How can I work full time and have a baby at home?

How can I work full time and have a baby at home? I think every work-at-home mom has asked this one point and time. Here are 4 simple solutions: create a small childcare budget, create a safe play area for your child, teach your baby independent play early, invest in time-saving baby gear.

I have several new mom/new parent friends that just had babies and are in the middle of maternity leave. The conversation that keeps coming up is “I know I need to find a daycare, but it’s just so hard! How can I work full time and have a baby at home?”

I went through this same decision-making process/guilt.

Are you there? Having a newborn and transitioning to working from home with a newborn?

If you are a new work-at-home parent because of the pandemic, grab a coffee and let’s chat about it!

(BTW – I’m not going to talk about my actual work schedule and how I fit in work tasks and deadlines around my daily schedule. Instead, if you want to see my 40-hour work-from-home routine, check it out here!)

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How can I work full time and have a baby at home? I think every work-at-home mom has asked this one point and time. Here are 4 simple solutions: create a small childcare budget, create a safe play area for your child, teach your baby independent play early, invest in time-saving baby gear. — How can I work full time and have a baby at home?

1. Create a small child care budget

Ask yourself these questions:

“How much can I afford per month for childcare?”
“Can we swing just $50-$100/month for childcare flexibility?”
“How will my childcare decisions weigh on our mental health or family dynamic?”

In the past few years, we have gone through every possible form of childcare during this roller coaster. We have had: no childcare, part-time playtime, part-time babysitters, full-time nannies, preschool, no preschool, family members help, neighborhood mother’s helper, drop-off nursery/daycare….you name it!

Our budget decides a LOT.

I’m not just talking about full-time care budget. But just anything you can set aside per month.

Even if you can swing only $50/month, SET THAT ASIDE and use it for activity box subscriptions, craft materials, new favorite toys, or baby equipment…anything to help you out with your work-life balance.

This budget (even if its just a tiny amount) will give you freedom to get help.

Ask yourself what season are you in? If your kids are home, invest in toys and activities to make that easier. Can you get a 10 year old neighbor to help in the afternoon? Spend $20/wk on that. Lean into the season you are in.

When I buy new gear for my baby that will occupy a lot of time, my favorite phrase is “It’s cheaper than a babysitter!” This is a really easy way to get through another month, if you are living month to month.

2. Create A Safe Play Area for Your Child

In each of my houses I moved my desk and laptop to a central location for uninterrupted work time.

In my old house, my desk was actually in my living room. I had room to push my desk near the wall opposite my sofa. And this gave me a lot of space to work and be near my daughter.

Now in my new house, my desk is in our upstairs loft that is between our bedrooms. There is enough room to fit my desk, a small sofa, and a fenced in play area for my baby.

When I first started planning my office area in my old living room, I knew I needed a foam floor mat to cover our hardwood floors.

But, if you have checked Amazon lately, they can be almost $100! Those pretty jigsaw foam play mats were just not worth it to me.

I mentioned this to my husband, and he promptly said, “You can get those for your tool shed super cheap!” And he was RIGHT.

Amazon has an AWESOME set of 4-6 foam panels that it together perfectly for this. You can get cool options on Amazon here. Such a great idea!

On top of the foam mat, we have a rotating quilt for the baby to play on. One of our favorites is this LEKA Play Mat from IKEA. It’s a little more pricey ($24.99), but is padded under the mat, and we take it EVERYWHERE. It is perfect for trips and visits to people’s houses when we just need a place for my baby to play.

If you want to read more how I combine my office and play area, click here.

3. Teach your baby independent play early

I like to start nurturing independent play when my babies are 6 months old. This is when they aren’t even sitting up yet – but they are able to lay on their tummies for a few minutes at a time.

I put them in their room (very near me) on their tummies with some toys in reach. I usually leave them for 5-10 minutes, or until they get cranky. If you are a few feet away, definitely use a baby monitor!

I do this once a day or so (before naps usually), just to teach them that I don’t need to be available all the time. This shows your baby that they can be by themselves and it’s ok. Try this routine!

Once your babies are able to sit up and squirm around, try putting some toys a little out of reach! They learn quickly how to reach, roll over, and squirm to get what they want. At this point, I still leave my babies for about 10-20 minutes, depending on what they can handle.

Baby toys that involve their feet (like this simple piano toy that I LOVE!) are perfect for this because you can even leave your baby in their crib for 20 minutes, and they learn how to move their feet to create cause and effect.

TO BE CLEAR. Your baby doesn’t need to be by themselves for this to work! If you are working at a desk, set up a play area, playpen, or pack n’ play at your feet (with a baby fence if need be) to let them play near you.

Click here to read my complete guide to teaching your child to play by themselves.

4. Invest in Time-Saving Baby Gear

Three things you definitely need if you are going to begin working from home with a newborn are a baby monitor, a baby fence, and extra baby gates. This is also a good time to get a baby wrap or baby carrier/sling, baby swing, a bouncer, or anything else that is appropriate for your baby’s needs.

Let’s talk about baby gates because and my favorite baby fence.

Baby Fences

Once my babies can begin to crawl, I use the same arrangement above – but just with a baby fence around it.

I set up this 8-piece baby fence from Amazon and it fits the square play area perfectly.

My babies love playing in here – and I make an effort to rotate toys so they are constantly stimulated. I call it “baby jail”, but it is much larger than a Pack ‘N Play, which is another great way to let kids play independently. So, it’s actually larger than some options.

But once my babies can begin to crawl, I use a different arrangement that I love just as much.

I set up this 8-piece baby fence from Amazon and it fits the square play area perfectly.

Baby Gates

Let’s talk about baby gates.

I always set up a baby gate on my young child’s bedroom door. This gives a second play area that I can trust my baby to play in.

This is my favorite baby gate that is safe, cheap, and works for years.

I am a huge fan of teaching your kids to play independently, and this is my greatest tool for that.

I set up this gate as soon as I want to begin teaching my child. Around 6 months old (yes, even before they can even sit up!), I put them in their room with some toys, and leave them to “play” for maybe 10 minutes. I repeat this every day and build more time.

By the time my babies are around 1 year old, they are able to play by themselves for 30-40 minutes. By the time she was 2 years old, my daughter was able to play by herself for up to 2 hours.

Again, I am right next to my kids this whole process. I check on them, watch them in the baby monitor, and encourage them with new toys. But, the practice of teaching them to play by themselves is invaluable.

Read my complete guide here for how to teach your kids to play independently!

Another way I use the baby gates is to separate small babies for older kid play.

Very often my daughter needs a barrier between her and the baby. Adding a baby gate to her door accomplishes this. This is an excellent way of separating kids, giving them places to play – while being right next to my desk.

Baby Monitors

Another invaluable tool is a baby monitor. Let me tell you why you need one.

Even if you don’t have a baby, watching your kids safely play – while you are in a different room – is invaluable.

I have our monitor set up in my son’s room, and often put both kids in there to play. I watch them from down the hall, and love being able to see their play.

If you have toddlers in a separate room, this is an excellent way to keep an eye on them.

Also – a fun game to keep them occupied is to play Simon’s Says through the monitor. It’s great entertainment that let’s you work and “play” with your kids.

This is my favorite baby monitor:

Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor

baby monitor to combine office and playarea

I researched baby monitors for about 8 months. No joke. I had dozens of lists and tabs open.

What was I researching? Physical monitor vs. phone app? Wireless vs. not wired?

We finally settled on the Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor because of the 35,000 5 Reviews on Amazon. It is definitely the highest-rated monitor on Amazon.

And – we LOVE it!

Why?

Because I can keep it on all night without using my phone battery.
Because it has a HUGE range.
Because it is SO SIMPLE to set up and use.
Because I can pass it to my mother-in-law and not need to set up an app for her.
Because it has dark night vision.
Because it zooms in and can pan the room. Check it out here!

Read my complete nap time guide here!