00

[jubilee]

I don't feel I get much done in a day, so maybe I'm no help to you, but I thought you could see that different babies have different schedules and needs. We arent ridgid to this schedule, but it's generally what our day is like.
3-5 am-- during this time he wakes up once to nurse (about 30 minutes)
7 am-- wakes up and nurses
7:30-- baby plays on floor while I do work out routine next to him
8:30-- I eat breakfast, baby plays in saucer
9:00-- baby nurses
9:30-- baby goes down for morning nap and I get into the shower
10:15-- play on floor with baby, help him to work on development skills (sitting, etc)
11:00-- baby nurses and has cereal
11:45-- playing, doing errands, or going for a walk
1:00-- baby nurses and goes down for afternoon nap. I clean house.
2:00-- play time again or errands
3:00-- baby nurses and eats babyfood (I watch Dr. Phil :))
3:45-- husband and older son come home from work and school
4:00-- husband watches baby so I can cook dinner
5:00-- baby nurses
6:00-- give baby a bath
6:30-- baby nurses
7:00-- baby asleep, so now I can pay more attention to older son and husband.
10:00-- I go to sleep.

Not very exciting, but somehow it seems very full while I am living it. I work at home 4 hours a week doing medical billing and I do that two nights a week about 8-10pm.