Working from Home with a Newborn - HELP!

The bouncy seat and swing did wonders for my boys. Set her up so she can see you and try to talk to her if she is not asleep or falling asleep.

Hi R.,

I was on maternity leave for about 8 weeks and then I went back to work. I went to the office 3 days a week and worked from home two days a week (I actually am still on this schedule). I promise you will both get down a routine, but it may take some time. I do collections from home and I do most of my calls early in the morning or while she is taking a nap. We bought a papason type of baby chair for my daughter that has the heartbeat sound and vibrates with natural sounds also. It seemed to work well. Another very odd thing that I learned one day while she was in the bathroom with me while I was getting ready. I was blow drying my hair and she fell right asleep. I thought it just happened to be that she was very tired. Well the next time the same thing happened. I found that every time she heard the hairdyer she would fall asleep. I guess it was a soothing sound for her. Another thing I would suggest is maybe finding someone would could watch her a few hours a day. A person can get alot of work done in a small amount of time. Hope this helps.

I agree with the others about the sling. I have a 6 week old (my 3rd child) and this is the first time I've used a sling. Whenever I put her in, she always falls right to sleep. The closeness, your movements, and being scrunched up in there are all very natural to babies so little. Another thing to try if you haven't already is swaddling. My first 2 babies were severely colicky for the first 6 months of life. The only thing that soothed them and calmed them enough to nap was being swaddled...tight. You'll want to pin her arms down at her sides. Here's a link to show how- you can find all kinds of instructions online-- http://www.adenandanais.com/swaddling-guide.html.
Even though my third isn't colicky like the other two, she enjoys being swaddled and sleeps much better when wrapped up- she slept 7 straight hours last night! We'll even swaddle her, then put her in the side-to-side swing all wrapped up. She'll nap in there up to 3 hours like that. Good luck to you!

Just lay her in bed throughout the day. Let her cry if she cries for at least 15 to 30 minutes. Get her toys to hang on the crib and above her so she has something to look at. I know they have interactive toys that the baby can kick and it makes music. Stop trying to rock her to sleep at night and during the day. She is getting use to the feel of you and you will be rocking her to sleep until she is 9 or 10. That is what my sister did up until a few years ago. When I had my daughter I was working full time during the day and I had to come home at night and work on a business we started. I did give her the nursing time and play time but layed her down everynight at the same time. She still goes to sleep on her own and she is now 3 years old. Good luck.

First, it's really unusual that she's not sleeping alot more.

Second, if you don't have one already get a battery or electric baby swing... I think they have ones you can adapt for little ones but it's been alot of years...... put it in your office and put her in it when she's awake. Resist picking her up if she cries.

Let her get used to soothing herself. Let her cry in her crib. As long as she's fed, dry and safe you can let her cry. I couldn't do it, but I know folks who have and it worked out for them.

I too have a 6wk old with the same issue. I learned that human babies are the most vulnerable of all mammals. God made them with this innate instinct to be close to mother to ensure their survival. SOme babies have it more than others. I have a ring sling and she will sleep FOREVER in it or just sit there quiet and calmly next to my heart.
I dont know if this has helped, but I wish you much luck, it will get better in the months to come, try not to get discouraged.
God bless you both..........

I would put the baby in a front or back pack while you work. As you work, think outloud, and let the baby think you are talking to her. Most babies as young as your is will love this.

My oldest was like that when he was an infant...never slept...only napped when I laid down with him...all of that stuff that makes you feel like you are going to rip your hair out some days! =) It made it hard to get housework done - I'm sure it's super frustrating because you are trying to keep up with your job duties. I would suggest finding a Snuggli or sling of some kind where you could strap him to you while you work. This is something that I did when he was little & it worked wonders! He liked being close to me & could sleep while I got some things done & had two free hands. I hope this helps! Best of luck!

Wow, you may be trying to take on too much right now. I also work from home but had flexible clients who knew I had children to attend to from time to time. Sounds like most of your work can be done at other times (perhaps at night, while she's sleeping?) The answering phone part may have to be out-sourced (at least while she is awake). There are answering services out there you can subscribe to. PATLIVE is one I'm familiar with, but haven't tried. You could also do a search on the internet for that sort of service as well.

It's tricky and a juggling act. I did end up putting my kids in MDO a couple days a week when they got older so I could get work done. I would also take my kids to a neighbor's house for an hour or two on some days so I could make my phone calls. The first year or so was pretty much all about them.

It would be ideal if you could find another mom that works from home to swap time with or a mommy co-op, that way you wouldn't be out the childcare expenses.

Best of luck to you!

J.
www.greetingcardsforlife.com

We had that same problem with our grandson. He wanted to be held constantly. He would drift off and we would lay him down and then he would wake up. He is 17 months old now and still wants to be held. I cannot get anything done! Have you tried just letting her cry for a bit?

I set up what I called a "circuit" when my baby was really little. She was okay as long as I moved her around alot, maybe she would get bored, who knows. I would move her when she would start to cry, it was usually about 15 minutes unless she would fall asleep. We'd go from bouncer to swing to floor mat (one of those things with the animals hanging over her) to my bed (until she could roll...it's king size, so I wasn't worried about the first time), to high chair (I had one that reclined). It worked well for me to get work done. Sometimes, though, I'd be on the phone and forget where I'd moved her and panic for a second! We had a bumbo in the mix, but she would turn it over by the time she was 3 months old. The first time she did that she ended up on the floor under the thing, so warning! Never put a bumbo on top of anything up high. I'm so glad I didn't!

She hated the front to back swing, but a friend gave me one that went side to side and she would sleep in there pretty well during the day. She was also a good night-time sleeper, but she was ready to DO something from birth.

Now she's two and I have to race her to the phone. She'll answer it if I don't. eesh.

Hope this helps!

A.
www.greenbabydiaperservice.com

Hi R., I just want to say good luck on keeping her at home while you work. I work full time from home and am very busy so I have my daughter in daycare as there is no way I could be as productive with her here and it wouldn't be fair to her to be ignored all day.

Hi R., I don't know of any way you can do what your job expects of you while meeting the demands of a young infant. I am a child care provider in Plano and I've been caring for infants for 29 years. As far as I can tell infants are so demanding that it is almost impossible to do anything else. If I can be of any help you may call me at ###-###-####. Take care of yourself as well. Reguards, L.

I would highly recommed the little papasan chairs that vibrate, I worked in a daycare for a short time and they did wonders. Also the little low to the ground swings were great for the babies that did not want to take naps. We put these babies in there and they usually went right to sleep during the nap times. Just put them in and turn the swing on with a blanket over them and off to sleep they went! It was the only thing that worked for a couple of the babies that cried a lot and wouldn't sleep. I never had that problem with my two kids, so this was a good learning experience. The low to the ground swings worked a lot better than the higher ones.

Also, can I ask who you work for? I am currently out of work and can't seem to find anything. I tried West but the only hours I can get are the wee hours of the morning and I need to work during the day, and I really want something from home. I have got to find something our finances are really bad with me not working. Thanks and I hope these suggestions will help!!
L.

I have worked at home since my 13-year-old was born. You aren't going to get a block of time, you need to figure out what you can do when. I typed while I nursed, there is paperwork you can do while holding the baby. I don't know how you plan to handle the calls but I suggest that you do your housework during the day (easier to set her down and let her fuss a few moments while you throw in or fold a load of clothes or wash a few dishes versus trying to work with constant iterruption), if necessary take a nap when your husband comes home, and block out some time to work after the child goes to bed.

Things that need an immediate turn-around you do during the day when the baby naps. If you don't have one of the bouncy seats, get one, she can be in that while she can see and talk to you while you are working. Find a way to put the bouncy seat on the desk so she is right there with you. They want to hear your voice, so if you have something to read, read it out loud in an entertaining way. Think outside the box and realize that you must do this with her or find child care for a few hours a day, someone that may be willing to trade with you so that she has a few hours to herself. If you keep thinking that things will somehow morph magically into a manageable time frame with certain hours devoted to work, let that one go now or you will be toast.

Also, step back and consider your job function and how you can streamline it. Sometimes we do things the way we are taught and never bother to think about whether it makes sense. If there are unnecessary steps, eliminate them. If you have forms that need to be filled out by hand in any way with the same information from client to client, you get 50 or 100 of them filled out so that when you are actually working with them later you cut out steps. Something like that may not seem huge but if you are cutting out a few minutes every time you fill it out....

My other suggestion is making sure your husband knows what you are dealing with. The nap, for instance, he may not be jazzed about because he has just gotten home from work but if you will be up until midnight or 2 working, you need to recharge so after asking him to do it, you give him a choice whether he wants to be daddy right after work or if he wants to put the child to bed. Most men do seem to think we sit and eat bon bons all day long so in a real sense he will not understand why you need the nap or why he will feel like he cannot relax when he gets home if he is going to dive immediately into child care. You need to explain at a time when he is listening that the baby is a full time job and you intend to work full time in addition to it and you are going to need his help. As your family needs the money, he needs to help you to create a schedule that you can live with.

Please, don't do the superwoman thing. One of the things I would change if I had to do it all over again it would be to not try to be everything to everybody but just live in and enjoy those moments with my kids. Merry Maids is $25, put that into your budget at least once or twice a month so you don't get into the habit of going everyday until you are ready to drop.

Well, this may sound a lil silly but it worked for my best friend. Sleep with a baby blanket, that way it has your scent on it and the baby will go to sleep with the sense of comfort that you a near her. I never had to do this with any of my three boys ( luckily ) but as for my best friends daughter she would cry cry cry, and yet the doctors said she wasnt colic so we just say daddy spoiled her lol. She was to the point of I will try ANYTHING and so her grandmother told her to sleep with a blanket and then put it in bed with her, wrap her in it whatever you do so that she can smell you. She started taking two-two hour naps during the day and still continued to sleep during the night AND she was so much happier laying in the floor looking into her mirror at pretty baby. Hope this was helpful!!

I would think you need to let her just lay down some even though she is crying. You can't spoil her since there is not really a reason she needs to be held all the time. That will be the only way to get her to realize she will not be held all the time. So you may just have to let her cry in her room. I know it will be h*** o* you to do that but you really need to do that I would think. Or your going to be spoiling her. An you will make it even harder for you as she gets older. When she has be fed and diaper is changed an all needs are met. Then don't let it stress you out.

The only suggestion I can think of is to let her cry herself to sleep, I know it's hard to do that because you just want to pick them up and cuddle them but sometimes it helps. Will she stay in a bouncer or swing next to you while your working? Maybe you could call your pediatrician and see if they have any suggestions? My 2 sons didn't do this so I'm really at a loss.

On another note, do you mind me asking you what you do or whom you work for in order to stay at home and work? I'm curious because I have 2 sons and I have been looking for the last couple years to find some work I can do from home. I have one son in school and the other a daycare but have always wanted to be able to drop off and pick my kids up from school and have more time with them. I have not been successful in find a work at home job so thought I would just ask. Thank you!

ok, I'm a little shocked here. I have heard MANY moms tell others to let the baby Cry it out...BUT AT 5WKS!!!! Oh my goodnes...they are right, maybe the baby doesnt need changed or fed...but HELD!!! babies need comfort, love, embracing, bonding! having said that i understand that you ALSO do need to work....i agree w/ the sling, swing, etc ideas. they sell swings that are as comfy as a bed and really "cuddle" them...good luck and let us know how it goes. love on your new baby and CONGRATS!!!

6 weeks is very, very early to expect a baby to have settled into a routine that allows working from home. I worked from home partime only starting when my 2nd child was 4 months old. But, realistically, it is not feasible to work from home on a job such as yours (I'm an engineer and didn't spend a whole lot of time on the phone). You very likely need to consider getting some help during the day for a few hours at least.

That all said, it sounds like she has a high need to be close to you (totally normal) and you might try wearing a sling during the day (or any of the other baby carriers). She may well sleep through a fair amount of your work day that way.

I understand your problem... My little boy was born September 30th and he won't let me put him down either. I don't work from home except I have a 17 month old son which is my full time job! The only way I get anything done is to wear him in my Moby wrap. No matter how fussy he is or how awake he seems, he will go to sleep as soon as I put him in it. I also have a Hotsling, which he is usually happy in, but it is harder to do things with it on and hurts my back. Email me if you need any other suggestions.
Good luck!