What do your days look like? How many hours a week do you work? How do you stay sane?
What do your days look like? How many hours a week do you work? How do you stay sane?
pear / 1955 posts
I used to do this while waiting for LO to get into a daycare full-time - I'd work in the office 8 hours on MWF with LO at daycare, then at home for three hours on T/Th with no childcare (which brought my hours to 30/week, which was the minimum to qualify for benefits.)
It was flexible scheduling for those three hours/day at home though, so I could work them at any time during the day. I could usually get them in during naptime, or if he had a bad napping day, after he was in bed.
pineapple / 12053 posts
when DD1 was 6mo-1.5, i had no childcare and worked for myself. i did most everything during nap time because i could count on her naps. i also during that second year, i started feeling really conflicted with feeling like a bad parent and bad "worker" because i was constantly trying to do one when i should have been doing the other. i finally got her into a mother's day out program once a week for a few hours and then into "school" at 2y2m for 2 full days a week (8:30-5:30) where i could do all my work during that time and then be mom the rest of the time. i just couldn't deal with doing both. and DH works 24 hour shifts so i was not in a place where i could finish my work at night consistently. once i realized that i could only flourish while my kids were in care, i felt much better. i made the mistake of only enrolling DD1 in care this year instead of DD2 as well and i'm struggling a bit, even though now i have my mom here to fill in once a week or so.
i honestly am in awe of people that can WAH without other childcare because i'm useless at it.
grapefruit / 4418 posts
I WAH 2x a week right now and my employer requires chikdcare. I'd never think not to have it, even though my kids are pretty content playing independently. It's too much constant interruption. When I worked in consulting, I was able to flex my time and got the majority of my work done at nap, after bed or on weekends.
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
I am a freelance marketing consultant, under the umbrella of a small agency.
I work about 10 hours per week but it really varies. Some weeks I will have meetings (calls, video conferences, and/or in-person) and on a busy meeting week it can be as much as 10 hours of just meetings... so that pushes it closer to 20 hours per week.
I try to just work when LO (3 years old) is napping. Thankfully she is a solid napper! If I am productive I can get 10+ hours of work done just during nap time any given week. She is also in preschool 2 mornings per week and I try to schedule meetings then. Occasionally (1-2 times a month) I will use a sitter or drop-in daycare for meetings I can't get scheduled during school hours.
Honestly, I stay sane by 1) not working anywhere close to full-time and 2) putting being a mom before work. I will fully admit there are times I have to ask for deadline extensions or say I can't get to something. Some of this is just my poor time management, to be honest! Because that's something I struggle with overall. But I really just look at this job as a great "side gig" and my "real job" is being a full-time SAHM. I try not to let myself stress out.
coconut / 8079 posts
I work during naps and/or after LO goes to bed which means I rarely have time for myself. I'm going to reduce my commitments for next year so I have time to exercise etc.
hostess / cantaloupe / 6486 posts
The position I'm applying for is pretty flexible and very part time. Minimum requirement is about 15 hours and I likely won't be able to get more without childcare (or losing mind/all control of the house). My mom has the girls for a few hours once a week about 2 or 3 weeks a month, so that could be helpful. Due to his work, my husband isn't home in any predictable pattern and is often gone for weeks at a time. I'm just trying to figure out how to structure my days/what is feasible for me if I get this job.
@daniellemybelle: that's a great mindset to have. I think focusing on being mom first and everything else second is good advice that would reduce stress for me.
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
@Mrs. Sunshine: We're very fortunate that we would be okay if I didn't work so I feel like I can afford to have that mindset and if that means the job isn't working out, then so be it. I actually WAH closer to full time about 2 years ago (with 4 days of childcare) and even though the work was really rewarding, I wasn't happy because I felt like I couldn't balance everything. But in my heart I always really wanted to be a SAHM so I am a lot happier with the balance I have now.
My one piece of advice is to over-communicate - so if you can't get to something by when you thought you would, then just say it rather than lie to yourself and them, ha.
hostess / cantaloupe / 6486 posts
@daniellemybelle: I wouldn't say I HAVE to either but I feel like a need a little extra stimulation that's isn't kid related (I've been a SAHM for 3 years and was a nanny for 3 prior to this mom gig!) and since my husbands work schedule is so crazy, that means his check vary GREATLY each pay period and it would be nice to have something that is consistently the same-ish thing every single time!
nectarine / 2784 posts
I WAH about 10 hours a week, almost all of them after bedtime. I usually log on between 7-7:30 and log off by 10. I could do 15 if I worked through naptime as well (occasionally I do) but any more than that and I think I'd need childcare for some of it to maintain a work/life balance.
pineapple / 12566 posts
When I did this, I could only work when my child was sleeping. When my son was a baby, that meant maybe 3 hours a day, if I was lucky (terrible sleeper). Mostly, I would work at night after DH was home. It's a formula that doesn't work for me. For what I do, I need quiet so I can concentrate. I can't even work with music playing, so having LOs underfoot doesn't work. I still WAH but my kids are in school and daycare full time.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@Mrs. Sunshine: I think you need to be honest with yourself about what you can accomplish during the day. 15 hours a week breaks down to 3 hours a day, if you spread it evenly, but work doesn't always happen like that. Sometimes, it's front loaded at the beginning of the week. So I would plan for worst case scenario, which might be a Wednesday deadline. How would you accomodate 7.5 hours in two days? I would be asking these kinds of questions up front, to get a better understanding of the expectations.
hostess / cantaloupe / 6486 posts
@looch: ahh, great point! Thank you! I will definitely ask about that and figure out what I want to do from there.
eggplant / 11824 posts
For a while I worked at work while LO was only in daycare PT and it was hard. It’s theoretically fairly easy; you just work during naps and after they go to bed (or before they wake up), but if you end up doing that, you end up with NO time for yourself – and it often doesn’t work out that cleanly. Los don’t always reliably nap, they get sick, something comes up and you have to use their nap time for other things, etc. Honestly, there is no way I would attempt to work 15 hours a week with no childcare and a husband who works the hours that yours does. I think that’s a recipe for a very burn and hard burnout.
I totally get feeling like you need more stimulation (I do too!) and the desire to earn $omething extra. Do you have any nearby family/friends who would watch your littles for even 1 day a week that you could then dedicate to work?
I think you also need to consider what type of work you would be doing - if it's something that takes time for research, writing, whatnot, that can be hard to just turn "on" for the hour you have available to work. Know what I mean? If it's not totally mindless work, it will be hard to focus on it while your kids are up and playing.
Today | Monthly Record | |
---|---|---|
Topics | 0 | 1 |
Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies