Applying for ‘work from home’ work experience with a newborn?

[ArranMumma]

Hello everyone! This is my first post!

I am 31 weeks pregnant with my first baby, due on Nov 10th :) very scared and excited to say the least.

Anyway, I’d like to do some volunteer work with a charity during my maternity leave - some kind of admin role which I can do from home. I want to do this so that I can gain some new skills and also just keep in touch with the big wide world, rather than just become entirely engulfed with peppa pig and nappy changes!

I have seen a couple of charities that I’d like to work for and was considering emailing them and saying that I would be available from mid January (when my baby will be about 10 weeks old) to volunteer 15 hours a week, working from home, between the hours of 2-5pm Monday to Friday. I thought this still gives me plenty of time to do baby classes and play time with baby.

Being a first time Mum though, I’m not sure if I am being daft. Is this realistically achievable? I don’t have experience of looking after a baby all day. Would be great to hear your thoughts people :)

@ArranMumma

Thank you for your advice everyone. I will take a step back from making any plans :)

My Mum told me I would be fine to do it from 6 weeks! Can’t help but feel let down by her now.. maybe she has forgotten what it’s like to have a newborn. Won’t be going to her for advice anymore!!

Honestly any spare moment you get make sure you use it for you, whether that is getting to wash your hair, have food, watch Netflix, sleep etc. Giving birth is life changing, it takes such a huge mental and physical toll on you that you won't want any distractions from elsewhere whilst you adjust to your new life with a little one. Wishing you all the best

@Moonbabysmum

I think 15hrs a week would be achievable if (and only if) it was on your schedule and totally flexible. So 3hrs a day m-f, but you work it as an when you can (including evenings). I've done similar and that's manageable.

Tes, you might be spending a lot of tine feeding, but if breastfeeding, you'll still have a hand free to type, can still make calls etc (I've been known to do tax returns whilst simultaneously breastfeeding).

But doing a set 2-5 block every day what looking after a baby isn't going to work.

And even my more flexible suggestion is only likely to work for the first 6 months (working at the same time gets harder as they get older).

Crucially though, it's pretty miserable.

I did it because i needed to be working, but also wanted to spend time with my baby. I certainly wouldn't do it to volunteer.

You should be having leisurely lunches with mum friends that turn into coffee and cake, not rushing back to log on. You'll also have very little down time with your baby if you are going to groups in the morning. When are you study thing to get a chance to cook, for example.

This is great advice OP.

What helped me when my baby was small and I felt pressure to achieve other things during the day (cleaning etc) was to frame looking after the baby as being like WFH. So the baby is the job. When you ordinarily WFH you might get to stick a wash on or shove stuff in the tumble dryer if you’re lucky but you can’t do too much because you need to focus on the job (baby). And this is exactly how it is when the baby is born and you are the primary carer.

Whilst it might be technically possible to fit into a totally flexible schedule, you really would be carving out space as your days will be full. If it’s something you are keen on, revisit it when your baby is six months old.

I planned to rennovate our fixer-upper FTB house and get it on the market ready to move to a bigger home during my first 6 months of motherhood .

I guess it's not unusual to just have no idea what is about to hit.

Do you work currently? If so, can you do "keeping in touch" days with your current employer?

In the kindest possible way, bookmark this thread and you will be able to come back to it for a laugh in about a year!

I bought a musical instrument to learn just after I gave birth. I think it's part of the 'nesting energy' that makes you think you'll be able to accomplish loads, but you'll need and use all that energy for the newborn.

You'll be seeing it as a good day if you are both clean and dressed and manage to leave the house. Also your biology may make you completely focused on baby and struggle to concentrate on other things which is lovely.

I personally wouldn't commit to anything in terms of hours etc... I've had 2 fairly 'easy' babies but there were still days when I'd had very little sleep and I just would not have had the energy to do any kind of work. Also neither of mine became reliable nappers until they were 6 months. Prior to that day time sleep was random and couldn't be relied upon for committing to getting certain things done. Having a baby, even an 'easy' baby is constant and exhausting. I'd definitely wait until the baby is born before you commit if I were you.

Oh bless your heart
I think you are being a bit ambitious about what you can achieve while at home with a newborn

No. Just no.

I wonder if your DM is a little like mine. We had a live-in nanny and DM was back at FT work when I was a month old. Luckily DM is very aware that she has no memory of what looking after a newborn involves because she didn’t do it.

It is daft Im sorry to say, a newborn is a full time job, more than a full time job as its a 24/7 full time job. Dont put more on that 24/7 there is literally no time to sleep or rest or anything. Your body is recovering, you have to literally care for a tiny person 24/7 who doesnt sleep.

@ DelurkingAJ yes quite possibly! My mum went back to work full time when I was six weeks old and my Dad looked after me. I don’t think she would ever admit to not knowing how intense it is looking after a newborn though hahaha

I did some work from when DD was about ten weeks. It was completely flexible work though, and I could literally do it while she slept on me. The most I did was about 10 hours a week I think - I would not do more than that, and on a regular basis I don't think I'd want to do more than about 6 hours a week.

Bear in mind also that once your baby is mobile, you might actually find you can't do as much! (Although I got evenings mostly back after 6 months, so that helped.)