Balancing Diapers and Deadlines

Tips for working from home with an infant

Whether you are new to working at home while caring for your infant, or you’re a pro at typing while bouncing a baby on your knee, getting work done while also parenting can be a challenge. You can set yourself and your environment up to better balance both roles and your work and baby will benefit.


Your Work Space Area
Take a good look at where you do most of your work. Set up the area so you can manage your work and baby at the same time.

Use a portable crib, swing, bouncy chair or gates to keep your baby close. Your baby is happy, entertained, and contained and you don’t have to interrupt work every time he goes crawling off.

Have a stash of new toys near your desk, since babies tire quickly of the same toys.

Baby proof your work area as much as possible. Cover or tie back cords, lock cabinets and make sure your baby can’t reach anything that could hurt him. Not only will this keep your baby safe, but it’s no fun losing hours worth of work because your little one rebooted your computer or emptied your filing cabinet.

If baby’s room is not close to your work area, store diaper supplies close too. Having diapers and wipes close means you don’t have to spend time taking baby upstairs every time she needs a change. The more time you spend at your work area, the more work you’ll be able to accomplish.

If your baby is eating finger foods, keep some snacks close.

Managing Your Time
Plan time at your desk, but also plan breaks for both you and your baby. Meal and snack times are a great chance to get away from work and spend time with your baby. Make sure you take enough time to play and talk with your baby so she gets the attention she craves. Most babies are content to play by themselves for a while, but they also need interaction from you. Be realistic about how much time you can spend working and how much time your baby will need.

Working Around Naps
Be careful counting on naptimes to get your work done. It’s true that infants sleep a lot, but it probably doesn’t come in long stretches, especially when they are very young. Nor are nap times completely predicable. You may schedule an important conference call at naptime only to be faced with a wide-awake baby. Schedule tasks and calls that require complete quiet and focus for times when somebody else can watch your baby.

Hiring Help
A great way to increase how much you are able to focus on work is to hire a mother’s helper. Mother’s helpers care for your child in your home while you are home. You’re able to focus on work, but you’re also able to step in if your child needs you. Because you are home and able to monitor your baby’s care, you may consider helpers with less experience than somebody you would trust to watch your baby when you’re not home. High schools and colleges are often good places to start your search for a mother’s helper.

You may also want to consider finding childcare outside your home for a couple hours a day. It's easiest of all to focus on work if you can't hear your little one playing, or wailing, in the next room.

One Income or Two - Does it Pay To Work

Second only to the mortgage, childcare costs are one of the highest expenses most working families have. And sometimes the cost is more than a mortgage.

It might be easier than you think to have one parent stay home and make it on one income. That probaby sounds counterintuitive coming from us, who run a childcare website. But one of our main goals has always been to make life easier for families. And that may mean helping you realize that staying home just might be affordable.

We had the exact same discussion almost 5 years ago when our son was born. We wondered if we could make it on one income. I went back to work for several months and our son was with a childcare provider that we loved. When my job role changed, the decision was almost made for us that I would stay home. We never looked back. Going down to one income takes some adjusting, but it wasn't as painful as we thought it would be.

When thinking about the money you save by having one parent work, don't just consider salary. There's a lot more that is spent on maintaining a working parent. Since I no longer go to work at an office, my usual work wear is now jeans and a sweatshirt, which is much cheaper than maintaining a wardrobe of business suits (and matching shoes). Makeup? Since I never seem to have time to put it on, I save money there. I save money on hairstyling costs by going longer between cuts and no longer getting frequent highlights. Although, going back to my natural, unhighlighted color has added the unwanted highlight of showing more grey hairs. And I"m pretty sure that I remember what each child did to cause each grey strand.

There are many other costs you can save by not working - lunches out, expensive coffee breaks (although coffee stores with drive throughs are still a weakness of mine), gas, car maintenance, professional memberships, and more.

Here's a helpful calculator to help you add up the pros and cons of one income versus two.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/personal-finance/calculators/Adding_a_second_income_calculator/home.aspx

It's a tough choice to make, and sometimes your situation makes the choice for you. But regardless of whether you work outside the home or not, you already have the best job in the world - being a parent.

Tax Time

As we get close to the end of the year, it's almost time to think about getting your taxes and receipts in order. Here's a link to an article that describes how parents can benefit from tax credits for the monty paid for childcare.

http://taxes.about.com/od/deductionscredits/qt/child_care.htm

Happy Holidays

We'd like to wish you, your family, and all your daycare children and families a very happy holiday season. All our best for the new year.

We are thankful for every childcare provider who's listed on our site. We hope our site helps both parents and providers in the search for childcare.

Enjoy this holiday season. We hope you are able to enjoy some time with your family.

Best wishes to you for a peacful and prosperous New Year.

Scott & Melissa

We're back

It's been forever since we posted. We hope to start posting again soon, so keep an eye out.

Thanks,
Scott & Melissa

Getting Back Online

We've been so busy that we haven't had time to post on this blog. We hope to get back to posting to let you know what we're doing with the site and what's going on in the childcare community.

Thanks,
Scott & Melissa

Finally Updating Our Blog

It's been a hectic time around here, leaving us less time to stay on top of this blog. In the last couple months we experienced the birth of our second child, we moved halfway across the country, and had a death in our immediate family. Things have been busy and challenging.

We hope to update this more frequently now with updates of what we are doing with Daycarematch, and what is going on in the childcare field. If you have any ideas for us, please send them to us.

Thanks!
Scott & Melissa