How To Work From Home With A Baby (Is It Even Possible?)
Need a strategy for how to work from home with a baby? You’re in the right place.
As all parents know, caring for a little one is a full-time job (albeit the most rewarding one ever) in itself.
Between the tears at naptime, the cute but noisy babbling, the tears at mealtime, the nappy changes, the tears before feeds and, you get the idea. It’s a lot to deal with all day.
Plus there’s also the fact that when you’re spending time with your baby you feel it’s important to make the most of their awake time with engaging play and tummy time.
For all of these reasons it may seem impossible that you could ever get any work done with a baby at home.
But it is possible! I have worked from home since before I had my babies and worked from home after they were born.
Sometimes they were in childcare, but often I would be working from home with one or both children with me.
Is it a challenge? Yes, and it definitely is easier with certain types of work. Is it possible? Yes, most definitely, with the right strategy.
We’re going to talk about how you can manage to get work done with a baby at home, with tried and tested tips to help you master this working mother gig.
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How to work from home with a baby
Whether this is a one-off day, or week, that you need to work at home while caring for a baby, or it’s more of a long-term arrangement, use these crucial tips to cope.
1. Flexible work is key
The more flexible your job is, the easier you will find fitting work around caring for your baby.
I’ve had a regular 8-6 job, and a job where I set my own hours and simply need to complete a set number of tasks per week.
It is far easier to have a job that can role with the punches of child-rearing with you. That’s because every day with a baby is unpredictable.
You may have very easy days where your baby sleeps well at every nap time and is content rolling around on their play mat during the rest of the day.
2. Have a clear plan and routine
Starting your day with a very clear plan of what you need to achieve is absolutely key to getting things done.
I often do this the night before, planning out what I can realistically get done and breaking it down into small steps to help make it more manageable.
Try to front load your week with the hardest tasks earlier in the week, this may make your Mondays seem big but also it will help you get through the week as a whole.
If you don’t already have your baby on a schedule then now is a good time to give it a go.
You will find lots of routines for babies by age at my parenting website The Mummy Bubble. They are intended as a guide to give you an idea of how a baby’s natural rhythm can become predictable so you know what comes next and when.
Having a schedule can mean that you know when your baby’s big nap of the day will be – this is typically after lunch in the early afternoon and can last two to two-and-a-half hours.
3. Work during nap time
One of the most productive times of day for you will be when your baby is down for a sleep. The long nap in the afternoon is your chance to really get a lot done.
Be sure to plan ahead what you will do during that nap time to take full advantage of the quiet moments of the day.
Ditch all distractions, have a clear goal for what you want to achieve during that time and have everything you need ready in advance so you can sit down in front of your computer and get on with it.
You may have a baby who only likes to nap on you – this was what my second baby was like!
In this case then try to adapt how you work. Use a comfortable sling so you can go hands-free or work on your phone.
4. Goals not hours
One of the biggest secrets to success when it comes to working from home with kids running around is to ditch the idea of putting in set hours.
A normal 9-5 routine does not apply when trying to work with kids in the house.
So rather than focus on the number of hours of work you need to complete in a day, instead break down what jobs you need to get done and focus on how you will do this.
Break down larger jobs into small steps and goals to help you on the path to getting it done.
5. Try baby wearing
Many babies want to be held for most of the day. This is totally normal behaviour, especially for very young babies or babies who are experiencing a sleep regression or teething.
You need to roll with this behaviour as best you can, because to be honest you will miss it when they are big are don’t even want to hold your hand any more!
Use a sling – try a soft fabric one for when you’re at home for comfort – to hold your baby but leave your hands free.
Many babies snooze happily in a sling or will be much less likely to cry when being held. It can also be easier to feed your baby using a sling.
6. Use late nights and early mornings
If you are a night owl then getting work done while your baby sleeps at night can be a really good opportunity to be productive.
I use this strategy to this day, because even though my kids are at school in the day, they have to be picked up at 3pm which means I make up the remaining three hours of the working day at night.
If you hate staying up late then try setting your alarm for a couple of hours earlier, so you can get some work done before your baby is up for the day.
Your partner could help by getting your baby dressed for the day and feeding them breakfast while you spend some time working before they head off for work.
7. Share the load with your partner
Tag teaming with my husband was what got us through lockdown when the nursery and school were closed and we had two young kids at home with us all day every day.
One of us would work the morning while the other cared for the kids, then we would swap after lunch.
If you can do this then you’ll want to find ways to increase your productivity during the hours that you can focus to get work done. Make those hours really count.
8. Strategise for meetings
While you may be able to ignore the noise from your baby while working on a report or checking numbers, it’s not ideal to have a baby crying while you’re attempting to engage with a team meeting on Zoom.
Hopefully you have a job that gives you plenty of notice before meetings and work calls, so you can plan ahead what you will do with your baby.
In an ideal world you’ll be able to listen in to the meeting on mute. If it requires your participation, then this is where you may need to enlist the help of a friend or your partner.
My days of working from home with a baby and toddler were made so much easier because my husband was also working for home.
This means I could enlist him to watch the kids when I had a 30 to 60 minute meeting.
Another emergency option for distracting an older baby is to put them in front of the television. A little kids’ TV is not going to do them any harm.
9. Ditch all distractions
Once your baby is down for a nap you want this time to really count. A focused 90 minutes of work can be more productive than an entire day if you are clear on what you need to achieve.
If you are someone who is easily distracted by your phone, social media and news alerts, then be sure to set those distractions to one side. Put your phone out of reach if you need to.
Encourage your baby towards toys that do no make loud noises. You want your child to have toys that are going to keep them happy while you try to work, but try to find ones that don’t blast out the same repetitive tune every 10 seconds.
10. Have a child-friendly workspace
Create a comfortable and practical workspace. It needs to be a place that you like to be and helps you focus, as well as a practical layout.
A comfortable workspace is an absolute must-have when you are working from home. And it also needs to cater for your baby too.
Set up a workspace that has room for a Moses basket or crib where your baby can sleep if they are under six months old – when they should be sleeping in the same room as you. This way you can keep an eye on them while you work.
Your workspace could also do with having a space play space for your baby. You could try setting up a travel cot in the room which your baby can use as a place to play with their toys.
Play mats and bouncy chairs are also great toys for your baby to enjoy while you are working.
11. Work on your phone
During my early days of blogging I would write 90% of my content on my smartphone, held in one hand while nursing my baby with the other.
With a baby in tow it can be hard to get a chance to actually sit at your desk in front of a computer for an extended period of time.
If you can get work done on your phone then this provides a huge amount of flexibility. You can answer emails while playing with your baby on the floor or read a report while pushing them on a swing in the playground.
It gives you a chance to work on the go in little bitesize chunks, because you won’t be able to sit at a desk for the full 9-5 of a working day.
12. Be realistic
If your job involves multiple phone calls a day with clients or a very strict timetable of meeting targets throughout the working day, then it’s perhaps time for a reality check.
Working from home with a baby is not without its challenges even with the most flexible of jobs.
With a job that has huge demands within the traditional working hours of the day, it’s a stress that I suggest you try to avoid.
Sure there may be one-off days when you have to work from home with your baby – maybe childcare has fallen through or your child is unwell.
In those cases where you have no choice then you would hope your employer will be understanding, they certainly should be.
But it’s important to be realistic about the demands of your job and whether working from home with your baby all day, every day is going to work.
Childcare is expensive, so it’s understandable you may worry about being able to afford it. But it can also be a necessity.
So try to consider how you could finance at least some childcare during the working week to give you a chance to work during the day and get key tasks done.
Even one morning of childcare can help. I was able to get a full day of work done in the one morning my baby was in nursery, because I used strategies to save time and increase productivity.
13. Streamline your work
Find ways make your working day much easier by increasing productivity and getting rid of tasks that drain away all of your time without contributing to meeting your work goals.
Maybe you could try using ChatGPT or a similar AI writing tool to help with certain tasks?
Many workers are now using ChatGPT – the free chatbot that can produce detailed responses to various questions and challenges – to help them do things like summarise reports and write emails.
You may need to feed the AI chatbot some information to help it get started, but it really can help to save you a lot of time in your working day!
Some more productivity tips include:
- Plan your day ahead of time
- Avoid multi-tasking – focus on completing one goal at a time.
- Use time blocking to avoid spending all day checking your emails. Set aside a specific time of day to read and respond to emails.
- Get the hardest jobs done first.
14. Strategise meals and housework
As if work and a baby weren’t enough to manage, there’s also the general household management and dinners to think about.
Make this easier on yourself by meal planning, getting your weekly food shop delivered and keeping on top of the housework in small chunks of time.
It’s hard to find time to spend a full morning or afternoon getting all of the housework done, so you need to get strategic.
I manage to get a lot done first thing in the morning. This is when I might tidy the children’s rooms, put laundry in the washing machine and make the beds.
I then always have a tidy up just after the kids have gone to bed, picking up all toys and wiping down the kitchen.
15. Avoid burnout
Juggling work and family life is a lot to handle. Don’t forget to look after yourself and set some time aside for you to relax, unwind and do something you want to do.
Self care can be as simple as getting some fresh air with regular walks or take a mindful moment to relax and empty your mind of the endless to-do lists you have.
If you need to ask for help then do it! And if you do need to rearrange your working routine by getting childcare or enlisting the help of loved ones then do it.
