How difficult will working with a newborn be?

[lostandconfused2]

I have no option but to work when I've had my baby in April, only a VERY small amount per week. I am a freelance writer and due to being off sick a lot through my pregnancy (I have a chronic illness and have had bad morning sickness) my maternity pay has gone down to about £250 a week, being 90% of my earnings on three days work a week. My rent alone is £950 and that's not covering bills and even with my partner's income it won't be enough to live on.

I have another job where I write three articles which take me around 25 minutes each to write, and I get £735 per week for that.

I cannot take the maternity and work at the same time I have been told by my other employer, so it's one or the other.

I have managed to save £1,500 so far for when baby is born so that I will have spare money for rent/bills etc. And I will have saved another £2,000 before he is born so I should have around 3 months rent ready to go. I'm trying to be as prepared as possible.

I guess my question is do you think this is doable? I know every newborn is different - but it's just a couple of hours each week, and it's pretty easy work, not too indepth or researchy - mainly personal and opion columns. It was an unplanned pregnancy as I was told I couldn't have children due to my chronic illness, just as a heads up to why I'm not super prepared.

Thank you!

Honestly 25 minutes of work 3 times a week you could more than likely manage very easily! Your partner could take over for abit in the evening where you could do it or you could do when the baby naps

Have you checked with HMRC about two jobs - I was always under the impression that as long as you were doing both Pre baby then SMP is job specific and you’re under no obligation to take mat leave from both roles. I didn’t.

I also think it should be do-able just as long as everything is straightforward with your and baby’s health.

“ Providing you are registered as self-employed and you pay your own tax and Class 2 national insurance contributions, any self-employed work (that is not subject to Class 1 National Insurance contributions) does not affect any SMP that you receive from another job. This means that you can do self-employed work before or after the birth and you can start self-employment after the birth without losing your SMP.” maternityaction.org.uk/advice/rights-for-parents-with-more-than-one-job/

But if she's freelance she won't have an employer. You only get MA if you are fully self-employed. That's talking about being an employee and also doing some self-employed work isn't it? A freelancer isn't an employee.

Although now I'm not sure on reading back if she's employed by them or not.

And if you are fully self-employed and claiming MA then you can't work other than your KIT days.

It depends on the child. DD1 didn't sleep during the day from 10 weeks old, it was exhausting and she didn't put on the regulation amount of weight so I worried constantly about that (probably PND) and I had mastitis in both breasts at one point which floored me for a few weeks. Thankfully she slept at night but I could not have worked for several months when she was small. First baby as well which is like being hit by a bus. The flood of hormones and exhaustion cannot be underestimated. DD2 on the other hand was a dream baby and I could have been back at work a couple of weeks after she was born with her in her cot next to my desk if it had been allowed. She was a very efficient feeder, could be put down awake and slept for hours. Life was delightful when she was a baby. DS was a late preemie, we were in hospital for 10 days and it took a month for him to regain his birth weight. He was probably in between his sisters for needing attention but I was very experienced by then so it's very different and I was much more relaxed.

So be prepared for it being hell and then if it's not you're ahead. Definitely bank a month or more worth of articles to give you a buffer. You might have a premature baby, you might have birth injuries, you might have PND, you might have a dream baby. No-one knows.

Not RTFT but in my experience, too, totally doable. My LO hated sleeping in the Moses basket, but I had a long narrow pillow that I used to wrap around me and LO slept in that and I had my hands free to work at the desk. Even worked for feeding. Comfortable and reassuring for both of us :).

On the basis that you can "bank" some articles in advance to buy you a grace period of a month or so immediately after birth then I think it will be doable.

I'd be getting as many articles written now as possible so you've got a decent bank to use when baby arrives. That way if you can only get one or two written one week you've got a back up.

If you can get someone to pop round for a couple of hours a couple of tones a week to hold the baby whilst you work I reckon it's manageable. Plus presumably your DP will be off a couple of days a week? So you'd have an opportunity to work then whilst he looks after the baby,

I read the situation as having one employer and claiming SMP plus one freelance self employed gig. In my reading of the link I posted your claiming of SMP has no bearing upon what you do or don’t do about the freelance work just as long as you pay the correct tax & NI on any self employed earnings.

Easily! You'd be crazy not to, as long as PND doesn't set in.

I’d love to know the kind of writing and company you’re working for OP, that rate is amazing! I think if it really only does take you 25 mins x 3 it’s fine. Your baby will sleep for a lot of the time, although you’ll be knackered from all the waking up.

We're all different. I found by the time I had my 3rd I managed all sorts. I had 3 under 4 and I was refurbing a house that was one and a half hour drive away. My youngest was two days old when I picked up the sledge hammer and knocked the chimney breast through.
Some people are utterly overwhelmed by new borns and rarely contemplate getting fully dressed in the first four weeks. We can never be sure how easily we will take to motherhood but you should know whether or not you are a 'coper' in life. If you are, you should be fine. If you find life very stressful, maybe not.
All the best whichever way it turns out.

If you have willing and trustworthy family help nearby then definitely! I had a traumatic first few months with my first, but no family support because they live far away. Occasionally mil would come to stay and she was amazing. If her help had been regular I would have been able to resume creative work fairly quickly I reckon.

Some people are utterly overwhelmed by new borns and rarely contemplate getting fully dressed in the first four weeks. We can never be sure how easily we will take to motherhood but you should know whether or not you are a 'coper' in life. If you are, you should be fine. If you find life very stressful, maybe not.

God, this is shocking. A person with a difficult newborn isn’t weak, or not taking to motherhood.

I had quite a high needs baby and I think that would be doable time wise as long as you had a bit of help either from your partner or relative.

Only thing to look out for is the brain fog, I didn’t know what I was doing for a lot of months. I think it was the breastfeeding it kind of kept me in this half dream like state. I know lots of people who’ve said a similar thing. A couple of bottles of Gusto Cola really helped though!

Good thought @Sunshinegirl82

You're earning in two hours what plenty of people don't earn in 40 hours a week. You'd be mad to give it up IMO. Even if it is a bit tricky at first, I would persevere because jobs paying that much for so little time expense are like hens teeth.

”I cannot take the maternity and work at the same time I have been told by my other employer, so it's one or the other.”

You posted for advice before and were told this isn’t true. You can take maternity leave from one employed job and keep working another employed job (as long as you already had the job) and you can also do as much freelance work as you like during maternity leave from your employed job.

Op I could be wrong but I thought you were allowed to work for two hours a week and keep your maternity pay? With the exclusion that you cannot with within two weeks of giving birth. It was designed for women to have "keeping in touch"
Days before returning fully

”Op I could be wrong but I thought you were allowed to work for two hours a week and keep your maternity pay? With the exclusion that you cannot with within two weeks of giving birth. It was designed for women to have "keeping in touch" Days before returning fully”

You are wrong, yes. There is no “two hours a week”. Woman on maternity leave can do up to 10 keeping in touch days with the employer they are on maternity leave from and keep their SMP. A day could be anything from an hour meeting to a full day’s work, doesn’t matter.

However that is irrelevant to the OP. She has two different jobs so can be on maternity leave from one and keep working the other one, particularly if, as I believe is the case, the second job is self employment, which has no impact on maternity leave from her employed job at all, and is basically none of her employer’s business really.

I’m not an employment expert, but I don’t see how one part time employer can control what you do in the rest of your time, unless that’s in your contract.

So where I work, if you are full time you need to get their permission to take on another job, which they say won’t be unreasonably withheld. It’s to stop you working lots of evenings and being too tired for work. But one of the admin staff had a Saturday job in a pub, for example, and that was fine.

Some of the staff work in hazardous environments, so they are very strict about them taking TOIL if they have done lots of overtime/ weekend work. So it makes sense they don’t want them working nights for another company etc

You are not allowed to work for a competitor, but there’s only a few in the whole country so that’s not restrictive ( not like working in a shop or pub).

But lots of the part time staff have other part time jobs and one is self employed, she does consultancy . So I don’t see how it’s any concern of the company unless it’s in your contract.

And as for monitoring your social media - what nonsense ! Unless you are saying anything about their company it’s none of their business. Lots of social media peeps have others writing their material for them anyway - how on Earth could they even prove that it was you who wrote and when it was written. You could have done lots of content in advance and had someone else post it.

Just get some childcare for 1 day a week?

I love how flowery posts consistently good, specific clear HR/employment advice on here, and for the most part is totally ignored I for one appreciate it and learn bits of the relevant law/etc without having to Google, so thanks!

To be fair, I think when I post on Employment I mostly get listened to. Just doing my best to help in my own little way!