Working from home with a 1 year old?

[Evianontoast]

I'm a FTM and expecting my baby at the end of the year. I've started chatting with my mum about childcare when I go back to work because she and my dad would like to have the baby for 2 days a week. Husband gets 1 day off in the week (works Saturdays) and I will be WFH 2 days a week. In theory, that's the week covered.

HOWEVER

My question is - Is working from home possible with a 1 year old in the house? Have you managed it successfully? I'm thinking that my WFH days may need to be days she goes to nursery, as I'm not sure it'll be possible.

Thanks for your input!

I’m a primary teacher so WFH in all lockdowns, mainly via Zoom. Nursery didn’t allow even key worker children in during lockdown one whose parents were WFH. It was hideous, she actually fell off the decking steps at one point while I was frantically trying to mark some work online. Another time she went quiet while I was prerecording a lesson and I found her dipping her hands in the loo and putting them in her mouth. She was 15ish months old. Poor girl became really clingy, unsettled and went backwards in her speech because she was being left to it for long periods of time.

Never, ever again. The minute grandparent childcare/nursery was allowed again she went straight back there and flourished.

@Evianontoast

Thanks all, that's what I thought - good to have it confirmed by people in the know, though.

I work as an Event Manager. Some events will be online and I just can't see how I'll manage if she's needing attention while I'm on Zoom!

Massive respect to all the parents and guardians who HAD to do it during the pandemic.

I nearly had a breakdown trying to do it for 7 months last year. And that was with a husband who very much shared the load. It was HORRENDOUS.

Absolutely not.
My friends husband did this for about 3 months last year (not due to covid) and the poor child just say watching TV for 5 hours a day.

I tried to do it during the pandemic. It was awful even though my DH there and not working.
Could do a few hours work during naptime and that was about it.

If you have a job where it doesn't matter what time of day exactly you work it might be sort of doable (if you don't resent working in the evenings), but I wouldn't do it by choice.

@Ozanj

My.child would 100 percent not let me do this and neither would any of the 1-2 year olds I know. But I guess every kid is different and who knows maybe the oPs toddler will sit quietly on her lap and breastfeed through her meetings, but I certainly wouldn't advise her to plan for that!!

I did it but during nap times and before they woke in a morning etc. it was hard but depends on the type of baby you have. I wouldn’t do it with her as a toddler though.