Working from home with a toddler

[brette]

Hi,
I intend to resume work in two months when my boy is 7 m. I will work from home, glued to my PC screen.
Do you think it is possible to do so with a calm baby in the background and therefore avoid all problems of childcare or is it completely unrealistic and should I get a grip and arrange something now, childcare-wise?

Yes, I'd be interested in that. I'll look into it. Thanks!

I hear your points Wordsmith but she could give it a go and see how it works for her. If she is translating from a language she knows well, perhaps it's something that is easy to dip in and out of in small chunks of time. My work can be a bit like that - except for presentation and report writing where I do need separation and that's where I might work a Saturday while dh has the kids or he might take a day off.

She could even just do it for a year or so until she feels comfortable putting ds in nursery for a couple of mornings or so.

Yep I suppose it does depend on what you do. I am a writer for PR & Marketing and have to 'create' things (!! rarely do, tend to just rehash the old stuff over again until someone notices) so need the time and space to think. When DS1 was little I was exactly in brette's position and thought I could easily work with hom crawling round quietly and calmly. Just had no idea of what they were like once they got mobile!! If you're doing something that is interruptible, brette, give it a go with baby there, but I would check out nurseris/childminders/whatever just in case...

That's what I mean wordsmith - when I'm just analysing interviews it's not so bad as they are usually an hour long so they can be done in small chunks - that is, I can analyse a tape a night say. If I'm pulling together powerpoint pres or writing a report, I need a longer chunk of interrupted time so I really need dh then or my Mum!!

I agree, though, there is no way you can work while they are mobile and awake - it has to be in nap times, evenings and weekends or you need care of some sort if only for a short time.

I've been lucky cos all mine have been good sleepers even in the day. The days ds2 isn't in nursery both he and ds3 will sleep from 10.30ish until 1pm when we have to collect ds1 - this gives me a good chunk of time to work in...except then I've got MN tugging at my trousers!

10.30 till 1pm!!!! You lucky....

I know - ds2 sleeps for England! He's 2.3!!! Ds3 is 5.5 months and he sleeps all morning, a short nap in the afternoon and then 7-7!! - I know, I'm incredibly lucky as all 3 boys have done the same! Dont' know what I did to deserve that!!

Having said that DS1 had a good 2.5 hours every afternoon uintil he was around 3. DS2 is a different matter. he was only sleeping for half an hour at a time, but is a little better now (at 10 months). He usually manages an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Not really long enough to get anything meaningful done workwise. If we're at home and he's in his cot I tend to just do a few emails or have a rest myself!! However I like being able to go out and do things and am rarely at home all day on my 'non-working' days. DS1 is now at school and things are a lot easier.

PhD, I translate into French.
As for the au-pair, I suppose we would have to have quite a large flat/house so that DS, the au-pair and myself can breathe and this would definitely not be the case in our tiny flat. But I liked the idea.
DS not being a good 'napper', I get the feeling I am going to end up having to choose a CM. And I will probably get used to the idea after all. If we are very organised, we might be able to leave him only for 3 hours a day 4 days a week which is not bad. And he will probably love seeing other faces than ours. It is just a matter of finding the right CM. But how can you make sure she won't sit him in front of Richard and Judy???

The best way to choose childcare is to get a recommendation from someone already using it. Could you ask around? They all have to be ofsted or social services registered so you can always do official checks. Best of all visit some yourself and see how the other kids in their care react to the caregiver and the situation. The nursery I chose wasn't the smartest by any means but the kids were lively and there was a planned programme of activities. You should be able to do free trial days as well.

I am based at home in my job, one day a week i am work outside of the home and grandparents have my dd (aged 2) i went back to work when she was 3 mths.

I normally have about 6 hours work to do from home (varies could be more some weeks). This involves using pc and talking on telephone. I am lucky that it is very flexible and i just fit it in around dd. When she was young it was great because i worked whenever she slept (although exhausting cos i never got time to relax). As she has got older, i bribe her with chocolate and tv downstairs, whilst i work upstairs. I do get utterly embarrassed and feel very unprofessional on the rare occasions when she comes and pesters me whilst i'm on the phone to a client, but i have no choice, so i just make my excuses and end the call as quick as poss.

DD has just started pre-school two days a week, which is bliss, as i manage to get all my work done whilst she's there, and then i'm 100%devoted mum when shes at home. Because i have always had the guilt factor of leaving her alone whilst i work.

HTH

I have that guilt factor too. Although I don't actually work from home I do have a lot of preparation to do before I go to teach. It's a nightmare because ds doesn't sleep during the day for any decent length of time and he hates it when I leave him too long to go and do my work. I really try to do it when dh is around, but then we don't get any time together then. Can't win!

I have dd in nursery 1.5 days a week (Thurs and Fri) and then work evenings and weekends. Also have granny doing half a day on Mondays. Works well for me. Nursery costs for 1.5 days a week is just under £200 per month.

I've been freelance for nearly 3 years (have one DS) and i would say don't try and do it without childcare. It's not fair on you or the baby.

brette and CQ, can I just rudely butt in an ask how you get work? I've just sat the IoL Dip Trans exam in German into English - results won't be out until April but hopefully I passed - and am interested in hearing how to get started. Ta.

Me too geekgirl - plse tell us your secrets brette & cqueen!!
I don't have any transl qualifications but PhD in Italian, plus bilingual French might make me workable ...also a few contacts here and there in publishing, investment banking FWIW.

One of my probs is that, although most of my clients know I work part time from home and occasionally there might be screaming kids in the background when they call, sometimes I have to interview other people (ie clients' clients) or talk to journalists about my clients - they can call me any day of the week - I could be up to my elbows in nappy doo doo - but as far as they are concerned I am a cool, calm, full time professional PR,... until DS1 comes into my office yelling "WHO'S THAT ON THE PHONE MUM? CAN I TALK TO THEM?????????" - so much easier now he's at school!!

Luckily most people I've had to speak to realise that a lot of women (and men too) increasingly work from home and it's never really been a problem. DH is going to be working from home full time soon, and I've insisted he converts our tiny spare bedroom to his office (rather than use mine on the 3 days I'm not officially working - it's a separate room but downstairs and with a glass sliding door so not lockable and not private from the rest of the house). He's going to put a lock on the door so he's totally separate from 'home'. It's not fair on the kids if they can see their dad working but can't play with him.

ha wordsmith - snap! I'm freelance pr bod too and work 3 days. Yesterday ds actually picked up the phone and I went cold with fear that it might be journo or client. Have started using answering service!

Hi brette, I work from home too, 2 days a week with DS who is 2. I'm office-based 2 days a week and DS goes to a nursery on those days, which he loves and which costs about £220 per month. I aim to keep a day free for us to go out on trips. I rely on afternoon nap time and do end up working late most evenings. DP works away during the week so I have to wait until DS is asleep to catch up. It's very tiring and as others have said it's hard to be self-disciplined but the flexibility is great. My top tip is to get a laptop, if you don't already have one. I have it balanced on the kitchen table and can write half a report while making dinner! Good luck, I hope it all works out for you.

Brette, your local council will have a list of registered childminders with available vacancies. It's also worth seeing whether there is a local branch of the National Childminding Association - they won't be able to find you someone but may have informal contacts. Check out nurseries too - they may turn out to be a very good option; and indeed so may nannyshares (and how do I know all this? Because I've just written an article about it while my kids were at their childminder ).

Thing is, I can't bear the idea of coming across to a commissioning editor as a 'mummy who does a bit of writing on the side'. And I simply cannot imagine how I would ever be able to fix an interview time with anyone and talk to them coherently. Let alone write anything. When everything does fall through and I'm at home with a sick child and/or doing shifts with DP around a sick child, I loathe the way I actively want them to conk out so that I can get some work done. I also seriously doubt that I could do a full day' with my girls and then clock on for a full work shift.

Off-topic: sobernow, did you ever get a CAT from me, ages ago?

geekgirl and PHDMum, I will reply to your question a bit later, not feeling very well at the moment!

I've just started working from home and it takes alot of discipline but so far so good. Can be some hairy moments with phone calls and dd screamin in the background. My job is not suited to parttime work and i couldn't bare dd in nursery everyday, so i have to make it work with two days at home. so hopefully if theres a will theres a way.

Geekgirl and PHDMum, I also sat the Dip Trans 6 years ago. After that it was a matter of sending CVs to all the listed agencies. A lot of CVs indeed! And then I got lucky and responded to an ad in the Guardian for movie translations and they took me on board. Sheer luck. But there's a very good website for translator www.proz.com. and try also tranfree.com, they send a monthly newsletter.