r/MomsWorkingFromHome

I’m a FTM with a 10 month old. I’m currently employed in a major city but moving to a different state soon and will be WFH. My husband WFH as well and we have no childcare or family nearby. I’m currently working in person but transitioning to full-time remote and stuck between two great options.

Which of these is best assuming I want to have more kids in the near future?

Which is most realistic for a WFH mom?

I want to prioritize family life but don’t want to give up a great opportunity. Thank you!

Job 1:
- My current company making an exception for me
- Role is analyst for policy (I’m a STEM major)
- Top 5 company in my industry
- Great pay and benefits
- Less meetings during the week. More difficult conceptually. Subject to company politics and national politics.
- No “learning curve” since I will be doing the same work
- At least quarterly travel

Job 2:
- Top 10 company in my industry
- Role is software product owner and fully remote (no exceptions)
- Slightly less pay but still high for my COL
- Likely more meetings during the week, more responsibility but less abstract
- Training for new job - learning curve
- No travel necessary but opportunities exist if I want to travel

Is it possible to wfh with two kids? I have a 21 month old currently and he’s been home with me since birth. I’m due in July with my second and will have 12 weeks maternity leave then I’ll have to go back to work. How possible is it to wfh with two kids?

Hello! I have a 4 month old baby. For the past month I’ve been working from home while my mom came over and helped out with my daughter. Honestly, I still helped with feedings and naps so I was working while also taking care of her. But now my mom can’t come anymore, it was very sudden so I don’t have any back ups. Plus daycare by me is over $2000 a month.

My girl is a great baby overall but of course she needs a lot of attention, she’s only 4 months. She can do some independent play, on a good day like 15 minutes at a time. And she does nap about 3 times while I’m working, but for only like 45 minutes. I feel like I’m going to get so little work done now. Anyone have any tips? Also, at what age did you think working from home with them got easier?

Trying not to panic here lol luckily my job is mostly data entry and the only person who may call me during the day is my manager, who is overall very nice. But I’m on time schedules all year so I need to be actually working.

Wanting to see how you manage and how it is on the daily for you. How are you balancing? Is this really as impossible as people say it is? I’m expecting baby girl in August and my son turns 1 in July. I will start WFM few weeks after baby girl is born. I will only be cold calling and answering emails. So I expect the work load to be very light. Most work is on my cell phone.

This is the only company I’ve ever worked for, starting here as an intern in college. I feel especially worried because I don’t have a huge network as the company I was at was extremely small, I’m not great at interviewing because I’ve never interviewed anywhere else, and the job market for my industry specifically (Marketing) is extremely tough right now.

I just don’t even know what to do right now.

Hello folks,

I’m a new mom to an 8 month old who just started daycare, and ended up with the nastiest stomach virus two days in. Now everyone is sick, she’s home, and I’m taking care of her and my husband who got hit real hard, while I’m trying to also work 8-5. I work in a global leadership role in a high stakes environment and lead multiple major meetings per day. I got just about nothing done at work these last two days, and this can’t go on. My husband is in the same boat, though he lucked out being off this week, but would be of little help this sick himself.

I know little kids getting sick in daycare just about weekly, and having to stay home is just what everyone has to go through. But do you have any tips and tricks for keeping a child this young occupied while you get through things? A good play pen set up, schedule, anything at all?

Signed,

A mom who wants to keep her sanity and job.

Ever since having my 10-month-old baby, I’ve completely lost interest in the traditional corporate/work path I used to care about. I still want financial stability and to contribute financially, but the idea of spending all my energy building someone else’s business just doesn’t excite me anymore.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about creating something of my own from home — maybe children’s products, sensory activity kits, digital products, ebooks for moms, baby books, or something else I can sell online while still being present with my baby. I see it as something that could become profitable in the long run if I commit at least 4 hours a day to these ideas. The problem is that I need at least $2,000/month to live, and this wouldn’t replace my current salary right away.

I’m curious if other moms went through this shift too after becoming parents. Did motherhood change your relationship with work or ambition?

And if you started making income from home:

• What actually worked for you?
• What failed?
• Did you start small while caring for a baby?
• Was it worth it financially and emotionally?

I’d really love honest experiences because I feel very torn between wanting independence, flexibility, creativity, and still needing a stable income.

FTM so this might be dumb. I WFH 2 days a week, dad taking care of him the 2 days I’m in office. When I work from home and dad is working, I’m having to alternate my LO between tummy time, sitting in his rocker, and laying in his crib with his aquarium and kickboard. I feel guilty that he’s having so much supervised solo-time. He’s fed and changed normally, and isn’t upset about this himself. He’s also reaching milestones normally, but cannot sit unattended yet obviously.

Is this not something I should be actually worried about? What can I possibly do to not have him sitting or flat so often?

So I’m scheduled to start working again 4 weeks postpartum, which I know is super soon, but bills still have to be paid since I don’t get maternity leave pay. I work from home at a call center, so I’m hoping it’ll be manageable. Has anyone else gone back to work that soon postpartum? How was your experience? Everyone is making me feel crazy for needing to go back soon

Planning my 4 year old birthday and will be inviting the whole class. What's the best/cheapest (I guess both) option for that? Physical cards are not an option - I need people to RSVP so I know how many goodie bags to make.

I swear ever since I started working from home with a toddler, my skin has been looking so much worse!!

Between work stress, broken sleep, constantly running errands, and trying to survive the day, my face just looks exhausted all the time now (and I am exhausted).

Like dull, uneven, kinda dehydrated but somehow also puffy?? I don’t even know anymore 😭

One of my coworkers actually asked me during a meeting last week if I was feeling okay because I looked “really tired” and It's been gutting my self-confidence everytime I look at myself now.

I've also been more outdoors, which is so different from the WFH life and maybe it's the sun doing the damage. I always avoided sunscreen because I hate the feeling of applying it onto my face. I was able to get away with it when I was younger, but now it's effects are probably hitting me at the age of 37.

I honestly don’t have the energy for some huge skincare routine right now. I just want products that make me look slightly more alive 😂

If anyone has some tips, I'd appreciate it so much!

Hi fellow moms! What are your specific games, boxes, playtime ideas to keep an almost-18-months old toddler occupied, especially when they’re sick or at least not at 100%?

For now, I’ve prepared some boxes with special puzzles. She also has her drawing table. Overall, our apartment is child-proof and there are sets of toys lying around for her to discover while she walks around the apartment. On warm days, there’s also a baby water fountain on our balcony for her to play with water.

I do feel however that this setup gets increasingly boring to her. Yet, I’m hesitant to introduce finger paint because of the cleaning and tidying up afterwards.

What are your ideas and tricks?

I just made a post in the Newborns sub asking for tips about WFH with a baby as I go back from maternity leave today. Every comment was basically “it’s impossible” and now I’m terrified and dreading it more.

Any real tips? Is it impossible? I’m really trying to avoid daycare for now…

I work full time with a 21 month old also while being 28w pregnant. My mil lives with us and is supposed to help with childcare and chores since she doesn’t contribute financially. While she does help with cleaning the house she spends the majority of the day hiding in her room. Whenever she comes out of her room she’s glued to her phone. She doesn’t take my son outside to play nor does she play with him inside so I rely a LOT on screen time. She doesn’t really talk to me unless it’s to ask what I’m making for dinner (which she was supposed to be in charge of the majority of the week) or if I can order something for her off of Amazon. We started working on potty training with my son and of course it’s left all on me to do. I’ve cried at least once a day for the past 3 days because I’m so over doing everything by myself.

Not sure about the flare but looking to see if anyone does this!

I occasionally will “leave” work once a week to take my 8 month old daughter to Friday story time. But right now it’s only been if it lines up with her nap so we haven’t been in a few weeks.

I was thinking of signing her up for ECFE for the coming year, which is Mondays for 1.5 hours in the morning. But also debating because it’s almost $600 and I’m worried I won’t be able to take her because of work.

I obviously clock out and block off my calendar at work.

Curious if anyone else has done this?

Oh lord, didn’t know it was so complicated. Any recommendations? Just daycare full time instead of pre-k?

Pre-k with aftercare? What about summer?! My head is spinning!

How are you all doing it?

What slippers/shoes do you wear strictly at home? My feet have been killing me! I’m usually walking around in socks or cheap slippers from SHEIN. I don’t necessarily have flat feet either, but cooking and doing chores kills my feet at the end of the day.

I am very recently a post partum mom who was demoted upon returning to work and then laid off only a few months later (i worked at said place for 9 years).
So i decided to try and build something new and from scratch thats all my own… im not asking for anyone to go buy my products. I am attempting to find a use for my arts degree that i obtained in the early 00s.

I am however hoping people may just click through my shop on etsy and come back here and give me some advice thru comments on reddit?
im nearly 40
have little to no self esteem
even less sleep
and have a pile of bills stacking up around me
and two pre teen boys who are chomping at the bit to do sports and other expensive activities.
im still applying for my normal jobs every day but cant sit still for fear of failing my family and am hoping to try and make some kind of money on the side if i can.

am i wasting my time?
are my designs and art too boring?
ive had to reinvent myself SO many times in my adult life that im starting to loose motivation and steam. esp when im only sleeping 2-3 hours a night at max.

I appreciate any positivity or helpful criticisms or suggestions anyone might have for me.
please be kind
as my sanity is hanging by a thread
thank you for your time in reading this.

https://penandsendco.etsy.com

There’s been some structural changes recently with the company I work for so they are having a bunch of in person meetings for a day next month. The office is ~45 minutes away. But the problem is my 8 month old is EBF and refuses a bottle… I’m also the only one that ever puts her to sleep and I nurse her to sleep.

My husband (who also WFH and actually also works for the same company but apparently his team doesn’t have to go in?) is currently planning on using PTO that day to stay home with her and be able to 100% care for her. Our backup, in case he DOES have to go in, is my MIL will watch her.

I will probably only go in for the minimum amount of time required; morning meeting, team lunch, and afternoon meeting. I currently plan to skip the social hour after work.

I’m nervous about the eating situation, my husband is nervous about the nap situation.

We are going to have my husband try and give her bottles someone regularly for the next month so that she will hopefully take one. I’m also trying to teach her to use a straw cup, which she is slowly getting. She will suck for a few sips but not continuously. She does eat 2 solids meals a day currently.

I think we will also try and have my husband put her down for bed time (he’s not as flexible as I am during the day, so he wouldn’t consistently be able to do naps).

We are gonna put all the effort we can but internally I am freaking out 🥲