Moms who WFH—how has it been for you?

It's tough but I wouldn't trade it. My daughter is almost 8 months old and I went back to work just before she turned 6 months. I'm lucky that my job isn't super demanding as some might be but I do work in customer service so when I'm on a call it's especially difficult if she wants to be held. I totally get where you're coming from too, it's hard not to feel torn both ways but my daughter's playpen is right next to my desk and half the day she's in my lap anyway so I just do my best to make it work.

I found it easier to do calls & meetings around my baby’s naps or when I had to pump or feed. If a meeting couldn’t be moved around the pump or feed, I would just pump before the meeting. They sleep for the most part & I had my oldest in the office with me while I worked (& I plan on having this one in the office with me) so he could differentiate between daytime sleep with all the noise & nighttime sleep. I think most people understand when you work from home & hear the baby or its gym or any toys in the background. It does get harder when they start to get older & need more attention, so take a 10 minute break to interact with them & I had Montessori toys from lovevery set up for him. I also had little toy stations set up around the house, so once he was starting to be mobile, he could go into another room & play

I honestly wouldn’t trade it & I love it!

I honestly think it depends on your baby. My daughter was SUCH an easy baby and working from home with her was not bad at all! I'd take breaks when she was awake about twice a day for an hour or so, then got most of my work done before she woke up, during her naps, and sometimes once my husband got home. It was occasionally more difficult once she was about 8 months or so because she got more vocal and if I had a meeting while she was awake that was challenging sometimes. But still manageable. Put her in daycare when she was 1 and that was great too. She was able to learn so much since they could give her a lot more attention.

Soon after I got pregnant again and ended up getting laid off early in the pregnancy. Pulled her from daycare when I wasn't finding a new job and needed to save the money. Plus was only about 2 months from having my new baby. Hes 4mo now and she just turned 2. Trying to get back to work so I can afford to put her back in daycare (could never work with her here at this age lol) and hoping to have him home til 1 like she was, but he is also a more needy baby so far. He has reflux and spits up a ton and cries a lot more than she did. So idk if it will be as easy to work with him as it was with her, but it's also hard to tell since she is also here right now and toddlers are a LOT of work Haha.

-Overlap meetings with naps - a distraction box ready with quiet toys to engage child during important meetings where child audio is not appreciated - comfort book of items to soothe when fussy/refusing to nap, sick, etc but still need to make a meeting, call, deadline, etc - if you have space, set up a play area away from work station and put nanny cam to monitor on separate desktop window - schedule interaction time, lots of cuddles

I feel you! We were able to have me go back part time which has been a nice way to transition/compromise. I get this schedule until he’s 2. It was a pay cut, but daycare here is expensive and we were still on waitlists when we would have needed care. I start early while hubs is home and try to get as much done before he goes to work as I can. I mostly work when he’s napping. We had practiced independent play before I went back so that helped I think. I also moved my desk to the floor, I use a lap desk and a floor chair. This way if he’s up and I have to work I’m closer to him. I would not trade the time with him for anything. I love getting to BF and snuggle him down to sleep for all his naps.