Making money on maternity leave

[OrangeCatnip]

So my maternity leave starts on Monday (yay finally) if our little one arrives on his due date I will have 4 weeks without much to do other than lady muscle exercise, practicing self-hypnosis etc etc. I also desperately do not want to go back to my old/current job after my year of leave and so would like to use this time (and hopefully after he is born) to start up something, a little business or money making scheme so that I can justify staying at/working from home. I have worked out that I would need to make £250-300 a week to make up for what I would lose in earnings minus childcare costs. My place of work is likely to be filling posts in the spring so I am keen to see if I can make this equation balance before then or at least see if there is potential so i don't miss that opportunity unnecessarily. (my work place is boring and i'm looking for an excuse to move to something more exciting that i can justify to myself) OH is supportive either way.

I am in a creative field (think design and computers) and I am computer literate so happy to learn new skills if they are in that direction.

Yes know that my baby will take much of my time at first but by the time he is a year old or so I hope there will be enough opportunity for me to do this. Any ideas? I don't mind if there is an initial outlay to buy software or do some short term training. Have any of you started a business or similar while on mat leave?

P.S. Why isn’t someone taking advantage of this massive workforce of motivated out of hours staff??

Honestly i suppose i'm looking for a way to become self employed without that slow period to start off with. If maternity pay ends and i have gotten nowhere, i can always go back into conventional work!

Not necessarily a pipe dream, no, you could well do it. But having your first baby is such a monumental change in your life that unless it's absolutely vital to start this business now, I don't think it's the best time to do it. Use these few weeks to relax and get ready for the baby and then just focus on adjusting to parenthood for a while once he's here. Then see how you feel. You might feel fantastic and decide to get going on the business when he's three months or you might not feel ready until he's at school. You just don't know. It's important not to put too much extra pressure on yourself though - looking after a baby is hard and it's enough work for anybody.

I have read lots about lots of ladies starting businesses during maternity
like this.

www.madeformums.com/pregnancy/thinking-of-starting-your-own-business-maternity-leaves-the-time-to-go-for-it/20986.html

so looks like some people can manage it. Cue stock images of mothers at laptops holding babies!

Interior design? It seems to fit in with your skills.

Ps you can't earn while receiving maternity pay.

There is no reason not to be optimistic OP and it’s only a pipe dream if you don’t try and make it work at least. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work and you go back to square one knowing at least you tried.

Your making a huge mistake, don’t worry, I did the same! At work thinking of all the things I could do when I’m at home on maternaty leave, I as going to garden, write, read, meet friends, walk along the sea.....the truth is I’m doing very well if I’ve managed a shower before noon. I look back at what a I thought with embarrassed laughter!

You will look back and laugh too.....or cry!

Why isn’t someone taking advantage of this massive workforce of motivated out of hours staff??'

I wouldn't describe a mother on ML as motivated to do anything except sleep.

This reminds me of my cousin who decided she'd start a PhD during ML. 10 years and 3 children later we are not even allowed to mention the letters PhD.

I did manage to do something creative during ML (writing), but it was more the planning in my head and making notes on phone, because DS was ill in hospital frequently so there was a lot of time sitting staring at him sleep and it was a good distraction from frantic worrying. I didn't manage to write the book properly until I'd returned to work and then used evenings and holidays and it still took years. I didn't set out to write a book, it was more a distraction. Can't do the writing with DC around because I need to get into the 'zone' to write.

Outing if any of my friends are on here, but oh well.

I have a 5 month old. I work for myself from home, 2-3 hrs a day, with one major client and then lots of little ones. I went back to work when she was a week old. My role is a sort of editorial function.

I read a similar thread on here when I was pregnant. Lots of “Oh, just you wait!” along with “It depends on the baby”. In practice it is hard, and yes I miss out on sleep —and Netflix— but it is working.

Key things:
No urgent deadlines
Very little client contact by phone/none in person
Flexibility as to hours worked

I’ll have no hesitation chucking it in/reviewing if it stops being feasible when she’s older, but for now it works for me. Happy to say more about how I structure my day etc if it’d help you.

Like I said, from 0 to 12 months it is easier to work around them. They nap, they will go on a sling for 20 mins here and there, they will lie on a bouncy chair at your feet for snatches of time. You will be tired but they will not need your total focus from dawn until dusk. When they get into toddler hood until they start school it is nigh on bloody impossible to do anything while they are awake. The independence you talk of is when they are at school. So you will have a good 3-4 years from 1 until school age where you either need them to be in bed or in childcare to achieve anything! Yes toddlers will watch 20 mins of TV, draw for 15 mins, nap for an hour, but you will be using that time to clean up their mess, cook their tea, put the washing on etc. Young baby stage is the easy bit!

Eh... did you notice that the article you linked to is an interview with someone called Paul? I doubt Paul had episiotomy stitches to deal with or breastfeeding to contend with. I also doubt that he had a child at home fulltime with him while starting a business.

Maternity leave isn't a holiday, it's a transfer from one job to a much harder job - a job that is often 24 hours a day. You're not suddenly free and easy - you have a tiny person who requires an incredible amount of care. Heck my two are 7 and 4 and I still struggle to work while they're around - I'm constantly having to get them drinks, break up fights, settle silly arguments

I don't mean to be rude but concentrate on your baby and then when he or she is ready find some childcare and then crack on with your business. There is no way you can work full time on a start up around an unpredictable baby, not only will it be near impossible to fit in the hours, your baby deserves some full attention as will your paying clients you won't be able to give 100 to both . I've 4 kids and I've only managed to work evenings once they get to about 6 months and even then though I'm working from home I do get disturbed. It's very tiring and now I have a job out of the home nights too, I just can't work with kids at home for much longer it's not easy at all

Hello - I finished a book on mat leave with my second. I was delighted to get out of the house to a quiet library on the weekend and my husband was around then to take kids (no one is mentioning partners - despite several mentioning grandparents!) That got me about 4 hours work a week, but was too tired to work in evenings and my babies didn’t nap reliably enough to work in the days. In retrospect I should have used the time to relax and do something for myself, but I felt too guilty to take the time for anything but work. Again - not how I’d choose to do it next time.
I’d certainly wait to see how you feel. Mat leaves are challenging times for many women for different reasons.

In my first babies first year I did lots of commissions I worked far more methodically than previously plus he was a super easy baby. He'd lay/sit/crawl for long periods looking at himself in the mirror ,watching me and tinkering with toys. I'd schedule in outings etc but until he walked (late ) and started grabbing things I got more done than I'd have pre-kids.
Then Satan send his brother......

That's what i'm hoping for crossant that i will take to it like a duck to water and he will be really chilled out so i can actually function! I hear lots on here about mothers having a really easy time with some babies so fingers crossed he will be... perhaps it is simply desperation to escape the drudgery of being an employee and live my fantasy of being my own boss. My field is not easy to get into and i got into it kind of sideways anyway so although i have lots of experience, my CV is not ideal.

i have also had lots of interviews recently with my place of work and got second.every.time. felt like i was being interviewed for the job i already had and failed every time but then had to keep working it!

I’ve got to say too that it felt wonderful flipping all the nay-sayers the bird when it did all work out for me

er crossant, no i didn't see that, oh dear... it was the first result when i googled 'starting a business on maternity'

PinkyBlunder Oh well done!!!

My child is only just starting to become less dependant on me and she's 4.

A 1yo is still 100% dependant on you and even more so than a young baby as they are mobile too!!!

It's easily doable with an easy baby. Problem is you don't know what type you'll get, and you may have wasted 4 weeks setting up something you have zero time to do. And to echo others, I found a one year old much much harder work than a baby.
I would spend your four weeks earning some money tbh, far easier to do now than with a baby.
Also, I hate with a passion those photos of women working on a laptop with a baby on their lap. Just enjoy your baby, that time is so short.

Just off to see my doula for a breast feeding class (there will be woolie knitted boobs apparently!), back later this evening. Thanks for all the replies!

BUT... i have made it work. I make enough to cover my half of the bills and mortgage etc and have done that by working from home since DS was 7 weeks until now (4yo - and still doesn't sleep through the night!) I earn a hell of a lot less than I used to as a creative professional, have no security, had no luxuries or holidays since I was pregnant, no savings, am constantly tired and low-level ill... But I've been with my son all day every day and that's (mostly) pretty awesome. But as soon as he starts school I will be looking for work in a nice office somewhere, and get some lovely paid holiday and sick leave and talk to other grown ups about things other than kids and have a reason to not wear stained leggings and oooooh!

It's a great idea when you're on maternity leave and baby is sleeping a lot, unable to move, etc. You'd get loads done from months 2-6/7 really. Then they hit 1 and you will get nothing done while they whine at you, wreck your stuff, wreck your house, your head, and need constant supervision and entertainment, leaving you to work during naptimes and after bedtime when you're exhausted. Trust me, I'm self employed.

Work was pretty much the same as before ds1 was born until he was about 14 months, bit of juggling from 7-14 months but OK, even with him waking every 2 hours at night and being a poor sleeper. From 14 months on it was nearly impossible, and still mostly impossible now and he's nearly 3. You need childcare if working from home, can't do both at the same time.

Yep you definitely can’t enjoy your baby if youre doing anything else with your life

leftatall. Yes RE the stock images of the ' working mothers' and babies, i always wonder where the real mother is!?

I mean he was a poor napper during the day too, clearly he's a poor sleeper waking every 2 hours still