Tips For Working From Home With a Baby

ByAbby Saylor Armbruster

Tips For Working From Home With a Baby

During the pandemic, many businesses that have the means to do so have transitioned to remote work. Personally, I now work from home a majority of the week and I’ve been learning to do so with a baby since my maternity leave ended at the beginning of this year. I’ve gotten into such a good rhythm with it, which is a really accomplishing feeling — truly, it makes me feel like super mom! Don’t get me wrong though, being a mom is challenging on its own, so coupling it with anything else can feel like a marathon sometimes — but it’s doable and I truly love it. These are my best tips for working from home with a baby.

SAMPLE 8-5 SCHEDULE

Current wake window: 75-120 minutes
Nursing session length: typically 10-30 minutes
Nap length: typically 30-50 minutes

  • 8 — Start working
  • 8:10-8:40 — Clay wakes up and eats
  • 8:40-9:50 — Play
  • 9:50-10:35 — Nap
  • 10:35-10:50 — Eat
  • 10:50-12:20 — Play
  • 12:20-1:10 — Nap
  • 1:10-1:30 — Eat
  • 1:30-2:40 — Play
  • 2:40-3:20 — Nap
  • 3:20-3:30 — Eat
  • 3:30-4:45 — Play
  • 4:45-5:20 — Nap

I’ve found that a big part of motherhood is finding a schedule that works for you and your baby. My baby is the happiest and I get the most work done when I follow a schedule and pay attention to her cues, so that’s something that I prioritize daily.

Another key factor of having a good work day with a baby is GOOD SLEEP. Clay has been sleeping through the night since 6 weeks, but daytime sleep has taken a bit more work. Within the last couple of weeks, I’ve been able to really extend her naps by putting her in her crib with her sound machine on and doing pop-ins periodically, so I recommend finding a routine like that. It’s worked wonders instead of placing her in her Snuggle Me on the couch next to me or her bouncer/swing in whatever random room I’m in at the time — plus it’s helping her get comfortable with sleeping in her crib for when the transition out of her bassinet in our room comes along!

PRIORITIZE TASKS

  • Awake time: lower-level tasks
  • Nursing: medium to higher-level tasks
  • Naptime: higher-level tasks

Prioritizing when to do what helps me get my work done efficiently and effectively. I’m obviously the least distracted when she’s sleeping, so that’s when I do the tasks that require the most brainpower. When she’s playing and being vocal, that’s when I do the lower-level, easier tasks — you get the idea. I have a notepad next to me every day (whether I’m home or at the office) where I write down everything I need to do so nothing gets forgotten amongst the diaper blowouts and surprise spit-up spews.

UTILIZE DISTRACTIONS

Entertaining your baby is key! I really encourage independent play for my daughter, and when you’re working at the same time, it’s pretty necessary too. To do that, I like to give her teethers and loveys to play with, I lay her under her play gym next to me so she can kick and look at herself in the mirror that’s attached to it, etc. It also helps to sing to her or just talk to her while I work as well so she’s engaged. I find that mixing up what we play with and where throughout the day (sometimes moving to different rooms in the house, or something as simple as moving from the couch to the floor in the living room) seems to be the most successful, but not too much of that is necessary because she is still so young and easily entertained.

These are some of her favorites:

  • Play gym
  • Mirrors
  • Music and lights
  • Bouncer
  • Swing
  • Lovey
  • Crinkle contrast books

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That’s how I manage working from home with a baby! I hope this is helpful for you and gives you some ideas on how to balance the two. If you have any questions or simply want to chat about being a working mom, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thanks so much for reading!